Shun Oguri Displays Exceptional Care in GTO Revival

The legendary drama is coming back.

On April 1, the once-dominant drama GTO will be revived for one night only after 26 years as GTO Revival (Fuji TV). Eikichi Onizuka, a former motorcycle gang member and a maverick teacher played by Takashi Sorimachi (50), is assigned as a teacher at a high school full of problems, Shotoku Gakuin High School, and gives passionate lessons to troubled students.

GTO will be revived in the Reiwa era, so Fuji TV is putting a lot of effort into promoting it. Nanako Matsushima (50) and Yosuke Kubozuka (44), who are not often seen on TV these days. It is attracting attention within the industry as it also features a gorgeous cast of actors.

Prior to the broadcast, “Open! Pandora’s Box: Untouchable TV” (Fuji TV), titled “GTO Alumni Reunion,” featured Takashi Sorimachi and former students Yuta Yamazaki (43), Yosuke Kubozuka, and Shun Oguri (41), who appeared in the drama as former students, as remote appearances. They talked about behind-the-scenes stories from the filming of the drama, as well as candid talk that can only be shared now. However, one of the performers made a request to Fuji Television’s upper management before appearing on the program. 

There was a strong request from Oguri’s side that we don’t want just one person to be featured in the program.  From Fuji TV’s perspective, he has appeared not only in dramas and movies, but also in many commercials. I wanted to bring Oguri to the forefront because of his age. However, Oguri is the youngest of the performers and is also at the bottom of his rank.

That is why he wanted to avoid having the banner structured around him. In short, Oguri took care of the senior actors. In fact, Oguri was treated in the same way as Yamazaki and Kubozuka without putting him front and center on the show.

Oguri, who used to play the role of a bullied child, showed his concern for the senior actors. Great, man!