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ごくせん [Gokusen] #1
ごくせん 1 [Gokusen 1]
泣く子も黙る仁侠集団「黒田組」の四代目として生まれ育った山口久美子。ところが選んだ稼業（？）は、なんと学校の先生!? しかも赴任先は悪名高き「白金学院高校」だった…。極道＆先生の爆笑ミスマッチ・コメディー！
196 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2000
21 people are currently reading
758 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
August 6, 2019
The drawing for the rough-head characters are pretty ugly, but read this for the amazing protagonist. Yankumi is strong in heart, will and physicality. Her belief in her students is what makes the series a lot of fun.
November 25, 2018
2018 Review
Re-read this series this week and remembered why I love it so much. It is the right mix of intense and silly, profound and corny. Unlike the anime or live action, which represent Yankumi as an idealistic airhead, Yankumi of the manga truly seems to belong in the yakuza. It is not hard to imagine her as the fourth generation heir.
Shin remains just as tsundere and fab as I remembered.
I love all the yakuza members.
Truly a favorite.
***
Original Review:
This whole series is fabulous, easily my favorite even surpassing Ouran Host Club!
Language though
Re-read this series this week and remembered why I love it so much. It is the right mix of intense and silly, profound and corny. Unlike the anime or live action, which represent Yankumi as an idealistic airhead, Yankumi of the manga truly seems to belong in the yakuza. It is not hard to imagine her as the fourth generation heir.
Shin remains just as tsundere and fab as I remembered.
I love all the yakuza members.
Truly a favorite.
***
Original Review:
This whole series is fabulous, easily my favorite even surpassing Ouran Host Club!
Language though
December 6, 2016
I read this back in the day before the entire series had come out and only recently went back to reread and finish the entire series. Yes, the series blurb makes it sound like GTO, which is one heck of a famous manga, along with Dragonball, Naruto, One Piece...just to name some top names. But Gokusen isn't far behind in the ratings.
Synopsis:
Yankumi (so nicknamed by her first class, juniors in high school) is a newbie teacher at a really bad all-boys school in Tokyo, Shirokin High. They pull all sorts of stunts on her during her first week, such as throw things at her during class, yell names at her, put a pieced together picture of her head atop a naked female body on the board, and some students even threaten and smack her. It's a bad school. But far worse than that is when teachers from other schools come to review her class and her entire class skips out and goes to hang out on the roof. But Yankumi is used to dealing with delinquents. Even though all the females are the same height as each other and all the males are the same height as other males, she's clearly supposed to be a smaller, skinnier, sort of nerdy looking chick with glasses. But she comes from a family of famous Yakuza: when her parents died in a car accident when young, her mother's father took her in and raised her among the other Yakuza.
There are funny moments in the series due to fighting among the boys, hiding her family's background from people at school, saving her students from gangsters when they pick fights, and other events. Some highlights are her crazy crush on her family's lawyer, a tall, good-looking Shinohara, who comes from a normal background but owes a debt of gratitude to her grandfather. She giggles like a little girl whenever she's around him and her entire family of misfits know and humorously try to throw them together.
Some side characters are just funny and lovable, such as her grandfather's second-in-command, Kyou-san, who is a tattooed, scarred playboy of 50-something, who "looks like he can beat up a bear" but cries like a little girl whenever Yankumi gets hurt. Another funny character is Yankumi's student, Ucchi, who has a weird double-horned afro and freckles and is endlessly optimistic and talks bigger than his abilities.
But by far the most standout character is the fully-fleshed out Shin, the most outstanding of Yankumi's students, and the second love interest. Yes, he's a junior in high school at the start of the series to Yankumi's 23. Nothing happens, and in fact, Yankumi is completely oblivious. Shin is the son of a high-ranking police chief in a prestigious department of the police force, and his older brother also went to the famous Tokyo University. In fact, Shin would have gone there himself if not for a mishap in 10th grade which ended with him rebelling and applying for the worst high school around. He's a misfit, but because of his personality, he's a leader rather than anything else.
