I never wrote an anime review before. So far I've felt there was nothing that I could say that others, by some reason, never did. Perhaps other people might have said what I'm about to say, but I digress.
I am a College teacher, anime lover, and eternal procrastinator, who had GTO lost somewhere among a fairly big backlog. One day, completely bored out of my mind, I decided to pick something that a friend of mine recommended a long time ago. I read the synopsis, and I thought "hey, I am a teacher, and the hook sounds pretty fun (albeit generic to today's standards)". And so my journey of binge-watching began.
/Review\
Great Teacher Onizuka is something that I'd recommend to everyone. I'd do so because its setting is one of the few things that all of us can easily relate to. For at least once in our lives we were students. Some of us still are. Others are (fortunate enough to be/unfortunately) teachers. However, this is not a random school/slice of life ordinary anime, this is probably one of the best examples of how teacher-student relationship should be.
Ok, I'm not saying every teacher should be a rowdy over the top perv, but the reason why I liked this series so much is because of how the main character does everything he can to make classes fun, while taking responsibility not only for his actions, but also for his students'.
Everything Onizuka and the class 3-4 do contribute to the perfect tone of this story. Most of the times you'll want to laugh so much you'll try hard not to wake your neighbors up, but a few times you'll legitimately want to shed a tear leaving you no option but to hide from your family who won't understand why the hell you are crying. The story is not very elaborate per se, revolving around the people that partake in the daily activities of a private school, but that's actually one of its strong points. It focuses on character development and complex personal relationships between the students, parents, teachers, and the rest of the school staff.
Of course you have some very stereotypical characters, every anime has them, but GTO manages to enhance their features and make them actually matter, all the while contributing to a great dynamic between everyone involved.
The art, animation and even some of the gags are a bit outdated, but personally they didn't turn me off. The rest is so good that it compensates for some of its more obsolete features.
I'd address the sound, but it's one of those things that I hardly care about. I mean, if it's the seiyuu's contribution to the greatness of this anime, then I must emphasize that they did a great job. However, about the OP/ED, overall sound effects and music... heh... it's not my cup of tea, so I'm barely qualified to judge that.
/Verdict\
Well, as far as the theme, tone, character development, and ability to make you emotionally invested in what happens throughout the series, GTO is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best animes I've seen.
I don't usually rate many series with "+8 ratings", but GTO clearly deserves a 9/10. It doesn't get a 10/10 because the ending feels a bit rushed (it's common knowledge that it's a filler ending).
If you're looking for pure enjoyment, look no further than GTO. After all, he's is Eikichi Onizuka, a 22-year-old bachelor, ex-leader of a bike gang, and the best teacher there is!
