***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Gokusen. Reader discretion is advised.***
Series Synopsis
Kumiko Yamaguchi (voiced by Risa Hayamizu) has achieved her lifelong dream. She's become a teacher and got hired at Shirokin Gakuen High School. Unfortunately, the all-boys school has a reputation for delinquency. As it turns out, Kumiko is to be the homeroom teacher for one of the most problematic classes. For anyone, especially a rookie, this task would be a handful.
Despite the odds, Kumiko makes herself right at home. She is hardly fazed by the rowdy behavior of her students.
With the air of a dim-witted, klutzy instructor there's more to Kumiko then meets the eye. She has a secret that must remain hidden from everyone if she wishes to keep her job.
Kumiko is a member of the infamous yakuza crime family, the Oedo Group. In fact, she is more than a member. She is the granddaughter of the family’s head. Due to the death of her parents, she is also next in line to become the leader of the power crime syndicate.
As Kumiko’s class tries to frazil her, she becomes an influential part of her student’s lives. Worried her identity will get discovered is always on her mind. But Kumiko never stops trying to be the teacher she's dreamed of being.
Series Positives
This is a great show, that's what it comes down too.
From beginning to end, Gokusen was able to bring about some solid entertainment. Being so short, it's a great anime to just sit back and relax with at the end of a long day.
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It knows what it is and never tries to be anything else. This isn't a bad thing. This is the kind of anime you don’t go into expecting, or even wanting, anything deep or thoughtful. You just want to laugh and have a good time. Gokusen gives you just that.
Kumiko Yamaguchi
It's great when a series is able to have a strong lead character. In the case of Gokusen, Kumiko Yamaguchi is not only a strong lead but also the show's main selling point.
Never for a second do you believe there's nothing she can't do. Knowing who Kumiko is, it's obvious that a class of delinquents is nothing compared to the life of a yakuza.
When introduced to her character, we learn how difficult the students are. Every teacher and the administration won't stop going on about them. While this was going on, take a quick look at Kumiko. She couldn’t give a care in the world. What was great, she didn't come off as arrogant or overconfident. There was no one at the school who she couldn't destroy.
The best part of it all, she rarely showed this side of her, on purpose that is. There were countless times when Kumiko slips up and gangster side shows. It put the fear of annihilation into whoever she was talking to right quick. But when it came to showing her physical strength, she had incredible self-restraint.
Due to her ideals, as well as her upbringing, Kumiko had a strong sense of honor and pride. Never would she lash out at her students to get what she wanted. Instead, she was able to connect with them so they could make the right decisions on their own. To the show's eternal credit, never did this feel forced.
You witness trust get built between Kumiko and her class. It was never told to you and never did it take big leaps of faith. Trust is something earned and Gokusen did an amazing job at illustrating this.
I've had a lot of teachers I can point back to and say they were an important influence on my life. Kumiko brought back all those good memories. She was a reminder of the lessons I learned from my instructors.
I think what I like most about Kumiko was her ability to be a real person. Forget the whole gangster background. Just focus on the fact she cared about her students. It makes you, or at least me happy knowing there are teachers like this out there.
Series Negatives
Gokusen was a fun show. The humor was great. The characters were solid. The premise was interesting. And there's not a whole lot left to say about it. Unfortunately, this is where the series falls flat.
There isn’t a whole lot to it. It's one of those anime that you will enjoy for the short amount of time you are watching, but it will not stay with you.
To illustrate my point, I started writing this review the day after I finished the show. That's nothing new. In fact, that's common practice for me. But when I came back and sat down to work it hit me, what exactly happened in the show?
The Ending
Let me start off by saying the ending of Gokusen wasn't all that bad, it just didn’t feel right. This issue started with the final three episodes. Things began to get rushed. When compared to the rest of the show, which was well paced, this was a drastic shift in style.
Gokusen played with the idea of shady characters working in the background. This set up happened in the first two episodes and it was intriguing. Then nothing came of it. It was so quick and it felt so minor you more or less forget about it. Then the show wanted to have some last minute tension before the end. Where did it turn too? Take a guess.
Instead of building up to the ending confrontation, it just appeared. To go along with this, these events weren't settled all that well either. Conflicts were dealt with through convenience. It makes you question why the series even bothers with it in the first place.
Also, there was a small romantic subplot with Kumiko. Throughout the entirety of Gokusen, this got used as a comedic tool, and it worked. Then the shows did it again. The end wanted this relationship to actually be something serious and a key element to the story. And in no way was that true.
I get why Gokusen wanted to add tension. It wanted variety and not just rely on joke after joke. Yet, the way it went about doing this made no sense. I would've rather had the series be nothing but jokes from beginning to end.
Final Thoughts
Gokusen's the kind of anime that's perfect for those nights where you don’t have anything to do. Maybe you're having one of those lazy rainy day feelings and don’t want to tackle a complex story. Gokusen will give you that.
This is a show that makes you smile and laugh. It's a series with a simple premise just filled to the brim with heart.
Too bad it's not an anime that will last long after you watch it. Should I ever re-watch Gokusen, I will most likely have forgotten enough of it. It would be like seeing it for the first time all over again. In the end, the thought of that isn't all that bad. I'll enjoy it then just as much as I enjoy it now.
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