What I love about this guy is that he's not really the typical shoujo hero: for one thing, he's not a playboy. Can you recall the last time a hero was (1) weaker than the heroine in terms of fighting, (2) younger by 6 years, and (3) not a playboy? By rights, he should have been kind of a loser, but really, he's totally alpha...even though he's mostly asleep or just looking on in his scenes.
At the start of the book, he's half-assing high school, living on his own, skipping most of his classes, and doing well in grades...well, because he really could have made it to the best high school in town. He's bored with school and leaves the scene whenever he's even more bored. But the mystery behind his new teacher piques his interest and gets him interested in life and morals and relationships again. That is to say, his bad experience in junior high made him hate school and disillusioned with the roles of teachers. But Yankumi's idealism and naivete and loyalty to her students made him believe again.
In Asia, they call guys like him a "covered boiling pot," which is the equivalent of "still waters run deep." The romance slowly burns through across the entire series and ends well in the last book, when the class graduates. I especially loved his interaction with her family, and how well he fit in without trying, how he saves Yankumi, sometimes by fighting, but usually by being smarter than the other characters in the series. You hardly see when he starts to feel something for her, and that's why I think the romance is done extra well. The reader is never hit over the head.
Theoretically, when Shinohara finally reveals that he's not totally nonchalant to Yankumi, the reader should have been happy for Yankumi. But the person you feel the most for is Shin. In Shin and Shinohara's conversations together, you see that Shinohara is overly cautious, but Shin, despite being smart, intelligent, and cool as ice, is willing to go all out for Yankumi. He's the one who gets her, who listens to her problems, who finds ways to solve them, and who's always the first to rescue her, simply because he has keep observational skills. You feel for him because even though he's the right person for her, he can't do anything but stand by because of his age and the fact that she doesn't see him as anything other than her student. He knows this, and there are times he feels like giving up, but he doesn't. And he tells Shinohara so -- that he, Shin, will be the next yakuza lawyer for the family and that he'll be the one to take care of Yankumi. (Sadly, it was even this speech that probably spurred the cautious Shinohara into asking Yankumi to go away with him.)
I could go on and on about Shin -- and I almost never am head over heels for any characters, but...read it for yourself! Highly recommend.
Synopsis:
Yankumi (so nicknamed by her first class, juniors in high school) is a newbie teacher at a really bad all-boys school in Tokyo, Shirokin High. They pull all sorts of stunts on her during her first week, such as throw things at her during class, yell names at her, put a pieced together picture of her head atop a naked female body on the board, and some students even threaten and smack her. It's a bad school. But far worse than that is when teachers from other schools come to review her class and her entire class skips out and goes to hang out on the roof. But Yankumi is used to dealing with delinquents. Even though all the females are the same height as each other and all the males are the same height as other males, she's clearly supposed to be a smaller, skinnier, sort of nerdy looking chick with glasses. But she comes from a family of famous Yakuza: when her parents died in a car accident when young, her mother's father took her in and raised her among the other Yakuza.
There are funny moments in the series due to fighting among the boys, hiding her family's background from people at school, saving her students from gangsters when they pick fights, and other events. Some highlights are her crazy crush on her family's lawyer, a tall, good-looking Shinohara, who comes from a normal background but owes a debt of gratitude to her grandfather. She giggles like a little girl whenever she's around him and her entire family of misfits know and humorously try to throw them together.
Some side characters are just funny and lovable, such as her grandfather's second-in-command, Kyou-san, who is a tattooed, scarred playboy of 50-something, who "looks like he can beat up a bear" but cries like a little girl whenever Yankumi gets hurt. Another funny character is Yankumi's student, Ucchi, who has a weird double-horned afro and freckles and is endlessly optimistic and talks bigger than his abilities.
