GTO: 14 Days in Shonan 5

by Tohru Fujisawa

Eikichi Onizuka is a 23-year-old ex-gang member. He is also the World's Greatest Teacher! As he began his quest to become the ultimate educator The young Onizuka discovers two principles of teaching - a social conscience and a sense of morality. So while he cannot use his strength on his kids his street smarts allow him to garner respect across the student body. As a homeroom teacher Onizuka focuses mainly on teaching life lessons, unfortunately his methods have created a stir among the PTA. To change the educational system as a whole, he embarks on a mission whereas he will individually mentor each student one-by-one, allowing each student to overcome their problems, whether they come from the classroom or from their home living rooms.

After a tiring and eventful school year Onizuka takes a break from the classroom and for his school break he decides escape the pressures of work by heading back home to the lazy surfers village of Shonan. Back in his hometown, he runs into friend of his significant other who runs an orphanage called the White Swan Youth Home. An orphan himself, Onizuka decides to help the home with hopes to help the kids in the same manner he does at school.

In the fifth volume of 14 Days in Shonan, Eikichi Onizuka the Great Teacher has a very unique assignment to take on. Normally he spends most of his time teaching teens life lessons. He uses the school of hard knocks technique to open people's hearts. However in this situation the GTO must make an effort to reunite a child with his mother. He must also teach the child that sometimes choosing family is not the right solution.

Everyone would like to have a happy household. Being able to sit by the dinner table to discuss the day's highlights is an ideal that is not reality for millions across the globe. And in the case of the teens at the White Swan such realities are generally fictitious because of a variety of reasons. That does not excuse anyone involved from wishing for such a life, but changing the hearts of adults often means changing their lives at their core. Words or fisticuffs will not be enough.

So Seiya, a young man, who appears to be on the way to a pleasant self-reliant life, turns to violence to try to get his mother and family life back. But what happens when your very own mother is willing to take a knife at you? Well this is Seiya's reality. And this is one lesson Onizuka will hate to have taught.

Then the spotlight turns to Onizuka's employer, Great Vice-Principal Uchiyamada. He's also in Shonan and on the hunt for Onizuka. But out of his element and turf, this educator is now caught up in a wild ride through the Tokyo suburbs.