by Matt Bird

Created on: May 16, 2009

My choice boils down to three letters. GTO.

Expanded to Great Teacher Onizuka, GTO is the tale of one Eikichi Onizuka, a reformed street thug and motorcycle gang member who has partially mended his ways by taking up the noble profession of teaching. The 25-volume long story follows Onizuka through all the pitfalls of trying to educate a class of brilliant young students while possessing few brains of one's own.

GTO's greatness, in my book, boils down to three essential components: great story, great art and universal appeal.

Onizuka is not your typical manga hero. Sure, he's idealistic, hot-headed and powerful beyond belief, all traits common in comic protagonists. But he's also opportunistic, greedy, stupid, lazy, rough, rude, headstrong and horribly perverted, among other things. He's about as unheroic as some guys come - which makes his shining moments in the story all the more glorious.

Nor is Onizuka alone. He's backed by a cast of incredibly detailed characters, ranging from teachers to students to parents to former gang buddies. I don't think there's a single character in the story that's either purely good or purely evil, all of them with their own motivations and faults. Granted that the story wouldn't be the same without Onizuka to act as the axle around which they all revolve, but any of them would work well in their own stories.

GTO is a drama. Bad stuff happens. Constantly. Friendships crumble, plots are hatched and Onizuka must battle constantly against traditional teachers who disapprove of his free-wheeling, buddy buddy form of instruction. But every storyline is fraught from beginning to end with raucous humor, all adult and all hilarious. With equal amounts of crudity and wit GTO can make just about anybody laugh - so long as they have a strong stomach.

The story has strong support from the art. GTO is beautiful. There's a level of detail imbedded in each page that keeps the eye riveted. The backgrounds are beautiful, and inanimate objects - most often Onizuka's motorcycles - are drawn with spot-on accuracy. The attention given to every aspect of this story's art is inspiring.

More, even though from first glance the characters might LOOK like they simply sport the usual anime look, their facial expressions can switch to near-ludicrously realistic in the blink of an eye. I also appreciate creator Tohru Fujisawa's willingness to experiment with a variety of styles in GTO, often straying far from the usual, 'safe' art many comics stick with.

But no amount of story or style can work with Western readers if they don't understand the cultural context, and given that GTO is mired in Japanese society you'd think that much of the story's humor would be inaccessible. Fortunately, it's not. Fujisawa endeavoured, whether intentionally or not, to create a story that provides a revealing glimpse into the everyday life of Japan. Rather than being mystified by how the characters act and react, most readers will find GTO to be a gigantic learning experience. The humor and lessons contained in Onizuka's adventures can touch anybody, from pretty much anywhere.

GTO is no kid's book. There are few areas considered taboo within these pages. But hiding between the perverse drawings and heavy-handed complaints about the Japanese school system there are powerful glimpses of touching morality. I never tire of reading and re-reading Great Teacher Onizuka, and highly recommend it to any adult with some spare time.

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