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GTO (1998)
Aug. 5th, 2015 02:00 pmA high-school comedy drama with an ex-delinquent-turned-highschool-teacher.Sorry, he is not a conventional excellent teacher, but his unique way of being with students causes changes in the minds of students. How? Very instinctively and naughtily. (asianwiki)
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.
The first episodes I watched them once after the other. But the last 4 were more difficult. First, it was Miyabi. Too dramatic. What was all the about the guy and his father who "killed bugs" to show the audience they were dangerous and heartless? I had to roll my eyes on both occasions. Also, and this is something that bothered me since episode 1, this school hired the worst teachers ever. Sure, Onizuka is a great sensei (as in, a good friend, a good adviser, a reliable hand, etc.), but his education was below from his students! What could he teach? Fuyutsuki was English teacher, but she could not even understand a single question. And the other teachers... wow, one worst than the other: one is a possible rapist; another is a student beater; another is a wimp who can't get respect from his students; another is a bitter bitch, another is a blackmailer.... Ugh, this school... But all of them redeemed at the end. Yeah, right. Even the director who was stabbed at the back forgave the awful head-teacher.
I don't care Miyabi's reasons for her change; she bullied one of her classmates (the poor boy was covered in bruises) and no one said anything! She bullied almost all her classmates, but all of them welcomed her with open arms once she was "sorry". Right.
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.
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.
The first episodes I watched them once after the other. But the last 4 were more difficult. First, it was Miyabi. Too dramatic. What was all the about the guy and his father who "killed bugs" to show the audience they were dangerous and heartless? I had to roll my eyes on both occasions. Also, and this is something that bothered me since episode 1, this school hired the worst teachers ever. Sure, Onizuka is a great sensei (as in, a good friend, a good adviser, a reliable hand, etc.), but his education was below from his students! What could he teach? Fuyutsuki was English teacher, but she could not even understand a single question. And the other teachers... wow, one worst than the other: one is a possible rapist; another is a student beater; another is a wimp who can't get respect from his students; another is a bitter bitch, another is a blackmailer.... Ugh, this school... But all of them redeemed at the end. Yeah, right. Even the director who was stabbed at the back forgave the awful head-teacher.
I don't care Miyabi's reasons for her change; she bullied one of her classmates (the poor boy was covered in bruises) and no one said anything! She bullied almost all her classmates, but all of them welcomed her with open arms once she was "sorry". Right.
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.
My rating: 8/10
