GTO (1998)

First of all I was really surprised about how graphic this drama is. I have never seen that before and am wondering if they weren't that strict back when this was airing. ;)

The acting was really great and it looked natural and believable. The characters were likeable and realistic, at least most of them.

There were some things that I couldn't agree with (for example what Onizuka's police officer-friend was doing all the time), but they didn't matter that much.

I like how the story was going slowly, but the character development was really fast and how beautifully the friendship and relationship between Onizuka, the students and Fuyutsuki was portrayed.
I also liked that all the characters had their own background story so you could feel with them.

I agree with this being a must-see. You hardly notice that it's an old drama and when you occasionally DO notice it's pretty funny. ;)

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Great Teacher Onizuka is one of those dramas where you're gonna feel the heart of the story. You're gonna feel touched no matter what. Especially, especially, especially if you love school dramas. If you love school dramas and haven't seen GTO yet, get on it. It's a classic and you're definitely missing out.

Each episode focuses on a student with issues, and by the end of the episode of course they come to love and appreciate Onizuka as their sensei. Onizuka is not a traditional teacher in the slighest, instead he takes a vested interest in his students personal lives, and really helps them resolve their issues. The students of course find Onizuka very untrustworthy in the beginning (as it goes with most school dramas), but they realize this teacher is a godsend.

I really loved the cast, for the most part. And the music is so catchy, I catch myself humming it every once in a while. Everyone is gonna have their own favorite episode, as I definitely have mine. When I think of it, it still chokes me up a little bit.

Some parts of this drama, however, frustrate me massively. I'm not gonna name them because they'd be spoilers, but just know the good outweighs the bad in this drama.

GTO is a must-see. It's a classic, and if you're a jdrama lover, you definitely don't want to be caught saying you've never seen this. I didn't rate the rewatch value very high because I could not marathon this drama as I did my first time around. I absolutely recommend Great Teacher Onizuka to jdrama lovers, especially those who love school dramas.

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God I loved this I swear i could re-watch it 100 times and not get board. I cried at the ending. The story is very nicely done and I don't feel like i have to question anything, from character motivation to what was going on, the student are vary likable and you sympathize with them and you want them to win. The acting is wonderful Sorimachi does a wonderful job as Onijuka being silly and very likable while also maintaining the same seriousness that Onizuka has when he is protecting something he cares for, the friendship in this drama seams very real. The music didn't stand out as much to me but with that i'm nitpicking and right now i am re-watching it, it also ties things up perfectly in the end.

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Another oldie, a true classic. I can't say it is my favorite, nor that I understand why it is the most popular J-drama ever, but I enjoyed watching it, and I met good actors that I have never seen before (except for a couple of them).

The guy who played Onizuka was the best. He WAS Onizuka. He looked silly but cool; nice but a bit tough; handsome but naive. I love his bickering with Fuyutsuki-sensei; they had a good chemistry (and then I read that they are actually married in real life!). I would have never thought that it would be romantic to get the condom of a virgin guy (condom that he is keeping for years) as a form of love confession. But it was!

In many ways it is similar to Gokusen, like:

- both are naive, virgin teachers that get tough when the situation requires it;
- both are pretty much rejected by their students at first; but eventually they win their hearts thru a series of events;
- both of them have the head-teacher after their positions... meaning, the head-teacher is trying by any means to get this new teacher fired;
- both are very charismatic and very much loved by their friends.

But also, they have their differences:

- Gokusen is more of a familiar-drama; while GTO is more mature. There is a student in underwear, trying to seduce him; there is an attempt of rape and gang-rape (probably); the students in GTO are MUCH MORE angsty. Why, in Gokusen the boys never said "I want to kill Yankumi", while Miyabi and Murai said this several times. Guh, these guys took their "hate" too personal, one of the things I did not like too much in GTO.

- On the other hand, what I liked more in GTO was the way Onizuka won their students over. It was less forced than Yankumi (who, hello, once she worked extra-time to get money for her student who owed a lot of money!). Onizuka was not over-the-top in his actions; he was subtle and once or twice he fooled around, but it was funny and made the situation less dramatic.

Taking aside the education (which is the most important thing for a student, but that is irrelevant in a dorama), GTO was fun to watch. Definitely a must.

Special mention: to the handsome police friend of Onizuka, played by the handsome Fujiki Naohito. He was so young here and so pretty. He is definitely like the wine: the older, the better. His role is not as tiny as I thought: he was a good friend but also a pervert (with that angel face!).

2nd special mention: we have a very young, tiny Oguri Shun. One of the first students to surrender under Onizuka's spell. He was being bullied (the worst kind) and it is funny because once he grows up, he will never again play bullied boys but tough guys. He looked like a 12-years-old boy, although I think he was around 15. But well, all his classmates were 20-years-old playing 16, so I guess that is why.

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The student voices should be heard

This was fun. It's fast paced and interesting. I started watching it randomly and I finished it in one day.

The story
It's a school story that revolves around different characters. Pretty much all of them are bad in some way and Teacher Onizuka changes them.
He does things on impulse but all of them turn out good at the end. There is a pattern in the story, something bad happens, Onizuka first doesn't care, then he does something random and the problem is solved and never addressed again.
Many things are glossed over, the fact he went to a love hotel with a student (even though he did nothing, it's wrong), he got stabbed and that was never mentioned again. He says he respects women but keeps looking up their shirts.
The fun part of the story are students problems and how they slowly start to trust Onizuka.

The characters
All of them suck. I guess that's what people are, bad and good at the same time but here the teachers did some disturbing things.
The kids were bitter and I understand that but I can't understand the teachers.

Uchiyamada - always plotting something and wanting to be a principal. He is annoying through the whole drama.

