As promised, here’s my
Gokusen Special post!
Dozo!
Story
Yamaguchi Kumiko is a 23 year old woman who has just graduated from collage. She takes her first job as a teacher in Shirokin High, an all boy school, as a teacher. Unfortunately, her first teaching class is a bunch of delinquents. Being new at her profession, the class takes her lightly. As a woman of determination and optimism, she sets her goal to winning the trust and respect of her entire class.
Micchie:
Gokusen’s story format is quite similar to another anime series,
Great Teacher Onizuka or
GTO. A new teacher gets a job at a school, handles a class of delinquents and finally wins them at the end. Both the characters of Onizuka and Kumiko are also alike for they both have a gang; one is a yakuza’s granddaughter and the other as an ex-biker gang leader. Many anime fans cannot help but compare these two anime because of their plots, however, we have to remember that these are two different works and each anime have something special to offer.
Anime vs. Live Action
On the spring of 2002, Nihon TV aired the live-action version of the popular anime “Gokusen” starring famous personalities such as
Nakama Yukie (Sadako of Ring Zero), Jun Matsumoto (of group ARASHI) and Shun Oguri (Azumi, Densha Otoko).
Micchie:
Unlike other anime-turned-live-action like “MARS” and “Hana Yori Dango”, I was surprised that the live-action version of Gokusen didn’t fatefully follow the storyline of the manga or the anime. Perhaps this is because the chronology of the story is day-to-day basis and does not follow a consistent storyline. However, some parts of the anime was present like the episode where the class of Yamaguchi tracked a thief down and her first day of class where Shin first noticed how she differs from their past teachers when she caught by a hand a baseball ball that was thrown at her without looking. The anime finished with the viewers hanging for more and some things are still not clear so you really have to read the manga for the details. After the 12 episodes of the drama, a special was made showing the graduation of class 3-D. Speaking of the class, in the anime Yamaguchi’s class is 2-4, while it is class 3-D in the drama. The class also calls Yamaguchi “Yankumi”, a nickname given to her by them as a shortened “Yamaguchi Kumiko”. This calling thing is quite uncertain to me, for the anime that I watched was dubbed in english and I certainly don’t remember them calling her “Yankumi” even once. The live-action presented a touchier feel to it, as they created character reflections per episodes. Of course, these are especially for the 5 special students of Yamaguchi and her. The anime tends to be a lot more gag, as the live-action balances their comic and sentimental element well.
A story would never be complete without the characters that make it alive; here are the characters of Gokusen. Dozo!
Characters
Yamaguchi Kumiko
a.k.a Yankumi, Ohjou
A 23-year-old college graduate and has received her first job at Shirokin High. Yamaguchi the granddaughter of a Yakuza leader therefore she grew up knowing how to defend herself and adapting some characteristics of a yakuza. Since 7, she lived with her grandfather after her parents died of a car accident. Someday, she may inherit the position as the new leader of the Oeda group. Yamaguchi can be clumsy and silly at times but her optimism and strong belief in a person makes her be loved by many.
Micchie:
I applaud Nakama Yukie for doing such a great job of bringing Yankumi to life. The character was well adopted in terms of the physical look (with the sweat attire, glasses and pig-tails) and her silly antics. When it comes to being comical, Nakama Yukie particularly entertained me well. However, the Yamaguchi of the anime and live-action has their differences. In the anime, Yamaguchi tends to be the laid back teacher who knows that she can handle her students with her own strategies and timing. She doesn’t get involves so much in the matters of the students unless she caught them in the act or have to help them when they are in trouble. Now here’s another thing about the Yamaguchi of the drama, why does she have to remove her pig-tails and glasses every time she’s about to go to battle? Isn’t it more convenient for her to have her hair tucked away from her eyes when she dodge and kick? I never saw the Yamaguchi of the anime do that. Anyways, I think she is more of a technical supporter than a problem solver that the Yamaguchi of the live-action portrait. I know Yamaguchi has her moments of words of wisdom speeches, but the Yankumi of the live-action tends to make her momentum pretty long. And I tell you, this is PER EPISODE. Though we get something from these speeches, it tends to be quite boring. Also, the Yankumi of the live-action is a little careless when it comes to her Yakuza roots. She carelessly uses Yakuza words or expressions that leave others shocked. Lastly, the way she treats her henchmen at home is a little too bossy unlike the anime version that was kinder and more timid when it comes to her big brothers. The drama also failed to show Yamaguchi in action as a yakuza member that I think was really focal to the background of the character.
Sawada Shin
Shin is the group leader of Yamaguchi’s class. Everyone respects him because of an incident with his previous school. He’s sometimes aloof, serious and smart. He’s notorious for being fearless with his teachers as he is always seen sleeping, arriving late or walking out of class even if the teacher is present. Shin is the first one to break Yamaguchi’s secret as a member of a yakuza clan and the first to notice something unusual about Yamaguchi.
