Watched the first 31 episodes starting 2020-10-13 then paused indefinitely.
Ahhh brings back memories. I’m still awestruck at why I paused this in the first place. I really don’t remember. It’s as great as ever!
GTO is wholesomeness personified. However, it’s not wholesome for the reasons most shows are. It shows you by example, not shying away from some messy topics to show that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel.
I think I see why I paused the show at ep 31. I really really don’t like this arc. In a way, I hate it on a personal level. I don’t hate the show itself. But the antagonist of it. In a way, you can take this as how good the show is at crafting the story to be this compelling. In another way, making it dreadful enough to leave me in a mood to not watch anymore isn’t ideal either. I’m at a weird crossroads.
I finally passed my pausing point. Heh. I’m glad I decided to push past it. GTO still manages to fascinate me in weird ways. If it was only the absurd comedy I would’ve called it a day. If it only made me cry once, I would’ve called it a day. But that’s not just it is it? No matter how much I watch, it always hits me as hard as the first ep. The stories feel so original. It’s how unique GTO’s formula is that really drags me in. That comedic undertone while being so emotionally dense. It’s like Gintama but if people had responsibilities with no easy solutions and deadly consequences for their actions. Onizuka is a weirdly silly character in a world that’s trying its best to crush his light.
I once talked at length about a facet of this with a friend of mine who’s looking into studying Architecture. At its core, he’s completely committed to art. That’s pretty much his solace in life. His passion. Sometimes he might even forget to eat when in the middle of making a sculpture. When you’re deeply passionate, you start to wonder if you can continue it forever. This comes down to whether you can monetize your passion and whether there is a marked need for it.
However, no matter how much you love different forms of art and built environments. You will never be able to fully express your creativity in any realistic scenario. There are regulations you need to follow. There are a customer’s needs. Even if you make a perfect design. When a client tells you to change it to fit the image in their head, you feel like everything’s coming crashing down. As if the design is now impure.
This leads to the question. Is this how you should think of your passions? If using your skills in a corporate environment to satisfy market needs is going to limit your artistry, would it be better to fight against the current way of things and leave a mark your own way? Risking the fact that you might come to hate what you’re doing if things go south. Or should you yourself adapt to the way the market works and simply go with the flow? This is quite a paradox in a way.
Onizuka is often forced into circumstances where he must choose between these two. Should he keep striving to be the best teacher possible? Push through all of the scandals, the students and the teachers in his way while keeping strong to his ideals of being GTO. Or should he adapt like how all of the other teachers have? Giving up on the students and prioritising his own well-being for the sake of his wellness.
If it isn’t obvious already. Onizuka always chooses the GTO path. To go against what everyone says. To put a mark on the world, in his own way. Not giving a shit about what anyone else does to impede him. And he holds strong till the very end. Not wavering even when faced with the predicament of literally being forced to go fishing for a whole year and losing his status as a teacher because he didn’t want to snitch on his student for a crime he didn’t even commit.
Though the arc ended rather comically and positively. I’m surprised the show even attempted to tackle a question like this. You don’t see paradoxes like this answered nor even discussed usually, considering how hard it is to not get it wrong big time. And with such a resolution too. I mean, it’s Onizuka we’re talking about here. Once he proclaims something. It might as well be etched in stone.
There’s just something to GTO’s style of storytelling that’s making me so emotional watching it. I can’t seem to pinpoint what it is. In one way, it’s making me really nostalgic; in another, watching the honest to god way these characters act is really satisfying.