But by far the most standout character is the fully-fleshed out Shin, the most outstanding of Yankumi's students, and the second love interest. Yes, he's a junior in high school at the start of the series to Yankumi's 23. Nothing happens, and in fact, Yankumi is completely oblivious. Shin is the son of a high-ranking police chief in a prestigious department of the police force, and his older brother also went to the famous Tokyo University. In fact, Shin would have gone there himself if not for a mishap in 10th grade which ended with him rebelling and applying for the worst high school around. He's a misfit, but because of his personality, he's a leader rather than anything else.
What I love about this guy is that he's not really the typical shoujo hero: for one thing, he's not a playboy. Can you recall the last time a hero was (1) weaker than the heroine in terms of fighting, (2) younger by 6 years, and (3) not a playboy? By rights, he should have been kind of a loser, but really, he's totally alpha...even though he's mostly asleep or just looking on in his scenes.
At the start of the book, he's half-assing high school, living on his own, skipping most of his classes, and doing well in grades...well, because he really could have made it to the best high school in town. He's bored with school and leaves the scene whenever he's even more bored. But the mystery behind his new teacher piques his interest and gets him interested in life and morals and relationships again. That is to say, his bad experience in junior high made him hate school and disillusioned with the roles of teachers. But Yankumi's idealism and naivete and loyalty to her students made him believe again.
In Asia, they call guys like him a "covered boiling pot," which is the equivalent of "still waters run deep." The romance slowly burns through across the entire series and ends well in the last book, when the class graduates. I especially loved his interaction with her family, and how well he fit in without trying, how he saves Yankumi, sometimes by fighting, but usually by being smarter than the other characters in the series. You hardly see when he starts to feel something for her, and that's why I think the romance is done extra well. The reader is never hit over the head.
Theoretically, when Shinohara finally reveals that he's not totally nonchalant to Yankumi, the reader should have been happy for Yankumi. But the person you feel the most for is Shin. In Shin and Shinohara's conversations together, you see that Shinohara is overly cautious, but Shin, despite being smart, intelligent, and cool as ice, is willing to go all out for Yankumi. He's the one who gets her, who listens to her problems, who finds ways to solve them, and who's always the first to rescue her, simply because he has keep observational skills. You feel for him because even though he's the right person for her, he can't do anything but stand by because of his age and the fact that she doesn't see him as anything other than her student. He knows this, and there are times he feels like giving up, but he doesn't. And he tells Shinohara so -- that he, Shin, will be the next yakuza lawyer for the family and that he'll be the one to take care of Yankumi. (Sadly, it was even this speech that probably spurred the cautious Shinohara into asking Yankumi to go away with him.)
I could go on and on about Shin -- and I almost never am head over heels for any characters, but...read it for yourself! Highly recommend.
December 23, 2021
Gokusen 2002 live-action was my childhood comfort. I loved everything about it, especially Shin. Last night I was lost in thoughts, and suddenly an image of Yankumi catching the ball (that always amazed me when I was a kid) came spinning in my mind, and I was like, "Yes! 'Sh'awada time!" so binged season 1, the live action, instantly, which reminded me of the good old days. I've never seen the manga nor the anime, that's why I'm here today. I was taken aback by the kind of language in the first few chapters, but I immediately settled down to it. It was a josei manga after all, and to top it all, in a yakuza setting (which the love action kind of toned down a little). Of course, it is going to be like this.
I can't help but smile. I'm going to love it more, for sure. It kind of reminded me of one of my favorite novels of all time, Dr. Jones' 1972 "Don't Push Your Teacher Down the Stairs on Friday!" There's the same rowdy, gangsters, language, wild natured students, and that one teacher who sees differently from others. That one teacher that can be the total savior. I love that kind of motif. I'm just sad that my weird brain did not think of it sooner! But I'm here now, and that's what is important.
I can't help but smile. I'm going to love it more, for sure. It kind of reminded me of one of my favorite novels of all time, Dr. Jones' 1972 "Don't Push Your Teacher Down the Stairs on Friday!" There's the same rowdy, gangsters, language, wild natured students, and that one teacher who sees differently from others. That one teacher that can be the total savior. I love that kind of motif. I'm just sad that my weird brain did not think of it sooner! But I'm here now, and that's what is important.
