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Tuesday Otaku Debate: Who is the better sensei, Yankumi or Onizuka?
by Red Baylon, 06/09/2009
Tuesday Otaku Debate: Who is the better sensei, Yankumi or Onizuka? photo

Last week's debate surely was to be another devastating landslide for one party, and the winner of the most emo mecha pilot in anime is none other than Shinji Ikari of Neon Genesis Evangelion! It was a bit obvious who would win from the start, even all the Emo Gundam pilots put together could not trump the level of whinyness and self-loathing that Shinji Ikari exuded.

 

WHO IS MORE EMO?

Shinji Ikari: 30

Emo Gundam Pilots put together: 3

 

Hit the jump for this week's debate!

For this week's otaku debate, we have quite a battle on our hands. Our two rivals in this week's debate are both from quite a common genre called "Devoted/Dedicated Teacher", which is a common in popular fiction in Japan where an ordinary teacher goes above and beyond just for her students. But our rivals are a bit different from the common teachers we see, they're actually unique in their own ways and are quite effective despite their methods.

From Gokusen, we have Kumiko "Yankumi" Yamaguchi, a teacher who is always in a track suit and is next in line to inherit the head position in the yakuza. Yankumi can also hold her own in a fight and has earned the respect of her students with her passion. Yankumi helped her students who were once delinquents into productive members of society.

From Great Teacher Onizuka, we have the former-biker-gang-delinquent-now-teacher, Eikichi Onizuka, who aspired to be a teacher just to hit on his female students, but then he realizes that he's got a conscience. Despite his former life, Onizuka sees that there is hope in every young person and helps them even when they have strayed from the right path.

Both of our contenders have hit live-action drama series with popular actors and actresses. The Gokusen live-action drama is just so popular that has gone to have three seasons and a movie is to come out soon. Though GTO was just as crazy popular (or even more) when it came out about 10 years ago. GTO still has one of the most popular mangas out there and still isn't quite over. Gokusen live-action has tons of Ikemen, Japanator loves Ikemen.

 

GTO Anime Opening - Driver's High by L'Arc~En~Ciel

 

Gokusen Anime Opening -  Hontou no Kotoba by Foot Stamp






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Legacy comments:

Zac Bentz

YANKUMI! Onizuka wouldn't hit a girl...would he?
 
sh1nd0kun

id say onizuka. his methods may be radical, but usually not that violent...sorta. in the gokusen live action, especially season 3, she just jumped into a fight with EVERYONE. to make it worse, she kept trying to teach! eww, learning and enriching the mind..
 
kamanashi

Yankumi all the way. Though Onizuka is still good, Yankumi is better to me just because of the way she taught.
 
XElectrastarX

Haven't seen or read the other series...but for me, it's GTO all the way baby.
 
yakuza278

No one beats Onizuka.

NO ONE
 
zhalfim

no one beats the cresta crashing onizuka!

actually, he is the inspiration for me to become a teacher
 
zhalfim

sorry, I meant to say:

*he was the inspiration for me when I was training to become a teacher

it's only been a few weeks since I got my credentials, hehe...
 
strikerbolt

Great Teacher Onizuka!
 
xlotrx

Yankumi is about the only teacher that could be on par with Onizuka. *insert yakuza intimidation face*
 
megadrewe

Yankumi
 
MagicalEmi

Yankumi by a mile!
1. She actually got her teaching license and became a teacher in order to teach/guide students, not get some ass.
2. She actually knows the subject (Math) she is supposed to be teaching, and can be seen actually teaching, sometimes. Rare, but it happens!
3. She has some kind of magical internal student GPS which allows her to find her students in whatever abandoned warehouse they are being beaten up in.
4. She can single-handedly take down an entire gang in hand-to-hand combat without the assistance of a flashy biker gang there to boost her intimidation level, though if she must, she CAN call on the Yakuza, which are scarier than a biker gang.
5. She has no problem beating up her students, or allowing them to beat each other up, if there is a valuable honor/life lesson to be learned by it :D

However, I think, in terms of the live action dramas, they both are very FAIL at love ^^;
 
neuromasser

Onizuka!
 
Phenyl

Onizuka, baby.
 
catnamedcat

I've never seen either - can I vote for Zetsubou Sensei? :D
 
Das Inchworm

yankumi..her air head act is just to comical
 
Wedge Jaeger

Onizuka, the only person who is more inspirational than him would be Kamina, but it'd be unfair to put Kamina in the running for everything.
 
Heero Yuy

I'm rather surprised... I haven't seen much of Gokusen, but the little I did see didn't make me think much of Yankumi at least...maybe I saw a bad part or something... (I only saw an episode or two).


That said, even without having seen Gokusen all the way, Onizuka is an incredibly awesome teacher that would be EXTREMELY hard to beat in terms of my preference...

But I'll be fair and withhold my vote till I watch a little more, at least, if anyone has parts they'd recommend I watch before making a final decision?
 
ProtoKnuckles

Onizuka by a mile. When I got my job instructing kids, he was my inspiration to be as awesome a teacher as I could be.
 
Rewarp

Onizuka. I watched enough of both to know he is the better teacher.
 
Zaibuki

on-on-oni-oni-oni-ONIZUUUUKAAAA!
 
mana

Onizuka! Elephant cosplay FTW
 
Gee-Man

Eikichi Onizuka, TWENTY TWO YEARS OLD.

I'm sorry to the Yankumi fans, but there's no way you can beat Onizuka. The things he does for his students in both the manga and anime are just insane, not only in the scale of them, but how much they effect his students. Here are a few examples of his greatness as GTO:

1. He took the Japanese equivalent of the SAT (I think, my memory is fuzzy on the specifics) and got a perfect score. With only a third of the given time. And after taking three bullet wounds. And having never graduated from college (legitimately).

