At some point in my life, I wanted to be a teacher, but that dream never really materialized. Nevertheless, I can confidently say I got to be one through Onizuka after watching GTO. Despite me never becoming a teacher He mirrored my interactions with kids when I worked as a camp counselor during high school. Looking back, I realize I was simply being myself, and the children seemed to appreciate that. Each morning, I brought cards and snacks, would be over-competitive in sports and activities, gave every kid in my group a nickname, and drew both positive and negative feedback from fellow counselors, especially my manager. One day an incident occurred that got me in big trouble, but after the child's apology and confession, I avoided being fired.
To emphasize my point, Onizuka is a lot of things, he’s self-centered, annoying, immature, impulsive, lazy, perverted, you name it. —But most of all, Onizuka is true to himself and the people around him. From helping Yoshikawa become a man, Fuyutsuki with her past, and helping and being a father figure in Murai's life, you can't help but respect Onizuka.
Despite being In a school where students and teachers lack trust and understanding. Onizuka is the bridge between the two groups. Students respect and trust him because he constantly goes above and beyond for his students in the most unique of ways, sometimes risking his job. I also gotta give credit to Principal Sakurai for having my boys back. She constantly supports and watches Onizuka. Throughout the show, she goes above and beyond in securing his employment through the crazy situations he ends up in. I also can't forget Vice Principle Uchiyamada for being an absolute Chad in carrying the show in terms of comedy, there's never a dull moment with him on screen.
All things considered, this show is very similar to both Gintama and Assassination Classroom, in both structure and storytelling, especially with the MCs. Gintama is the latter, due to its similar comedy and more serious nature. Where GTO truly shines is its real and grounded approach in its messaging, not only in reality but having very relatable issues such as peer pressure, personal identity, bullying, social issues, abuse, and so on. Also, unlike Assassination Classroom the show doesn’t focus on one or two characters thought the series but the whole class. Characters aren't left out after their respective arcs but develop and have several appearances episode by episode.
Long story short, I really loved this show, especially the early and later episodes. I loved the characters, messaging, music, and hilarious comedy. The filler did throw me off causing me to go on a 6-month break from the anime but the show instantly picked itself up after I got passed it. Unfortunately, the ending was both incomplete and rushed. And to add insult to injury the anime from what I've heard censored and changed a lot of things in the manga due to broadcasting concerns, and because of said issues I give GTO an 8.3I will be giving the manga a visit... This was hard but Anko Uehara was best girl :P
(Fun fact Onizuka and I are the same age)