GTO - Showbiz (Vol. 7)

Rating:
Summary: Solid Onizuka
Review: Ah...GTO...no matter how you slice it, this show is one of the best in pure entertainment. This show has not lost any of its momentum since disc one, and Vol. 7 is another fine specimen of Onizuka goodness. Although not as many laughs as the previous disc (I have a twisted enjoyment at seeing poor vice principal Uchiyamda suffer), all these episodes were great character builders and enjoyable. I especially liked episodes 30 and 31, where one of Murai's sidekicks, Fujiyoshi (long hair, surfer-dude dub voice) gets his character developed considerably. You get to see inside his home, even--this really fleshed him out and took him out of the background. All in all, this is a great disc and I highly recommend it for casual and hardcore GTO fans.

Rating:
Summary: The Biggest Cliffhanger Yet
Review: You should by now be used to the main character's being constantly put in a tough spot. However, by the end of Vol. 7, you'll find the Greatest Teacher in the world in his toughest spot yet.

To quickly review what this series is about: Eikichi Onizuka, a former bike gang member, college karate champ, 22 years old and a bachelor, has taken it upon himself to be the world's greatest teacher. With little or no qualifications, he somehow gets accepted into a prestigious school, is assigned the worst class of delinquents and somehow has to control them.

Onizuka has to deal with various opponent-students during the course of the series: bully Aizawa Miyabi, super smart Kikuchi, fatal genius Urumi Kanzaki, and fierce Kunio Murai.

This time, things go awry as the class gears up for its class trip. Money collections go wrong and Miyabi contrives her most devious scheme yet, again involving lewd photographs of Onizuka, but this time with no computer fakery. Everyone, from a teacher, to a corrupt cop, is drawn into the trap, and not even the thought of someone's death can stop it. Just when you think Onizuka has made one of his trademark escapes from a bad situation, you'll have to think again.

By far the biggest cliffhanger of this series, Vol. 7 will have you immediately scrambling to buy Vol. 8.

Again, watching this series in Japanese is *necessary*, not only for the word jokes but because the story has pretty significant differences from the English to the Japanese versionin terms of what's going on. The Japanese vocal cast is far superior, and the vocal intonations better match the facial expressions; the storyline and what they say are far more risque and naughtier than the English dub as well.

If you've been collecting the series up to this point, I don't need to tell you to buy it. If you haven't, you're best off having watched the previous volumes, and may struggle as to who's bad, good, and why if this is your first GTO.