''Great Teacher Onizuka'', officially abbreviated as ''GTO'', is a Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa. It was originally serialized in

Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...

's manga magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga magazine published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...

'' from January 1997 to February 2002, with its chapters collected in 25 volumes. The story focuses on 22-year-old ex- member Eikichi Onizuka, who becomes a teacher at a private middle school, Holy Forest Academy, in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. It is a

standalone sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to Fujisawa's earlier manga series ''

Shonan Junai Gumi is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa. It was published in Kodansha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 1990 to October 1996, compiled in 31 volumes. A 15-volume edition was release ...

'' and ''

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

'', both of which focus on the life of Onizuka before becoming a teacher. Due to the popularity of the manga, several adaptations of ''GTO'' were created, including a 12-episode

Japanese television drama , also called or J-drama, are television programs that are a staple of Television in Japan, Japanese television and are broadcast daily. Format All major Television networks, TV networks in Japan produce a variety of Drama (genre), drama serie ...

running from July to September 1998; a

live-action Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or ...

film directed by

Masayuki Suzuki Masayuki Suzuki (鈴木雅之, ''Suzuki Masayuki'', born September 22, 1956, in Ōta, Tokyo) is a Japanese singer best known as a former member of pop group Rats & Star (previously called ''Chanels''), and for performing the opening themes for ...

and released in December 1999; and a 43-episode

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series produced by

Pierrot Pierrot ( , ; ), a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte, has his origins in the late 17th-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris and known as the Comédie-Italienne. The name is a hypocorism, diminutive of ''Pierr ...

, which aired in Japan on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

from June 1999 to September 2000. A second live-action series aired in Japan during 2012, and two more in 2014. A sequel manga series, titled '' GTO: 14 Days in Shonan'', ran in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from June 2009 to September 2011. Another sequel, titled '' GTO: Paradise Lost'', began in ''

Weekly Young Magazine is a Japanese weekly anthology magazine published in Tokyo each Monday by Kodansha. The magazine started on June 16, 1980, and is targeted at the adult male () demographic. It was published bimonthly (under the title ), on the second and fourth ...

'' in April 2014. Both the anime and manga were licensed in North America by

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...

. The anime series was re-licensed by

Discotek Media Discotek Media is an American entertainment company based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, focused on distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. History Formed in 2005, Discotek primarily focuses on licensing retr ...

in 2012. The manga is licensed by

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, US, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 1st 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and man ...

. The manga has had over 50 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series in history. In 1998, ''Great Teacher Onizuka'' won the 22nd

Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...

in the category.

Plot

Eikichi Onizuka is a 22-year-old ex-gang member who wants to lose his virginity. While peeping up girls' skirts at a local shopping mall, Onizuka meets a schoolgirl who agrees to go out on a date with him. Onizuka's attempt to sleep with her fails when her current "boyfriend", her teacher, shows up at the love hotel they are in and asks her to return to him. The teacher is old and ugly, but has sufficient influence over her that she leaps from a second-story window and lands in his arms. Onizuka, upon seeing this display of a teacher's power over girls, decides to become a teacher himself. He earns his teaching degree, just barely, at a second-rate college. In his quest, he develops a conscience. This means taking advantage of impressionable schoolgirls is out of the question, but their unusually attractive mothers are a different matter. He enjoys teaching and, most of the time, he teaches life lessons rather than routine schoolwork. He hates the system of traditional education, especially when other teachers and administrators have grown ignorant and condescending to students and their needs. With these realizations, he sets out to become the greatest teacher ever, using his own unique brand of philosophy and the ability to do nearly anything when under enough pressure. He is hired as a long-shot teacher by a privately operated middle school in

Kichijōji is a neighborhood in the city of Musashino in Western Tokyo, Japan. It is centered on a compact commercial area to the north and south of Kichijōji Station, with a full range of shops, restaurants, bars, and coffee houses. The area is a popu ...

to tame a class that has driven one teacher to a mysterious death, another to a nervous breakdown, and one other to joining a cult. He embarks on a mission of self-discovery by reaching out to each student one by one and helping each student overcome their problems and learn to enjoy life. He uses methods that are unorthodox, illegal, and life-threatening, yet he manages to succeed in educating and opening up his students.