July 3, 2011
Yosh! Here comes OPERATION GOKUSEN REREAD!
It's interesting to see how much the art has changed -- I think you can see the change even between Vols 1 and 2. Yankumi's head looks like a bean in the first few chapters! Shin however is as ever incongruously "hot". I kind of love that he looks like he's come from a different manga.
I think Yankumi becomes less gangsta and more enthusiastic teacher!!! over the course of the manga. In-story explanation: she's been normalised/softened by hanging out with ordinary people?
It's interesting to see how much the art has changed -- I think you can see the change even between Vols 1 and 2. Yankumi's head looks like a bean in the first few chapters! Shin however is as ever incongruously "hot". I kind of love that he looks like he's come from a different manga.
I think Yankumi becomes less gangsta and more enthusiastic teacher!!! over the course of the manga. In-story explanation: she's been normalised/softened by hanging out with ordinary people?
November 6, 2015
I have to admit it... I am obsessed with KAT-TUN lately, and I am dying to watch the dorama starring my beautiful Kame and Akanishi. Main reason why I started reading this manga. (2nd reason: the fanfic I am currently reading has a lot of Gokusen's allusions)
I am glad. I did not have much luck in the josei genre, but this one is very good. Funny, with plenty of action, and a charismatic and tough main character, Kumiko. The art reminds me of the MTV show Daria (another great character!). Kumiko is strong (as expected from a Granddaughter of the leader of a Yakuza).
I am glad. I did not have much luck in the josei genre, but this one is very good. Funny, with plenty of action, and a charismatic and tough main character, Kumiko. The art reminds me of the MTV show Daria (another great character!). Kumiko is strong (as expected from a Granddaughter of the leader of a Yakuza).
February 8, 2022
So effortlessly witty, whilst still retaining a cohesive, albeit diabolical, plot.
Yankiumi’s role as a high-school teacher and yakuza successor makes for a entertaining protagonist, coupled with the daily frolics of her delinquent students and maintaining peace among rival clans. It’s a daily recipe for disaster and yet works in it’s own way. It’s almost reminiscent of Gintama (even in early art style) but has it’s own tone that keeps it on par with GTO or Hinamatsuri.
Great characters, great progression and genuinely a ton of fun - anything to quell a reading slump.
4.75/5
Yankiumi’s role as a high-school teacher and yakuza successor makes for a entertaining protagonist, coupled with the daily frolics of her delinquent students and maintaining peace among rival clans. It’s a daily recipe for disaster and yet works in it’s own way. It’s almost reminiscent of Gintama (even in early art style) but has it’s own tone that keeps it on par with GTO or Hinamatsuri.
Great characters, great progression and genuinely a ton of fun - anything to quell a reading slump.
4.75/5
August 14, 2018
My Gosh, Yankumi and Sawada Shin dukkun, dukkun... You melted my heart when I was a child, and still now *_*
This is to read, when you don't wanna think of anything, and just laugh on the beauty of school life, flower boys, commitment, and Yamaguchi sensei yakuza/teacher weird teaching skills!!!!
I also saw the Japanese drama version of this saga, well done !!! U_U
This is to read, when you don't wanna think of anything, and just laugh on the beauty of school life, flower boys, commitment, and Yamaguchi sensei yakuza/teacher weird teaching skills!!!!
I also saw the Japanese drama version of this saga, well done !!! U_U
November 11, 2022
A feminist version of GTO: Great Teacher Onizuka, Vol. 1.
