School Rumble 2nd Term ep.3

April 17, 2006 | 12 Comments

This is a pleasant conclusion to the battle between class 2-C. There are some funny moments but I think my favourite scene has to be Nakamura's flashback story towards the end of the story. Admittedly, the joke is reaching juvenile level but I can't help but laughing upon seeing the 'punchline', so to speak. If you're a shipper for a particular pairing, I think this episode provides a lot of ammunition for some pairings. Much to my surprise, however, the biggest ammunition is actually given to Tenma and Karasuma's pairing. I certainly never expected this given the fact that Karasuma used to be a one note joke in the first season. In this season, however, attempts seem to have been made to give both him and Tenma a little bit more personality than usual. As a result, despite not being a fan of the pairing, I can see why Tenma is interested in Karasuma.

Eri's butler, Nakamura almost 'nailed' Asou but thankfully for the boy, a sniper bullet distract Nakamura, forcing him to retread. The sniper turns out to be Itoko who decides to participate to even out the playing field. Meanwhile, Mikoto is being hunted by Yuuki, who's out there to represent the Band camp. When Hanai arrives to save Mikoto, however, Yuuki becomes hesitant because she seems to have fond childhood memories of herself and Hanai. In the ends, she asks Hanai and Mikoto to shoot her and since Hanai can't do the job, Mikoto decides to do it herself. At the same time, Karasuma manages to take out Asou and Suga and he also manages to off Eri, who is seen guarding the theatre base with Tenma. This causes Tenma and Karasuma to be in direct conflict with each other. Tenma, who knows how Karasuma and the others have put a lot of practice into the band decides to shoot herself with the gun. Karasuma, however, manages to stop her and uses her gun to shoot himself instead.

Hanai and Mikoto continue to fight off the remaining band members but just when they succeeding in offing their enemies, they are ambushed by Harima. Harima then shoots Mikoto in front of Hanai, prompting the other guy to scream "Miko-chan". The final battle is between Harima and Hanai and the winner turns out to be Hanai. Before Harima 'die', however, he tells Hanai that he understand his feelings in regards to Yakumo. In the taping room, it is revealed that both Itoko and Akira have been taping all of the battle on video. They even plan to have the film end with the shot of Hanai carrying Harima's 'dead' body. The next day, the class gets scolded by Kouriyama-sensei but thanks to Itoko's help, they get away with it. In the end, Kouriyama-sensei advises the class to go for both theatre and maid-cafe idea for the cultural festival. In class 2-C, students have been talking about a man who looks like Eri, causing the girl to be puzzled about it.

While Hanai and Mai try to encourage the other students to go with this decision, Tenma mouths off admiration for Hanai. This pisses Harima off and in retaliation, he decides to scream "Miko-chan" to suggest that there's a relationship between Hanai and Mikoto. When the school ends, Tenma masters a courage to ask Karasuma to walk home with her and becomes happy when he agrees to do so. The episode ends with Eri confronting Nakamura about his involvement in the class 2-C's Battle Royale. Nakamura apologises for it but he claims that the battle reminds him of his own experience in war. Back then, Nakamura actually saved a kid from a fire and encouraged the kid to be a maid just like the kid's mother. In the present day, Nakamura reveals the kid has indeed turn into a maid, albeit one that is probably undesirable by those who love their Maid moe and bouncy. Please meet Suzuki Masaru, a new type of maid that will ensure that those being served will want to go home right away.

Impression:

I am still laughing upon seeing the ending scene. It was so hilarious and juvenile that it's impossible not to laugh about it. It doesn't help that Nakamura looks as if he's really proud of the kid. Moving on to other characters, it was kind of nice to see a new spin on Karasuma and Tenma. I never expected the author to go serious on these two but it seems we are heading that way. I suppose despite being unusual, Karasuma is indeed a nice guy. Probably a lot nicer and less obnoxious than the rest of his classmates. It's understandable why someone like Tenma will fall for him. And as the series reveal more things about him, it's not hard to see that Tenma will probably end up getting what she wants after all. However, where will this leave Harima? I hope the answer is with Yakumo but the fact that he still can't forget Tenma is infuriating at the moment.

© memento 2003