Micchie:
Sawada Shin is a bishie. Okay, so that was my first impression of him. He is. Make it the anime or the live action (JUN! *lablab*), he’s outstanding. Jun Matsumoto did an excellent job in portraying the introvert Shin. He showed the usual smirks and stares of Shin so natuarally. From the bright red hair of Shin from the anime, the drama fashioned the character with black and a strand of blonde at the side for him. Since Sawada is obviously rich, he is organized with himself; he looks clean except for his hair that shows his rebellious side. I think this physical aspect of his makes him part of 2-4 visual-wise. Sad to say the red head is gone in the drama but focused Shin’s defiantness to his attitude. At the beginning of the drama, Yankumi had a small argument inside the class with Shin with her using the word “nakama” or buddy. I think this part shows that Shin doesn’t give his trust that easily to anyone. The drama shows a more sensitive side of our second main character at the latter part. He is mainly concerned with his friends and sister, Natsumi, which was also not present in the anime. Being the leader of the class, he is always the first one to make a move when someone is in trouble.
Kumai Teruo
a.k.a Kuma
Kumai or “Kuma” meaning “Bear” in Japanese, is Shin’s bestfriend. He is the largest of the class and often found himself in trouble because of his cocky attitude. Kuma may seem scary but in fact, he is one of the kindest and most lovable student. Kuma is also the first student whom Yankumi helped from trouble, and the first one that earned her respect.
Micchie:
It’s amazing how they found the perfect actor to play Kuma. The character and physical appearance were perfectly carried. I don’t have much to say about this character as he is simply lovable. He’s still the loyal friend to Shin, loves eating and well…the dummest of the class, sad to say. But he is lovable and in the drama, Kuma showed that he can pass a subject if you study hard. In the drama, Kuma’s family runs a noodle shop and his whole family was shown. In the manga, his mother works at a hostess bar (I forgot in the anime). The first episode of the anime was the first time Yankumi helped out Kuma. In the anime, his mother knows Yamaguchi and scolded his son to be kind to his teacher for she owes her something. In the drama, Yamaguchi helps Kuma at the first episode when the head teacher accused him of stealing money, but she only meets his mother in episode 7, at PTA day.
Uchiyama Haruhiko:
a.k.a. Uchi
“Uchi” is one of Shin and Kuma’s friends in class. He’s rebellious and sometimes clumsy with his words and actions that gets him trouble, which ends up his whole gang in the problem too. Like Kuma, Uchi is a kind buddy who is willing to help out his friends when they are the ones who needs help. He is usually picked to fight because of his looks, especially his what-the-hell-are-you-looking-at-punk stare.
Micchie:
They gave justice to Uchi in the drama. He looks A LOT cooler. Really. In the anime and manga, he has this funny hair, freckled face and he looks scary, although he sort of small. In the drama, he is tall, with bleached hair that he pulls back with a clip or a headband and he even had it braided! In the special, he had at it dyed back to black. The drama gave each student an opportunity to be explored, rather than only as a supporting character. He has a single mother and they are poor. He wanted to quit class and look for a job to help her and lessen her burdens. Rather than the clumsy and loud-mouth Uchi of the anime, he is rather laid-back and cool in the drama. Actually, I think he has the same coolness as Shin.
Takeshi Noda
Noda is a cool friend of Uchi, Kuma and Shin. He doesn’t complain much, but when he does, he usually accompanies it with a frown and a “tse!”. Like his friends, he is loyal and always willing to help.
Micchie:
Uchi is rather cute in the drama, and his signature cap is missing. Instead, they replaced the cap with a scarf. As I said before, Noda and the others serves as support or a side-kick, but in the drama, Noda is shown as a happy-go-lucky rich guy. Yes, he is rich. He brings his laptop and digicam everyday. In the drama, he develops a huge crush with their new English teacher which also positioned him in a really bad situation. He is also very fashionable which explains why he wants to attend art school in college.
Youichi Minami
Minami completes the gang of Uchi, Kuma, Noda and Shin. He is the playboy of the group and can often be seem chasing after girls and getting their numbers. Once again he is a loyal and helpful friend.
Micchie:
Again, he looks way different in the drama than the anime. In the anime and manga, Minami has a scarier face and his lip is quite prominent. In the drama, he looks cool, with his long hair and he looks more of a ladies man. He is one of the cool guys in the class as he doesn’t let his friends be dragged along his problems and as much as possible don’t let them know, although they will eventually. ^^
Sawatari Goro
a.k.a Kyoto-sensei, Head teacher, Vice-principal
He is the number one enemy of Yamaguchi’s class. He is always on the look out for trouble maker students. He is strict and is always organized with his work. Being dominant in character, he sometimes tends to be too bossy that he’s like the principal rather than the second in command. He drives a VW bug that the students sprayed with paint when they played a prank on him.
