My “Gokusen: The Movie” Review!
Oh yes, people. You read me right. After airing as a hugely popular television drama for THREE WHOLE SEASONS (only two of which I bothered to watch), Gokusen has FINALLY emerged as a two-hour box office movie! Hurrah! For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Gokusen drama, it’s the story of Yamaguchi Kumiko, the female heir to a Yakuza clan who holds no interest in taking up the family business, but has always dreamed of being a teacher. Upon launching her teaching career at Shirokin Gakuen, she ends up as the homeroom teacher for 3-D, a class full of miscreants and junior yankis. She debuts her legendary red and white-striped track suit, which we all know and love. :D Anyway, as the season progresses, Yankumi (her nickname) proceeds to rescue each and every one of her students from themselves. Each episode consists of a conflict, and the conflict is resolved when Yankumi shows up to kick some ass and save her precious student. And it’s her job whilst she is a teacher to keep her Yakuza heritage a secret. The following two seasons are EXACTLY the same, just with different students. (And yes, for those of you who wish to say so, Gokusen IS just a female version of Great Teacher Onizuka.)
While the the movie’s cinematography is much improved from the drama, the classic Gokusen elements remain. For instance, when Yankumi arrives for butt-kicking, she introduces herself as “so-and-so’s homeroom teacher”, pulls out her pigtails and tosses her glasses aside; her accidental use of Yakuza slang; her catch phrases, like “Omaera…” (“You guys…”) and “You are my precious students” in Japanese. There’s also that ONE boy in her homeroom that all the other boys rally around. And of course, nonstop running from point A to point B (you’d think she’d cramp up SOMETIMES) and cheesy music galore.
As for the plot, considering the entire movie was in Japanese, I only caught the main story. The movie focuses mostly on her students from season 3 (the one I didn’t watch) and her current students. One of her old students accidentally gets in trouble with the law for delivering for a cocaine deal, which is linked to a man named Korose (or Kurose, I forget) who’s in charge of this huge “CATCH THE DREAM” campaign. So, the day that Korose holds his big televised event, Yankumi sneaks in to expose him in front of the cameras. She marches up to the platform, all dramatic like, and he denies it at first. But meanwhile, her former students have snuck down to the basement of this huge convention center, and they find the whole entire coke stash. The former students, with the help of a student from season 2 (my favorite, who apparently became a cameraman), rig a video stream that boots up on the big screen in the main hall, right behind where Korose and Yankumi are positioned. So basically, Korose is exposed, all of the attendees of the event flee the building (except Yankumi), Korose’s henchmen beat up Yankumi, and can you guess what happens next? Well, I don’t REALLY know, because this was the part where she was being held at gunpoint, and decided to lecture Korose on the meaning of life or something. I had no idea what she was saying, but I was definitely the ONLY PERSON in the theater who wasn’t crying. So who knows? Anyway, ALL of her students show up to defend her, though ultimately none of them do ANYTHING at all. Yankumi is just too badass to need help. But yeah. YAY YANKUMI! She plays kick-the-can with her students (another classic Gokusen element), and the movie ends. There’s probably a lot more to the plot, but that’s all I managed to pick up. xD
Fans of season 2, REJOICE! Odagiri Ryu returns to the Gokusen world as Yankumi’s assistant teacher, sporting a much more flattering haircut and a somewhat more effeminate wardrobe! I didn’t like him much in season 2, but he was quite charming in this movie. Also, Koike Teppei cameos as a successful businessman! YEAH MOLLY, KOIKE TEPPEI IS IN THIS MOVIE. Kuma is still around, being the only character aside from Yankumi and Kyoto (vice principal, though in the movie he’s finally the principal!) to follow through all three seasons plus this movie. And at the very end of the movie, a bunch of old characters reappear, including that guy from season 1 (Hana Kimi’s Sano), and it’s really cute ‘n stuff. Why Matsumoto Jun couldn’t be bothered to cameo as Sawada Shin, the original season 1 ringleader, who knows? I mean I know he’s insanely famous and stuff, but c’mon. SAWADA SHIN IS SAWADA SHIN. Yeah. Anyway.
I love Gokusen. Seriously. :D
Can’t wait to see this movie with subtitles.
Yatta?