December 10, 2021
Amazing
February 1, 2020
Sialan komik ini. Sialaaaan *nggak brenti2 ngakak*
Review lengkap klo uda slese ngakak
Review lengkap klo uda slese ngakak
May 26, 2021
[17/04/2021] Chuyển ngữ mượt mà, nội dung thú vị, gây cười:)) Tập 1 chưa mở ra nhiều vấn đề lắm, cũng đáng chờ đợi các tập tiếp. Nét vẽ đơn giản, chắc bởi vì bộ này ra mắt lâu lắm rồi?:)) Không hiểu sao nhưng mình thấy cô giáo rất xinh và dễ thương ấyyyy
September 26, 2015
Moral kisah ini :
- kesetiakawanan itu oke~(^.^)b
- persahabatan juga oke (^.^)b
- semua manusia sama, apapun latar belakangnya
Yang gak bermoral : lebih baik gak dibahas di sini~ (^ww^) gwahahahaa~
- kesetiakawanan itu oke~(^.^)b
- persahabatan juga oke (^.^)b
- semua manusia sama, apapun latar belakangnya
Yang gak bermoral : lebih baik gak dibahas di sini~ (^ww^) gwahahahaa~
September 22, 2025
একশন, ড্রামা, মিস্ট্রির জবরদস্ত একটা বই। শুরুটা তো বেশ মজার এখন পরের বইগুলো শেষ করতে হবে।
March 20, 2018
*This review is for the series as a whole with 4.5 out of 5 stars*
After watching the anime, I hurriedly got myself a copy of its manga so I can try the first chapter and to see whether I will like it enough to continue. And as you can see, I finished all 15 Volumes in just a week (considering of having a very bad dose of Yuri on Ice hangover, *wink). I don't normally read its manga counterpart after finishing the anime and I usually wait for a month or even a year depending of my mood. But for this case, I think it was because it was so funny even after watching the anime. Every chapter had me laughing my head off that I decided to read all the volumes.
The story was really good. I love that it was different than the others that I have read before plus it's so Japan because of the Yakuza thing and it also drops some cool thing about Japan like the festivals and their culture.
The idea of a Yakuza heiress teaching in an all-boys school which is also known as a school for delinquents is very unique. All the possible questions that you can encounter while reading this story we're all addressed perfectly in this manga. And not just that, I also love the fact that it also features the story of each side characters so we really got to know more about them. And dropping all those lessons while making you laugh at the same time was epic!
The lines were so good, the scenes we're properly executed and they can be funny and emotional when the author intends it to be. What I mean is that this manga was done so flawlessly. No dull moments. I actually laughed hard a lot of time reading this manga, I think I laughed on every chapters, or was that even every pages? Hehe. There's quite a lot of characters and knowing me, I didn't remember their name haha, I'm really bad with names lol. But even if that was the case, I can really say that I know each of them. I understand what they are going through since they all got the chance to share their story, but I just really can't seem to remember their names except Shin and Yankumi hehe (and Shinohara too, haha).
The main character Kumiko is really a badass. Well, what can you expect from a Yakuza heiress eh? But aside from physical strength, she also has a good heart. She lost her parents at a young age so she was taken in by her grandpa which is the 3rd generation leader of the Kuroda clan (also referred to as the Ooedo Clan). She grew up with guys so it was really not a surprise that she grew up as a pretty good fighter. She may not look like it but she's really strong. I love that even with her family background, she decided to pursue her dreams and my, I'm sure so happy for her. Yes, her students were kind of hardheaded but you can really see that they are kind-hearted too. I love how she supports them and give them the lesson that they need to learn. I also love the fact that because she's true to herself she was able to win over the hearts of those people around her even those that was against her from the start. My! This girl is definitely my hero. Aside from that, she’s very funny and dense at the same time too, haha. But even if that was the case, there’s still this one particular student that has his eyes only for her, ayeii!
Gokusen also had some pretty good group of characters that I really love reading about. There's no unnecessary characters here, all of them has a role to play and did them well. I actually don't have any complaints about that. I love the story, I love the characters, I love the settings, I just love everything. And speaking of love, I love Shin here. He really looks hot! Now I can clearly see why the title “The Young Red Lion Master” suits him so well. Plus, those extra chapters were really funny, haha.
