I’m back with one of the very first Manga series I ever read for this week’s Manga Monday. It’s Great Teacher Onizuka by Tohru Fujisawa!

Plot Synopsis: Eikichi Onizuka is a 22-year-old ex-gang member and a virgin. While peeping up girls’ skirts at a local shopping mall, Onizuka meets a girl who agrees to go out on a date with him. Onizuka’s attempt to sleep with her fails when her current “boyfriend”, her teacher, shows up at the love hotel they are in and asks her to return to him. The teacher is old and unattractive, but has sufficient influence over her that she leaps from a second-story window and lands in his arms. Onizuka, upon seeing this display of a teacher’s power over girls, decides to become a teacher himself.

Plot: The plot is pretty hilarious, and while I found the plot hook oddly off putting at the beginning, it quickly went away as I grew engrossed with this series. This is easily one of the classic Manga series that everyone should read.

Characters: Onizuka is a pervert, but he’s fairly open about it which I commend, and the rest of the cast is also pretty hilarious as well. I’d mention my favorites, but they are all so good I can’t really pick.

Artwork: The artwork is outdated by today’s standards, but that’s okay because the artwork does wonderfully at conveying the plot and tone of the series. Which is to say it’s as likely to make you laugh as much the plot itself will.

Overall: If you’ve never read Great Teacher Onizuka, go do yourself a favor and start reading it as soon as possible.

For those who like: Comedy, Action, Slice of Life, True Classics, Award Winning Series.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but how can you hate that?