School Rumble, Volume 1

SUBTLETY IS FOR WIMPS!

She . . . is a second-year high school student with a single all-consuming question: Will the boy she likes ever really notice her?

He . . . is the school’s most notorious juvenile delinquent and he’s suddenly come to a shocking realization: He’s got a huge crush, and now he must tell her how he feels.

Life-changing obsessions, colossal foul-ups, grand schemes, deep-seated anxieties, and raging hormones–School Rumble portrays high school as it really is: over-the-top comedy!

Grade 7 Up–This is a typical romantic comedy complete with love triangle. Tsukamoto Tenma has decided to take her fate into her own hands by writing a letter to her crush, Karasuma. He had been planning to transfer to another school, but when he gets the letter, which Tenma has neglected to sign, he is intrigued enough to stay another term. Ironically, this is the most interesting thing he does. He is oblivious to Tenma's affections and doesn't seem to deserve them. Enter Harima Kenji, the school's notorious bad boy, who has a crush on Tenma. She is unaware of his feelings for her. Readers are never really sure who will win in the end and sometimes their loyalties are shaken as the story progresses, but it's all part of the fun. The plot works well in manga style, and the inevitable cliff-hanger will have patrons clamoring for volume two. The art is fairly typical, but the characters are easy to distinguish and have interesting styles. Harima Kenji is cool with his black leather and sunglasses, Karasuma is boring in his bowl haircut, and Tenma's antennalike pigtails add to her busy-bee, always-flitting-around persona. This is a great title for both male and female manga fans.–Melissa T. Jenvey, New York Public Library
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Unrequited puppy love fuels many laughs in newcomer Kobayashi's romantic comedy debut. Second-year high school student Tsukamoto Tenma has a crush on Karasuma Oji. There's just one problem: Oji is transferring schools in two days. So Tenma leaves a heartfelt love letter in his locker, which she forgets to sign. Oji is intrigued enough to persuade his parents to let him stay at the school for a year while he figures out who his secret admirer is. Plenty of time, right? Not for Tenma. Crippled by her own lack of common sense, and oblivious to juvenile delinquent Harima Kenji's equally unrequited pursuit of her, Tenma makes with the meet cutes in an escalating series of attempts to get Oji to notice her. Kobayashi has obvious affection for his characters (even supporting rolÇes like Tenma's mildly telepathic younger sister), which helps keep the hijinks funny even when they reach their most embarrassing—and with bird costumes, Machiavellian seating schemes, and cases of mistaken identity, embarrassment abounds. Kobayashi shows his versatility by, keeping Tenma's scenes cleanly rendered, while using looser cross-hatching to give Kenji's scenes a grittier, crime-story feel. Occasional references to unseen rapists may push the tone a little too dark, but otherwise, this series should hold much amusement for teens. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.