In jdoramas, there are usually two types of teacher shows. First is the variation of the GTO theme which is larger than life teacher uses unorthodox techniques to help students. Examples of this type dorama which are pretty good are Dragon Zakura and Jyoou no Kyoushitsu. However there are plenty of such shows which fail because an actor who is either really good or has that screen presense like Sorimachi is necessary.
The second is the Kinpachi sensei variant. Normal teacher, lots of problem students and problem solving that is more conventional. An example of a good one would be School!! The other difference with the Kinpachi type of show is that it is more serious and less outrageous. However, both types are prone to the usual cliches like the sports teacher being a useless guy, scheming vice principal and the young hot female teacher being the supporting character.
Imagine my surprise when Suzuki sensei starts off with a group of middle school teachers trying to mix the students up before the start of school in order to balance the classes. Not only that, we get to hear the thoughts of Suzuki sensei (Hasegawa Hiroki) which was so different. For the first time ever, we have a dorama which really delves into the mind of a teacher and see his thought process.
The other thing about the usual teacher doramas is that the problems are pretty black and white. Its a question of how cool/entertaining/tear jerking the solution is. Suzuki sensei is presented with problems that are not so simple and hearing his thoughts makes things even more complicated. Like do you try to confront a student in class when he is accussed of something or do you wait til after but risk him being more unsettled because of the pressure? How would you investigate?
The main problem presented in ep 1 is truly WTF because it is handled in such a non sensationalistic and realistic way. It is also a source of a lot of comedic moments. I love it when a show manages to be funny by being serious. On the other hand the main problem makes me feel like a missed out on my childhood. :( The only thing I was thinking about at that age was Dragonball Z and Lynn Minmay. Are kids today really that smart and eloquent? I was just laughing and smiling my way through ep 1 because I had no idea what was going to happen next and Suzuki sensei went to places I was not prepared for. And that's an awesome thing.
The main story is that Suzuki sensei seems to have chosen the make up of his class specifically to run an experiment. We'll see how it works out but the first episode has the feel and vibe unlike any teacher dorama I have seen, except for the useless physical education teacher. Definitely check it out and I guarantee you'll be pleasantly surprised.
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