GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka

The story of a man who took seven years to graduate from a third year college with high aspirations of teaching is not only going to grab you, but it will literally steal you away for twelve hours as the characters endear themselves to you.

As a manga story, the characters are comical, to say the least. The lead, Onizuka Eikichi (masterfully played by Sorimachi Takashi), applies at Musashi Seirin Academy only to be rebuked by the Head Teacher Uchiyamada. After an altercation with students that result in Onizuka physically attacking the Head Teacher, does he impress the school's Chairman, Sakurai Akira (played by Shirakawa Yumi), enough to be hired on as the homeroom teacher of Year 2-Class 4 (considered to be the worst of the worst). On his first day he meets the "Madonna-sensei" of the Academy, Fuyutsuki Azusa (played wonderfully by Matsushima Nanako), and the romantic angle is set into place. A condition of his employment at the Academy is that he must carry with him at all times, a written letter of resignation, to be submitted should he cause trouble or break any rules.

The tightrope-without-a-net plot makes for some very interesting episodes. But as you watch each episode and gain an insight into Onizuka-sensei, you cannot help but smile, laugh, gasp, and live vicariously through him. Watch and bond as he wins over his class, one student at a time. This is a highly recommended series!

If you enjoyed this, check out "OverTime" with Sorimachi along with "Syomu ni" alum Esumi Makiko.

When I first saw the cover of this anime I thought it was some kind of action/adventure type anime, and the "GTO" title definitely threw me off. It is in fact a comedy, about a reformed gangster turned school teacher Onizuka. The story basically revolves around Onizuka's early career as a school teacher and how he manages to overcome obstacles given to him by students and faculty members. I'd say its a light-hearted anime, with a few dirty jokes and sexual innuendos here and there. I definitely recommend it to any anime fan who wants to take a break from sci-fi (or hentai, whatever you watch more often) and is looking for a good laugh. I give this one a 10/10.

I was sort of a sceptic when I first heard of this show. The manga series is highly entertaining and full of surprises I was wondering if the TV series can deliver the same punch. And Yes it did. Onizuka, the main character himself, is same kind of badass as he is in the manga, oh, the bilingual (English) version is available for those who are learning Japanese and vice versa.

I will have to say that the TV series is very original. I was hoping that it would follow the manga story line but it didn't, which is a good thing in my opinion, because after the 1st episode, I left my manga aside and I was able to cast away my expectations.

Everyone episode has a point, or moral value that which Onizuka was able to stir up in people's heart. A value in all of us once but long forgotten. But Onizuka, being contrary to societal norm, was able to prevail and bring people back to who they are, via, of course, unconventional means of course. I can not recommend this series enough. But if Japanese is not your first language and you are not fluent in Chinese characters, I then recommend the manga. Watch it, or read it, you won't be disappointed.

This series is based on the Japanese manga, "GTO" aka "Great Teacher Onikuza". I must say the TV series certainly did the manga justice and Sorimachi brought the lead character of Onizuka to life. The series is immensely funny and it is filled with many examples of Japanese school life.

Onizuka who has been a deliquent all his life is suddenly thrusted into the role of a teacher which is his lifetime dream. The concept of a gangster type person being a teacher is already comical. Though it is funny, GTO has some serious moments as well. When he first started out as a teacher, the class he was in charge of were all against him but slowly as the series progressed, he came to earn their trust and teach them valuable lessons on life they would never have learnt in the classroom. For anyone who's after a good laugh and a peek into the Japanese student culture, I recommend watching this great series.

GTO seems like another semi-hentai ecchi series for 14 year olds at first glance but it definitely is not. While this is definitely a man's show (women tend to not get it) it isn't dumb or overly crude. Onizuka is a great teacher. Beginning as just a pervert he evolves quite quickly into a radical who believes that the students shouldn't undergo the boredom and humiliation he did. While full of weird, sex driven scenarios, GTO doesn't turn into a porno and uses them for laughs rather than sick titilation. I can't express enough how much fun this series is. It's currently my favorite anime and I recommend it to all anime fans and especially the non-fans who think anime is just giant robots and fighting. (Did I mention there's a bit of fighting here too? But I digress.) 10/10