2. Arm wrestled over 100 men, including those who looked like fighting characters and serial killers. IN A ROW. And sometimes three at once. He won them all.

3. Saved the life of the villanous female administrator who indirectly put him in a coma, nearly killed him, and made his life a living hell. He saved her by driving her out of the second story of a burning school on his motorcycle...minutes after he woke up from his coma.

4. And of course, prevented the suicide of his students on 4 or 5 seperate occasions, each time involving him jumping with them and taking the impact for them...usually on a brand new Cresta.

In other words, you can't beat Onizuka. When I became a TA last year for a few months at an elementary school, he was my inspiration. Kamina may be more manly, but even he didn't personally affect my mindset and approach to life the way Onizkua did. That is TRUE teaching.
 
Gee-Man

I guess for the sake of the argument, I should also remind everyone that Onizuka did all these crazy things for the sake of his students. Every single crazy, outlandish, insanely badass thing he did was so that he could help out the students whom he truly believed in. That's something you don't even see in real-life teachers.
 
Yaku

My vote goes to Great Teacher Onizuka.
 
faceoffkang

onizuka
 
Kageryu

Great Voter Kageryu votes for Great Teacher Onizuka.

Seriously, Yankumi is great, but Onizuka is Onizuka.
 
LuLu

Onizuka all the way! if you've watched the awful cheesy live action version...you would agree.
 
EvilThoughts

I like Yankumi, but I'd have to go with Onizuka. Though both go to great lengths for their students, Onizuka steps it up a notch by doing very insane things for them.
 
President Stalin

Future Great Teachers like me must vote for GTO. No one trumps him when it comes to putting students first.
 
cloudduel_13

Onizuka, Yankumi is a great teacher but he brings a bit more to the table in terms of enthusiasm.

 
ProtoKnuckles

I just remembered my favorite Onizuka moment; One of the first students he helps in the anime/live action drama.

A girl in his class feels distanced from her family and mentions that her parents live in separate rooms, so he takes a sledgehammer and punches a hole in the wall between the rooms. Fuck yeah, Onizuka.
 
Gee-Man

@ProtoKnuckles: I remember that. Probably one of the most ridiculous ways to introduce a series to a newcomer. I still show that first episode to my friends and that moment alone gets them interested in the series.
 
thenumber523

YANKUMI!!!!
 
Illumination

I pick Yankumi. Onizuka seems shallow to me.
 
mrberns

Onizuka. Hes one caring individual.
 
sheerblade

Onizuka for sure.
 
serial

Haven't seen either. FOR SHAME -_-

So, I'm going to go by catnamedcat's vote suggestion...

"I've never seen either - can I vote for Zetsubou Sensei? :D "

The one HONEST man who teaches us how the world is filled with despair!
 
Luffy

Every bit of faith I have in anything would be lost if Onizuka doesn't win this.
 
Luffy

Also Onizuka did a 5 hour exam in 1 hour, bleeding, and having 4 bullets in his stomach...He also got full marks.
 
Tim Sheehy

Kowato from rookies! Oh wait, he's not a choice, is he?

I guess GTO gets my vote. He's the OG after all.
 
Colette Bennett

Man, Yankumi is a badass. I choose her.
 
Abraham Lincoln

Gotta go with the Cresta-smashing Onizuka.
 
Nashk

Onizuka hands down.
 
Dale North

Yankumi. I honestly think she could kick Onizuka's ass
 
Skorch

Onizuka all the way.
 
The_Kenji

Onizuka. You cant compete with any one who'd knock in a wall for a student. He's simply the best.
 
Parasepsis-Ezza

I vote for Onizuka for two big reasons. One, he teaches the ADULTS life lessons just as much as the students. Two, unlike most other badasses in anime, Onizuka actually has to deal with consequences. The way in which he faces them head-on only solidifies his badness.
 
Dan CiTi

I vote GTO.

 
Masamune Shadow

Onizuka.
 
yaesir

GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA! No way anyone can top him.
 
Kaivin-kun

Greato Teacha Onizuka!
 
otaku1

Im with onizuka that runing dog creeps me the fu*k out
 
hongis

cant you guys tell? let me ask you something, why is GTO called GTO? its vey simple. because HE is The GREAT teacher ONIZUKA. THERE IS NO BETTER WORDS TO DESCRIBE HIM. he is just sooooo ONIZUKA!!! wat the hell he is immortal man, immortal. i cry when i was reading the comic. i love it soo much, i bought the whole series of the manga and the dvds and the live action although its not that good. GTO GREAT TEACHER ONIZUKA

 
Zero2021

onizuka ftw, he's a mans man
 
Not A Zombie

Onizuka all the way.
 
meluckycharMS113

Eikichi Onizuka is the better sensei. Former biker/delinquent badass with intent to flirt with the female students? Of course he's going to be a dedicated teacher with a conscience who will do anything for the students he believes in. In all seriousness, I wish I had a teacher even half as awesome as Onizuka.
 
chiqiunohito

No techer in the world can compare to Onizuka.
LONG LIVE ONIZUKAA!!!
 
chiqiunohito

...oh yeah, and I like to see them working together too. Just cannot imagine what will happen to the class they'll teach, hehe...
 
HerrHATO

Onizuka by a light-year. If I had a teacher nearly as badass as him then I wouldn't have had papers fail because of douchebag college professors getting offended by incredibly satirical topics written with true manliness and strength.
 


  

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