Animation: (9/10)
This isn't a major criteria for me, as I'm more interested in the characters. All I ask is that the animation isn't so bad it distracts me from the story. I did appreciate how they subtly exhibited the feelings of characters through facial expressions, the eyes , smart use of close-ups, and so on, which added a layer of emotional depth and complexity to the characters (Yakumo and Eri are prime examples of how such subliminal messages can be just as effective for a character as her actual words).
Voice-Actors: (9/10)
Strong cast with brilliant performances by the Harima, Eri and Yakumo VAs in particular. I'm docking one mark because Harima lost that bad-ass edge to his voice and dialogues(I agree with Shredder that they've softened him too much), but that's more the fault of the script than the VA who acts out what's given to him.
Editing and packaging: (6/10)
The transition from comedy to romance, main-story to side-story felt a lot more forced and awkward in term 2 as compared to the first season. Whereas before it all seemed to seamlessly flow together, now it doesn't feel integrated at all. You know when you're watching anime-original fillers, or when the main-story has been dropped for the side-story, or when romance has been put on hold for comedy. It lessens the enjoyment greatly for us fans who want to see progression of the main romantic storylines of the characters, alongside the other elements. For the mirror-side of my view, JarOfMayo feels that it was better to have such obvious distinctions between filler and main story, and comedy and romance. Well, I guess to each his own.
Storyline: (8/10)
If you really think about it, there were some huge developments romantically. In the first season, there were only hints of Flag in a few episodes, and little indication of Onigiri. Season 1 was almost exclusively focused on HarimaxTenma and TenmaxKarasuma. For a anime-only fan who didn't even know of other school-rumble factions before season 2, it was a rare treat to see chemistry develop of the Flag faction, and the stuff involving Yakumo's feelings in the last two episodes. Although I acknowledge more analytical reviewers' comments that there many flaws in the last 2 episodes, it still delighted the Yakumo fanboy within me. The introduction of Flag and Onigiri as serious factions was a major shift from the first season.
Now, the downside. First of all, despite having a strong outline, the execution of the main storyline left a lot to be desired, by introducing too much boring filler and trivial side-stories in between important events. With more effort, they could have kept the focus on main characters and the blossoming of Flag and/or Onigiri feelings going over the whole season. I've already incorporated it into the low marks for editing, so I won't cut the storyline marks too heavily for that. Besides, I really do feel there was enough of a story outline here to fill a season perfectly, if there was better editing and more judicious use of filler.
Comedy: (7/10)
Not much to say really. A lot of the gags weren't terribly funny or memorable, but by now I'm so familiar with the characters, I even enjoy that repetition. Its like when you have an absent-minded friend, and you have to chuckle each time he wears mismatching socks, because you've learnt to take his weaknesses as a comfortable, familiar joke. Similarly, I can't help but laugh each time I see Harima chicken out(yet again!!) when trying to confess to Tenma, or seeing the latest example of Tenma's astute observational skills
But that's just me........I can see where fresher humour would satisfy a broader audience.
Adaptation: (N/A)
Since I don't read the manga, I can't grade that. In fact, I really don't care much as long as I find the anime tells me a compelling story. Sadly, I'm FORCED to care when I see awkward transitions and fillers in the anime because they're short on manga material to work with. I'd rather have seen them wait a few more months before realeasing season 2 so that it felt more complete.
Either that, or I'd liked to have seen them make meaningful, anime-original episodes(NOT empty filler) that explored the feelings of the main characters as we saw in the last two episodes. The only problem is that the anime-writers don't have the required skill to pull it off smoothly and still keep it resonant with manga material, as proven by the lukewarm response that the last two episodes of Season 2 got from the fanbase
Overall: 7
Watchable and fun throughout(I didn't even get bored during the fillers), but the ad-hoc feel of the way the season was packaged and paced took away some of the impact of the main storyline.. For the anime-only fans of School Rumble season 1, I'd recommend watching season 2 and then the final season+OVAs. Otherwise, for those who follow the manga as well, they could probably give this season a pass and not miss anything of major portent, as others have stated in this forum..