GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka

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.

This is actually a very good series. It follows the same line as the manga and the live action, though it drags it out a little more. Good if you want more GTO, bad if you're not so interested in all that filler.

The live action version was the most popular TV event in Japan's history, and remains so to this day. The drama it invokes when you think of this normal guy, whose life wasn't easy, who didn't become a teacher (mostly) to hit on girls in fukus, taking on these kids, and making them see that he, even if nobody else agrees, does not think they are trash.

He doesn't always assume that the adult is always on the right side of the argument, and he doesn't assume that these kids are automatically going to do wrong by him. However, he doesn't take their crap, and will not hesitate to call out his gang or dangle you over a roof to get his point across. Its a brilliantly done series, and one I VERY highly recommend.

Unbelievably good series starring Takashi Sorimachi as Eikichi Onizuka, a guy who was a former biker gang leader became a teacher because he had no other job offers. His future wife Nanako Matsushima also stars in this series as Fuyutsuki Azusa an English teacher in the same school.

Students in his class are outcasts in one way or another, and in the beginning sees him as another teacher who only cares about rules and formalities and tries to kick him out. Actually, Onizuka is far more "out there" than any of the students, and starts to win their respect one by one.

Romance between Onizuka and Fuyutsuki starts to form, as Fuyutsuki begins to realize that Onozuka is a truly unpretentious character that she couldn't find amongst posers that she used to date. What's interesting is we're probably seeing a real life romance between them unfold before our eyes, as they will be married in real life 3 years later.

Takashi Sorimachi and Nanako Matsushima looks great in the beginning, but as the episodes wears on, you can see them getting tired, and it starts to affect, fun of watching the series. Also, the heroics of Onizuka starts to become cliché, as they starts to run out of fresh ideas.

Based on a comic GTO by Tooru Fujisawa, the series does good job translating the characters and episodes from the comic that inspired it.

Although not well known in the U.S., this is one gem of a TV series that's worth seeing.

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.

First thing I want to point out that this is the not the anime that several people commented on. This is the drama, two completely different works. Both are based on the same manga, but relatively different. GTO (the drama) is excellent. Its one of the few Japanese dramsas that I actually get excited about. While at times it can be a bit cheesy, the actors in the series are so incredibly loveable that the exploits of this troublesome teacher are so touching that it makes this one of the most addicting dramas I've ever seen.