History Manga / Gokusen

The manga was serialized in YOU, a {{josei}} magazine, and while it does have many {{shonen}} elements, it is noticeably geared more towards females, and fanservice is kept to a minimum though there are some notable exceptions.

** Believe it or not, Kumiko's grandfather was [[http://www.mangareader.net/1664-52963-12/gokusen/chapter-36.html described as this in his youth]].

* ThemeTuneCameo: In the anime, when Kumiko goes to see Shin at his father's house, he's laying on his bed listening to the theme tune through his earbuds.

* BadassGrandpa: Besides Kumiko's grandpa, there's the Kujiraiwa boss, who's built like a bodybuilder and in his 70's.

* PettingZooPeople: In the ping-pong battle omake, the dogs are drawn like this.

* IceCreamKoan: The 2nd years' letter to the 3rd years.
-->''To Tsuruta and the 3rd year foxes who are in the lion's ass...''

For more work by this mangaka, see ''Manga/DekaWanko''.

** Shin is TheStoic, so on the very, ''very'', '''very''' rare occasion he blushes because of Kumiko, [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming it makes the moment even more heartwarming]].

Has a [[Characters/{{Gokusen}} character sheet]] which is under construction.

* Determinator: The Kurodas, especially Kumiko and Kyo-san, going along with their OneManArmy characteristics.

University graduate Yamaguchi Kumiko's first teaching assignment is at Shirokin High School, an all-boys school renowned for being full of [[JapaneseDelinquents delinquents]]. She is put in charge of the worst class in the school -- class 2-D. Fortunately, teaching and helping delinquents has always been her dream, and as she is heiress to a {{Yakuza}} group, she is more than equipped enough to handle any trouble a bunch of snot-nosed kids can cause.

Schools aren't tolerant of gangs and people of dangerous backgrounds, so Kumiko's relationship to her yakuza family must remain a secret. Unfortunately for her, there is one extremely smart and disgruntled {{Bishonen}} in her class full of idiots, Sawada Shin. He sees through her very poor cover-up and realizes that she is an ActionGirl. His demands for a fight are mocked by Kumiko, after which Shin's respect and passing interest only grows.

The manga was serialized in YOU, a {{josei}} magazine, and while it does have many {{shonen}} elements it is noticeably geared more towards females and fanservice is kept to a minimum though there are some notable exceptions. The anime adaptation has been licensed for release in North America and can be found in retail outlets with larger anime sections. The multiple seasons of the live-action television drama, however, remains locked behind the language barrier.

* HandOrObjectUnderwear: In one of the final chapters of the manga (an special commemorating the [[TheMovie j-drama movie]]), Noda, Ucchi, Minami, and Kuma get Kumiko to wear a frilly dress. She stubs her foot and quickly lifts her leg, causing Ucchi to quickly hold a pillow in front of her so no one can see under her skirt.

* InsultOfEndearment: Kumiko's nickname, "Yankumi," was created by Kumiko's students to be disrespectful, but Kumiko thought it was cute, making them mad. Later, after the students finally respect and trust her, Yankumi becomes an AffectionateNickname.

* NoodleIncident: Between Kuma and Shin. ''"When I was ambushed by those middle-schoolers... And when we were on Mt. Hane, I took the bento..."'' ** Subverted with the bento's anecdote, since it ends up being explained many volumes later.

* SadistTeacher: This series is full of them. Shin's middle school teacher purposefully ostracized one student for no reason; Minoru's high school teacher forced him to go home because he was "polluting" the school atmosphere.... and let's not even get started on Miura.

** It later turns out that [[spoiler:Shinohara thinks of her [[LikeBrotherAndSister like a little sister]]]].

* WeakButSkilled: Kubo. He comes out number one during the Abe Test mostly because he's an exceptionally good singer and is a "[[DoubleEntendre stallion]]."
* WhatTheHellHero: Kumiko using Shin as bait to goad the Aotoma student council into committing another crime. [[spoiler:It works; they attack a man in an alleyway and the leader made sure to call himself Sawada Shin. The man who was attacked went and abducted Shin from school and beat him within an inch of his life until someone came and recognized him as the Young Red Lion Master.]] Shin was rescued, and Kumiko realized how much she had "come to rely on him like an idiot."
* WillTheyOrWontThey: [[spoiler: TheyDo. Shin and Kumiko]] get together in the [[LastMinuteHookup last chapter of the series]].

