GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) Live Action

This is my second attempt in watching Japanese Live Action Dramas.
I couldn't help but really admire this series. I didn't expect so much but it was really great. The plot and characters did a very impressive job. Friendship, love and unity is the center of the story. The treatment is funny and light, although it has some violence and nudity on the side, but it depicts REAL LIFE. I really love the portrayal of Takashi Sorimachi as Onizuka...It was sooo convincing.

Here's some information on the Drama from Wikipedia:

Live-Action

A 12-episode live-action (drama) was broadcasted on television, based loosely on the manga. Takashi Sorimachi stars as Onizuka, and Nanako Matsushima as Azusa. It is directed by Masayuki Suzuki, with music composed by Takayuki Hattori and the opening song, "Poison", sung by Takashi Sorimachi himself. There are several drastic changes from the manga to fit the 12-hour format of the live-action series, such as the following:

Nanako Mizuki also studies at the Holy Forest Academy
The character of Uehara Anko is eliminated; instead, her characteristics are merged into Miyabi Aizawa's character, thus making Miyabi the daughter of the PTA president
Ryuji Danma's character is also eliminated, giving some of his characters's functions to Saejima, Onizuka's police friend
Julia Murai, Kunio's mother, is the widow of Onizuka's biker gang idol, rather than being just another parent of one of Onizuka's students
Nevertheless, the changes in the live-action accomplishes to capture the spirit of GTO very well. According to Tokyopop, the final episode of the live action series was the most watched television program ever in Japan.[3]

Coincidentally, Matsushima is married to Takashi Sorimachi, who played Onizuka in that series. Sorimachi and Matsushima met on the set of GTO, they married in 2001 after a long term relationship and, in May 2004, Nanako gave birth to their first child, a baby daughter.

A two-hour television special followed in August 1999, and a theatrical movie in January 2000.