THE STORY
Shocking, and humorous, a lot of sexual overtones
Based of the manga series there is almost no taboo that is left out here when it comes to the teacher student relationship. Onizuka is a tough teacher, and I don’t mean the grading. A former member of a motorcycle gang, Onizuka is often ready to dish out revenge to anyone who wrongs him or his students. His tactics for accomplishing this are less than humane. Some examples of just how extreme this guy is include breaking down a wall in a household where the daughter felt lonely. The guy literally shows up with a sledgehammer and breaks down the wall after his student complains about it and threatens to harm herself being so discontent with the family situation. Another student, Yoshikawa is harassed by three girls for becoming friends with the teacher. The girls attack him and take “naked pictures” of him and threaten to display them all over town if he remains friends with the teacher. After being humiliated to the core Yoshikawa, decides to jump off the roof of the school. Onizuka is standing near buy and sees him falling, acting quickly he dashes to his rescue jumping onto a car and catching him, taking all the impact of the fall. The car is destroyed but the two make it out ok. The teacher then sets off to get revenge after hearing what happened he has the girls bound to a wall and take pictures of them in their underwear with words written across them exclaiming an apology. The girls are shocked that a teacher would violate them and act so rashly but Onizuka is not afraid of their threats to go to the PTA. He simply remarks that he does not distinguish gender when it comes to those who are bad. Though Onizuka is a bit of a pervert (understatement), you may find yourself admiring him as a less than perfect superhero teacher. His antics do get him into trouble, which is a bit of a relief because it seems more realistic. He continues to right wrongs as he teaches at different schools and the setting and circumstances change.
He begins to develop relations with his students so much that when it comes time to take a National exam he needs to get the highest score to prove he is an eligible teacher. Onizuka gets serious and studies for days and days, but it is to little effect, as he is still doing poorly on the quizzes. When it comes time for the actual day of class, a know-it-all student of his is kidnapped. Witnessing the crime Onizuka immediately tracks down the criminals in his motorcycle. Breaking in on a gang that wished to punish this girl for her father’s deeds, Onizuka is shot, during the rescue from a possible gang rape. Barely escaping, he returns to the school in time for the last class of the day. Needing to score near perfect on an all day test we see him scrambling to fill in the answers. When it is time to collect, we see him passed out on the desk. A student of his, not wanting him to be evicted from teaching quickly substitutes and answer sheet and turns it in for Onizuka. It is then that they realize he’s been shot as blood is pooling beneath is chair. I don’t want to give it all away so you will have to watch it yourself to find out what happens.
PRESENTATION
This box set comes with five DVD’s and has an interesting menu that’s set up like a chalkboard. The scene selections have a calendar layout, which is a fun little treat after the many generic set ups I’ve seen in the past. The artwork in the opening credits also maintains some of the fun block print qualities of a manga. The artwork is very extreme in that nothing is left unexaggerated. Facial expressions are the most shocking as they distort into almost mask like representations of shock, disgust and nose dripping fear…though the over all effect adds to the comical side of things.
EXTRAS
This set is full of extras. Each disk has at least five options, these include; Japanese Opening, Onizuka Gone wild, Character Designs, Previews, DVD credits, Interviews with the creator, out takes, GTO eye catches and more. I found the best of these to be the out takes. Hilarious English dubbing mistakes recorded for our pleasure. It’s great to see the anime character as the voice actor’s trip over pronunciation of names, timing and other elements. I was pleasantly surprised by these extras. The English Dubbing is also very good, though I always prefer the original language, this series does a pretty good job. I just enjoy the extremely crazy moments, the expression is just not the same with the English dubs.
OVERALL
Though this is definitely for a mature audience I really fell in love with this series. Onizuka, a new teacher, fresh out of college and a motorcycle gang, soon became admirable. His pursuit of justice, even if the means of obtaining it are a bit obscure and against the norm or even what’s except able causes him to be deeply involved in the life of his students. He’s the cool teacher we all coveted in high school, even if he is a pervert. This strange juxtaposition of honorable and despicable character traits keeps the series fresh and moving at a wonderfully addictive pace.
Overall: 9.0