A reformed yakuza walks into a classroom and the show immediately understands that his greatest superpower isn't fighting, it's that he actually gives a shit about kids nobody else will look at. The comedy lands hardest because Onizuka's methods are ridiculous but his care is genuine, and the show never confuses one for the other. Watch it for the laughs, stay because you believe he's the only adult in the room who sees these students as human beings instead of problems to manage.

Eikichi Onizuka, a 22-year-old former biker gang leader, sets out to become the greatest high school teacher in Japan. His motives aren't exactly pure: he is chasing high school girls and dreams of a loving young wife in his old age. When he lands a job as homeroom teacher of Class 3-4 at the prestigious Holy Forest Academy, he inherits a notorious group of delinquents who use psychological warfare to drive every new teacher out. Strict administrators want him gone too. Onizuka's methods appear in no teaching manual, and he cares little about the line between legal and illegal. As his students struggle with bullying, suicide and sexual harassment, he digs into the roots of their problems with unpredictable tactics, even leaping off a building to save a child. Comedy and drama mix as Class 3-4 slowly discovers that school can actually be fun with Onizuka in charge.