GTO: The Early Years Volume 12 (Great Teacher Onizuka)
“This prequel to the immensely popularGTO(Great Teacher Onizuka)  actually came out first in Japan, but is lesser known. There’s  slapstick                  galore… There’s also plenty of tear-jerking  pathos. [GTO: The Early Years] offers lots of rowdy high-school  fun, with a pleasant absence of shrinking                  girls and an  abundance of good humor.” —Publishers Weekly“I had fallen way behind in my[GTO: The Early Years]reading, but was able to pick up where I left off with minimal  confusion, mostly as this is a delinquent manga… I like                   the girls inGTO, who come in many different  types and  varieties, and the gang aspect of the plot means we get a lot  who can  kick any guy’s ass… There’s                  also some terrific comedy  here—the author likes to break  up all the gang fights with one-shot  chapters that are hilariously  silly.” —A Case Suitable for Treatment“How’s  Onizuka, brawler extraordinaire, supposed to deal with  someone who not  only doesn’t feel pain but positively thrives on it? …  If you start                   here without any context, you’re liable to be a little   lost. To compensate for that, though, they’ve post some notes… Me, I   walked in more or less cold,                  picked up most of what I  need to know from context, and  laughed myself out of my chair all the  same.” —Genji Press“Manga of the MonthI always had a  vague feeling there  was a longer story that occurred before GTO when I  first read the  series… While this part of the story is                 a  bit cruder than later parts of Onizuka’s story it also  has its own  energy… I feel the humor is a bit ruder, the action a bit  wilder, and  the stakes a                  bit higher… This is the raw and uncut  Onizuka.” —Reverse Thieves