Spoilers Ahead!
Chapter 3 synopsis: After class assignments have been determined, seat assignments are next and will take place the next day. Tenma, of course, is anxious, as she wants to be close to Karasuma. Later, at home, Yakumo doesn't quite understand her sister's anxiety, stating that seat assignments are based on luck. Afterward, Tenma decides to show off her (lack of) psychic power. The next day, at school, she contemplates the best possible seats within Karasuma's vicinity (from most preferred to least: behind him, next to him, diagonal behind, diagonal in front, directly in front). However, he is seated in the back corner, thus, sadly for Tenma, limiting her options. She can only draw one lot in order to obtain her desired seat (in front), and she does, lot 6, in fact, but she finds someone else sitting there. The unnamed student tells her that she drew lot 9 as shown my a marking showing such, and she is assigned to the front and center seat, much to her dismay. Fortunately for Tenma, the unnamed student asks to switch seats with her, citing poor eyesight. Tenma is overjoyed at being seated by Karasuma.
In a bonus segment, Harima managed to convince the faculty to let him advance to the second year. Not only that, he was also placed in class 2-C, same as Tenma. During seat assignments, he notices Tenma in the front row, and he asks another student to switch with him, citing his own poor eyesight, but is shocked to find the student who switched with her. He quickly changes his mind, noting his sunglasses, and decides not to switch, and returns to his original seat, next to Tenma in fact. He promises himself that he would not cause anymore trouble.
Chapter 4 synopsis: After the class and seating assignment ordeals, Tenma goes to the library to read up on love, ranging from romance novels, to love psychology, to...The Art of War by Sun Tzu (misread by Tenma as Sonko). After reading a passage of knowing one's self (from aforementioned title), she describes herself, average/normal in looks and style, below average/substandard in everything else. Although she feels down, Tenma decides not to give up. While reading further, she has trouble understanding one phrase, and asks someone for help, that person being Karasuma of all people, shocking her. She then decides to ask his help on pronouncing the word "beloved", but her answer comes from someone else, frustrating her. She picks up another book and asks him a question regarding what a beekeeper's extractor is for, hoping to hear him say "honey", but she shows him the wrong piece of equipment in the book, and Karasuma answers "Chaff", sending Tenma into a mental abyss of despair.
Review/Analysis: Short form review: gag manga, it does have a subtle plot, however, I do like the direction. Long form: Kobayashi-sensei in chapter 3 further establishes Tenma's character, she tries to use psychic powers on cards, which isn't successful, but she can bend spoons. He also demonstrates the Tenma is a very lucky person as shown in the seat switch with the unknown student. Kobayashi might be setting up future plot lines with the characters in their current seats. Harima didn't make an appearance outside of the bonus page, but he somehow managed to get promoted to the 2nd year. This segment is all comedy in showing his seating ordeal, with him ending up next to Tenma after his own switching antics, which I found interesting. Chapter four appears to be designed to give Tenma additional characteristics, for instance, we now know she is not athletic or academically proficient, in addition to her determination already established. There are a few comedic moments here, all of which are interesting, showing the wrong book chapter to Karasuma, or misreading the kanji for Sun Tzu (Chinese pronunciation) as Sonko (Japanese pronunciation) thus showing why she thought The Art of War was written by a woman (ko indicates a female Japanese name). The downside of this chapter is that it does not accomplish anything other than providing additional characteristics for Tenma, and reinforcing her determination, the situation, while realistic, seems very gaggy. The same goes for chapter 3, involving both Harima and Tenma with the seat assignment gag, but the upside is that it appears to be a set up for future plots and gags (they aren't always bad). I do look forward to more, but I would like to see something more plot oriented, as opposed to gag oriented; ideally, I would like to see a reversal where the gags are secondary to the plot, but as I mentioned earlier, I do like the direction so far. Let's see what happens in chapters 5 & 6.
Until then, God bless.
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