Title - "Great Teacher Onizuka"
Alternative title(s) - N/A
Genre(s) - Comedy, romance and action

You keep hearing the reviews. You keep hearing your friends telling you to watch it. So, should you watch the live drama of "G.T.O." at some point later on?

That's simple. No. You shouldn't watch it later on. You should watch now. As soon as you stop reading this review, go on and see the first episode yourself if you haven't done so by now.

"G.T.O." came out in 1998, a year after the manga, on Fuji TV. There are twelve episodes, a special and a movie. Oh and you have to watch the series in that order. Just like the manga, it brings you the lessons of Onizuka Eikichi, who wants to become a teacher. His ways of teaching are always questionable, but you'd see results in the end.

As for side statements, there's not much for me to say. I heard somewhere that the last television episode had the highest viewer rating ever in Japan. (I wonder what's the result.) I'll just say that the way it ended, it seems to be true. The movie has subtitles as far as I know. Oh and as for the list of actors, the incomplete list is below. (I will fix this eventually. You bet I had some help. Major, major, major thanks goes out to JDorama for most of the entries, LoveHKFilm.com for the movie cast as well as some other stuff and Seiyuu Database for tasks that are hard for me to put it in words. ^^')

Sorimachi Takashi-san - Onizuka Eikichi
Matsushima Nanako-san - Fuyutsuki Azusa
Kirari-san (Does anyone know her full name?) - Mizuki Nanako
Kubozuka Ysuke-san - Kikuchi Yoshito
Ikeuchi Hiroyuki-san - Murai Kunio
Nakamura Aimi-chan - Aizawa Miyabi
Tokuyama Hidenori-san - Yda Kenji
Yamazaki Yta-san - Watanabe Masaru
Oguri Shun-kun - Yoshikawa Noboru
Kuroda Miki-san - Nomura Tomoko
Fujiki Naohito-san - Saejima Ryji
Nakao Akira-san - Uchiyamada Hiroshi
Mabuchi Erika-san - Shirai Chikako
Shirakawa Minami-san - hashi Motoko (?)
Shirakawa Yumi-san - Sakurai Akira/Sakura
Hayashi Chika-san - ?
Kond Yoshimasa-san - Nakamata
Katase Nana-san - Yamaguchi Rika (Special)
Shimizu Chika-san - ? (Special)
Asami Reina-san - Moe (Special)
Hosokawa Shigeki-san - ?
Kitamura Sichir-san - ?
Kimura Tae-san - Miyuki
Enjji Aya-san - ?
Tanaka Rena-san - Katsuragi Ayano (Movie)
Kasagawa Hideyuki-san - Raku (Movie)
Fujiwara Norika-san - Kiwatani Kaoru (Movie)

Fun - 10

What can I say? The drama is that fun to watch. Do I need to say more?

As each episode goes by, you see the characters develop more and more. Each student does realize that Onizuka is not just a teacher. He's a true friend. Not only that, but the characters have more of an easy-going feel that can't be felt as much in the manga. I don't know why, but that's how I feel.

As for flaws, there's not much for me to say. I had some fun moments in the special and movie. It's that, well, you don't always get the same feeling from the television series. The displays of development in those two segments don't show their full potential. Plus, they can make a standard viewer lost if he or she doesn't watch this greatness in the required order. Well, I'll give them credit, given the time they had.

Life - 10

Watch it, watch it, watch it! The series was that great. The series is that great.

Story - 10

What I like is how the basic layout of the series is shown. You have your trouble-making acts. You have your character development. Yeah, I can't see what's wrong.

The names are different, but the same spirit is there. That's all that matters. Ne?

Audio - 10

"Poison": Sorimachi Takashi-san not only did sing the opening, but he also worked on the lyrics. Adding on, each bit of music does fit the moods of the series. The overall flow of the series just seems so right. I can't seem to put it into words.

Presentation - 10

The surroundings stay true to the series. You have your arcade scenes. You have your roof scenes. Yeah, this sure has a lot of life indeed.

Overall - 10

Eh? You're still reading this review? What are you doing? If you have not done so by now, hurry up reading it and then watch the live drama! Thank the people who told you about it later on.

+

The surroundings, the execution, the actors, the spirit, what's not to like?

-

The charm has some sort of hold in the end, but it's not as strong as I had hoped for.

Date of creation - 3/26/04

Last update - 8/10

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