During the hustle and bustle of Comicon, Akadot had a chance to sit down and have a brief chat with Tohru Fujisawa, the creator of the popular GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) manga series. Calm, collected, and wearing his ultra-cool sunglasses, Fujisawa was accompanied by Toshihiro Miura, his editor at Kondansha Ltd. Publishers. Fujisawa gives Akadot the 411 on his high school background, inspiration for his popular manga series, and hopes for GTO in America.

Akadot: So let's get started. How did you create the idea for GTO?

Tohru Fujisawa: The previous manga Syonan Jyunai Gumi was about a biker-gang, so I thought would be interesting to do the opposite of that. Then I started GTO.

Akadot: Are any of the stories in GTO based upon your own school experiences?

TF: Some parts, such as smoking at the bottom of the stairs. [laughs]

Akadot: What was your high school experience like?

TF: When I was in high school, students disliked teachers and teachers thought students were troublesome too. As I became an adult, I could understand a little of what the teachers were going through. Of course, I understand the students' feelings too. That's the reason why I wrote GTO from a teacher's viewpoint, even though I didn't really like teachers. Since I understand teachers' thinking a little better now, I created the role of Onizuka to convey to students how teachers feel, even though I may have disagreed with their ideals.

Akadot: Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? Did you create GTO because you wanted to be a teacher?

TF: When I had a great teacher who helped create a good class and atmosphere, I wanted to become a teacher.

Akadot: When you were in high school, would you have liked to have a teacher like Onizuka?

TF: Not really. But I believe it would be fun if a teacher like Onizuka existed.

Akadot: Did you have any model for Onizuka?

TF: Not really. It just came to me suddenly. There were no models for any of the other characters as well.

Akadot: In Japan, the GTO manga was transformed into both an anime and live action version. Both versions were really popular in Japan, but which version did you like best?

TF: Both versions were good. The live action GTO was good, but since I wanted GTO to be animated, I liked the animated GTO too. Although I liked the animation version of GTO, I told the creators to make some small changes to the art.

Akadot: Was Takashi Sorimachi (Japanese actor) the person you had in mind to play Onizuka in the live action GTO?

TF: Yes, the TV station asked me which actor is good for Onizuka, then picked him up.

Akadot: Did you feel any pressure when Mr. Sorimachi was casted for the role? Any influence on manga?

TF: In the live action version, Onizuka was called "Oni-cchi" (a nickname for his character). [laughs] I really didn't like to use that in the manga.