Micchie:
The Kyoto-sensei except for being strict really has a different aura in the drama than in the anime. The anime showed him as this strict, always frowning, scheming teacher that wants to uncover Yamaguchi’s background and kick her out of school. He is always wearing a construction hat that he thinks is needed for protection against student pranks and a camera which he uses to catch Yamaguchi’s actions. In the drama, the Kyoto-sensei is much more comical. He is always quarreling with Yankumi and rather than scheming against the teacher, is much more focused on finding wholes against class 3-D that would expel them from the school. He often makes funny faces to mock Yamaguchi but he is actually a good man. He often embarrasses himself but he remains superior against his co-workers that make him inevitable. Rather than the overly disciplined man with no social life and only his work and family, the drama gave him a side-kick which is one of the teachers too, and they and the rest of the male faculty staff often go out at night to hostess bars.
Shizuka Fujiyama
Fujiyama-sensei is another teacher hired by Shirokin high with Yamaguchi. Unlike Kumiko who is quite a tomboy, she is sexy, lady-like and handled a better class than her.
Micchie::
Another character who went under major processing. Although the drama and the anime have Fujiyama-sensei as an attractive, sexy, young teacher, the drama gave her a smaller face and model-like figure, while in the anime, her face looks swollen, with thick lips and bob-hair. In the anime, she teaches music and established a choir club; in the drama she teaches English. She almost got fired when her side-work as a club hostess at Ginza was discovered by the school in the drama.
The Principal:
He is always smiling, laid-back, kind principal. He doesn’t indulge much in school activities that gives the vice-principal a chance to rein the school, although with much bigger business, the final decisions ends up in his hands. He is the only one who knows about Yamaguchi’s background and supports her dream of being a teacher. He believes she can bring changes in the school.
Micchie:
I love how the principal can be so happy with his life. His school isn’t at all perfect, and there are delinquents loitering around. But I think he is one of the school figures that know that these kids only want attention and understanding. In the anime, he stays in his office doing paper works that wears bow ties and is very small. In the drama, he is often seen in the garden, watering his plants in simple clothes and a towel. He can be mistaken as a janitor!
Kikuno Kawashima
She is the school nurse, though often seen in the faculty than the infirmary. She is a single mom with a six-year-old boy named, Yuta. She is funny in her own way and often flirts with Shinohara-san. She is a drama only character.
Shinohara Tomoya
A real gentle man who is often present when Yamaguchi and his students get in trouble. Yamaguchi has a long-time crush with this guy!
Micchie
Shinohara-san’s character from a Yakuza ally became an enemy. In the anime, he is a lawyer and helps Yamaguchi’s grandfather with his business because he owes something from them. In the drama, he is a cop whom Yamaguchi met in the bus, where he helped her. I think the anime showed more chances of having a ShinoharaXKumiko pairing that in the anime. He is more focused on her in the anime than in the drama where he usually helps her only because it’s a crime that’s involved with her students.
Kuroda Ryuuichiro
a.k.a Ojichan / grandfather
He is Yamaguchi Kumiko's grandfather and a leader of a yakuza group, the Oeda Family. He is a kind man, especially when it comes to his only granddaughter. He does his job well as a respected leader.
Micchie:
Yankumi’s grandfather has different personalities in the 3 versions of Gokusen. According to my sources, in the manga, he is really scary and is more of a Yakuza figure than a grandfather. He seldom talks to Yankumi and does business more often. In the anime, he is well balanced. The caring grandfather is present but it gave the audience a peek at how he runs business. The rival gangs were shown and his reputation as a powerful leader was made known in one of the episodes. The anime also showed him getting bed-ridden so some of his works was transacted by Yamaguchi; proving herself worthy as an heir of the Oeda Family. Meanwhile in the drama, the grandfather is always at home, always smiling, caring, supportive; the ideal grandfather. You may think he is too soft to be a Yakuza leader.
Tetsu Asakura
Tetsu is one Kumiko’s loyal assistants. He is older than her, so she treats him like an older brother. He is a devoted member of the Oedo family and is very thankful for them for accepting him in their home.
Micchie:
I don’t know why the live-action Tetsu doesn’t look like the original character at all. In the anime and manga, he looks really scary and he really looks like a henchman of a notorious group. In the drama, he looks more appealing and gentler. He is also in love his ojou in the drama so he is very protective of her. This protectiveness of him I think was the main reason why he and Minoru sells Tokiyaki near Shirokin, to keep close watch of his ojou and for food.
Tatsukawa Minoru
Like Tetsu, Minoru was taken in by the Oeda group and is a loyal follower of both Yamaguchi and his grandfather. He is obedient but most of the time clumsy that leads them to trouble sometimes. He is always with Tetsu.
