Japan Synopsis
GTO
Tohru Fujisawa's popular manga about a wildly irreverent high school teacher comes to the screen in this live-action comedy drama. Eikichi Onizuka (Takashi Sorimachi), who barely earned his teaching degree at a second-rate college, rolls into Horobonai, a small rural town in Northern Japan on his motorcycle to take a job as a substitute instructor. Ever since the closing of the local theme park, Horobonai has fallen into an economic tailspin, and many of the town's teenagers have sunk into a deep depression. Onizuka, however, isn't the sort of person who respects the town's newly somber personality; willing to mouth off to both his students and his superiors, Onizuka isn't much of a teacher, but he knows how to get people interested, and soon his brash style (and willingness to kick a few butts) brings new life to Horobonai.
The 1998–2000 Japan Window
187 Japan films released in this three-year window, ranked here by audience rating. GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka sits at position #76.
The 1990s Japan Landscape
Catalog density by release year in the 1990s. Highlighted year (yellow) is when GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka premiered. 447 total titles in this decade from Japan.
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #2,210 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (52nd percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among Japan Comedy productions specifically: #762 of 1,411 (top 54%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Runtime | 1h 48m |
| Release Date | December 18, 1999 |
| IMDb | tt0315870 |