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Kumiko “Yankumi” Yamaguchi is a cheerful and somewhat ditzy-seeming homeroom teacher for a class of delinquents at Shirokin Gakuen, a private high school for boys. She is small of stature, wears glasses, and looks unimposing. But things are not quite what they seem with the new teacher. The boys in her homeroom class are tough, but Yankumi – as it turns out – is a whole lot tougher than any of them.

The Gokusen is a comedy anime series that presents a fresh twist on the old person-torn-between-two-worlds scenario. Kumiko’s dream has always been to teach; but after her parents’ death she was raised by her grandfather Kuroda, who just happened to be the head of the Oedo Group – a powerful yakuza clan. As Kuroda’s only heir, Kumiko is set to inherit the leadership of the clan.

Since Kumiko’s connection with the yakuza would get her fired, she has to keep her family background a secret at the school, while at the same time teaching and improving the lives of her students. Trained in martial arts, she conceals her true tough girl persona and manages for the most part to fool her students about her yakuza identity. But there is one student, Shin Sawada – the bright and handsome leader of the delinquents – who suspects that Kumiko is not what she seems… which is where the fun really begins.

Kumiko is an appealing heroine in her desire to live her dream of being a teacher, while at the same time remaining loyal to her grandfather and the clan. How she manages her double life as teacher and yakuza princess makes The Gokusen an amusing and entertaining anime series.

The Gokusen was produced by Madhouse Studios. Licensed in the U.S. by Media Blasters and distributed by AnimeWorks.

Jan Suzukawa works in the manga industry as a freelance editor and English adaptation writer. Website: www.jansuzukawa.com. Blog: jansuzukawa.blogspot.com.