Great Teacher Onizuka
ONE OF THE GREATEST SLICE-OF-LIFE ANIME OF ALL TIME
Called the father of all slice-of-life anime, Great Teacher Onizuka is one of the highest-rated slice-of-life anime of all time with thousands of fans across the globe. Despite getting released back in 1999, the series is still an integral part of the world of anime.
Today, we’ll find out if this series lives up to the hype or not, as I’ll be giving you guys my honest review.
Great Teacher Onizuka follows the story of a vicious ex-gang leader and a perverted man named Eikichi Onizuka. He has forgotten everything else in his life now, and his only dream is to become the greatest teacher of all time. Nope, he is not passionate about teaching at all! He only wants to become a teacher to marry one of his students and have a loving teenage wife when he is close to his death.
After a bit of effort, Eikichi finally manages to become the homeroom teacher of class 3-4 at Holy Forrest Academy. However, Eikichi soon realizes that this is not a typical class of students. All the students in this class are misfits who always force all of their teachers to quit their jobs. But as we already know, Eikichi Onizuka is not going down without a fight!
This anime’s plot already makes it sound like one of the best slice-of-life anime of all time. While the story itself is already brilliant, what sets Great Teacher Onizuka apart in the world of slice-of-life anime is its fantastic progression. Eikichi Onizuka’s character seriously develops throughout the series as this ex-gang leader learns to become an honest and hardworking member of society.
Despite having many episodes, the story does not seem repetitive at all as Eikichi slowly bonds with all of his students and tries his best to understand what they are going through.
As you might know already, the animation quality of Great Teacher Onizuka not too impressive. I mean, the anime did get released all the way back in 1999, so it looks nothing like the anime that gets released these days. However, the art style of Great Teacher Onizuka is something that deserves a lot of appreciation. The art style of this anime is unique, and it remains consistent throughout the run of the series. All the characters in this anime have pretty realistic proportions, and the backgrounds look pretty decent.
The characters of Great Teacher Onizuka make it one of the best slice-of-life shows of all time. The best thing about this anime is that the supporting characters are just as important as the main characters. The show takes its time and lets us fully explore all of its well-written characters. All the characters in the series go through some kind of character development as the series progresses.
The designs of the characters are also pretty impressive and adequately describe the personalities of these dynamic characters. Let’s take a closer look at some of my favorite characters in the story.
Eikichi Onizuka:
Eikichi Onizuka is, of course, our main protagonist. From the description above, you might think that Eikichi is just a perverted guy who doesn’t care about anything. However, you should never judge a book by its cover! Eikichi is a great person and the perfect teacher that all the students of class 3-4 desperately needed. Eikichi genuinely tries to help all of his students as he learns about their troubles and hardships.
Azusa Fuyutsuki:
Azusa Fuyutsuki is another teacher at Holy Forrest Academy, just like Onizuka. Despite how she looks, Azusa is a pretty tough woman who can take on almost any task without hesitation. Azusa’s personality is the complete opposite of Eikichi, and she is the female lead of the show. This kind and gifted teacher has feelings for Eikichi but doesn’t confess to him.
Urumi Kanzaki:
Urumi is the most intelligent student in Eikichi’s class, and she is also gorgeous. With an IQ score of more than 200, this girl can speak multiple languages, and she also shows off her intelligence through her actions. Due to her sad past, this girl hates all the teachers.
Yoshito Kikuchi:
Yoshito Kikuchi is another prodigy in Eikichi’s class. Yoshito is a computer whiz who can create perfect pornographic images by using his editing skills. When Eikichi first joins Holy Forrest Academy as a teacher, Yoshito tries to blackmail him.
Tomoko Nomura:
Tomoko is the complete opposite of Urumi Kanzaki and also her best friend. This girl gets bullied a lot because of her clumsy personality. However, she is gorgeous, so Eikichi decides to help her out by making her take part in a local beauty contest.
A Masterwork in the World of Slice-of-Life
Despite its old age, Great Teacher Onizuka is an anime that needs to get watched by every fan of the slice-of-life genre. This anime is a timeless classic that can even be described as a masterwork. Great Teacher Onizuka is a complete package, and it definitely won’t disappoint you.
If you haven’t watched Great Teacher Onizuka already, then you should decide to give it a go. While the anime is somewhat lengthy for a slice-of-life show, it does not get repetitive or boring, thanks to its fantastic story progression.
I would personally recommend the English subbed version of the show. Still, the dubbed version of Great Teacher Onizuka is also pretty decent, so almost every anime fan can easily enjoy it.
You will most definitely fall in love with every one of the characters in this anime because of their dynamic and likable personalities. Despite having a somewhat light-hearted tone, the show conveys a lot of profound messages throughout its run. In my personal opinion, this anime deserves a rating of 9/10. Hopefully, we will one day get to watch a remake of this masterwork as well!