Aside from the lessons this manga gives, it also warms my heart because it also highlights family love. You see, this manga explains to us that just because they're a Yakuza it doesn’t mean they're bad entirely. That they also have some good sides too. You really should know someone first before judging them.
But even with all those nice words, why I am giving this manga 4.5 rating? Well, you see, I think there should have been more. The confession was made (finally!) so I really want to see what will happen after this particular student finally graduated and become a lawyer. So yep, that’s my only reason, haha.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Read my full review post
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Main Blog: Blushing Geek
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After watching the anime, I hurriedly got myself a copy of its manga so I can try the first chapter and to see whether I will like it enough to continue. And as you can see, I finished all 15 Volumes in just a week (considering of having a very bad dose of Yuri on Ice hangover, *wink). I don't normally read its manga counterpart after finishing the anime and I usually wait for a month or even a year depending of my mood. But for this case, I think it was because it was so funny even after watching the anime. Every chapter had me laughing my head off that I decided to read all the volumes.
The story was really good. I love that it was different than the others that I have read before plus it's so Japan because of the Yakuza thing and it also drops some cool thing about Japan like the festivals and their culture.
The idea of a Yakuza heiress teaching in an all-boys school which is also known as a school for delinquents is very unique. All the possible questions that you can encounter while reading this story we're all addressed perfectly in this manga. And not just that, I also love the fact that it also features the story of each side characters so we really got to know more about them. And dropping all those lessons while making you laugh at the same time was epic!
The lines were so good, the scenes we're properly executed and they can be funny and emotional when the author intends it to be. What I mean is that this manga was done so flawlessly. No dull moments. I actually laughed hard a lot of time reading this manga, I think I laughed on every chapters, or was that even every pages? Hehe. There's quite a lot of characters and knowing me, I didn't remember their name haha, I'm really bad with names lol. But even if that was the case, I can really say that I know each of them. I understand what they are going through since they all got the chance to share their story, but I just really can't seem to remember their names except Shin and Yankumi hehe (and Shinohara too, haha).
The main character Kumiko is really a badass. Well, what can you expect from a Yakuza heiress eh? But aside from physical strength, she also has a good heart. She lost her parents at a young age so she was taken in by her grandpa which is the 3rd generation leader of the Kuroda clan (also referred to as the Ooedo Clan). She grew up with guys so it was really not a surprise that she grew up as a pretty good fighter. She may not look like it but she's really strong. I love that even with her family background, she decided to pursue her dreams and my, I'm sure so happy for her. Yes, her students were kind of hardheaded but you can really see that they are kind-hearted too. I love how she supports them and give them the lesson that they need to learn. I also love the fact that because she's true to herself she was able to win over the hearts of those people around her even those that was against her from the start. My! This girl is definitely my hero. Aside from that, she’s very funny and dense at the same time too, haha. But even if that was the case, there’s still this one particular student that has his eyes only for her, ayeii!
Gokusen also had some pretty good group of characters that I really love reading about. There's no unnecessary characters here, all of them has a role to play and did them well. I actually don't have any complaints about that. I love the story, I love the characters, I love the settings, I just love everything. And speaking of love, I love Shin here. He really looks hot! Now I can clearly see why the title “The Young Red Lion Master” suits him so well. Plus, those extra chapters were really funny, haha.
Aside from the lessons this manga gives, it also warms my heart because it also highlights family love. You see, this manga explains to us that just because they're a Yakuza it doesn’t mean they're bad entirely. That they also have some good sides too. You really should know someone first before judging them.
But even with all those nice words, why I am giving this manga 4.5 rating? Well, you see, I think there should have been more. The confession was made (finally!) so I really want to see what will happen after this particular student finally graduated and become a lawyer. So yep, that’s my only reason, haha.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Read my full review post
To read more of my reviews, book news and updates:
Main Blog: Blushing Geek
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June 16, 2024
This manga hasn't aged well, at all.
