utanooniisan Title: Uta no Onii-san Translation: The Singing Brother Broadcast date: 1/16/09 - 3/13/09 Genre: Comedy Cast: Ohno Satoshi, Chisa, Katase Nana, Maruyama Ryuhei, Kimura Yoshino Plot: After his life gets turned upside down, Yano Kenta (Ohno) finds himself working as a Singing Brother on a children's show. What is good: Everyone acted wonderfully What is bad: The children's show seemed pretty 'one-note.' We never got to see if they do more than just sing children's songs. Letter rating: B Overall: It was a really fun show. Even when you wanted to smack Yano on the head, he was still a lovable character. There's nothing really deep but, if you pay attention, you just might walk away with a life lesson learned.

Title: Great Teacher Onizuka Drama Special
Broadcast date: 12/98
Genre: School-related drama
Cast: Sorimachi Takashi, Matsushima Nanako, Kitamura Soichiro, Katase Nana, Shimizo Chika, Asami Reina, Hosokawa Shigeki
Plot: Onizuka is substituting at an all-girls school. Just when he's thinking this could be the perfect job for him, three of the girls in his class blackmail him into becoming their "Genie of the Lamp." That is when he finds out one of the girls is deeply troubled. While he is helping her, he also has to make a good impression for Fuyutsuki-sensei's father so he can marry her properly. What is good: Sorimachi-san is still awesome as Onizuka
What is bad: This probably would have been a lot better as a second season instead of just a special.
Letter rating: B-

Overall: From what I hear, a lot of people didn't like this special. I thought it was pretty good, albeit a bit rushed. The subplot with Onizuka trying to get Fuyutsuki's father to like him was cute but this was a really good example of how things were cut short to fit into a two hour special. It definitely would have been a lot better if this was expanded into a full-fledged plot of its own. As for the class Onizuka is teaching, we don't get to see a lot of them as a whole class. The special focuses on three girls and, again, this is rushed as Onizuka is able to "transform" them into good girls within a half hour. GTO is a better show when Onizuka is able to work with the students one-on-one in order to help them get past their problems. Oh and for those fans of the series, no worries, the group of students from the old school do show up and hang out with Onichi for awhile. It was nice to see them still interacting with their teacher, even if he isn't their teacher right now. While this isn't a great show, it isn't terrible either. I'd recommend it to someone who enjoyed the GTO series.