Source
Plot
GTO is the story of Eikichi Onizuka, a nasty ex-gang leader and a depraved man. His only ambition is to become the best teacher of all time, and he has forgotten everything else in his life. The only problem is that he isn't interested in teaching at all! He simply wants to become a teacher so that he can marry one of his students and have a loving teenage bride.
Eikichi ultimately becomes the homeroom teacher of Holy Forrest Academy's class 3-4, after some struggle. Eikichi quickly understands, however, that this is not a usual class of students.
This class is made up entirely of misfits who routinely push their teachers to resign. But, as we can guess, Eikichi Onizuka isn't one to give up easily!
Eikichi Onizuka
To further grasp the type, let's sketch up a card: He is a motorbike rider and a member of the Shnan pair Oni-Baku, who spent his school years alternating between motorcycle raids and a thousand other things found in Shonan. After seeing an old teacher that meets with a young and beautiful student at a love hotel, he travels to Tokyo in GTO and decides to become a teacher at the private school Kissho, which also serves as his home. He is an avid smoker (you will almost always see him with a cigarette on his lips) and enjoys playing video games with the money he earns. Thanks to his past "story," he develops a teaching philosophy out of any plan, most likely illegal and surely unconventional.
Source
His determination is amazing, but most of all, it is overpowering! The students will go to any length to have him fired, just like so many other professors before him, but with no result! He is passionate about what he does and the good he can do for these youngsters, and he never stops! Onizuka is unjust, violent, and has no concept of legality, but he is far superior to any professor you may encounter in real life.
An open critic
Despite its ironic, burlesque, and apparently demential tone, GTO is nothing more than a denunciation of Japan's asphyxiating and competitive society, as well as an attack on a school system that severely undermines children's psychophysical well-being by subjecting them to abnormal workloads and forcing them to compete with one another in order to outline a glimmer of hope in their future. Onizuka, who appears to be the least qualified person to teach children, is the voice of the impending need for a paradigm shift. Of course, he does not have huge cultural resources, but he will teach the boys not to have a superficial view of things, of people, because every one of us is the bearer of our own truth, and if society thinks you an idiot, a reject, it is itself in wrong.Cons
Having to mention some possible "flaws" of the manga & anime, some critics were skeptical about the style of some of the panels: the style, in general, refers to that type of shonen-manga that has (in Japan) as target readers men, possibly established in their job, and not really kids (but this is not a unanimous opinion). This kind of approach, which is exemplified by Onizuka's frequent "exaggerated facial expressions," does not sit well with certain critics, who find it more offensive than amusing. However, because such graphic choices always highlight moments of intense humor in the story, most people do not find it unpleasant or out of place; rather, they have grown accustomed to it to the point where, when certain comic situations are about to occur, the viewer anticipates them with pleasure: they are the moments of laughter on our side of the screen! Furthermore, even for those who find the situation unpleasant, it is difficult not to make us a more specific instance after viewing 5 or 6 episodes.
Another source of criticism for the production is the treatment of some very "dirty" concepts. For example, the first double episode contains various situations that appear to "lean" towards the masculine audience who thinks like Onizuka.
However, in the authors' defense, it must be mentioned that this was probably the most appropriate approach to portray Onizuka correctly, and as long as the proposed situations are not taken too seriously, the whole thing is still extremely entertaining. The rest of the series, however, does not continue in the same vein, never losing sight of the series' underlying ethos and eventually addressing a variety of actual (and interconnected) social issues.
Conclusion
The series is really entertaining and makes you reflect on several issues that are a current burden for the scholastic system. GTO can be enjoyed in my opinion both with a lighter mind, not giving too much attention to the more "serious" stuff and laughing at all the crazy situations that happen, or trying to have a more serious approach and reflect on important thematics while having fun. It is a great anime, for sure in my top 10 of all times.Rating
9/10.0
If you enjoyed the post, please leave an upvote and/or a comment, and feel free to follow me (at the link below) if you want to see my next anime review.
➡️ hive.blog/@aurzeq ⬅️
. Keep up the fantastic work
