GTO finale to feature Shun Oguri, Hidenori Tokuyama and more — former students reunite as Onizuka faces his biggest crisis

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The story

It’s been announced that Shun Oguri and Hidenori Tokuyama will appear in the finale of GTO, the Monday 10pm drama starring Takashi Sorimachi. This marks the first continuous TV adaptation of the original manga in 28 years, and actors who once played students taught by Onizuka are reuniting for the occasion. On the thread, someone asked “Who’s Tokuyama?”, prompting a string of replies citing his Kamen Rider and other drama credits to explain. Talk also swirled around how Oguri came to join — some said it was planned from the start, others claimed Oguri’s side made a reverse offer — while comments split between griping about sluggish ratings and vowing to tune in just for the finale.

GTO finale to feature Shun Oguri, Hidenori Tokuyama and others — former students reunite as Onizuka faces a crisis

A preview for the next episode of GTO, the Kansai TV/Fuji TV Monday 10pm drama starring Takashi Sorimachi, has revealed that Shun Oguri and Hidenori Tokuyama will appear in the final episode.

GTO is based on the manga of the same name by Toru Fujisawa (published in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine KC). It’s a school drama about Eikichi Onizuka — “Great Teacher Onizuka,” a former biker-gang member turned teacher — who tackles student and school problems head-on with his unconventional methods. Starring Sorimachi, the series returns as a continuous TV drama for the first time in 28 years, depicting Onizuka now in his 50s.

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

2AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:50
Bet the twist is Principal Ukaji busting out his old delinquent swagger to save Onizuka when he's in trouble — calling it now.
4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:51
Guess leaving the ratings out of the article is them being merciful.
6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:51
Who the hell is Tokuyama?
9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:53
Re: #6
He's the guy famous for Perfect Harmony — you don't know him?
15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:55
Re: #6
Kamen Rider Zabee or Kick Hopper.
88AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:49
Re: #6
Kick Hopper from Kamen Rider Kabuto.
There's a 20th anniversary movie coming up.
People are buzzing that Hiro Mizushima might make a comeback for it.
8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:53
Ratings won't budge, so they're calling in reinforcements?
31AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:01
Re: #8
He was booked from the start.
Didn't you know Oguri actually made a reverse offer to be in it?
17AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:56
They should bring back Kirari too — she beat cancer and everything.
84AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:44
Re: #17
https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc5fKIDy6M7/

Looking at this, it seems like drama filming.
Maybe she'll actually show up.
18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:57
So Oguri's in it.
Guess he feels like he owes GTO for making him popular.
90AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:49
Re: #18
That's what made him popular? lol
It was Gokusen and Yaguchi, wasn't it.
19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:57
Do people who watch stuff like Netflix even watch broadcast TV dramas?
32AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:01
Re: #19
Of course I do, but I'm a binge-watcher.
I don't have a TV so I use TVer instead.
Wish they'd drop episodes all at once, though.
Something like Vivant only has up to episode 3 streaming, so I can't binge it until they release more.

Right now on Netflix I'm watching Fumo Chitai (Barren Zone) from 2009 for terrestrial dramas.
I don't have an NHK contract but I'm watching Aoi Tokugawa Sandai on NHK On Demand.

On TVer I'm only watching GTO, Sokomade Iinkai, and Seigi no Mikata.
Starting next month I think I'll just watch Aibou.
20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:57
Sounds like it flopped hard.
I dropped it after a boring first episode, but if Oguri's in it maybe I'll watch the finale.
24AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:59
These days, just having a star pop up in a decent role isn't going to move the numbers one bit.
Even on Netflix's Gas Ningen, someone like Yutaka Takenouchi showed up in a role so ridiculous it was laugh-out-loud funny.
It's really a question of whether the production side even cares.
26AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:59
Maybe it's Onizuka's teaching that's to blame for basically only Oguri making it big.
Just maybe.
57AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:16
Re: #26
If guys like Kubozuka or Ikeuchi don't count as "making it big," then almost no school drama has any success stories.
27AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:00
Didn't even know GTO was on, and I'm not gonna watch it.
Actually first heard about it from some news story about a string of blunders at an Asian sports event — and still not watching.
39AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:03
Re: #27
In the finale, Oguri, Tokuyama, Ikeuchi, and Yuta Yamazaki are all appearing.
35AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:02
I have zero memory of Oguri being in it.
Was he actually in the original?
36AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:02
Re: #35
He played a kid who got bullied and wet himself — had a decent amount of screen time.
37AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:03
Re: #35
This is the GTO that AKIRA didn't star in, remember.
38AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:03
Re: #35
He played Noboru, the bullied kid.
45AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:06
They've gotta bring back Miyabi, the panty-selling girl.
50AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:09
Re: #45
Didn't she actually sell them for real too?
64AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:27
Today's episode was the one where Onizuka finally became a real teacher.
70AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:32
Re: #64
Never expected that Onizuka's landmark "first real student" would turn out to be Kajiwara's daughter — that caught me off guard.
Makes me wonder what all the viewing I've done, including the '98 version, was even for.
69AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:31
Dark horse pick: AKIRA.
72AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:33
Re: #69
Apparently Jin Akanishi was originally supposed to play the role.
But then, because of the independence controversy, AKIRA got cast as his replacement.
75AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:34
Re: #70
Guess up until now it's all just been "buddy" vibes.
82AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:39
Re: #75
I see… so up to now they've all just been "buddies," and this time's students are all "buddies" too, while only that Kajiwara kid counts as Onizuka's "true student" — kind of sets up a weird wall between them compared to the others lol.
77AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:35
Re: #71
Surprised Murai is still hung up on Miyabi after all this time.
80AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:38
Re: #77
Miyabi's name actually came up yesterday.
81AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:38
Just bring on AKIRA already.
83AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:43
Re: #81
Like how Mito Komon has the fake Komon-sama gimmick — maybe he shows up as a fake Onizuka instead.

Background and talking points

GTO is a school-life manga by Toru Fujisawa; the 1998 TV drama adaptation was a ratings hit at the time, and many of its cast — including Takashi Sorimachi as well as Shun Oguri, Hidenori Tokuyama, and AKIRA — went on to build bigger careers afterward. This time around, Sorimachi returns to star in the first continuous TV adaptation in 28 years, with Eikichi Onizuka, now in his 50s, once again fighting the good fight as a teacher. The thread mostly revolved around what happened to the original cast members since then, with opinions split over who “made it” and who didn’t. No specific ratings figures appear in the article itself, but several commenters noted the show seems to be struggling, with some speculating that the star-studded guest appearances are meant to make up for it. That a fair number of posters didn’t recognize Hidenori Tokuyama reflects just how much time — 28 years — has passed since the original 1998 broadcast.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] GTO starring Takashi Sorimachi — Shun Oguri, Hidenori Tokuyama and others to appear in the finale as “former students” reunite amid Onizuka’s crisis.”

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