I read GTO and there were some things that were a product of its time and made me feel uncomfortable, but I really liked the idea of an unconventional teacher helping his student so when I came across Gokusen with a similar storyline but with a female MC I was excited. Now after completing all the 15 volumes I have to say I am highly disappointed. I would actually recommend Onizuka over Gokusen.
Kumiko Yamaguchi is the only granddaughter of a third generational yakuza boss. Everyone expects her to get married and take the reins but Kumiko has different plans. She has always wanted to be a teacher and so she takes up a job in a school overrun with delinquents. We all know how that goes. Now let's get into the spoilers.
***Spoilers***
Yankumi was a boring MC. She is strong, she is smart, she didn't have to go through any trials and she liked loincloths. I don't mean to kinkshame but girl, are you serious? One thing I respect is that she held onto her morals, the romance was atleast put off.
So, addressing the elephant: Sawada Shin was very well written. He was very quick witted, quite smart and yes, was inove with Yankumi. But he knew she would never accept it, he had great potential but once again I felt like he was also reduced to the perfect love interest.
I know the entire story is supposed to be light hearted but i wasn't moved much. It could have been way better, so much potential but it just fell short in every way.
And the romance!!! You have the perfect character setup: Shinohara, why would you write him off like that just so Yankumi had a reason to be with Shin?
I understand the whole narrative of Shinohara and Yankumi have their own dreams and their paths have to diverge while Shin's dream was to only follow Yankumi - that's exactly why it shouldn't have happened because he was a kid!
Well of all the teacher-student romances, I think this one is more acceptable and kind of justified but still the romance makes me uncomfortable! Why?
I wanted Shinohara to be endgame or even someone new.
There were quite a few things I did enjoy though, otherwise I wouldn't have stuck with it. The found family trope, I will eat it up every single time. The whole syndicate going 'Ojou' was cute and these scary gangsters wanting to help her was heart warming.
The students slowly warming upto her and letting her helped them is what really drived me to push through though.
I read GTO and there were some things that were a product of its time and made me feel uncomfortable, but I really liked the idea of an unconventional teacher helping his student so when I came across Gokusen with a similar storyline but with a female MC I was excited. Now after completing all the 15 volumes I have to say I am highly disappointed. I would actually recommend Onizuka over Gokusen.
Kumiko Yamaguchi is the only granddaughter of a third generational yakuza boss. Everyone expects her to get married and take the reins but Kumiko has different plans. She has always wanted to be a teacher and so she takes up a job in a school overrun with delinquents. We all know how that goes. Now let's get into the spoilers.
***Spoilers***
Yankumi was a boring MC. She is strong, she is smart, she didn't have to go through any trials and she liked loincloths. I don't mean to kinkshame but girl, are you serious? One thing I respect is that she held onto her morals, the romance was atleast put off.
So, addressing the elephant: Sawada Shin was very well written. He was very quick witted, quite smart and yes, was inove with Yankumi. But he knew she would never accept it, he had great potential but once again I felt like he was also reduced to the perfect love interest.
I know the entire story is supposed to be light hearted but i wasn't moved much. It could have been way better, so much potential but it just fell short in every way.
And the romance!!! You have the perfect character setup: Shinohara, why would you write him off like that just so Yankumi had a reason to be with Shin?
I understand the whole narrative of Shinohara and Yankumi have their own dreams and their paths have to diverge while Shin's dream was to only follow Yankumi - that's exactly why it shouldn't have happened because he was a kid!
Well of all the teacher-student romances, I think this one is more acceptable and kind of justified but still the romance makes me uncomfortable! Why?
I wanted Shinohara to be endgame or even someone new.
There were quite a few things I did enjoy though, otherwise I wouldn't have stuck with it. The found family trope, I will eat it up every single time. The whole syndicate going 'Ojou' was cute and these scary gangsters wanting to help her was heart warming.
The students slowly warming upto her and letting her helped them is what really drived me to push through though.
June 16, 2025
- ok so this is another romcom/slice of life that I absolutely loved
- honestly I think im a sucker for gang/mafia/yakuza related content lollll especially when it's not super high stakes and intense like this one!