** The movie also has [[spoiler: Odagiri from season 2]].

* TrueCompanions: In the second season, [[TheHero Yabuki]], [[TheLancer Odagiri]], [[TheBigGuy Tsuchiya]], and [[TheChick Takeda]] are rarely seen without each other, and when they are it usually means something bad is going down.

!!The {{manga}} provides examples of:

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Shin is able to get a bunch of girls into his culture festival group's room just by rudely ordering them to follow him.

* BigFancyHouse: Shin's residence.

* BlackComedy

* BookDumb: Most of the students had no choice but to attend Shirokin for this reason.

* ComedicSociopathy: Whenever a character says something tactlessly, expect them to be subjected to a slapstick beating... that is rather over-the-top... with blood spraying everywhere.
** HeroicComedicSociopath

* HandOrObjectUnderwear: In one of the final chapters, Noda, Ucchi, Minami, and Kuma get Kumiko to wear a frilly dress. She stubs her foot and quickly lifts her leg, causing Ucchi to quickly hold a pillow in front of her so no one can see under her skirt.

** Shin and his friends can be seen as this, doing most everything together, helping each other out whenever they can, and still hanging out regularly even after they've graduated.

* OddFriendship: [[TheSmartGuy Shin]] and [[TheFool Kuma]] are best friends.

* OneSteveLimit: [[spoiler:Subverted. During the Okinawa trip, Uchi's gone missing after a fight with some local toughs, and while searching for him, Kumiko and Shin overhear some local bikers mention that Uchi's been kidnapped. Cue lots of running and fighting before it becomes clear that it's a different Uchi...]]
* OnlySaneMan: Shin and Shinohara, though Ryuuchirou and Yankumi play the part sometimes. ''Sometimes.''

* SadistTeacher: This series is full of them: Shin's middle school teacher purposefully ostracized one student for no reason, Minoru's high school teacher forced him to go home because he was "polluting" the school atmosphere.... and let's not even get started on Miura.

!!* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Kudou.

Gokusen is fairly similar to ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'' in premise -- become trustworthy to the delinquents and teach them lessons through "{{tough love}}". However, Kumiko is properly educated and her secret background plays a large part in the series -- for example, her students think she is in debt to yakuza because of one of her poor cover-up excuses, and she brings in a rather conspicuously shady fellow when she suddenly needs to tutor her students in boxing.

Now has a [[Characters/{{Gokusen}} character sheet]] which is under construction.

!!The {{Manga}} provides examples of:
* AccidentalPervert: The principal is a good man. He just doesn't mind his female teachers seeing him without his pants on.
** Also Michael ([[SuddenNameChange or was it Richard?]]), the exchange student from Australia ([[{{Retcon}} or was it Austria?]]), who was [[FunWithForeignLanguages taught rude words and phrases]] by the students at Shirokin.

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Kyou's nickname for Shin, "Young Master Red Lion." Shin thinks it's lame, but his countless yakuza admirers think otherwise.
* BadassTeacher: Kumiko; Fujiyama is also very protective in her own way, though she's no ActionGirl like Kumiko.
* BadBadActing: Kumiko and her {{Yakuza}} family couldn't act their way out of a wet paper bag, the only reason she can fool most of her students is that they range from [[TheFool simple]] to the [[TheDitz borderline retarded]].

* {{Berserk Button}}: Kumiko and her fellow teachers don't like it when someone takes a crack at their students.
** Tsuruta doesn't like to fight people weaker than him, but insult his appearance and all bets are off.
** Kumiko's other berserk button is anything having to do with law enforcement that isn't called "Shinohara."
* BestHerToBedHer: Kumiko pulls this trope to get out of an attempted arranged marriage. However her tactics only make the prospective groom fall more in love with her and determined to win the fight and her hand.

* {{Bishounen}}: Oddly few, considering this is a {{josei}} manga. Shin and Shinohara are the straightest examples.
** Also Inuzuka, when he's being being confident. When he [[{{Gonk}} isn't...]]

* {{Book Dumb}}: Most of the students had no choice but to attend Shirokin for this reason.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: The arc in the manga about people from the Nekomata kumi selling drugs to high schoolers was completely changed for the anime; instead of drugs, students were compelled to buy badges shaped like ManekiNeko that guaranteed them protection from a radical group that went around beating up Shirokin students. Other than that, the story proceeded in pretty much the same way. Strangely, this was the only thing changed for the anime; guns, alcohol, and blood were still shown.
* CatchPhrase: "I'm that kid's '''goddamn homeroom teacher.'''" Doubles as a PreAssKickingOneLiner.

