Great Teacher Onizuka

Let me start off by saying I'm a huge fan of GTO's manga, the source of all its zany, raunchy material. It's easily my favorite manga of all time, and because it is such, I have high expectations for the anime. Perhaps my expectations were unreasonably high, but regardless, I wasn't nearly as happy with the anime as I was with the manga. Story: 5 The anime did a somewhat good job at adapting some of the earlier chapters of GTO. They were definitely outstanding in the episode where Onizuka dresses up as Doraemon (and that's as far as I'll go for spoilers). However, it allstarts to go downhill during the middle of the series. A lot of this has to do with the manga running longer than the anime, but they could've either ended it with a "to be continued" instead of finding an improvised way to wrap up the anime. Art: 6 The artwork feels too flat to me, and that's saying a lot coming from someone that's read the manga. The times where Onizuka's face contorts according to his emotions are pretty spot on, but the rest of the artwork doesn't inspire as much awe and even looks washed out in some frames. On another note, the openings and endings of Onizuka deserve a high score on their own. Very stylish and aesthetically appealing, they totally gave the right kind of feel to what the Onizuka anime should've been. Sound: 2 in English, 8 in Japanese The English dub is atrocious. Even the great Steven Blum feels miscast as Onizuka. This series was definitely meant to be heard in Japanese. Onizuka's seiyuu is easily another class of its own, as he brought life to the character better than anyone else. You can also tell he's enjoying it as he goes. The OST of the series, however, is another thing holding this score back. A lot of it feels very generic and hammy. The melodramatic moments in the series look even more hokey with the OST playing in the background. (all of this excludes the sublime opening and ending theme songs, by the way) Enjoyment: 6 It had its moments, but coming from the manga, it was a little harder for me to enjoy. So many things were missing, and the mood the anime was trying to convey didn't quite match what the manga achieved. Viewers that didn't read the manga beforehand will enjoy this series more than I did. Overall: 6 Not much to say that hasn't already been said. Onizuka's opening videos and music were some of the most creative and inspiring works of art I've seen. The rest of the animation left more to be desired. GTO will still entertain casual anime fans, but if you're a manga reader like me, you'll cross your fingers and pray they do a reboot to GTO to give it justice, much like they did to JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

For the past few decades, schools have been plagued with higher student dropout rates, increased juvenile delinquency, and child disobedience. Increasing numbers of students care less for their future and education, resorting to violence, gangs, drugs, and sex. Things that degrade society. What is the purpose of an education then? To excel in the academics, attend a prestigious university, and find a well-paying job. But what happens to other students who are not capable of achieving the expectations that society has placed on them? Simple. They are left behind. They become subjected to delinquency and are frowned upon by the upper class of thewell-educated society. Are the students to be blamed? Or, perhaps, are the teachers the ones to blame? “The relationship between a student and a teacher is a sacred one.” Taking place at the reputable Holy Forest Academy, the Great Teacher Onizuka, a 22 year old virgin and former mischievous bike gangster, arrived to save the school from these problems! GTO attacks the education system in Japan. Onizuka, with a flawed and shady record, makes him the most unqualified teacher. But the bureaucrats were not seeing past the true Onizuka. The story shows Onizuka avoiding being expelled by his students, and eventually solving his students’ problems, which cover life lessons and society problems in a subtle but deep way. Each and every character's problems are issues that you can relate to as a student and in real life as well. There are occasional clever surprises and cliff hangers to keep the viewer engaged in the show. GTO also features comedy, often sexual and perverted. Ranging from skirt chasing to sexual fantasies, the perverted comedy will occasionally give you a laugh. The stupid, ugly faces that Onizuka usually makes will, initially, disgust you, but you will eventually find it quite humorous. As common in anime, especially during GTO’s time, some of the intended comedy is not at all funny and turns out to be cheesy and barfing, “smh” comedy. But there were times when I caught myself laughing out loud at the things Onizuka did with his students. Occasionally, you will cringe at Onizuka’s unorthodox teaching and discipline methods such as the torture of his disobedient students. The sexual themes are also part of the complaint. Those sensitive to these kinds of materials may not be able to see past it and automatically declare GTO trash and fanservice. This was the best way to describe Onizuka though. He does not hide any faults. He explicitly reveals them. He boldly walks with the words “pervert”, “pedo”, “gangster” on the back his shirt not worrying about how others judge him. In spite of his imperfection, Onizuka perfectly exemplifies the true man and teacher. Onizuka is basically Hester Prynne from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter but in a far more humorous and contemporary way. The OST was relatively good, with some really memorable soundtracks. The OPs and EDs were nice to watch and listen to as well. I was not fond of the sub, most particularly because of Onizuka's voice actor. Try out the dub for the legendary Cowboy Bebop Spike's voice actor, Steven Blum, who does Oniuzka's dub. The art/animation was pretty decent for its time. GTO suffers from technical problems such as occasional bad writing. Some arcs ended abruptly or had a random filler episode in a few arcs. Some dialogues were poorly written, making intended emotional scenes sound pathetically dumb and extremely cheesy. Overall, you will find GTO enjoyable and fun to watch. With the frequent comedy, deep and emotional scenes will give a change in pace and catch you by surprise. It was a show that revealed the problems in a diploma-based society and the issues of the current education system. It’s silly. It’s stupid. It’s deep. It’s fresh. So remember, if you think you can expel tor outsmart teachers, then you haven’t seen Great Teacher Onizuka!

I was a little skeptical at first about this anime. I usually avoid the comedy/slice-of-life genre, but this anime came highly recommended by an old friend and boy am I glad I listened to him. GTO has to be one of the most well made anime package of its time. The story is somewhat cliche: troublesome high school students with peculiar skills or traits trying to rid a teacher who's trying hard to to teach them a lesson in life. However, there are some very clever surprises and plot devices to keep the viewer poised for more. My only complaint is therather hashed season finale (Ep. 42 and 43), but that was to be expected since those are the only two episodes that didn't diligently follow the manga. The animation is adequate for its time, but that isn't the reason why you should watch this. Both the opening and ending soundtrack for the series is great. Although, neither are as good as the GTO Live Action theme, "Poison". The reason why you should watch this is simple: Onizuka Ekikichi, 22 years, virgin. This anime is all about character, rather a character. Truly GTO is ineffable in that sense. Watch the first episode and tell me if you're not immediately enamored by Onizuka and his ridiculous ways. While there is a certain moral message to the anime, watch it for the sheer fun value. It will make you laugh, that's for certain, perhaps it might even make you cry. The live action series, I'm not ashamed to say did make my eyes wet. The live action series (12 episodes) is quite good as well but there are certain things one can have liberty with in an anime that is not possible in live action. Overall, I highly recommend GTO. Not just the anime but the entire franchise, manga, live action TV series and the movie. Great Teacher Onizuka Banzai!

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes