That brings us to dialog. Being set in Japan, I generally prefer to watch it in Japanese. It sounds good enough to me, but I read some complaints from Japanese native speakers that it wasn’t that great. I personally can’t respond accordingly. But when it comes to the English dubbed moments, I don’t think they are done well at all. There are some notable English VAs, such as Steve Blum and Wendee Lee, but they either don’t fit or it just sounds off. There are just too many issues for specific recommendations on how to fix it. Ideally the English Voices need to be redone.

With such a large cast of characters, it could be very easy to lose sight of the main protagonist Onizuka. With the shear weight of the story riding on his shoulder, it could be very easy for everything to collapse underneath him. Onizuka is very much an imperfect protagonist. He’s a constant womanizes (often failing), heavily drinks and smokes, quick to anger and seemingly violent. On the surface, he isn’t very smart, graduating from a second-rate college and is seemingly lazy, missing the entrance exams for public-school teachers. But if I were to attribute a character description to him, it would be perseverance. Throughout the series, Onizuka is an unstoppable tour de force, who doesn’t let academic, physical, or even financial challenge deter him. But even though GTO is more grounded, it’s not completely realistic. Onizuka survives several near-death experiences due to his abnormal physical resilience that rivals, say, Medal of Honor recipient MSG Benavidez (who singlehandedly fought off the NVA armed with a knife while suffering 37 bullet, bayonet and shrapnel wounds even after regaining the ability to walk from stepping on a landmine). And that makes Onizuka a compelling character to root for. Not only that, despite his introduction as a very low browed, demeaning character, you eventually see where his morality starts to form. Yes, he womanizes and ogles his female students, but he eventually draws the line of using his position to take advantage of them. He is not above using his gang connections and physical strength to fight back against students who start a conflict with him. But he won’t ever embarrass them in class by calling them trash or exposing their secrets. Onizuka is a fighter, but doesn’t spare his ire against bratty students, arrogant teachers, corrupt teacher’s unions or irresponsible parents. You would think this would be his downfall, but Onizuka has a way of charming enough people around him to garish support and escape frequent repercussions. He is seemingly chaotic, but also strategic. For example, he sets up numerous gigs for Tomoko in seemingly low-key markets that gains her bigger exposure in Japan overall. And despite his seemingly low intelligence, he reveals moments of retrospective. In one scene as he is listens to a character speak fondly of her past memories over her current circumstances, he responds with the statement “You can't go back to the past, no matter how hard you try.” Onizuka grew up among gangs and a rough life of criminality. But he knows better than to let those moments, both good and bad, define his future.

Not to say Onizuka doesn't have his foolish and comedic moments. The show emulates his characteristics from the manga quite well, including his trademarked goofy facial closeups and propensity to be clumsy. Onizuka can be hilariously obtuse, often at the expense of those around him.

As for the other characters, I think they are done well enough, with varying levels of exposure. Most of the students come off initially brattish or bullying, the series does a good job winning you over to them as Onizuka gains their respect one by one. The teachers and staff can be a mixed bag, but they provide the necessary counterpart to Onizuka’s unorthodox manner. The exception may be Fuyutsuki, who is a fellow teacher and potential love interest for Onizuka. Although the Anime doesn’t get an opportunity to explore their relationship as much as the manga does, she does get her own episodes.

I originally didn’t like the abrupt new ending of the Anime. But upon seeing the ending for the manga, I am going to say the manga makes Miyabi worse as an unredeemable liar. She makes up her accusations against a teacher over a misunderstanding and uses that to turn the class against all the subsequent teachers. In the Anime, she is very much affected by the loss of her friend and more understandable in her hatred against teachers. I think the Anime needed to extend the series a bit more but keep its original ending or change Miyabi’s ending.

GTO obviously struck a chord with audiences in Japan, with the two live action adaptations and the manga garnishing millions of copies sold. It is, after all, very Japanese centric which deals with various educational and societal issues. Fujisawa was obviously critical of the Japanese rigid teaching structure and growing demoralization exhibited by Teachers, Students and Parents. Yet many of these issues were cross-cultural and applied to other countries. I think many of these lessons and critiques found in the series are still very relevant today. But if the series were to be adapted for the U.S. market, even more pressing issues would be raised. Topics such as the right of parents to know what is being taught in school, the Teacher’s union’s resistance to school choice, normalization of sex and gender dysphoria, illicit drugs, critical theory applications, absent parent engagement, and acts of violence against fellow students and teachers. These are all controversial topics that I think most modern writers will, unfortunately, fail to provide proper nuances or perspectives for.

Does GTO stand up today and, more importantly, is it worth your time? I would say yes to both, but under the understanding that the Manga is probably the better choice if you only have time for one. It’s not perfect but it took more time to resolve the story arc appropriately (despite my misgivings over Miyabi’s motivation). As of this time, there haven’t been any plans to revive this series, and that is surprising to me. While searching online, I would often come across claims that this series inspired someone to go into teaching. And not just in Japan, this was worldwide. Some critics may think this is corny, but they don’t remember that recruitment rose in the U.S. Navy after the original Top Gun came out (although reality and flight school probably washed the majority out). That’s a powerful testament to the impact GTO had on countless audiences around the globe and how relatable Onizuka is as a character. The show provides a powerful lesson, but mixes in a healthy dose of drama and comedy (with some echi) to balance it all out. At the very least, that should be commendable.