School Rumble Plot:

Tsukamoto Tenma is always chasing after the rather unusual Karasuma Ooji, to no avail. Her over-the-top methods don't even seem to register, but she keeps trying. Harima Kenji, the class rebel, is desperately trying to confess his feelings to Tenma, also with no luck. It's a comedy love-triangle, with humour that comes in from left field!

Alternative Titles
Japanese: スクールランブル

Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 26
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 5, 2004 to Mar 29, 2005
Producers: TV Tokyo, Starchild Records, FUNimation EntertainmentL, Studio Comet
Genres: Comedy, Romance, School, Shounen
Duration: 23 min. per episode
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older


School Rumble review:

Story:
Okay... This will depend highly on your tastes. As for a continual progressive storyline, you won't find one. Well, there is one, but it's not all that important in the grand scheme of things. The storyline is more like a collction of random events glued to this thin string of a storyline that's running in the background. And of course there's a bunch of running gags throughout the series. They've also used a generous number of parodies, which was a definite plus to the series. But one thing that I'd like to note, is the ending. (I'll try not to spoil anything for you people.) Like most series, the ending is incomplete, and leaves you with questions unanswered and a need to know what happens afterwards to all the characters. But, unlike most other series, this one was done REALLY well and I just have to give it props for it's originality and ingenuity. Anyway though, amist the collection of humorous gags, they did also spend some time developing mini-plots within the series. They didn't last too long, but it aided in some character development.

Characters:
There are no ugly or annoying characters, they were all attractive and likable in their own way. Sometimes I get confused when it comes to shows with a lot of school girls, because I can't tell if it's for the purpose of it being shoujo or to attract a lot of male viewership. Either way all the girls were very cute and each had their own unique traits so you won't get confused, I liked all 5 of the main girls: Tenma, Yakumo, Akira, Eri and Miko [I also love Lala...she was so aggressive].

Animation:
Okay, so the animation style was all across the map in this series. You've got some 3D CG, some chibi stuff, overdramatized freeze-frames, etc. The style of animation that's used throughout most of the series, I'd consider to be about average. There are several scenes where the animators went all out, sharp color, good shading, smooth animation. And others where... well, mostly for humorous purposes, were shakey, washed out, and slide-show-ish. The animation style is all over the place, and I really mean, all over the place. But given this kind of series, it fit well.

Sound:
I found the OP and ED to be really catchy. They're really silly too which fits in with the series as whole. BGM is alright. Nothing too noticible there. Also, throughout the series, there are musical pieces that are sung. (And depending on the fansubbers, they're translated as well.) In the most part, these particular songs are really nice, and very good at conveying emotion during those scenes. It's commendable.


Value + Enjoyment:
Overall, I really enjoyed this series. I was in the mood for a light, fun series and I was very satisfied with this. (Also to note, I might have inflated scores because of that.) All the jokes and anecdotes throughout the series were very clean and well thought-out. (They didn't resort to ecchi when they had ample opportunites to do so, so I commend them for that.) If you're looking for clean comedy, I'd definitely recommend SR. School Rumble is definitely going to be on my list of anime to buy if it becomes licensed in the US.