School Rumble (2004–2010) User Reviews

The funniest series ever

[orozcosamuel1 · 8/10 · 9 October 2008]

I just finished the first season and I absolutely loved it!!! Of the "slice of life" really light series this is the one I've liked the most.

I never thought I would like it this much.. At first I found animation a little different.. and found the characters, specially kenji like someone I would never like... I really didn't think it was going to be this good.... up till the first five minutes of the first chapter!! When I gave it a couple of minutes, I realized it was the funniest series I had ever seen.

Everything is so silly and many times stuff just doesn't make any sense, but believe me.. its great.. You must watch it. Also, in between the really silly stuff, there is a pretty interesting romantic story.. You get really fond of most the characters.. the girls are really really cute and Kenji is really... unlucky...

In the technical stuff the series is also good... Although animation is a bit strange, I ended up liking it a lot!! Opening and ending are great.. they tend to stick in your head... like those songs you just cant get out of your mind.. they are so cool and fun.. I guess what I liked the most is that I felt like a little kid while watching it... they make fun of the Power Rangers and a bunch of other animes... its so so so fun!!! Well.

I guess the main thing I wanted to say is that this is a top notch series.. and you should definitely watch it.

Im about to start the second term.. I hope to find it just as good.

Insane and funny

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 10 September 2009]

When I found this series on Funimation's YouTube channel I though it might be similar to Azumanga Daioh which I really enjoyed. There are a few similarities; they are both set in a Japanese high school and have a similar style of animation but that is about it. Instead of being subtle with no romance this is all about romance and is as subtle as a kick in the head... it is funny though, very funny.

The story follows the lives and loves of Class 2-C, the problem for the students is that everybody seems to be in love with somebody that doesn't love them back and few of them can find the courage to tell the objects of their desires how they feel anyway. The main characters are Tenma who is besotted with otherworldly Karasuma and tough guy Kenji Harima who only returned to school because he is obsessed with Tenma. There is quite a large cast of secondary characters but they are drawn in a way that makes it easy to remember who is who. While these may be secondary characters many of them appear in most episodes so they don't feel like lesser characters; they are all lots of fun.

While nobody is saying how they feel about each other everybody is jumping to conclusions about who likes who and almost always being wrong leading to a few amusing confrontations. While somewhat exaggerated most of their activities are believable although a few are pushing the boundaries of believability.

I'm not totally sure whether this is aimed at boys or girls, many of the romantic elements seem aimed at girls but the girls do appear in their bikinis in a couple of episodes and these look as they are meant to appeal to the male viewers... don't worry that is the limit of female flesh on show. I guess it might appeal to both equally. I'd certainly recommend it to anybody who likes madcap anime, it does for the school genre what Excel Saga does for the action genre.

These comments are based on watching the English dub of the series, I normally prefer my anime subbed but it was unavailable. I still thought the English voice artists did a good job though.

Another hilarious series

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 2 November 2009]

If you enjoyed the first series of School Rumble I'm sure you will love this one too. Class 2-C are back and their adventures are just as insane as ever; Harima is still in love with Tenma, her sister Yakumo falls for Harima while helping him with his artwork and Tenma still likes Karasuma although she spends less time chasing him this series. The rest of the class get into adventures just as funny as those in the first series.

As well as episodes featuring their day to day lives there are many surreal episodes such as one where they appear to be fighting to the death to determine what they should do for their class's cultural festival.

I wasn't sure whether the first series was aimed at boys or girls, this one felt as if it was aimed more at boys as the level of fan service involving the girls was increased noticeable... although they didn't show too much, it was mostly suggestive.

I watched the series dubbed in to English and thought the voice actors did a really good job. While I don't think it is essential to watch the original series to enjoy this I suspect things would make more sense in the early episodes if you had seen it.

Fantastic

[oodus347 · 10/10 · 8 June 2007]

As a moderate American anime watcher, I have to say that "School Rumble" is a fantastic series. I mean, I was honestly shocked by how good it was. If you think this is just another school romance anime, you're wrong. This is actually a very comedic show. Yeah, it has teenagers in love, but the humor totally trumps it. Usually each episode is split into three small stories and the format worked for me. The humor in "School Rumble" is appealing because a good amount of it is funny no matter what language you speak. Apart from the usual Japanese pun jokes one finds in anime - which aren't even that funny when it's explained - "School Rumble" has gags which can be appreciated by anyone. The female lead, Tenma, is the most cartoon-like and off-the-wall of all the characters. I was really impressed by whoever did her voice. Usually I don't care much about the delivery of the Japanese voices since I don't know the language, but Tenma's actress really brought energy to the character. It kind of transcended the language barrier, I guess. The male lead, Harima, is totally different than most leading guys because he's a hulking biker brute who looks 20-something, but he's only 17. You don't see a character like that take the lead in a genre like "School Rumble" but it works and it's really funny.

