This show really was one of the funniest sitcoms(?) I've ever seen. The jokes and dialogue can be a bit fast-paced, but despite the silliness of many of the characters and/or the actions, it still felt pretty genuine. Another thing I liked about this was that the characters weren't very stereotypical and in fact, the show touched on stereotypes in extremely humorous ways. I was fortunate enough to catch this series early in the first season right after the cancellation of "Love Bites," a similar program on NBC, so I was able to see it as it was broadcasting, which made it a real disappointment when this was cancelled in the 3rd season.
Great Teacher Onizuka is my favorite anime/manga franchise of all time, so I might be a bit biased. While many may see it as just a reboot of the 1998 series is isn't necessarily the case. The original drama series starring Takashi Sorimachi as the titular bad-boy teacher Eikichi Onizuka premiered and ended long before the original manga series ever finished (as did the anime series) and because of this, one of the major pet peeves I had about both series was that (SPOILER ALERT) - the end of both series have Onizuka abandoning his students after teaching them that he would be their rock and stand by them no matter what. Not only was I more satisfied with the [first season's] ending (the complete ending after the multiple specials that brought the students back) in that Onizuka was no longer made to be a hypocrite, but I personally feel that AKIRA PERFECTLY encaptured the spirit of Eikichi Onizuka as Tohru Fujisawa meant for him to be in his series.
For those that watch it and wonder why there are so many changes to what they remember, that's because there are actually (at this time) 5 manga series chronicling the life & adventures of our favorite former juvenile delinquent. In [in-story] chronological order they are Bad Company, Shonan Junai Gumi (or Young GTO), Great Teacher Onizuka, Shonan 14 Days, and Paradise Lost. The first season of this particular series blends together characters & situations from Great Teacher Onizuka and Shonan 14 Days.