Production

When writing ''GTO'', Fujisawa was influenced by the writing style of

Kōhei Tsuka was a Korean-Japanese playwright, theater director, and screenwriter. He was one of Japan's most influential theater figures, to the extent that recent Japanese theatrical history has been divided into pre-Tsuka and post-Tsuka periods. He died o ...

. The series was originally intended to run for 10 volumes; however, it was extended at the request of the publisher. Fujisawa began to run out of characters as a result. When faced with writing block he would write stories without Onizuka. Onizuka's first name, Eikichi, was taken from musician

Eikichi Yazawa is a Japanese singer-songwriter, and a prominent figure in Japanese popular music. Yoko Yazawa of The Generous is his daughter. He has been nicknamed as Ei-chan (永ちゃん), Boss or The King of Rock. Biography Sources: 1949-1967: Early Li ...

. When developing Onizuka's character for the series, Fujisawa sought to incorporate real character traits from Japanese gangs often referred to as "Yankees". Onizuka's look is modelled on such gang members and was not intended to convey an "American look". Onizuka acts tough and confident but is actually shy and lacking in confidence to follow through on some of his desires. He is a simple character that stands by his own reasoning and principles and has his own conscience. Fujisawa gave him the viewpoint that you should take responsibility for your actions, something he sees as important. Onizuka's role in the school is to provide a bridge between the students and teachers. The character of Fuyutsuki reflects the point of view of the average teacher. Fujisawa built the series on his own school experience where teachers were mostly focused only on a good performance record rather than the teaching itself. However, he was able to take an interest in mathematics because of the approach of his teacher.

Tatsuya Egawa is a Japanese manga artist and film director. He is probably best known for his '' Golden Boy'' manga series, which debuted in 1992. Egawa is known for his drawings of over-the-top facial expressions always crediting the staff of his creations, ...

has claimed that ''GTO'' plagiarized his debut manga, ''Be Free!''.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Tooru Fujisawa, ''Great Teacher Onizuka'' was serialized in

's manga magazine ''

'' from January 8, 1997, to February 13, 2002. Kodansha collected its 200 individual chapters in 25 volumes, released from May 16, 1997, to April 17, 2002. The series was licensed in English by

and was one of Tokyopop's first releases in the "Authentic Manga" lineup of titles using the Japanese right-to-left reading style. In doing so the artwork remained unchanged from the original compared to previous publishing methods. The 25 volumes were published between April 23, 2002, and August 9, 2005.

republished the series digitally on February 2, 2022.

Sequels and spin-offs

A side story series, titled '' GTO: 14 Days in Shonan'', was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from June 10, 2009, to September 14, 2011. A three-chapter spin-off, titled ''Black Diamond'', was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' in November 2011. A spin-off manga, titled ''GT-R'', focused on Onizuka's friend Ryūji Danma, was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from June 27 to October 3, 2012. Kodansha collected its chapters in a single volume, released on November 16, 2012. A sequel, titled '' GTO: Paradise Lost'', started in Kodansha's manga magazine ''

'' on April 14, 2014. A spin-off, titled , started on 's ''Comiplex'' website on October 18, 2024.

Anime

A 43-episode anime television series adaptation was produced by

Studio Pierrot , previously known as until 2002, is a Japanese animation studio established in May 1979 by Yuji Nunokawa, previously an animator and director for Tatsunoko Production. Its headquarters are located in Mitaka, Tokyo. Pierrot is renowned for ...

and directed by

Noriyuki Abe is a Japanese anime storyboard artist, sound director and director. He worked at Pierrot on anime series, such as '' Yu Yu Hakusho'', '' Ninku'', '' Flame of Recca'', '' Great Teacher Onizuka'', ''Bleach'' and '' Boruto''. He won the ''Animage'' ...

