School Rumble: Ichi Gakki Hoshuu

Did you left School Rumble wanting to see a tad bit more about some secondary characters? A little glimpse into their personalities, what they do on their free time perhabs? Or maybe you just wanted to see the same old main cast members we already know and love getting into new and exciting adventures?

Be it whatever it might be, let me assure you: School Rumble: Ichi Gakki Hoshuu has you covered for what it is worth.

From Lala, the brown-skinned and somewhat temperamental Mexican girl, working in a burger restaurant alongside his long-term rival (altough that relationship might be more one-sided than anything) Ichijou Karen to ... Yoshidayama Jirou, that broom-headed brat explaining via flashbacks his "tragic" backstory and raison d'être that leads to him to challenge Harima Kenji for the top spot of meanest criminal on the school (to various degrees of sucess, I might add) and even a little segment taking place some 10.000 years before the main events of School Rumble back in the Prehistoric Era, how cool is that?

Now, apart from some mild fanservice on episode 1 we don't really get to see anything that wasn't present on the main School Rumble series, so I would denote as Ichi Gakki Hoshuu as a "non-essential to watch" to any new fans that might stumple upon this because, as I already stated before, unless you are particularly interested in some extra content regarding secondary characters, fanservice or caveman shenanigans, you won't really will find anything here that might catch your interest.

But still, don't let the fact I nominated this OVA as "not particularly interesting" disuade you completely from watching it; the fanservice on the first episode was pretty nice and we got to see some pretty funny moments between Harima and Sawachika, and those are always nice to see, aren't they? And the little prehistoric segment on the second chapter was also very cool with the alternative interpretation of what School Rumble could be about as well the way the directors ended-up tying the whole thing-up back to the main series. Also, the narrator at the beginning of the whole thing was none other than Kobayashi Jin himself, believe it or not, so if you wanna know how the creator of this beautifull franchise sounds IRL then this is your chance, lol.

Overall: not essential to watch but still nice enough to give it a chance. Go ahead, give it a shot, it isn't the worst idea one could come with, no?

These two OVA take place between the first and second season of School Rumble, and it's a compiled of short stories about certain things that were mentioned in the first season.

Now let's talk about it.

Warning----- SPOILERS BELOW------
The secondary character: This segment is a story about our favorite character, the greatest guy on the planet, Yoshidayama, the most interesting and badass character, right? well, not even close of it, I don't have anything against him but he has appeared in like 3 episodes of the first season so there's no emotion with him but Jokes aside, it's a pretty decent short-story, that gave us some good ... information for the next season. but there's nothing special.
Overall:7,5/10

Yakumo gets a friend: Now this is a good segment, it shows another side of Yakumo, a lonely side, that is caused because of her "power" of read the mind of boys that has love emotions for her and it causes her to feel sad, but a girl appears and help her with a problem and they start a friendship.
Overall:8,5/10

Tenma wants so sit near to Karasuma: this is another good segment, it's really simple and funny, the class makes a draw to select the seats of the students. and the best part is Harima wanting to seat near to Tenma while she wants the seats near to Karasuma.
Overall:8,5/10

Yakumo is confused: Yakumo has found herself in a dilemma, she doesn't know how to fell about boys, it's a weird feeling for her, and this segment is good, but, I thought the ghost part a little bit too much for the plot.
Overall:8/10

A bath in the thermal waters: Ok the best segment of the episode, while Imadori the perv wants to see the girls, hanai tries to stop him, and Harima hears Tenma talking about him and he comes closer to try to hear, but Imadori Take down the wall and he and Hanai fell off in the water, and Eri sees Harima holding the wall while his towel falls, omg a laugh so much of the expression of the character and the clime is so good, the jokes are in a perfect rhythm. Everything works in this segment
Overall:10/10

Episode 2:
Yoshidayama Vs Harima: Yoshidayama thinks he can take down Harima cause he thinks Harima is weak compared to before, but what he doesn't know is that Harima is only in that way when he is with Tenma, and when Tenma leaves the class Harima just beat him up when he tries to seat in Tenma's chair, a short, funny and well-made segment.
Overall:8,5

Can Lala smile?: Yes, she can, but not near to Imadori, This is a good and well-made segment, that expands the background of Lala.
Overall:9/10

A weird prehistoric segment: it's not bad but, the story is fine and there are a few good jokes but it's too long, it could be a 5min episode instead of 10min, it's probably the weakest episode, and the purpose of this segment it's only explained in the next segment, oh and the 3D is really weird.
Overall:7/10

Yakumo likes a boy: If in the previous segment I wish it was short, this I wish would be longer, cause I want to see more of it, this is the perfect episode and the most that contribute to the main series. Yakumo And Harima work perfectly together, while Harima is so full of energy and agitated, Yakumo is calm and patient, this segment develops more of their relationship and gave us an answer, Yakumo finally loves someone.
Overall:10/10

The first episode is uninteresting, except for the fanservice. The shorts in this episode are neither connected nor entertaining, as the characters are less fun to watch. Although Yakumo deals with an out-of-body experience, there are only a few interesting moments, and she seems disconnected from everything. The first episode's standout moment is when the class gets new seating, and everyone battles for a spot next to their crush.

The second episode is funnier and features an entertaining tale about Lala and Ichijou working at Was Hamburger. Imadori tries to tease Lala by asking her to smile, prompting her to repeatedly attack him in front of ... the patrons. Also, this episode contains a peculiar storyline that dominates most of the episode. The tale tracks the characters back to prehistoric ages as they tackle an unruly, wooly mammoth. The character connections captivate the audience, particularly Harima's attraction to Tenma. Moreover, this installment features a magnificent segment indicating progress in Harima and Yakumo's relationship. The time they share is one of the most delightful since he's unobservant, and she's contemplating whether she's interpreting too much into it.