This was my first taste of Great Teacher Onizuka and I admit when I first heard of it, well I did have reservations until a friend told me of it. So I went to watch the anime and you know what....I didn't regret it at all.
This is the series that genuinely captures the spirit of what the manga was supposed to be about, everything was toned down to actual better effect and also all the over the top humor in the manga was out of place in a serious story.
I really grew to like Onizuka and other characters that were to be introduced because Eikichi is such a great character he can a pervert but he does use help his students, genuinely cares about them and is willing to go out of his way for them. Extreme measures are always a last resort but the guy can get excitable and is capable of admitting his own wrongs.
Also in the anime I felt he was portrayed many times better then the manga. Because in this Onizuka and others were much more human and much was toned down and it didn't exactly follow the manga (which over the top and rubbish to good effect). Also Onizuka in this does not have a invulnerable body he is capable of bleeding and being injured, not to mention he almost dies in one episode.
If you're looking for at least practically invulnerable look at the GTO manga with Onizuka walking away from something that should have killed him or left an invalid.
Because quite frankly the GTO manga is terribly overrated, mind you it did spawn this anime which actually is better because everyone felt closer in this anime and there was a genuine air of friendship. Also unlike the manga it did not have too many characters, too many characters added made the manga confusing as well as trashy.
Also side characters were not underdeveloped in fact it did not neglect good characters like Julia Murai and Tomoko Nomura for instance it gave them more stories and the toning down I thought the toning down of certain things was a good thing.
Also some side characters that appeared in the manga not being in it at all was actually a good thing because either they were poorly introduced, poorly developed, did not have a good storyline and/or served no real purpose. In fact I swear quite a few of them only had the purpose of adding more characters, in fact the anime writers did the right thing and gave existing characters more stories.
As Bruce Lee said it best "Less is More."
Also the anime has none of the galling HYPOCRISY of the manga! In fact the manga Onizuka was a total hypocrite, who did his share of wrongs in the manga and yet never took responsibility for them, some guy with the viewpoint of 'You should take responsibility for your actions', eh?. Fujisawa did an extremely poor job of portraying someone with 'his own conscience' in the manga.
I think of all the GTO stuff I think this is the best telling of the story because they gave existing more characters more story rather then adding pointless arcs and new characters like the manga did.
Also there were no plot holes in this anime at least none I could see but there was plenty in the manga particularly in the final story arc of the manga there were plot holes in prior story arcs but that one had the most.
If you want a GTO TV series stick with the anime and I hope they might decide to remake the GTO Anime that's if they had time for a live one. If they do I hope they do as good job with that one as they did with this anime which actually surpasses its poor and over rated manga which quite sadly did not do its predecessors Shonan Junan Gumi or Bad Company any real justice of any kind.
The Great Teacher Onizuka anime was much more Great Teacher Onizuka then anything else, as it kept the nice healthy mix of comedy and drama. It also had a much more lighter air save in the places where it is a drama.
Onizuka is far more human and funnier, not to mention more convincing as a teacher, then his manga or his 2012 Live Action depiction. The manga Onizuka was just an pathetic, hypocritical, out of control and egotistical maniac with no regard for people's safety or how his actions reflect on other people.
While Dr. Doug Ross from E.R. didn't always think things through on how his actions would reflect on his colleagues, he always got his comeuppance if the situation called for it and always took responsibility. There were times he was frustrated with what was going on. Also Dr. Ross did have genuine good intentions which unfortunately didn't always work out for the best.
The manga Onizuka on the other hand never really took responsibility and was completely irresponsible, no matter what Fujisawa says and tries to spin his actions and behavior (and his own bad story telling and structure) that's a fact.
Fujisawa did a crap job in presenting what he wanted and Onizuka in the manga was no teacher, in fact Onizuka didn't even bother to teach his subject matter in the manga. In fact Onizuka in the manga was barely if at all focused on teaching. Fujisawa contradicted himself constantly throughout the manga.
The second best is the original Live Action Adaptation which starred Takashi Sorimachi and Nanako Matsushima. If you want to find the best GTO go for the anime or the original live action not the awful manga with almost no story structure, poor stories and character development manga or the lame live remake.
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