GTO
GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka

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I've hunted this manga for quite a while but there were always problems with the order. The translation was poorly done because it had a lot of spelling mistakes in it and failed to use proper use of the English language in some scenes.

That aside, this is by far the best manga I have ever read. I am stunned, the concept is so simple but so well thought out.

Well let’s start with a quick introduction to the story. Eikichi Onizuka is a 22 year old virgin and ex-gang leader of the dreaded motorcycle gang “Oni-Baku”. He’s a street punk with piercings and bleached hair, a ... graduate from a fifth rate university and was captain of his karate team. Not exactly what you would call teacher material. Despite all this Onizuka manages to convince the principal and gets a job as a teacher, he’s assigned to class 4 who are notorious for having driven every homeroom teacher to insanity. However Great Teacher Onizuka isn’t such a pushover and he’s determined to win them over one by one. Onizuka stumbles from one mishap to another, saving kids from jumping off rooftops, reuniting them with their parents, just making a difference. Though this all may seem very trivial, this is the most amusing story I have read.

Moving on to the art, the art is very detailed and nice to look at. It’s got that 90’s drawing style that I appreciate very much. However if it weren’t for the characters different personalities you’d have trouble telling them apart. Especially the girls all have somewhat the same face, and the only way you can tell them apart is by their hairstyle, which can be a bother sometimes. Overall there are quite some scenes were someone is standing on a rooftop looking over the city at dawn. It’s these scenes that really get you into the art. Of course there are the infamous many faces from Onizuka that are just hilarious and make up for a lot.

About the characters, I really like the characters. I’ve fallen in love with a few of them. But one thing bothers me.. They’re supposed to be 14 years old, yet they’re so darn evil. I remember being 14, I wouldn’t go as far to torture a teacher as they would, then again they have their reasons. Moving on to the character Eikichi Onizuka. Quite simply he’s one of the best characters ever created. He’s an inspiration, he’s cool, funny, stays true, and above all he’s human (though this can be debated). Onizuka is one of the most instantly likeable characters you will ever read about. If I were ever to sit down and have dinner with any character real or fictional, it would without a doubt be Eikichi Onizuka. Though I wouldn’t be willing to pick up the bill.

I cannot remember the last manga I enjoyed this dearly, I hold this manga close to heart and it is definitely one that I won’t be forgetting. Hell I’ll just say it, I’m an Onizuka fan, and you could be too. Take it from me, reach deep in those pockets and get this manga, you won’t regret it. And while reading you might even learn a thing or two from the greatest teacher in all of Japan, Great Teacher Onizuka.

I can only use one word to describe this manga, OUTSTANDING! This is definitely must-read manga for all shounen manga lovers!

The story is nevertheless to say, more than great. I didn't talk this blindly, though. This manga can describes what is going wrong with the education system in this era. The story can makes you more mature by understanding the society more deeply than ever. If you are thinking 'manga should not be too realistic' right now, then you are definitely wrong. While it describes how serious the problem is, it also slips many sense of humor (most of it is perverted one :P) and ... many reckless acts in it (The main character is ex-biker anyway, so nothing to be freaked out). Its not like what you will get sleepy while read this manga though. Takes some example, Onizuka saved his student from suicide attempt by jumping off the building. While it is seems awkward at start, but if it seen at another view, would it great if we got teacher like that? I'll describe the characters lately, so we jumped to artwork for now first.

The most appealing art styles in this manga is the unique face expression of the characters itself. I can say it is unique because no other mangaka (as i know) 1used the style before. Their excessive expression will make some of readers laugh (myself too) even in some sort of serious situation. While it is unique, it is also, you know, realistic. (go and grab a copy of GTO and you will know what i mean)

I can't deny that this manga have many well done character. The reason I can't give a high score to the characters design is THEY HAVE DIFFERENT HAIRSTYLE BUT SAME FACED CHARACTER IN IT especially male character. It bothers me when I see Murai and Kikuchi have same faces and the only things that differentiate them are glasses, skin colour and hairstyle! The problem in characters is just appearance, though. But good things is all the characters has their very own personality.

