GTO: The Early Years - Shonan Junai Gumi 1 [Paperback]

Tohru Fujisawa (Author)

Book Description

Before Ekichi Onizuka would become the Greatest Teacher in the World, he and Ryuji Danma were members of infamous biker gang, Oni Baku. When not out riding around and getting into trouble, this duo could be found in school, trying to pick up young woman! Hey, Onizuka had to start somewhere!The hilarious prequel to the super-popular GTO is finally here!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This prequel to the immensely popular GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) actually came out first, but is lesser known. It's a high-school soap opera full of street fighting and unrequited love. The story hits the ground running when we find our two schoolboy heroes—good with their fists but unlucky in love—about to lose their virginity to two college cuties. Of course, they don't; where would the story have to go if they scored in the first few pages? And a good thing this unintentional celibacy turns out to be; those two gorgeous girls are, in fact, teachers at the boys' new high school. Whoops! From these racy beginnings, Eikichi Onizuka and Ryuji try to get even with their teachers, protect their reputations as tough guys and finally get lucky with the females. There's slapstick galore, from an accidentally shaved head disguised with an absurdly large pompadour wig to the more problematic near-rape of one of our heroes. There's also plenty of tear-jerking pathos. This manga offers lots of rowdy high-school fun, with a pleasant absence of shrinking girls and an abundance of good humor. (June)
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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: TokyoPop (June 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598162942
• ISBN-13: 978-1598162943
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Better, January 10, 2008

By 

C. Gallo - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GTO: The Early Years - Shonan Junai Gumi 1 (Paperback)

It does. Early years are the stories of our main character from GTO in his early years. One of the best Manga's around now and it's far bigger then a normal Manga. It's over 500 pages EACH volume. Must buy now if your a GTO fan!

3.0 out of 5 stars It's not that great..., March 11, 2011

By 

Kaneda0082 - See all my reviews

This review is from: GTO: The Early Years - Shonan Junai Gumi 1 (Paperback)

Being a huge fan of GTO I thought that buying this series was a no brainer. Turns out that there is a good reason as to why people have read GTO and not this series. Since buying all of the books so far (1-10) I can honestly say that the series isn't worth buying. It's not overtly terrible, its just not any good. The same tired storyline is used ad-nauseum. Super strong invincible tough dude shows up, everyone is scared, they get in a big fight, Onizuka and Ryuji win. Throw in some jokes and elementary comedy bits and there you go. If you want a decidedly average series about repetitive fighting scenes and mild humor then this is all you. But if you loved GTO and were expecting anything remotely similar to it, then you are in for a major letdown.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GTO FANS REJOISE, November 29, 2007

By 

H. Hubbart "Deer Lover" (Petaluma, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: GTO: The Early Years - Shonan Junai Gumi 1 (Paperback)

This mange is just the thing I was looking for. I finished watching the TV series and wanted MORE, prequal or sequel I did not care. I started reading GTO manga (also Rcamended) and I came across GTO Early years. I thought I would cry. It's about Onizuka & Ryuji (the mechanic in GTO) and they're preset to loose their virginity and the formation of the natoreious "ONI KAKU" biker gang of Shonen beach. Also you should know that this was infect made before GTO in the early 90's so it an older style of anime like yu-yu-hakisho. It's got comedy, drama, love and the great mindless violence.