Review Date:
Reviewed by: Azure
Released by: Tanoshimi
Publishing Country: UK
Author: Jin Koyayashi
Age Rating: 13+
Page Count: 192
ISBN-13: 9780099506522
ISBN-10: 99506521
Summary
Kenji loves to take things to extremes, now he’s growing his beard in a desperate bid to get Tenma’s attention. The trouble is Eri is always in the way, and she comes bearing scissors. The foreign students are also causing trouble, and it looks like class 2-C and class 2-D are getting ready to do battle.
Review
This volume of School Rumble is a mixed bag of shorter stories, it opens up with Karen and Kyosuke. Karen has finally got Kyosuke to take him on the date he promised her, but the trouble is she also promised to participate in a wrestling tournament . Luckily Tenma is on hand and offers to take her place in the wrestling match, she also provides Karen with three emergency date bags to open when things don't go well. It's a surprisingly funny chapter and touching too as Karen does her best to impress a downright rude Kyosuke.
The manga quickly moves to Kenji as his all consuming love for Tenma and his impulsive behaviour lead him to gatecrash a mock wedding. He then decides to grow out his beard because he gets impression Tenma likes them, and of course gets totally obsessed. Trouble comes in the form of Eri who in a fit of impulsive behaviour of her own manages to cut off his treasured facial hair, the real fun comes as the other girls force Eri to try to make it up to Kenji and neither is pleased about this one little bit.
This is another cracking volume of School Rumble which is always at its best when opposing characters are really forced together so that the sparks can fly. There are a few ideas in here that don't work the two page about Mexican Lala is just to short to have any real effect and there's not real punch line in there, we can only hope this is some kind of clever foreshadowing.
This volume of School Rumble whilst enjoyable is more of the same, whilst it's immediately enjoyable it's large range of in jokes mean that it's probably best to start at the first volume. Silly and fun.
Rating: 7/10