The enjoyment level is really high. You can read this manga all the day without getting bored even once. For my case, I've been read this manga in front of my monitor (I downloaded it) for nearly 6 hours non stop for 2 days. All the arc are not repetitive, and the most outstanding is you can't predict what will Onizuka do. You can predict the plot but not action by the Onizuka, so it may make you laugh until drops under the floor!

My overall rating is 10 out of 10! You can download this manga at www.mangaspot.com. This is where i download the manga episodes. The server is a bit lag though but guess you have to be patient with it. If you know a better website, share it with me!

This is my second reviews for manga, so it is not really good. But I will do better jobs next time! And thanks for reading my review!

This manga, I can safely say, needs to be on everyone's "must read" list. I've been recommended this manga by a friend, and I tried it out. This was a refreshing change of pace from other popular manga out there. Maybe it was the more realistic setting, or it could have been the great arcs in each plot development. Whatever it was, I fell in love with this manga.

To begin, let's start with the story. To be honest, I personally thought it was a bit slow in the beginning. The "teacher" portion of GTO doesn't actually happen until a bit later on. However, once Eikichi ... Onizuka, the star of the show, becomes a temporary teacher for the infamous Class 3-4 of Holy Forest Academy, things start picking up. Each situation in the beginning reveals more about Onizuka's way of dealing with things; no logic, just go with it. This philosophy keeps the plot going, and every situation is eventually resolved. Class 3-4 becomes nothing for the world's greatest teacher. The struggles and bonds portrayed in the story are downright inspiring and addictive to read about.

The art was not to my liking in the beginning. I can forgive that, though, because in this modern age, we have tools that could make art more better looking than the 90s. Still, the art style was really good. I was laughing so much at the hilarious faces Onizuka can make when he's in a pickle. The art also got better in quality, which shows me that Tohru Fujisawa really knows how to improve his skills. By the end of the manga, I felt that the art was nothing short of amazing for the early 2000s. To put it simply, the beginning art was a bit disappointing, but it picks up and looks really good later.

I love the characters portrayed in GTO. To be frank, I hate it when a manga uses a bunch of characters only once in the entire runthrough, because there could be more development with them. GTO does not disappoint, with nearly every character being important to the story. However, amidst the character roll call, only one stands above, and that is Eikichi Onizuka. He is the pinnacle of the "likable protagonist." Even with a violent temper and strength befitting Hercules, his set of morals and life lessons help him become the greatest teacher ever. The greatest thing about him is his view on everything. Even as a 22-year old adult, he still acts like a kid. Normally this would be frowned upon, but it helps him connect with Class 3-4 and outsiders, forming deep bonds with them as he helps solve their past problems. Whether it be suicide or massive destruction, bloodlust or trauma, Eikichi Onizuka is the man for the job. This side of him, along with the simple brain of his, makes Mr. Onizuka one of my favorite manga characters of all time.

Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this manga. The beginning, to be honest, was a bit slow for me. I had to read through some number of pages before getting to the juicy tidbits of GTO. As I read, I got more and more sucked into the world of Class 3-4 and Onizuka. Even when I thought it couldn't get any better, it did. The second half of GTO was simply outstanding. The last two major story arcs were the highlights of the manga for me. This is just great to me, because the exciting stuff boils down in the end and not the beginning. If GTO had a graph describing its climactic moments from beginning to end, the line would rise and fall, each time getting higher and higher until the very end, settling down to a satisfying end. For the whole roller coaster rider known as Great Teacher Onizuka, I had a blast.

To recap, GTO is an amazing manga series that can be picked up by anyone interested enough. You have got to read it; it's hilarious, dramatic, heartwarming fun contained in 25 volumes. It's inspiring in many ways; the series deals with so many life lessons that you yourself could potentially use practically. Who knows what could happen; honestly, this review is my first, and I wrote it because GTO is simply too awesome and outstanding to be ignored. Who knows; by reading this manga, maybe you could get a few pointers from Great Teacher Onizuka himself.