My Anime Theme Song Video Collection

Speaking of the theme songs of Kimi ni Todoke, I've also compiled videos of the opening/ending songs of several other anime shows with the lyrics to each. Check them out, and don't forget to vote on your favorite! :)

• Code Geass OP/ED Themes
• Darker Than Black OP/ED Themes
• Death Note OP/ED Themes
• GetBackers OP/ED Themes
• Great Teacher Onizuka OP/ED Themes
• Ouran High School Host Club OP/ED Themes
• Rurouni Kenshin OP/ED Themes
• Soul Eater OP/ED Themes

I'll be adding more compilations to my anime theme song video collection in the future so be sure to check back. :)

Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) Anime Summary and Review

(Warning: This post may contain spoilers.)

Great Teacher Onizuka is a totally ridiculous yet lovable anime about a 22-year old, crazy, over-the-top, good-for-nothing, ex-gang leader named Eikichi Onizuka whose dream in life is to become a high school teacher just so he can get close to all those high school girls. After several failed attempts at passing the exam to qualify as a teacher and even more disastrous attempts at getting hired, he gets a lucky break when a school principal notices his passion for never belittling students (since he was always belittled by his teachers when he was in school). Unfortunately, he gets assigned as the class adviser to the most notoriously problematic middle school class ever, and to his dismay doesn't even get to see any high school girls at all.

But between Eikichi Onizuka's idiotic antics and highly unconventional teaching methods, his students are gradually learning not only from textbooks but also from life itself. As I was watching the 43-episode series, I found myself wishing I had had a teacher like Onizuka when I was in high school. Because... while Eikichi Onizuka may not fit the description of a "good role model" or even a "good teacher" for that matter, what with his bad habits and all (e.g. smoking, being a ladies man, breaking the law, etc.), the life lessons he teaches his students impacts their lives in a big, positive way. And when all is said and done at the end of the day, his students are better off having known him.

This is an anime that I would definitely recommend watching. Who knows, you might even learn a few things from the Great Teacher Onizuka. :)

Added bonus:
The opening and ending themes are very catchy tunes that you can listen to all day and sing in the shower.

Best Anime Opening/Ending Themes

Have you ever had a song stuck in your head?  Like a broken record playing over and over and over even while you're sleeping?  And you suddenly start humming, or even worse - singing, the song at random moments during the day involuntarily like muscle twitches?  That's what anime has done to me, but in a good way.  That's why I think all anime shows should be required to splash this message in big bold letters before the start of the opening theme:

WARNING: 
Watching too much anime can cause JPop/Rock/Hiphop addiction.

It all starts out quite innocently.  You hear the anime's opening theme and don't think much about it because you don't understand Japanese.  Then you start noticing how awesome the video sequence that goes with the opening theme is.  Then you realize that the music is a perfect fit for the anime you're watching.  Pretty soon you hear the darn song in your head every time you see the anime's main character.  Then you just have to look it up in YouTube because you're curious to see the artists behind it.  And then you find the video to the full version of the song and that's when you're hooked.

Well, that's how I got hooked anyway. :D  You know... why don't you try it?  You might like it. ;P  I'll even point you in the right direction.  Here are a few of my favorite anime opening/ending themes right now:  (By the way, don't mind the incomprehensible English lyrics, a lot of them are incorrect. Hehe.)

Older Anime Characters

Just what is it with anime and high school students?  I mean, why is it that almost all non-samurai anime are about high school kids?  Why don't they make more anime about adults like veteran war journalist Tatsumi Saiga in Speed Grapher for instance?  But even in Speed Grapher they had to put a high school girl right up there with Saiga.  Do anime fans really like the high school setting that much, or is it that most anime fans are high school students themselves?  What about us adults?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  In fact, I've enjoyed quite a few high school themed anime such as Ouran High School Host Club and Great Teacher Onizuka (Junior high is still high school even though their teacher Eikichi Onizuka is 22 years old).  College might be a bit better, but it would still be about students and teenagers.

I would like to see more anime with adult, not teenage, characters.  Basically I guess I want the main characters to be and look older than 30.  And I want the main character to be male.  And he's got to be handsome, smart and confident.  And there has to be a generous amount of sexual tension between him and another girl a couple of years younger who is preferably not a whiny little brat.  And the story must inspire feelings of suspense, "kilig" and excitement.  It may be set in modern or ancient or fictional Japan, just as long as the above-mentioned elements are present.  Hmm... maybe I should create my own anime.  Hehe.

Sigh... now I'm missing Byakuya Kuchiki and Gin Ichimaru.  Why did Bleach have to get so bad after the first couple of seasons?

From left to right: Toshiro Hitsugaya, Gin Ichimaru, Ichigo Kurosaki, Byakuya Kuchiki, Renji Abarai

Lessons From The Great Teacher Onizuka

I recently finished watching all 43 episodes of the anime Great Teacher Onizuka or GTO for short, and I have to say that it was quite entertaining.  It follows the adventures (or more accurately, misadventures) of an ex-gang leader turned school teacher named Eikichi Onizuka.  His unconventional and often over-the-top methods of teaching were a riot, but they proved to be effective in the end.

Thinking about GTO made me remember our recent workshop on The Teacher as a Life Coach.  (Yes, I am a teacher as well.)  While it's true that Onizuka wasn't a model TEACHER, - he didn't present the academic lessons well, reading books made him fall asleep, he smoked like a chimney, he was a hopeless horndog - he was an excellent LIFE COACH having been able to give his very problematic junior high school students the emotional guidance that they needed.  It reminded me that facts and knowledge aren't the only things students should be learning.  More importantly, they have to be taught life skills that will help them cope as they journey through life.