Having watched over one hundred slice of life anime over the past four years, I can attest that most of them fail at creating characters that breathe outside of typical tropes; for example, a typical school rom-com will have a classic cast of characters such as the tsundere, the jock, the nerd, and so on, but they will not allow these characters to have anything described of them outside of these tropes. For characters to be believed, the audience must be able to relate to them on some form, so when a character portrays no relatable faults or does not go through any form of relatable challenge, then it is hard for the audience to imagine them as "real." The best example of this reasoning is found in the title character of GTO, Class 4's homeroom teacher Onizuka, who on the surface is the archetype of a bone-headed idiot breed of character that you may find in many slice of life anime, however there is much more to him beyond this trope. Onizuka fulfills his archetype by constantly getting himself into tricky situations, such as not having any money left a week before payday, but where he differs from a basic trope is his additional character traits and his overarching fault. Onizuka's goal is to become the "greatest teacher in Japan," as espoused in the title of the anime, and it is through his personal fault that this goal is undeniably achieved. Onizuka's fault is his unending dedication to helping his students overcome their personal faults or issues, whether it be major (suicidal thoughts) or minor (not respecting authority); his dedication is a fault for it causes Onizuka to place himself in precarious financial, physical, and mental dangers. Onizuka isn't perfect, he doesn't solve every issue without collateral damage, he doesn't make everything fixed with the click of his fingers, but he works hard at providing the best guidance and support way beyond what the typical, ultimately self-interested, teacher would be capable of; it is with this fault or imperfection that Onizuka becomes a "real person" that the audience can root for, at times admonish, and ultimately be entertained by.
Every single human has a fault, there is no such thing as a perfect person, so what would be entertaining about a fictional character that doesn't understand the concept of struggle, or doesn't exhibit traits beyond the title used to describe their demeanor? Perhaps some basic level of enjoyment can be found in watching a power fantasy, such as Solo Leveling, where the main character is a stoic badass that never fails, however I believe a higher level of enjoyment created by engaging, relatable, and faulty characters provides something more valuable to the audience; it provides soul.
There are many other factors that make GTO an enjoyable anime to consume, such as its late 90's art style, or its wacky humor, but nothing provides more enjoyment than its soul. I would highly recommend this anime to anyone feeling down, to anyone who wants to be in a positive mindset, for this anime will provide a form of warmth and familiarity as you progress through the journeys of its characters; at least, that is what it did for me.
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