GTO: The Early Years -- Shonan Junai Gumi, Volume 4

Shonan Junai Gumi #4

by Tōru Fujisawa

Before Eikichi Onizuka would become the "greatest teacher in the world," he and Ryuji Danma were members of the infamous biker gang, Oni Baku. When they weren't out riding around and getting into trouble, this duo could be found in school. Doing what you ask? Picking up young women of course!

Genres: Manga, Fiction

376 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

About the author

Tōru Fujisawa (japanese: 藤沢とおる; also Toru, Tôru Fujisawa or Tooru Fujisawa) began his career as mangaka in 1989 with Adesugata Junjou Boy serialized in the Weekly Shonen Magazine.

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka is this story of a former biker gang leader and hooligan who wants to be a teacher so he can score with pretty young students. Along the way, hijinks ensue and somehow, Onizuka earns the respect and love of his class. What was his life before he became a cool teacher? The prequel series GTO: The Early Years – Shonan Junao Gumi answers that.

I found this copy of the fourth volume of the prequel series in one of my Booksale browsing trips. It was a thicker volume than a regular manga title at around 368 pages. This was a book store copy too since a bargain bin copy would have its edges defaced with a black marker. It still has its shoplifting repellent RFID tag.

I enjoyed the original GTO series and decided to try this out. It tells the story of Onizuka of days as a high school hooligan. This being a shonen manga in a high school setting it has the requisite sex, violence and toilet humor. It was a definitely a boy’s title, as it catered to the wish fulfilment fantasies of teenage boys. With that vein the stories in it reflects those desires.

If the punk Onizuka has one redeeming quality, it would be his loyalty to friends. He never backed down from any challenge that could possibly kill him if only to help a friend. That and despite the hormones, made him an interesting character. You couldn’t help but root for him to win.

It was a fun read nonetheless.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yap, kali ceritanya nggak shallow dan konyol kayak biasa, yang melulu tentang usaha Onizuka dan Ryuji mendapat cewek. Masuk juga ke jalan cerita wajib komik shonen: perkelahian antar Oni Baku vs geng lain, yang tentu saja dimenangkan Oni Baku yang ternyata sesuai dengan nama julukan mereka. Dan seperti komik shonen pada umumnya, setelah berantem, semua adalah teman...

Beres masalah berantem, kembali ke masalah cinta. Yang jadi masalah, Onizuka memang nggak pernah peka kalau ada cewek yang suka padanya, malah ngejar-ngejar cewek lain.

[William Hayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where it all began was surprisingly wilder, hyped and at times even cooler for Eikichi Onizuka and Ryuji Danma - a must read for any GTO fan.