[Manga] Doesn't anyone like GTO.

Great Teacher Onizuka Live Action - Best J Drama. Ever.

Originally Posted by Jdorama Synopsis on GTO - Live Action

Eiji Onizuka, a graduate from a third-grade university cum a gangster head, has always wanted to be a great teacher. An opportunity has came when a school is short of a teacher and he happens to get employed! Although his gangster status and attitude create lots of headaches for many, his warmth towards teaching gradually touchs them and gains their acceptance.

Understanding that this is primarily an anime thread, the only exposure that I have had with the GTO series is the live action series. Unfortunately I do not know how well the series sticks along with the manga or anime series for that matter, but I will point out and highlight some favorite moments from the live action and hope they correspond with the anime/manga.

Regarding the Live Action, Eikichi Onizuka, played by Takashi Sorimachi, nails the cocky and somewhat arrogant personality of the substitute homeroom teacher right on, even though I haven't had exposure to Onizuka's character beforehand.

The series itself is the sort of mix that hits you in the emotion where it hurts most. Onizuka at first comes off as a try hard playboy who can't score anything worth a job, a date, nor anything desirable. His first contact with principal makes him look like a total looser - round-house kicking Principal Uchiyamada Hiroshi in the neck.

In the live action series, Onizuka has got a lot of things to handle in his homeroom class. Everything from a schoogirl scandal, a suicidal boy, a principal whose always wanting to fire him,three very cunning and devious students who want Onizuka out for good, and last, but not least,

Spoiler:

a buyout by another school to merge it with a more prestigous school.

What's great about this series is Onizuka at first fights fire with fire. When they attack him, he strikes back. But as the series progresses, both him and his students start to mutually accept each other. It climaxes to a point where you really wish you had him as a homeroom teacher. No seriously, I was in tears at some points.

I've learned of quite a few Japanese actors through this series, namely Sorimachi Takashi, Matsushima Nanako (who stars in Ringu), Oguri Shun (Densha Otoko), and Nakao Akira (Yoshitsune). Takashi and Nanako are married in real life, as least that's what I last heard of them.

Full cast and credits may be found here on jdorama.

EDIT: Acutally, I'm lying, I did read maybe one or two chapters of the manga, up to the point where the first two students are caught by Onizuka trying to frame him for ....yeah...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Casually bumping this thread.

In response to my earlier post:

Originally Posted by Spatula

Understanding that this is primarily an anime thread, the only exposure that I have had with the GTO series is the live action series. Unfortunately I do not know how well the series sticks along with the manga or anime series for that matter, but I will point out and highlight some favorite moments from the live action and hope they correspond with the anime/manga.

After seeing the 43 episode anime series, and currently starting on the manga, I think the anime was far more fleshed out than the condensed television series. After examining the focus of where the anime series is, I’ve found that the live action focuses more on Onizuka himself and how he’ll survive and deal with situations, namely still staying in employment with Vice Principal Uchiyamada on his tail constantly. The threat of him getting fired was more real in the live action, where as it was used for a comical side track in the anime, which Onizuka’s future employment with the Holy Forest Academy the primary topic “discussed” between him and the VP.

It’s sad to say that the live action cut out now my most favorite character, besides Onizuka, which is Suiseiseki Urumi Kanzaki. She’s calculating, brilliant, and conniving, all at the same time, with a sense of humor for good measure. I think the only complaint I have with the anime is that the ending seems too abrupt. According to Wiki, the Okinawa trip would actually mark the half way point in the full GTO plot, where as with the anime series, the ending followed 2 episodes later after the “Confessions” episode (one of my favorite episodes) and it seemed to just “hang there”. This results in quite a few characters that come later into the story which never make it into the anime. Furthermore, Kanzaki’s secret is never explicitly fully revealed (besides the fact that she went to daily “tutoring” and the teacher got so upset at being unable to provide an answer to Kanzaki’s heavy hitting questions), which also the secret reveals why she has different colored eyes. Besides that, Miyabi also goes on a “classroom terrorism” crusade later on, which is also not covered in the anime nor live action.

