Great Teacher Onizuka

Also Known As: GTO

Genre: Comedy/Drama

Format: 43 Episodes

Allegiance: Studio Pierrot

Director: Abe Noriyuki

Vintage: 1999-2000

Intelligence Agency Report by: Djudge

Enter Onizuka Eikichi: a twenty-two year old third-rate college graduate, karate team captain, notorious former motorcycle gang member, and a man on a quest to become Japan’s greatest teacher! Even though Onizuka first sees teaching as just another opportunity to pick up young girls, he later comes to exhibit the makings of a great mentor. Now, in order to put his money where his mouth is, Onizuka is given authority over the toughest class of delinquents in the prestigious, yet troubled, Seirin Academy. Can GTO rise to the occasion and reform his troublesome class?

Field Agent Report by: Djudge

Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio

8.75
9.00
8.75
8.00
8.50

Overall

9.00

(not an average)

First and foremost, GTO represented one of the funniest stories that I have ever had the great pleasure of watching. Its successful blend of Onizuka’s notorious lechery, tough love, and bull-headed determination, his greatest weaknesses and strengths, breathe a vibrant life into this series. The seamless transition between dead-serious drama to sidesplitting humor has rarely looked better than in GTO. Yet with these accolades comes a set of small imperfections that just barely manage to scuff the polish of this excellent series.

For the most part, animation quality in GTO manages to remain satisfactory throughout all forty-three episodes, with the opening sequences (coupled with some fan-favorite opening themes) exhibiting some of the best that this title achieves in the art department. The episodes' visual content themselves usually do not display any awe-inspiring sequences, but they don't hurt the series either. While viewers will usually remain impartial to the quality of the animation, there may be a slight schism when it comes to the character design. The overall design of the cast is quite unique, and while this may be a plus, the facial expressions throughout the series, especially Onizuka’s, can be considered a bit crude or even lacking for certain artistic tastes.

Moving on to the series’ plot content, GTO manages to excel in a wide spectrum of different genres. First and foremost, this title reeks of great personality. The title character exhibits all the qualities of a typical man his age and it is because of this particular trait that he can relate to the experiences of his students. However, his vices are what lend fuel to the jokes for most of the series. Exploring and building on Onizuka’s character isn’t the only theme touched on the show’s forty-three episodes. Thanks to the diverse cast of students that Onizuka eventually tames over the course of the title, GTO is able to give its main character a rest when it comes to performing in the spotlight. This further enables the series to avoid drying out its humor before its conclusion. Now that we are on the topic of the conclusion, it has to be said that GTO's biggest fault had to have been its seemingly premature ending. Instead of slowing down towards its final episodes, the show opts to have Onizuka tackle one last obstacle in the last three episodes. The end result feels like a rushed and sudden labor that can be likened to running into a pole after a lengthy joyride. It may leave a slight bitter taste in your mouth, but by the time you’re through, you would have already seen a great anime.

Great Teacher Onizuka is must-view title for any anime comedy fan. Its main character sports a dynamic personality that can only be truly appreciated by watching the series. When all’s been said and done, you just can’t deny that you didn’t have a good laugh multiple times over the series; GTO, a bona fide anime gem that at times just can’t have its brilliance ignored.

Field Agent Report by: Erigion

Plot
Characters
Impact
Visual
Audio

8.00
9.00
9.00
8.00
8.75

Overall

8.25

(not an average)

High expectations were placed upon the GTO anime series since it followed the extremely popular manga and one of the most watched live action shows in Japan. For the most part it reached those expectations. However, as with most things that have high expectations placed upon them, it ultimately fell short of them. The anime did what the manga did so well: it blended comedy and drama almost perfectly. Combine that with well developed characters and above average writing and it’s easy to see why people love GTO so much. However, an abrupt ending and average production values hold back what would have been a great series.

The best part of the series is easily the characters and their interactions. Onizuka’s personality easily lends itself to slapstick comedy and hilarious conversations with his students, other teachers, and friends. But while his simple and direct personality creates comedy, it also allows him to easily confront and solve the problems other people are having. Of course Onizuka does so without regard to customs, regulations, or even laws, which creates more hilarious situations. But a teacher is nothing without students, and boy does Onizuka have students, ranging from a genius with an IQ of 200 to a boy who gets beat up by girls. Each of them has a different personality and back story with no overlap, and each requiring a different extracurricular lesson from Onizuka.

For a show based so heavily on drama and comedy, good voice acting is an absolute must. Thankfully, GTO has great voice acting. Sadly, the voice acting is pretty much the only technical aspect that stands out in GTO. Most of the soundtrack is bland, however one song I must mention is the second ending “Shizuku” by Okuda Miwako which truly shines. The other major technical aspect, animation, also comes up short. Aside from my usual gripes about lip synching, there were too many stills and reused frames.

But what hurts GTO the most is its rushed ending. The entire ending is squeezed into two episodes with no build up towards the climax, nor any cooling off period. After spending 40 episodes getting to know the characters I felt cheated that they were leaving so quickly. Of course a rushed ending automatically brings other problems with it: loose ends are never tied up, side stories are never finished, and it just feels like the series is incomplete.

That being said, Great Teacher Onizuka is an above average series with a good mix of comedy and drama. Onizuka is a refreshing character in a genre filled with generic cookie cutters, his antics will amuse you, and his lessons might even teach you something. He truly is a Great Teacher.