* CorruptChurch: The Laughing Church is a variation. It's basically a belief that laughing heartily from the pit of your stomach some summon happiness. It was originally just a simple idea made up by one guy, but once it started getting more followers, it became corrupted, stealing money and forcefully baptizing non-believers. The students of Shiroken are just barely rescued from their baptism by Kumiko.
* CrushBlush: Kumiko, whenever she's around Shinohara.
** Shin is TheStoic, so on the very, ''very'', '''very''' rare occasion he blushes because of Kumiko, [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming it makes the moment even more heartwarming.]]

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:The tanukibara kumichou]] dies completely out of the blue. Since his death was the start of an arc about who would replace him and how the choice would affect the other kumi, you would think his death would have been a lot more dramatic.
* {{Ephebophile}}: Fujiyama, though she might be joking about it.

** Later in the manga, a few younger guys take a liking to Shin, but keep quiet about it.

* FunnyForeigner: Michael/[[SuddenNameChange Richard]], who's ridiculously naïve and [[FunWithForeignLanguages spews foul language because he thinks it means something else.]]

* GratuitousEnglish: In one of the special chapters with Shin and Fuji, Shin [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext pretends to be a dog]] and says his breed is, "English Police Adventure, Killer Prince."

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Shin and his friends can be seen as this, doing most everything together, helping each other out whenever they can, and still hanging out regularly even after they've graduated.

* {{Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain}}: Kudou.

* InterGenerationalFriendship: Shin and Kyou, though Kyou definitely enjoys it more than Shin; teasing Shin about Kumiko (and sometimes helping, like with the fundoshi) is a big way he shows his affection.

* LoveTriangle: Shin -> Kumiko -> Shinohara. [[spoiler: Manga Canon points to Shin and Kumiko getting together]].

* NaughtyNurseOutfit: Shin gets dragged into a brothel by Kyo and gets assaulted by a girl in a nurse outfit. He seems thoroughly mortified, though that could be because the "nurse" was a {{Butterface}}.

* {{Noodle Incident}}: Between Kuma and Shin. ''"When I was ambushed by those middle-schoolers... And when we were on Mt. Hane, I took the bento..."''
** The bento one was explained many volumes later.
* NorioWakamoto: Voices Kuroda second-in-command Ooshima in the anime

* OverprotectiveDad: the Kurodas kept scaring off our heroine's boyfriends when she was younger.

* PeopleFallOffChairs: Shin falls backward in his chair when he sees Kumiko in a [[ItMakesSenseInContext wearing a schoolgirl uniform.]]
* PointyHairedBoss: The leader of the Nekomata-kumi. His underlings wonder why they even work for him, and when Kudou's plan to kidnap Kumiko falls through and Kuroda invades the Nekomata headquarters, the leader is the only one who didn't get to escape because he had ''knocked himself out with his backscratcher.''
* RunningGag: One of Kumiko's students reminding her to start class, only to get beat up by another student for reminding her.
** Also, Kumiko being distracted enough for her students to draw on her face.

* ScaryShinyGlasses: Miura-sensei before chatacter development.

* ShipperOnDeck: After they find out about Shin's crush on Kumiko, Shin's friends become this. Fujiyama as well, though she's slightly less proactive.

** Not to mention Fuji (whom only Shin can understand, for some reason), who can tell Shin has a crush on Kumiko the second he sees them talk to each other (possibly because [[FridgeBrilliance he's a dog and can smell the change in pheromones]]). In the special chapters, Fuji bribes Shin with possessions or secrets of Kumiko to get him to go along with his shenanigans.

* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Kyou is surprisingly GenreSavvy about this. He and Wakamatsu are trying to prevent Kumiko from finding out about a woman who was crying on Shinohara's shoulder in public when she suddenly turns up at the house.

* WillTheyOrWontThey: TheyDo: [[spoiler: Shin and Kimiko]] get together in the [[LastMinuteHookup last chapter of the series.]]

* BelligerentSexualTension: Kumiko and Shin's banter could count as this... if Kumiko had [[ObliviousToLove any idea as to why Shin hung around her]] so much.

* UnresolvedSexualTension: Kumiko and Shin's banter could count as this... if Kumiko was actually aware of why Shin hung around her so much.