I think the most surprising twist is what happens to Yoshikawa and Anko, something I never really expected, as I rewatched the episode where Yoshikawa is bullied to such an extreme where he decides to kill himself – twice. So that was an awesome way to tie up that mini-sub story.

At any rate, I hear that out of the 3 prongs of the GTO story, the manga is the most fleshed out (as expected) and should give more information and details into the lives of the various students.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Darksage, similarly, I was introduced to the GTO universe via the Live Action. While it's definately a good "stand alone*" series to enjoy, I find it doesn't take a good look at the micro-picture of the various students' troubles, besides Noboru's and Tomoko's, and finally Miyabi's struggles.

If anyone is interested in starting this series, I personally would recommend them to watch/read in this order:

1. GTO Live Action series
2. Live Action special
3. GTO Live Action movie
4. Anime
5. Manga.

This is my own personal preference, as you might get the gist of the issues with the live action, but the manga covers so much more, even more so than the anime.

*Stand alone meaning it doesn't require previous knowledge of the GTO story, and has its own beginning, plot, and conclusion.

Also, found some funny bloopers of the GTO Live Action.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by chato

For me it was like :


Also, keep away from the movie of GTO Live action. Not too good. o.o;

I'm watching it right now on youtube. It's definately NOT something you want to start watching, as you'll probably start to think the TV series sucks the same way as the movie.

And for those of you not in the know, don't worry if you're thinking the movie is a condensed version of the main plot - it's not. Basically it's Onizuka going to Hokkaido about a year since the events at the Holy Forest Academy and teaching there as a substitute teacher to a whole new class. This is a similiar idea to the live action special, where if I recall, he goes to substitute at a Japanese Catholic school.

For those of you who want to straighten out who's who (list of characters) in the live action drama vs. manga/anime, this is quite a nice little chart which does give some spoilers, especially in the love interest section, so be cautious.

Also, I have not read/seen Shonan Junai Gumi, nor Great Tomoko Oppai as of yet.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Memnoch, I think it's the GTO Live Action MOVIE that they hate, not the Live Action TV series. The first bit keeps to the manga relatively well, but then it quickly breaks off and puts several events somewhat "out of order", but when you watch it, it makes sense why it was done that way.

I was speaking idiomatically.

It's like how Kostaki described it. You can't care less about the new students, because their personalities don't stick.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Speaking of the manga, I'm reading up on some of the scanlations and some of the volumes are an EYESORE.

For example:

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS:

Can someone explain to me what the shitting hell is this colored piece of fuck? Well, I guess I'll just have to grin and bear it.

Now this is much better for my eyes.

MUCH BETTER:

Why can't we just get this for all the volumes? And no, I'm not inclined on spending over $250 (at $10 a volume) for all 25 volumes. Well, since the scans are free, I can only complain so much, or not at all.

FELIPE NO

The manga covers almost twice as much as the anime. You'll notice quite a few changes from the manga to the live action, obviously, and the ending is somewhat different (well quite different from the anime, I can tell you that), but all in all it tops as my favorite Jdrama, followed by Densha Otoko.

I like how Takashi Sorimachi (Onizuka) is married to Nanako Matsushima (Fuyutsuki-sensei) in real life.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by parKbench

...plus there's that GTO theme song that I just can't get out of my head.....

Poison, sung by no other than Sorimachi himself, is a great track. I'm still trying to hunt down that song.

Quote:

Shonan Junai Gumi

Yes, Shonan Junai Gumi was written before, however it didn't catch no where as near as the popularity of GTO.

Now, I really wouldn't mind buying the complete manga and anime set, seeing that the manga scanlations I normally get from stoptazmo are sometimes a total eyesore.

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That's pratically what it is, a side story of Tomo. I don't know if it's actual well, "canon" material in the GTO universe or just a fan doujin.

There's nowhere I can't reach.