School Rumble Ends (At Least Until School Rumble Z Starts)

Kind of weird how Karasuma’s not in the picture, but you gotta love how Tougu just scrapes in there at the back. You’re not part of 2-C! And neither are you, Yakumo, Sara and Lala! (But you are forgiven because you three are awesome).

I love School Rumble mostly for it’s comedy. It was one of the first anime I ever saw and to this day it makes me lauch out loud no matter how many times I’ve seen an episode. So as soon as I heard about San Gakki, I was in eager anticipation of th next part of the series. But imagine my surprise when I saw the first two minutes of the episode cover a HUGE amount of stuff I didn’t even realise had happened (as I hadn’t read the manga) and speed towards the conclusion of the whole series. So, rather than have absolutely no idea what’s going on, I decided to marathon the manga from when Nigakki ended.

And it was AWESOME.

The one and only problem I had with School Rumble is that the relationship developement, though it was there, was very slow. There were always little, tiny steps being taken; even the mangaka frequently put “one step forward” or “step by step in his comments” across the side of the page. But at a certain point, things change and really start moving forward.  Of course, in the final chapters, there should be a lot of developement and revelations, but even before that, when you think back to the start of the series, you notice the difference in development in the later volumes compared to the first one. It goes from steps to leaps and bounds (with classic School Rumble Misunderstandings, but still) and it’s really great to follow the process. You get kind of nostalgic looking back at the beginning of the series and realising that, though it took a long time, the experiences and events that most of the characters had undergone had really shaped how they ended up (though there are those who remain unchanged, such as Akira and many of the side characters).

What I found surprising was that when the series was moving away from comedy and more into drama towards the end, I really empathised with all of the main characters. Only then did I realise that following them through the first half of the year, where there was very little development, and seeing the numerous (futile) attempts they’d had at trying to get their love returned, as well as the arguments, heartbreak and misunderstandings that ocuured, created a powerful base for later events. I pretty much ended up rooting for every character by the end of the the manga, and I was sad that not everyone would be able to get that which they wished (especially poor, poor Harima). But that’s just not how it works. There’s a distinct sense that this series is targeted at older readers; the nostalgia of lookin gback at highschool memories and loves is evident as most would agree that people tend to romantiscise their pasts more often than not. However, this doesn’t make any the characters any less empathetic.

The decisions that each character had made by the end, especially Tenma, showed how much growth they’d undergone in a year (which really isn’t that long, if you think about it). Harima’s no longer a delinquent with no forseeable future, but an aspiring manga artist and Yakumo’s learnt to be more open with people and express herself and her opinions more. Makoto and Hanai have both realised that there is someting betweent them and Eri seems to be becoming less, well, tsundere in nature. Even Krasuma is shown to have grown; at times, you have to be a bit selfish and express yourself to the one you love despite what may happen to you that may take away your happiness. I never thought I would actuallly care about Karasuma (at all) due to his bnature throughout the series but the fact he wasn’t truly able to tell Tenma his feelings was kind of heartbreaking. But at the very least, it’s good to see everyone looking to their futures after all.

Overall, I felt that School Rumble ended well, but this is mostly due to the fact that a new series will be starting soon. They can’t just leave major events like Harima being Eri’s fiance and at the same time moving in with Yakumo completely open. I’m seriously hoping that they’ll develop upon that, but in the meantime, I stand by my thoughts that School Rumble is the best romcom anime (of the very few) that I’ve seen.

Bring on School Rumble Z!

She may not be the best of the bunch, but she’s just so ADORABLE!!!