The Gokusen

TBH, I felt a little short with how the story ended. Well, I wouldn’t really call it an ending. It felt more like the last episode was rushed toward its conclusion. There are still plenty of directions the story could've explored. But for now, I’m just happy with how the plot turned out. Finally, having a live action series simply says that this anime is indeed great.

I actually found myself wondering what activity Shirokin’s students were good at. The series did a good job establishing early on that they were barely passing and didn’t really excel academically. It was nice to see the teachers take the center stage again. I also like how this series gives each character enough screen time to show their individual contributions to the overall story.

This was a funny twist for Yamaguchi. I mean, it’s not about being scared of a certain person or group. It’s more about avoiding trouble that could unnecessarily disrupt the entire peaceful system. It just shows that they’re disciplined and not as bad as the stereotypes make them out to be.

I think this is heading toward what will happen to Yamaguchi’s teaching career from this point on. From the very beginning, this was really what we were expecting and looking forward to in the plot. And now, here it is, the moment we’ve been dreading has finally arrived.

I’ve seen this school festival plot in a lot of other anime, where students take on different roles, usually running a maid café and dressing up in cute outfits. So I was intrigued by this one. But, it fell a little short because most of them had more of a punk look lol. But again, as this episode shows, not everything should be judged based on appearance.

Well, this episode is just okay. More like a filler episode, good enough to pass the time. That line, “tossing the lambs into the lion’s den,” was really funny. It captures the whole picture perfectly.

First of all, the choir background song got me. It made the scenes feel serious and playful, while humor kicked in. This is a deep episode touching on the reality of bullying and the position of teachers in complicated situations. It showed that being a teacher isn’t easy because they feel for their students. This series is well-made, tackling relevant issues without losing sight of its main story.

The events here are incredibly heartwarming, especially with the way Sawada, Kuma, and Yamaguchi’s henchmen are portrayed. I’d say this should definitely not a miss or skip. This is the kind of episode that’s perfect to watch before going to bed. It leaves you with such a peaceful and satisfying feeling that you can end your day with.

There was a lot of senseless violence in this episode. I'm not sure if it's more for the plot or for the comedy. But it seems that things are not wrapping well. This is the 2nd to the last episode, so I hope there's a good transition to the next episode before it ends.

Sawada Shin's background was explored more in this episode. Who would've thought he was more multi-dimensional than anticipated? It's also a bit romantic, that's why I'm giving it the perfect stars.

I think this is the first time we saw a serious Yankumi. We can really see how deep her care for her students is, and how far she's willing to do things just to protect them. We're finally able to see more Yankumi-Shin interactions, and it's surprisingly not getting explored as much as it did in the live action.

They introduced a new character in this episode. I'm not sure if he's a mainstay or just a random person, but he seems slightly amusing. Yankumi really knows her way with people.

Although this was definitely a filler episode that focused on comedy, I had a good laugh. In fact, this episode was absolutely hilarious. There was also a hint of romance that you wouldn't have noticed if you blinked.

This episode focused on Fujiyama Shizuka. Even though she seems kind of shallow and all beauty, nothing else, it turns out she has a lot of things going on with her. There's more to her than the eyes can see. It's really nice to see whenever characters have more depth than anticipated.

This episode might be my most favorite yet. It's both heartwarming and hilarious at the same time. The way Yankumi's clan takes itself so seriously is both adorable and funny.

Although it's well established that Yankumi is a Yakuza boss, this is the first time the anime explores how she operates in the Yakuza world. This gives us a different view of Yankumi beyond her teacher persona.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what the point of this episode was. I guess they're trying to establish that the kids aren't as bad as people think they are. Still, this feels like a filler episode that leans more for the LOLs.

This gave a glimpse of Yankumi's heroism and leadership outside her clan, even though the reason it happened is closely related to her clan. We're seeing Yankumi take small steps toward earning the class's trust, and even though they're baby steps, they're still a step forward.

This episode focused on giving a backgrounder on Sawada Shin. I like where the plot is going so far. The comedy is silly, but nothing spectacular. Interesting, and I'm earnest to see what's going to happen next.

What a great way to end the season! I really enjoyed the conflict and the resolution of this episode. Although it didn't match my expectation on the payoff, I still enjoyed it a lot.