, was broadcast on

from June 30, 1999, to September 24, 2000. Yoshiyuki Suga provided scripts, having also written scripts for the live-action adaptation.

licensed the series for release in North America and released it across 10 DVDs between March 22, 2002, and September 16, 2003, and for American TV broadcast on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's SHONext channel in 2004 and

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

's Anime Selects on Demand network in 2006. The series was re-released in a seven-disc box set by

on September 24, 2013.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

began streaming the series in January 2015.

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

began streaming the series in April 2024.

Live-action

A 12-episode

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

adaptation starring

Takashi Sorimachi is a Japanese actor and singer. He is mostly famous for having portrayed Eikichi Onizuka in the 1998 live-action drama adaptation of the popular manga series ''Great Teacher Onizuka'', and the assassin O in Hong Kong action thriller film '' Ful ...

as the titular character was broadcast on

from July 7 to September 22, 1998. Some of the manga's more violent and smutty elements were toned down in the TV drama. Changes were also made to the character of Fuyutsuki (

Nanako Matsushima is a Japanese actress and model. She is best known for starring in the horror film ''Ring'' (1998) and the drama series '' A Story of Love'' (1997) and '' I'm Mita, Your Housekeeper.'' (2011). The latter's final episode reached a viewer rating of ...

) who disliked Onizuka early on in the drama and had wanted to leave teaching to become an Air Hostess (contrasting her depiction as an eager teacher who supported Onizuka throughout the manga). A television special was broadcast on June 29, 1999. This was followed by a theatrical movie in January 2000. The movie was released in North America by

Media Blasters Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment company that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American mar ...

, under their

Tokyo Shock Media Blasters, sometimes abbreviated as MB, is an American entertainment company that was founded by John Sirabella in 1997 and is based in New York City. It is in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American mar ...

division, on July 26, 2005. During 2012, it was announced that a new live-action series would be broadcast in Japan. Produced by KTV and Media Mix Japan, the series ran from July 3, 2012, until September 11, 2012. Originally,

Jin Akanishi is a Japanese musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He has been active since 1998 as one of the two lead vocalists of the J-pop boy-band KAT-TUN before starting a solo career in 2009. Akanishi has also acted in several films and dramas. Bi ...

was to play the role of Onizuka; however, he was forced to withdraw by his management. Instead, Akira of Japanese band

Exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

was selected to play Onizuka. An Autumn special was broadcast on October 2, 2012, followed by a New Year's special on January 2, 2013, and a Spring special on April 2, 2013. On March 22, 2014, a 4-part mini-series aired in Taiwan on

GTV Variety Show GTV Variety Show () is a television channel of the Gala Television Corporation in Taiwan. It mainly broadcasts Taiwanese drama and cartoons. See also * Media of Taiwan The mass media in Taiwan is considered to be one of the freest and most c ...

, before being broadcast in Japan at a later date. The mini-series places Onizuka in a Taiwanese school as part of a training program and is a joint Japan/Taiwan co production that contains both Japanese and

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

dialogue. The series has been announced for English subtitled release via the

streaming service. A new series set in Japan aired from July to September 2014. A new version of the original drama, with the title character reprised by Sorimachi, was announced to air in 2024, as part of Fuji TV's 65th anniversary, under the title ''GTO Revival''. The cast of third-year students and teacher team of Sotoku Gakuin High School, where this version takes place, includes (as Miyu Ayahara, a third-year homeroom and Japanese History teacher), Shinya Kote (as Takeshi Fujida, the vice-principal),

Rikako Yagi , is a Japanese model and actress. Personal life and education Rikako Yagi was born on July 7, 2001, in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Before moving to Tokyo in 2020 to attend university, she lived in her hometown of Shiga, where she balanced her ...

(as Suzuka Ichikawa, an honor student, with a strained relationship with her father), (as Rin Endo, a student whose father's company's fraud problem was exposed), (as Haruto Uno, a student on a baseball scholarship, unable to play because of an injury, whose father despises him for this), and

Kosuke Suzuki is a Japanese actor. He is represented with Sis Company. His wife is actress Chihiro Otsuka. Biography Suzuki graduated from Seinan Gakuin High School and Aoyama Gakuin University Faculty of Business Department of Management. He joined athleti ...