Nakamata - he wouldn't be that bad if there was not that one scene where a student accidentally sends him a love letter and he is happy to get it. He even imagines kissing the student. Yuck.

Kotani - always putting other women down. She keeps talking how women should marry and have kids like that's the only thing they should do. It got really annoying.

Hakamada - he seemed fishy from the beginning, he was always bubbly and a typical stereotype of PE teacher in anime but he is actually shallow. He wants the students to tell him their problems but when one said no, he beat him up. His whole personality was a facade.

Teshigawa - full of complexes. He puts sleeping pills in Fuyutsuki's drink and wants to sleep with her. He is a stalker and a creep. There is no excuse for his disgusting behavior.

Yes, these characters suck and I had to vent but watch the drama for the good characters (Onizuka, Fuyutsuki and the students). Also there are many heartwarming and cute moments.

Onizuka - he wants to help his students and to be a good teacher. Even though he does some stupid things and he doesn't think much about his actions, sometimes someone like that is needed.

Fuyutsuki - she is a good teacher, she tries her best even though she can't do much sometimes. It's sad to watch her be helpless when she wants to help the students and Onizuka. She is my favorite character.

Onizuka solved some of the students problems through extreme measures thet could lead to disasters (but didn't) and I understand why everyone likes him. He pushes them forward.
There was parent drama, bullying, too smart for school, some fights, a lot of interesting stuff.
It wasn't really dark, there is a lot of comedy and funny faces.

Realistically there are a lot flaws in this drama, so why did I give it an 8?
Well, I liked it. It had a nice message. The student voices should be heard and the teachers should protect the students.

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APOTEÓSICA

Ex motero quiere ser profe y se mete en una academia privada. Como le cae mal al equipo directivo pero si a la que contrata, le contratan pero si hace algo mal, lo echarán. Le asignan la peor clase, y montan un motín para que lo echen, y tendrá que ir poco a poco haciendo que todos los alumnos vuelvan a clase. Con su labia y extrañas maneras, conseguirá ganarse a los almunos.

En cuanto a trama, si es cierto que al principio se hace algo repetitiva, ya que la estructura es similar, pero en los últimos capítulos literal que no sabes qué va a pasar con absolutamente nada. Hay amor, hay intriga, amistad, valores...Tiene de todo.

El cast me parece muy bueno, el personaje principal es fantástico, se parece muchísimo al del cómic sin caer demasiado en la caricaturización. Los demás pecan un pelín de eso, pero la trama lo compensa todo.

Aún siendo una película con bastantes años ya, ha envejecido super bien, no se ve pasada de mona (lo unico las tecnologías un poco, pero nada reseñable). Los escenarios están mimados, se nota que fue una producción cuidada y con un buen presupuesto.

La recomiendo 100%

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Haha I love this drama!! :D :D It was hilarious, heart warming and inspiring.

I gave it a 9/10 cause the ending wasn't very strong (it wasn't bad at all..just a wee bit not-so-strong) and I didn't like the first 2 eps much...actually I almost dropped the drama thinking I won't like it. Luckily I didn't!!

But other than that I absolutely love the drama and the cast!! ^-^ Sorimachi Takashi was brilliant as Onizuka! *-*
And the chemistry between Takashi and the female lead (who also happens to be his real life wife!!) was perfect...:D
Loved it! *-*

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I prefer this to the recent version. Maybe it's because the 1990s version is so different from the current trends in schools where you wonder if there's any limits on students at all in many cases. I agree with the other reviewer that Onizuka's character is based on an amazing bond with his students, admittedly larger than real life. My usual lament: if only teachers were like that in the real world! Mine certainly weren't. Yes. it's sometimes over-the-top (on one occasion definitely surreal), but mostly during the course of the story the background is believable and GTO's remedies may be bizarre but not absolutely impossible. I personally prefer my school dramas to have realistic backgrounds, not twenty-somethings dressed in school uniforms. Their problems are different from school students'.

This is fun but also not avoiding some serious issues. Despite the fantasy, there is no quick fix to solving the problems during the course of the series. So this GTO pushes and leads but it's the students who make the decisions in the end. But there's plenty of comic relief in the continuing battle between the stuffy professionals and Onizuka. It's great when he gets the better of them despite their constant plotting. You almost feel sorry for Uchiyamada and his co-conspirators trapped in their small worlds. Can't say much about the ending for fear of spoilers. Let's say it goes back to its manga roots in terms of fiction departing from real life. The particular twist which is what really brings things out right is frankly unbelievable. But that's manga. The ride is probably better than the arrival.

I agree it can lift the spirits, yes it's corny as someone else said, but there's no harm in that sometimes. the tendency these days is for these dramas to get way too heavy. GTO is a positive force, I like the passion of his character. Sorimachi Takashi is also not only an attractive character but a charismatic person to my mind.

Story not that original but with plenty of twists and turns so you don't lose interest - I watched it right through, with no "on holds", so it must be good. Acting very good, with larger than life Onizuka and the others performing good character acting, not to mention the kids. Music OK for the background. Re-watch definitely. There's enough in most of it to attract without the ending being important.

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Inspirational

Everything about this drama was amazing especially my guy sorimachi man he was phenomenal. So many characters played there part in this drama but I’m inspired by this onizuka character (acted by sorimachi) in the way he carried himself through out this drama, even when tough situations appeared in front of him he always had this freedom of heart without a thought of pressure, seriousness or anxiety within himself, going on ahead with no hesitation.

This teacher Abandon so many rules in the school system risking his position as a teacher several times. Whereas in reality there’s not many out there who would truly do that for there students. I won’t spoil too much since there will be people who will check it out.

Trust me, if youre keen to watch this drama? you either will be filled with satisfaction or maybe it’s not your cup of tea lol but the lesson you can take from this drama is huge only if you carry on with this journey til the end of the story.

Truly legendary

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