- this was such a good manga bc even with all the suspense and heavy setting, it ended up being rlly simple and cute and focused more on relationships than on drama which I loved
- u already know im a sucker for slice of life of all my favs so this was such a good read
- tldr: funny, compelling, and touching - only wish there was a bit more romance but whatever. solid 5/5 stars!!!
- honestly I think im a sucker for gang/mafia/yakuza related content lollll especially when it's not super high stakes and intense like this one!
- this was such a good manga bc even with all the suspense and heavy setting, it ended up being rlly simple and cute and focused more on relationships than on drama which I loved
- u already know im a sucker for slice of life of all my favs so this was such a good read
- tldr: funny, compelling, and touching - only wish there was a bit more romance but whatever. solid 5/5 stars!!!
January 14, 2021
Yamaguchi Kumiko is a new teacher as in this is her first year teaching. There is just one small problem. Her family are a well know yakuza group. She teaches at a school for delinquents and is trying to make sure that both her yakuza life and school life remain separated but as with these things eventually people start to catch on. It’s a really charming start and I really like Yamaguchi and her students and her yakuza family are really funny too. If you get a chance I really recommend giving it a shot.
July 4, 2018
I love this series. Yankumi is a teacher trying to make it in the toughest school in the are full of delinquents whilst hiding a big secret of her own. An amazing series with interesting characters and fun ideas of trust, believing in others and going out there. In this book, secrets, fights and injuries.
December 19, 2021
I absolutely love this series!
I‘m counting it as a „book“ for my reading challenge as I‘m on the sixth volume and I‘m reading in Japanese, which is still actually hard and time-consuming for me.
Funny, outrageous, a great take on „cool teacher actually relating to the good-for-nothing youth. I love it!
I‘m counting it as a „book“ for my reading challenge as I‘m on the sixth volume and I‘m reading in Japanese, which is still actually hard and time-consuming for me.
Funny, outrageous, a great take on „cool teacher actually relating to the good-for-nothing youth. I love it!
March 1, 2022
3.5/5 j'avais adoré les dramas à l'époque, lorsque j'étais au collège et lire ce premier tome m'a fait replonger dans une histoire pleine de souvenirs que j'aime mais sans pour autant que le coup de cœur de l'époque (pour le drama japonais) ne soit présent. Une lecture sympathique pour ceux qui aiment l'humour du genre (qui reste assez spécial) et pour les nostalgiques.
October 10, 2024
This is how you do a badass female character. Flawed but strong and persevering, isn't afraid to rely on the help of others when she needs it, but most of the time she can still handle things by herself. The story is charming, funny and at times can be surprising, but it does end about the way you expect it will.
January 22, 2018
Baca ulang karena kemarin di rumah teman sempat menonton edisi spesial Gokusen. Oh, Shin! *Jun masih unyuu.
Dulu ingat banget ini dibaca di taman bacaan kampus. Edisi pertama yang dikeluarkan LEVEL COMIC langsung menarik perhatian. :)))
Dulu ingat banget ini dibaca di taman bacaan kampus. Edisi pertama yang dikeluarkan LEVEL COMIC langsung menarik perhatian. :)))
June 30, 2023
3.5 🌟
Didn't know the manga has harsher language than the tv adaptation. And yes, I'm only here for the ShinKumi ship. I need to see, in this case read, it through.
ShinKumi here we go!
Happy reading!
Didn't know the manga has harsher language than the tv adaptation. And yes, I'm only here for the ShinKumi ship. I need to see, in this case read, it through.
ShinKumi here we go!
Happy reading!
June 19, 2017
Yakuza-lite fun.
September 17, 2017
A classic. You can't miss.
January 24, 2018
It's funny and heartfelt with a strong female lead.
June 5, 2018
Yankumi is my favorite sensei in 3D world <3
January 10, 2019
This seriously starts off pretty great, I’m excited to see what this manga is about, I love the Yakuza and it was compared to Gto🤔🤔😁😎❤️
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