Manga Review: GTO Shonan 14 Days (Volume 1)

Manga Review:
GTO Shonan 14 Days

In this volume of the sequel to the Great Teacher Onizuka series, Onizuka takes a new job as a Group Home Counselor (O.O)

This manga starts off where the end of the GTO anime series leaves off. Onizuka has reconciled with his homeroom class and getting ready to start summer vacation.

Now Onizuka is going on summer vacation and he's trying to find a gig for the summer!

But not before playing some pranks on the Headmaster!  

Onizuka tries out a few different things (you'll have to read to find out) before finding his calling for summer vacation. 

... Then he happens to meet Fuyutsuki's good friend, Ayame Shiratori, on the train. Do you think he has second thoughts about Fuyutsuki when he starts to hit on her girlfriend???

Eventually she offers him a job at a teen group home that she runs with another woman. Onizuka politely... accepts. But not before fantasizing about his future!

Onizuka has no idea that the kids that live at the group home are just as bad, if not worse, than his kids back at the school. He promises to change them for the better and in turn one of them promises to teach Onizuka a permanent lesson in choosing promises. One of the young women at the group home vows to chase Onizuka out before he can help anyone.

This manga was really good. It's a good one to read if you're bored or you're stuck inside on a rainy day. It did seem like it had less jokes and more violence than usual GTO. There are some fanservice shots also. This volume is plot driven and a good addition for any fan of the Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) series.

Otaku Helping Others! Part 3

Today's "Otaku Helping Others!" post is about...

Being a member of S O C I E T Y

Finding a Job!

You may ask, "What does finding a job have to do with the world of anime and manga?"
And I'll respond, "Any true otaku (anime lover) knows that the world of anime and manga is full of stories where the main character (or side character) must find a job..."

Let's take a look O.O

In the 'slice of life' anime "Clannad", Tomoya, the main character got a job right out of high school. He didn't think college was right for him. In Japan college is a serious place. From an early age school is fairly competitive in Japan, even in high school they post your test scores in rank order. College is naturally the next step in line with all of that.

Nagisa, Tomoya's girlfriend also got a job right out of high school.

Let's learn ROMAJI!!

Romaji is basically Japanese but using the english alphabet, their language comes with it's own writing.

Shigoto - Work or job.

Arubaito - Job or part-time job.

Shigoto is the term that those with a good full-time job will use and arubaito (or simply baito) is used more for part-time jobs and gigs.

In "Great Teacher Onizuka", Onizuka acted on his dream to become the best teacher in Japan. He ended up getting a job at a private school because those schools don't require as many qualifications. The same is true for private schools here.

However before Onizuka became a teacher he thought he would never get a job. That was when he became a truck driver and nicknamed himself GDO, Great Driver Onizuka. Soon after starting that job he found out he was chosen by a private school and sped there using a company truck...

Now who thought that anime cared so much about people getting jobs and making a living?? Did you think it was all saving the world and Kamehamehas??

But sometimes people don't get a job...

In "Welcome to the N.H.K" Sato thought there was a large scale conspiracy against him and dropped out of college. He started to stay in his apartment all day and live off his parent's money. He became a NEET. NEET means "not (in) education employment (or) training".

This girl decided to help him get back on his feet. She wanted to teach him how to go back to society. He looked down on the lessons but they changed him. He slowly wanted to make a living... He started slow making an erotic dating sim with his friend and trying to sell MMO money.

This blog is something like a homage to Welcome to the NHK... However I am working on a baito and would like to find shigoto that could let me buy a house...

What does Cowboy Bebop and Gintama have in common??

Well in both of these anime, the characters do work-for-hire. In Gintama, Gin-sans group does random jobs for the townsfolk. In Cowboy Bebop, Spike, Jet, and Faye are bounty hunters and try to bring in convicted criminals but they always seem to have hard luck getting any real money because the crooks either slip away, get cleared, or some other excuse...

Happy job hunting!!

And remember, follow your dream!

This is RPGHero, signing out!

Otaku Helping Others! Part 2

For today's "Otaku Helping Others" post the subject is:

HAVING A DREAM!

Luffy: "I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES!"

