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.

Ouran High School Host Club Anime Summary and Review

(Warning: This post may contain spoilers.)

The story of Ouran High School Host Club revolves around a smart girl named Haruhi Fujioka who, by her own merits and determination, was able to get a scholarship at the elite private school known as Ouran Academy. There at the Ouran Academy, while looking for a quiet place to study, she stumbles into an old music room where a group of boys who call themselves the Ouran Host Club hold their meetings, and she accidentally breaks a renaissance vase worth eight million yen. Tamaki Suoh, founder and self-proclaimed president of the Ouran Host Club, mistakes Haruhi for a boy and orders her to become the Host Club's "dog" (i.e. errand boy) in order to pay off the eight million yen. And so begins the story of the Ouran High School Host Club.

Throughout their adventures or should I say, misadventures (and they are quite hilarious), in the Host Club, Haruhi Fujioka, Tamaki Suoh, Kyoya Ootori, Kaoru and Hikaru Hitachiin, Mitsukuni Haninozuka and Takashi Morinozuka learn about friendship, love and acceptance. What started out as one of Tamaki's capricious whims turns out to be the best thing that's ever happened in their lives.

You know at first I thought this reverse harem anime was going to be one of those brainless, shallow, childish animes that are so common, and quite honestly I wasn't going to watch it at all after seeing the words "High School" so blatantly advertised in its title. But I'm very happy that I did because Ouran High School Host Club has now become one of my favorite animes of all time. The hilarious parodies and witty dialogues cracked me up, but what surprised me the most I guess was the depth of the story and personalities of the characters. It was also quite refreshing to see that Haruhi, the main girl in the story, had backbone and inner strength (unlike a lot of anime girls who whine and nag and fuss a lot and can't seem to do anything else besides being helpless and annoying).

I confess that I have watched the entire series of 26 episodes three times already, and I haven't gotten tired of it yet. In fact, I liked it better the third time around. And I loved the ending to the anime as well, and a good ending is quite rare in anime. Another thing I like about Ouran High School Host Club is its soundtrack. The orchestral tunes as well as the opening and ending themes are quite perfectly suited to the anime.  Overall, I give Ouran High School Host Club a 10/10. I would highly recommend watching it.

Weiss Kreuz (Knight Hunters) Anime Summary and Review

(Warning: This post may contain spoilers.)

I had started to watch Weiss Kreuz today but didn't get past the third of twenty-five episodes. I couldn't get over the really bad voice acting. Yes, the English dub sounded terrible but I hate having to read subs so it's bye-bye Weiss Kreuz a.k.a. Knight Hunters. Then again I probably would've at least given subs a chance if the story was really good. But it wasn't. It felt forced and the events seemed too contrived. I don't know... it just didn't "flow".

From what I gathered from the first two episodes, Weiss Kreuz is about a group of assassins for hire. These assassins, all men of different "genres", cover up their activities by being florists during the day. (I say "genres" because it feels like they intentionally engineered each guy to appeal to a different group of viewers - there's the innocent young boy, the older somewhat apathetic man, the seemingly emotionless guy who also happens to wield a sword ala samurai, and the generic one you don't notice too much.) All the girls in the neighborhood swoon and fawn over them because they're so handsome and cute, and they have no idea that these guys are really assassins. How's that for contrived? Then there are the events that unfold...

The samurai guy visits a mystery lady friend in the hospital where a little girl mistakes him for her brother who she hasn't seen for some time, and later on the samurai guy discovers that this girl's brother has been killed by the man they were ordered to assassinate. This lady friend he had visited in the hospital was a victim of a hit and run and the samurai guy happened to see the face of the man in the car that hit her. Later on he happened to stumble into that man on an unrelated assignment. Too many "coincidences" for my taste.

The only good thing I could find about the anime is that the main characters are hot guys, which is such a waste really. I would not recommend watching Weiss Kreuz unless you find yourself totally bored with absolutely nothing better to watch.

Gungrave Anime Summary and Review

(Warning: This post may contain spoilers.)

I finished watching Gungrave today, and I liked it. Oh, the ending was beautiful... so heartbreakingly beautiful I brushed away tears from my eyes and forgave the gaudy outfit and ludicrous name of Beyond The Grave, the anime's main protagonist. I also found the final episode of the anime quite artistic, almost poetic. And then there was the fact that almost all of the characters were men, with the two main ones being hot as hell. Oh, I liked it indeed!

The story of Gungrave begins in the middle, with the resurrection of Brandon Heat whose name is now Beyond The Grave and his fight with his best friend Harry MacDowell who is also the current leader of the crime syndicate known as Millennion. Then the story goes back to Brandon's youth and follows him and Harry as they rose from being petty thieves to the top of the biggest crime syndicate of all, and details the events that led to their falling out and Harry's eventual betrayal.

There were some instances in the anime where I would get annoyed at Brandon for being such a loyal obedient puppy. But in the end, that was what made him stand out. I would have preferred him to talk more though. He was always so silent. Well, I guess it was supposed to make him seem mysterious and sexy... and it kind of worked to some degree.

The fight scenes were good, although at times I wondered how so little people could get hit with so much gunfire going on. There was blood and violence, but not so much as to make you want to puke. Overall, I would recommend giving Gungrave a look over. It was quite entertaining.