Micchie:
Tetsu without Minoru is like Kuma without food. Hehe…at least that’s what I think. They’re always together! They are the perfect example of brothers. Minoru in the drama is like the Tetsu of the anime and manga, though he looks a lot kinder and gentler. He is really cute, I think. He looks like Buddha! His look matches his attitude.
Oshima Kyotarou
One of the toughest looking yakuza members of the anime and manga. He helps Kumiko’s grandfather often and can be considered as the leader of Tetsu and Minoru. Although this man looks like a fist ready to kill, he is really a kind middle-age guy who wants to protect the people he loves.
Micchie:
There are other two men in the drama that I don’t know the name. And it’s making me think if one of them is Kyotarou. In the anime, he is the one who is in love with Kumiko. He often cries whenever Kumiko would do or say something noble and would go to some extent just to protect her. He is the one who taught her how to fight in the anime but in the drama, it was her grandfather.
The story revolves around the characters so the flow of the show will depend on how each character is portrayed. The anime and the live-action have a lot of difference, but I think this is mainly because; they had to adjust the story according to the version. Or perhaps, according to the viewers’ expectation. I think there’s never been a perfect version and audiences will always seek for a variation. What matter is how they deliver the message of each episode and the same feel of youth spirit that Gokusen has successful imparted on its readers and viewers.
The SHINKUMI issue
Here’s the tricky part of Gokusen.
I know Gokusen fans would love to see Shin smile more and take effort in courting a girl.
I know Gokusen fans would love to see more of Yankumi’s goofiness in front of the man she likes.
I know Gokusen fans wouldn’t mind a teacher-student ROMATIKU relationship.
I know Gokusen fans would love to have Shin and Yankumi as a couple.
*sigh*
Unfortunately, all three versions of this title only gave hints. The manga and the anime only showed hints in the concluding parts of Gokusen. Shin took special interest in his teacher. He is often inspired by Yankumi’s words and at other times, would get obviously jealous of Shinohara. But they never expanded this possibility. It would’ve been great for further character development. The live-action was bolder about it. At the last episode, when Tetsu and Shinohara with his job partner were having “man talks” on pursuing Yamaguchi, Shin cuts in and said: “Sorry but…make it four of us.” So I thought, whoa, what the hell will happened? They have to show this development. After the live-action series, a special episode followed that showed 3-D’s graduation. I thought they were going to show Shin hitting on Yamaguchi, but all there was again was the god damn hints. Argh.
So what the hell are these HINTS anyway?
1. Shin was the first to notice something particular about Yanaguchi.
2. He often stares and observes her quietly and secretly.
3. He is often concern about her problems to the point that she gets annoyed by it.
4. Shin rarely smiles, but when Yamaguchi is around and goofing in class, he can’t help but smile.
5. In the anime, when Shin was pulled out from school by his father, when Yamaguchi visited him from the rooftop, he blushed.
6. At the last episode of the anime, Shin got really annoyed when Yamaguchi kept on calling Shinohara’s name. When he finally arrived, he faced the man and said: “You could do better than that.” Is that a threat? ^^
7. In the live-action, he was really happy and even giggling when Yankumi was there at their graduation trip, though it wasn’t really according to plan.
8. In the live-action, when they confronted the school board to help Yankumi retain her position, he said that since Yankumi came, school has become interesting and he always wants to go to school. He also said he was ready to open up his heart to her.
9. When Yankumi was set-up for a marriage date, the gang followed her. Shin kept careful observation to her and her date. He looked afraid; even envious of the man.
10. He is the second main character.
Haaay….all we could do is rely on our imaginations.
Put it down to words (fanfics) or ink and drawings (doujinshi, fanarts).
SHINKUMI! SHINKUMI! SHINKUMI!
FYI:
There is a Gokusen 2 live-action, but Shin wasn’t present.
There are rumors that there will be a third part and Shin and the whole gang will come back, of course with Yankumi herself!
It’s the hair!
My brother watched the Gokusen special and I sat in with him. I just noticed that the live-action characters had different hair styles! This showed that it has been really several months and its down to graduation week.
~Noda’s hair grew and he had highlights too!
~Uchi’s hair got a little shorter and he dyed it back to black.
~Fujiyama sensei’s hair grew longer and was wave-ish.
~Tetsu’s hair was brushed up with a gel.
Here ends the Gokusen special post! I can’t believe it took me a week to finish this! I’ve done drama (Love Roller Coaster) and anime (Get Backers) specials before in just one seating. Oh well, maybe I’m getting old, getting slower. Hehe…hope you enjoyed this post for those Gokusen fans!
OH!
Currently listening to: "Oasis" by HYDE
Currently reading: Sandman: Fables and Reflections