We are otaku. We watch way more anime than the average person. Even if we are busy with work or school we still find time for watching anime. Suprisingly, through all of my anime viewing I've found another meme or concept that links many anime shows and Japanese culture itself. That meme is having a dream or goal.

You might have thought, "what is my dream"? You might have thought of something that you're aspiring toward and then thought, "is my dream worth anything?" or "is my dream beautiful?". And if you're not creating bombs or other destructive material (the creating bombs part was told to me by my mentor) then the Japanese through anime and personality will tell you, "ANY DREAM IS GREAT AND BEAUTIFUL!".

Take Azuma Kamuma from "Yakitate Japan!"

Yakitate Japan is an anime about a teenage boy who aspires to be a bread creator who can create a bread that can be known as Japan's signature bread, like French bread is France's signature bread. But really? Bread? A whole anime dedicated to bread? Well the anime was so thoughtfully created that the making of the bread and the emotions of the people involved are so great that people can't stop watching it! So even if you're dream is to be a baker then you're dream is a honorable one.

What about Onizuka from "Great Teacher Onizuka"

The choice of picture aside. Onizuka aspires to be the greatest teacher in all of Japan. He's got alot of vices (being lazy, a yakuza member, a virgin, a porn watcher, etc) but he puts them all aside to chase after his dream and they don't get in his way. In fact when he's inspired by his dream he inspires his students to be better people!

Naruto is an anime where the character has, "an impossible dream". Most characters that have dreams in anime have impossible dreams. In Naruto's case he wants to be the Hokage of the Leaf Village, the title held by the strongest and most badass ninja. Naruto starts out as a class clown who's got no power at all and he's gone through alot... He's still not Hokage in the story but he certainly is a badass ninja right now in the current story.

There's many more characters like Ash Ketchum from Pokemon who wants to catch every Pokemon and/or be the best Pokemon trainer in the world. The show is more than 500 episodes long and he's still not the best Pokemon trainer yet...

For a recap, and take some notes, it's great to have a dream and the more IMPOSSIBLE the dream is the better because everything's possible with determination!

I'm a member of the penpal website Interpals and I'd casually chat with any Japanese penpal and if I so much as mention something like trying to get a degree, writing a story, or even having a small anime blog. Even if I'm like yeah man it's whatever they'll tell me, "You're dream is very great" or "You have a good dream". It always humbles me because we're all people with problems and for someone to say that to me, it shows me that anime is doing it's job there. No I was just kidding. It shows me that anyone who can inspire others whether they be asian, white, black, spanish they're truly great people. That's why I'm here to tell you to keep working on your dream no matter how big or small it is. It's your dream and that's all that matters. (And my mentor specifically said as long as you're not making bombs or destructive material, i.e. not trying to hurting others). If your dream can HELP anyone, even just yourself, DON'T GIVE UP!

This is RPGHero signing out!

Jpop Video of the Night

Driver's High by L'arc-en-ciel

Also the opening theme of Great Teacher Onizuka

» Click for the GTO Opening«

My silver metallic heart became hotter
I'll light the fuse for you
It's such a mysterious high.
let's go kick up some dust!
A wild pulse coupled with the shouts.
Before my eyes is a rain of missiles.

My adrenalin's always pumping
and it looks as if it'll be me that overheats.
Even if i explode and turn into ash. I'll surely be laughing as is.

Let's outstrip the town, drive at full speed until the ends of the earth and then die like lovers!
C'mon reach out your hand.

Let's cut loose until our limits as we reach the horizon.
Woh! Clash! Into the rolling morning.
Flash! I'm in the coolest drivers high! The best ending. Yeah!

Soon enough. we'll die and a pitch-black morning will come.
If you picked out your favorite clothes.
we'll run off!

Let's raise our voices enough they'll be amazed and break through the atmosphere.
Woh! Clash! Into the rolling morning. Flash! I'm in the coolest driver's high.
With steel wings..

Drive through! until time runs out, 'cause we're natural-born speed demons.
Woh! Clash! Into the rolling morning. Flash! I'm in the coolest driver's high.
See ya in the next world! Yeah!



Lyric added to Jpopasia by: jpoplover259