What's great is how the supporting characters give life to the series. As the season progresses, more time is focused on them and they contribute greatly for more stories. Yeah, you have the typical girl-obsessed pervert, the tomboy, the rich blonde girl...but you also have the turtle-loving loner, the quiet girl who may be an international assassin during summer vacation, the shy girl who for some reason has hulk-like strength, and the kid who dreams of being the top bully at the school but is too much of a wimp/has too much bad luck to actually do it. And those are just a few characters out of many. Having a huge cast of varied characters is what made "The Simpsons" popular, and it works for "School Rumble." The best part? There is another series ("School Rumble: 2nd Semester") after this one. That's a little over 50 episodes of hilarious goodness. Even if you're not a hardcore anime lover, give "School Rumble" a try.

Much better than expected

[xjo_eyx · 9/10 · 9 March 2007]

School Rumble SR, season 1 only has 26 episodes. I decided to watch it because my friend recommend it and it was not violent.

The plot: You can read it at the homepage. But overall it was not predictable. Very simple, no huge events. And the show really had a quick plot. No fillers, every episode is different with a lot of funny scenes and daydreaming. It's kind of all about an ordinary students who are always dealing with love. Most of the episodes were about the class at school. Sometimes they go on trips but most of the time they are at school.

The characters: There's a bunch of high school girls and boys, they all got their little story. They all are kind and simple minded.

*Tenma, the main char. She is very simple-minded but that's what so cute about her. She loves Karasuma. She has a little sister who's much less clumsy and lot more mature.

*Harima, I love the way he acts. He's so extreme in everything. If he wants something he really goes for it. He's deeply in love with Tenma.

*Karasuma, a very quiet but weird kid. Sometimes he dresses up very weird, or does stupid things. He's very noble.

The musics: The show was only 26 episodes, I didn't notice a lot background music. The opening theme really suits the anime. It's very cheery, and so is the ending theme.

I really can recommend you this anime. Compare it with GTO great teacher Onizuka but then SR has a lot more love in it and less violence. Even though it's about love I still also want to recommend it to the boys.

Love this show

[vincentbabo · 10/10 · 15 August 2013]

Even though the subject is not something particularly exciting for me, I can't help but keep watching this show. Really love the characters and their fun interactions. The drawings are nice, the high school ambiance is refreshing, and the story are pretty silly, yet without turning into non-sense.

The story is mainly about two characters. The boy loves the girl, and the girl loves another boy. Yet, all other characters in the story are interesting as well, and have more or less a love interest in mind. Most stories are pretty much about guys chasing girls and girls chasing guys, so if you're not into that sort of thing, then this show might not be your cup of tea.

Lastly, what I like most about this show is actually the music in the ending credit. For some reason, that song really sticks to me.

Funniest anime ever

[adihoet1508 · 10/10 · 3 January 2015]

Lots of funny moments happen in School Rumble, like: 1. When Tenma leaved Tennoji, Harima came to Tennoji to entertain him but finally Harima punch him 2. On school's trip, Harima threw away from veteran's bus to truck which contains of pigs, to train 3. When Tenma hug Mikoto, but she complained about Mikoto's breast which too big 4. In English test, when Harima warn Tenma if she forgot to write her name, he mouthing some words. 5. School's physical measurement canceled because both Harima & Tenma disguise as doctor & nurse until both of them surprised each other. 6. When Tenma decided go to school by bike and she hoped she can go together with Karasuma, her dream missed until both Karasuma, Tenma, and Harima chased each other until overtake train and car

Decent overall

[msairas · 8/10 · 21 January 2007]

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! When I first heard about School Rumble (not too long ago), I thought it was _just_ another comedy\drama set in school environment with all clichés and such. This presumption was partly correct, yet I was rather surprised when I saw about half of the episodes.

