Good     Nov 21, 2008     reviewed by James    

I personally liked the book. Its not action filled but its a good manga. The main character is a reall bad *** and is obsessed with women. He's the type of guy that you just dont want to have on your bad side.

James also recommended: Basilisk, and BY THE SWORD,
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GTO: Great Lessons for Teachers     Jul 05, 2007     reviewed by sensei joe    
(GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) Vol. 03)

I picked up the manga GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka during my first few years of teaching. Tohru Fujisawa has truly created a great teacher: Eikichi Onizuka. When I first read the series, I thought: “Onizuka is what NOT to do.” I recently picked up the series and started reading it again. After seven years of teaching high school students I realized: “Onizuka really does know what to do.” Let me explain what I mean before I loose my certification. Teachers must be honest, genuine and determined. They must be sacrificial, humorous, and non-judgmental. They must redeem every moment into a teachable one. In volume 3, Eikichi Onizuka starts his first day of teaching at Holy Forest Academy. He is determined to be the best teacher the world has ever seen. He speaks what is on his mind even if it isn’t inappropriate - often not a good idea since he is a letch. He is genuine – he tells it like it is and acts like himself – even though if that means often being a moron or a thug. He is sacrificial – he sacrifices his own health to rescue a boy trying to commit suicide. He is willing to crack a joke at his expense and he is always getting into hilarious situations. He is non-judgmental – he is warned multiple times by other teachers that his homeroom, Sophomore Class 4, are dangerous… they are. Perhaps he is naïve instead of non-judgmental. He often turns the most unlikely situations into teachable moments – often by accident – he seems to be a very lucky man (I mean he’s not dead yet). And all these things are packed into this one excellent volume. Don’t get me wrong, Onizuka doesn’t do everything right, just look at his lesson plans. But the lessons I have learned from real experience could have been picked up from reading this manga instead of making mistakes in the classroom.

Sensei no Otaku says: “This Sensei is truly GREAT. GTO should be studied by every teacher. Our schools would be better off if more teachers were following Onizuka’s lead.”

sensei joe also recommended: Rose Hip Zero, Air Gear,
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Awesome series!     Dec 13, 2008     reviewed by Bakana!    

First of all, I will say that GTO is definitely not for everybody. If you dislike fanservice or sexual and/or crude humor, you will not enjoy GTO.

If you don't mind that stuff, then I would certainly recommend this series. It does have a lot of dirty humor in it, but it also has a lot of heart. Onizuka is a 22 year old man finding himself without job prospects after dropping out of high school and attending a fifth-rate college. He is also a virgin. After an encounter with an attractive high school girl that was dating her teacher, he decides to become the greatest teacher in Japan. He is set back a couple of times, but does end up with a teaching job at Holy Forest Academy...however, the students in his class are teacher hating hell-raisers, famous for terrorizing their instructors to the brink of suicide or insanity. The series follows Onizuka and his students, as he slowly wins them over, one by one, along with everyone else around him.

GTO is a series full of action, shenanigans, dirty humor, a cast full of interesting characters, and a protagonist who, despite his rough exterior and incredibly inappropriate behavior, manages to change the lives of those around him. I am giving GTO 4 out of 5 stars because it starts to drag around the last three volumes, but I would still recommend it if you have not read it already.

Bakana! also recommended: GTO: The Early Years (Shonan Junai Gumi), Gokusen,
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hmm...definitely not for me     May 06, 2008     reviewed by cartoon_girl    

I think that this novel is for guys with humor from the toilet. I picked it up because I thought it would have an interesting moment or two, but the visuals definitely guides the humor and the plot, unfortunately.

2 stars for the artwork though; it was definitely dirty and...er, suggestive?

cartoon_girl also recommended:
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