(as Koichi Ichikawa, Suzuka's father and a candidate for the House of Representatives). It premiered on April 1, 2024. Seven cast members from the original are reprising their roles in this new version:

Hiroyuki Ikeuchi is a Japanese actor. Ikeuchi's mother is Salvadoran and his father is Japanese. He is an avid martial artist, notably holding a black belt in judo, and is also a keen fisherman. Career Ikeuchi played a supporting role as General Miura in Wilso ...

as Kunio Murai, as Masaru Watanabe,

Yōsuke Kubozuka is a Japanese actor and musician. Career Yosuke Kubozuka has been a model for many magazines and TV commercials before starting out his acting career where he debuted in a 1995 TV crime drama ''Kindaichi Case Files''. In 1998, he starred in the ...

as Yoshito Kikuchi,

Hidenori Tokuyama is a Japanese actor and singer. A fan of tokusatsu, Tokuyama has had a role in several series, most notably Sou Yaguruma/ Kamen Rider TheBee/Kamen Rider KickHopper in ''Kamen Rider Kabuto'' and Hiroto Sutō/Go-on Gold in '' Engine Sentai Go-onge ...

as Kenji Youda,

Shun Oguri is a Japanese people, Japanese actor and Voice acting in Japan, voice actor, son of stage director Tetsuya Oguri, and the youngest of 3 siblings, including older brother Ryo, who is also an actor. He started in small roles as extra in the works ...

as Noboru Yoshikawa,

Naohito Fujiki is a Japanese actor and singer. Filmography Television * ''Happy Mania'' (1998) * ''Nanisama!'' (1998) * ''Great Teacher Onizuka (1998) ** ''GTO Revival'' (2024) * ''Oni No Sumika'' (1999) * ''P.S. Genki Desu, Shunpei'' (1999) * ''Nurse No Osh ...

as Ryuji Saejima, and

as Azusa Fuyutsuki. The theme song for the original series is , performed by Sorimachi. For the 2024 revival version, a new version of the song, titled "Poison", is performed by Sorimachi with .

Reception

By November 2007, the manga had over 50 million copies in circulation. ''Great Teacher Onizuka'' won the 22nd

for the category in 1998. In '' Manga: The Complete Guide'', Jason Thompson referred to the manga as "shameless, frequently sexist and totally hilarious". He gave it four stars out of four, praising its imagery, detailed art, and "smutty, pop culture-laden dialogue". He added that in its best moments, the manga "goes beyond the level of an

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. Primarily a comedic leading actor in films, List of awards and nominations received by Adam Sandler, his accolades include an Independent Sp ...

movie and approaches true social satire". The 1998 live-action series had an average audience share of 28.5% with the final episode recording a rate of 35.7%. The final episode was the eighth-most-watched broadcast in the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

during 1998. The 2000 live-action film sequel grossed ¥1.32 billion at the box office, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of the year. In ''

The Anime Encyclopedia ''The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917'' is a 2001 encyclopedia written by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy. It was published in 2001 by Stone Bridge Press in the United States, and a "revised and expanded" edit ...

: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917'',

Jonathan Clements Jonathan Michael Clements (born 9 July 1971) is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shi Huang, as well as monthly opinion columns for '' Neo'' magazine. He is also the co-au ...

and

Helen McCarthy Helen McCarthy (born 27 February 1951) is the British author of such anime reference books as ''500 Manga Heroes and Villains'', ''Anime!'', ''The Anime Movie Guide'' and ''Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation''. She is the co-author o ...

noted the anime's use of computer graphics for cloud and water effects to cover up "the cheap TV animation". They called the 1998 live-action adaptation "the quintessential GTO, with its handsome loner rotagonistfighting injustices on his motorcycle like an educational lawman" but still found the anime adaptation to have "considerable bite" due to its animated origins allowing for "slightly more violence and menace than its prime-time live-action counterpart." In 2008, Russian network 2x2 came under investigation by Rossvyazkomnadzor, the government watchdog, for allegedly promoting "child pornography, sexual aberrations, violence and cruelty" by broadcasting the ''GTO'' anime.

References

External links

Studio Pierrot website
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