It is pretty generic love-triangle setup, about Tenma Tsukamoto, a 16 year old high-school girl who loves silent, rather "weird" person called Ōji Karasuma, while Kenji Harima loves Tenma with all his heart. Every time someone tries to confess something, either something goes wrong more or less or interrupts them. Generic huh? Tenma is rather clumsy, somewhat dumb girl who lives with her sister. Karasuma is a silent character who has very good pokerface, while Harima is deliquent person who posses high psychical traits and strenght. Also he has very bad temper. The entire reason why Harima goes to school is Tenma, while an old memory still haunts Harima. Coinincidentally, the memory is related to Tenma.

This series also concentrates about Tenma's friends and such, like her sister Yakumo.

Overall, the characters are bit cliché alike, but quite believable ones. Like Sawachika reminds me very much about one person I had in my class back in my high school days. Many others are also quite believable, but also there are some that just doesn't feel right.

One thing that really surprised me, was the humour section of the series. I was expecting generic humour (like write a long love letter but forget to put your name on it), but the way it is done is excellent. Most of the stuff can be actually guessed beforehand, but the way they have been implemented in the series is really great. Somethings are just generic jokes and such that make you to wonder "Was that supposed to be funny?", but some can make you really crying out loud while laughing.

Overall, this is warmly recommended if you just can stand another school drama. The way the overall concept works in School Rumble is very good. Much beter than I expected. One good reason is also, that the way it works out in some places can make you possibly remember some old memories from your own high school days.

Silly Fun!

[rorymacveigh-66661 · 9/10 · 29 March 2015]

The one word to describe this series is 'silly', but silly doesn't mean stupid. As someone who has fond memories of how dull and boring life at school was, then this series is a welcome break because it makes me wish I went to a school like theirs, where everything is nonsensical, and therefore the opposite of boring!

But that's not the only reason I love this series!

The series takes place at Yagami High School (although you might as well call it Generic Anime High School 101), where our protagonist, an air-headed, ditsy girl named Tenma Tsukamoto, ambles her way through life whilst also attempting to garner the interests of her true love Oji Karasuma, a quiet and very peculiar boy who doesn't really notice her advances, nor does he notice her in general. Unbeknownst to Tenma, she has capture the heart of another boy named Kenji Harima, who despite being an incredibly violent delinquent who scares all those he goes near, attempts endlessly to gain her attention and love, breaking down at the critical 'pop-the-question' moment (with often painful repercussions).

The thing that makes this Anime are a mixture of its funny characters and sporadic random comedy that takes an otherwise mundane situation and throws it completely out of real-world context. All of the characters you can relate to those you know in school, the bully, the air-head, the tomboy, the quiet but smart kid who really just doesn't want to know, etc, and thus when the random comedy suddenly flies in from left field, you find yourself laughing at the fact that such everyday things are being blown out of all proportion, as if the fate of nations was being decided by them!

Overall, it's a really fun series, I know I certainly enjoyed every episode. Granted some of the usual Anime traits sneak in, like the obvious prolonged sexy scenes with the girls that can take you out of it, especially when you know that it's just the animator indulging their racy side.

But other than that I really like this series, just everyday situations with an over-the-top spin placed on them!

Mixed Feelings

[jkylebennett · 5/10 · 31 August 2019]

I can't place my finger on it. I like it. It has its moments. But, at the same time, I find it to be incredibly annoying. I want to keep watching it and see what will happen next, but I also have to step away from it at times to be able to bring myself to watch more of it. For some reason, the comedy doesn't seem to land for me. It always feels off just ever so slightly. It's not bad, but it's like the timing is just not there. Or the timing is off. Either way, I find myself wanting to skip past certain segments because I can see exactly where it's going without needing to even see it. That said. I like the style. It looks good in part because it is an older series and therefore has that older look both to the animation and the art style. I've always appreciated the older style of animation because it can lend itself to some funny moments that newer animation doesn't always have. In all, I'm just really confused by the show. I like it, but I often find myself wanting more from it. I want it to push itself more than it ever actually does.

It was getting good but the more eps it has, the more bored I become...

[Irishchatter · 5/10 · 16 July 2018]

I have to say the jokes were spot on, both main characters are good, the voice actors were great and the story was quite ok. However I felt that it needed less characters to worry about as well as making the whole anime series that bit longer. Hey it may have needed it since mangas are longer then the anime itself but I think they shouldve cut it down to make it into a movie or have longer episodes of 5?

It is dissapointing that this funny anime is not part of my best lists but it needed to be narrowed down a bit to make it less boring then it doesn't need to be...