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Jun 11, 2013
For the past few decades, schools have been plagued with higher student dropout rates, increased juvenile delinquency, and child disobedience. Increasing numbers of students care less for their future and education, resorting to violence, gangs, drugs, and sex. Things that degrade society.
What is the purpose of an education then?
To excel in the academics, attend a prestigious university, and find a well-paying job.
But what happens to other students who are not capable of achieving the expectations that society has placed on them?
Simple. They are left behind. They become subjected to delinquency and are frowned upon by the upper class of the
...
well-educated society.
Are the students to be blamed? Or, perhaps, are the teachers the ones to blame?
“The relationship between a student and a teacher is a sacred one.”
Taking place at the reputable Holy Forest Academy, the Great Teacher Onizuka, a 22 year old virgin and former mischievous bike gangster, arrived to save the school from these problems!
GTO attacks the education system in Japan. Onizuka, with a flawed and shady record, makes him the most unqualified teacher. But the bureaucrats were not seeing past the true Onizuka. The story shows Onizuka avoiding being expelled by his students, and eventually solving his students’ problems, which cover life lessons and society problems in a subtle but deep way. Each and every character's problems are issues that you can relate to as a student and in real life as well. There are occasional clever surprises and cliff hangers to keep the viewer engaged in the show.
GTO also features comedy, often sexual and perverted. Ranging from skirt chasing to sexual fantasies, the perverted comedy will occasionally give you a laugh. The stupid, ugly faces that Onizuka usually makes will, initially, disgust you, but you will eventually find it quite humorous. As common in anime, especially during GTO’s time, some of the intended comedy is not at all funny and turns out to be cheesy and barfing, “smh” comedy. But there were times when I caught myself laughing out loud at the things Onizuka did with his students.
Occasionally, you will cringe at Onizuka’s unorthodox teaching and discipline methods such as the torture of his disobedient students. The sexual themes are also part of the complaint. Those sensitive to these kinds of materials may not be able to see past it and automatically declare GTO trash and fanservice. This was the best way to describe Onizuka though. He does not hide any faults. He explicitly reveals them. He boldly walks with the words “pervert”, “pedo”, “gangster” on the back his shirt not worrying about how others judge him. In spite of his imperfection, Onizuka perfectly exemplifies the true man and teacher. Onizuka is basically Hester Prynne from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter but in a far more humorous and contemporary way.
The OST was relatively good, with some really memorable soundtracks. The OPs and EDs were nice to watch and listen to as well. I was not fond of the sub, most particularly because of Onizuka's voice actor. Try out the dub for the legendary Cowboy Bebop Spike's voice actor, Steven Blum, who does Oniuzka's dub.
The art/animation was pretty decent for its time.
GTO suffers from technical problems such as occasional bad writing. Some arcs ended abruptly or had a random filler episode in a few arcs. Some dialogues were poorly written, making intended emotional scenes sound pathetically dumb and extremely cheesy.
Overall, you will find GTO enjoyable and fun to watch. With the frequent comedy, deep and emotional scenes will give a change in pace and catch you by surprise. It was a show that revealed the problems in a diploma-based society and the issues of the current education system. It’s silly. It’s stupid. It’s deep. It’s fresh.
So remember, if you think you can expel tor outsmart teachers, then you haven’t seen Great Teacher Onizuka!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 17, 2013
This is going to be my first review, so thoughts and suggestions are appreciated. To start off, I disliked Suzumiya Haruhi anime series at first sight due to its heavy fan-base foundation. It looked like another brainless high school anime series that had neither depth nor profound aspects to it. And I still believe it is that kind of anime.
However, Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu really stood out in the high school/slice of anime genre. This stand-alone franchise proved successful in its every aspects.
Art/Animation: 9
Everything was pleasing to the eye, ranging from the flawless character designs to the gorgeous background scenery. Animations looked natural.
...
Choreography was expected from an animated movie. Overall, top-notch art/animation but nothing about it impressed me enough to give it a 10.
Story: 9
The story starts off with a slow-pace, recapping about events that happened from the point Kyon met Haruhi to his current day. Then the story runs off with a wide variety of events and complexities that happen to the main character, Kyon. Kyon’s thoughts serve as the narrative, for the most part, which gives even new viewers an easy time watching the movie. Though some parts of the story may be confusing to new viewers of the franchise, the viewer can catch on. The concept of Suzumiya Haruhi’s inception was astounding and quite thought provoking, along with the time space continuum, etc. All in all, Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu pulled off an outstanding story.
Character: 9
Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu had one of the most magnificent character development an anime series could ever pull off. The viewer gets to see a complex digging into the character of Kyon. The viewer gets to see his nature, his thoughts, and his emotions. It was like reading a book. Kyon undergoes a significant change in the movie, learning about the importance of appreciation. Yuki also gets a lot of screen time, letting viewers see more of her personality (apparently she was a static supporting character in the anime series... Along with all the other characters). Supporting cast did a good job on their part, never stealing the scene from Kyon. Characters were all natural, not succumbing to the typical, cliché personalities. Unfortunately, due to my lack of familiarity with the characters (since I never saw the anime franchise), I couldn’t fully feel the emotional attachment of the characters, which is why I didn’t give it a 10.
Sound: 10
Best soundtrack from anime. This is not an overstatement, it really left me speechless. To be honest, the soundtrack was probably the star of the movie (even though the character development was superb). It simply stood out. I could not get enough of it. The orchestration of the scores was breathtakingly beautiful, blending into the background and setting the mood of scenes. Erik Satie’s notable piano composition, Gymnopédies, was also added to the soundtrack – a really good bonus. In case you're not familiar was Satie, he was a French composer during the 20th century eminent for his ambient music. Voice acting in the sub was exceptional and convincing.
Enjoyment: 9
It could have been a 10, but I did not have enough emotional connection to the characters, so I did not have the full impact. Otherwise, everything else in the movie was enjoyable.
Final Thoughts:
I have never watched the anime series – the movie was the first from the Suzumiya Haruhi franchise that I have seen, but I have to say, this is a top-tier anime. It's a must watch!
Even those uninterested in the slice of life genre, Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu proved that not all anime shows need action scenes or fan service to be considered a “good” anime. It had plot. It had one of the best character developments I’ve seen. The soundtrack was stunningly sublime. There were many 5 star scenes that left me shock. Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoushitsu is one of the best in the high school/slice of life genre. Check it out!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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