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Jun 5, 2013
I never thought this work would worm its way into my reading selection. I saw a recommendation for Onanie Master Kurosawa when I was reading some manga I was previously following, and I decided to check it out. The synopsis was interesting, so I decided to check it out. What I got was a 31-chapter extravaganza that was enjoyable to the downright end.
The story had a great pull on me. What I mean is that the beginning was so erratically different than the stereotypical manga, it made me want to read the whole thing. I mean, anyone would be intrigued/disgusted with the prospect of reading
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a manga about a boy masturbating in a girl's restroom. However, past the strange beginning lies a story filled with hope and tragedy. Each situation that occurs just has some special charm where when the end of said situation approaches, you just want to root for Kurosawa and how awesome he can be. Onanie Master Kurosawa has that kind of story that sucks you into a world of despair with a hero trying to swat it all away. That's the kind of story I want to read from every manga like this.
This series had a strange art feel to it. It might just be my own personal tastes, but I disliked the shading style of Onanie Master Kurosawa. The beginning didn't sit well with my artistic tastes. However, I began to appreciate the subtle details shading could bring to a manga such as this. I started to like things such as the facial features of characters. Most manga use fine pens to ink in lines and holes to create a face, and they do look beautiful. However, Onanie Master Kurosawa lacks that resolve, but still manages to bring emotion and life into each person. That's because the faces all have distinctive faces that display emotion better than detailed drawing could do. As such, the art style grew on me tremendously, to the point where I liked it just as much as modern day art drawings.
If there's one thing to love Onanie Master Kurosawa for, it would by far be the characters and character development. Out of everything I've ever read so far, this manga has showed me the greatest character development ever. The original cast was good enough, with Kakeru Kurosawa as a disheveled teenager with a multitude of problems, along with Aya Kitahara who shows an assertive demeanor in comparison to her public personality where she gets bullied by other girls. The list continues on, but Kurosawa and KItahara are the star players. As the manga continues and other characters become important in the story, both Kurosawa and Kitahara undergo the greatest amount of change I've ever seen in characters thus far. Kurosawa, an emotionless husk, learns about the people around him and changes for the better, whilst Kitahara treads on a downward spiral towards insanity. The immense amount of development these two characters get still awes me. I was rooting for Kurosawa the whole way, too, because he seemed like a great tragic hero to cheer on for. His ideology, though twisted due to being an introvert, gets a massive upheaval in the ending chapters of Onanie Master Kurosawa. I have never wanted to cry so much for such a tragic hero before. These all culminate into the greatest set of characters I've seen for now.
Combining all these facts together left me with a thoroughly enjoyable manga that well deserves a 10 out of 10. I seriously had a blast reading this manga. It well deserved a full score, for it intrigued me the whole way. The story had an interesting twist on the psychological genre that really made my day, since I like authors playing with the notion of psychology. It gives the manga a lot of material to work with, and Onanie Master Kurosawa certainly used it. The art might not appeal to everyone, and I understand if it doesn't suit people's tastes. However, after about 20 chapters in, you'll start to grow attached to the art style, if not earlier. The characters, by far, were the most amazing thing to come out of this series. I loved the development everyone went through, especially Kurosawa and Kitahara. The character cast was also great, but I feel the development wins out by a sliver. All in all, read Onanie Master Kurosawa. It's a great play on psychology that takes you into a mature world of middle schoolers and their daily lives and thoughts. If you were a middle schooler, you might just relate to the joys and pains of everyone in Onanie Master Kurosawa.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 18, 2013
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
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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.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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