Kinpachi-sensei

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Kinpachi-sensei (3年B組金八先生, San nen B-gumi Kinpachi-sensei^?)is a Japanese soap opera.

Kinpachi-sensei is the story of an 3rd year junior high school class in Japan; its teacher is Kinpachi Sakamoto (坂本金八 Sakamoto Kinpachi). Kinpachi-sensei has a lot of social commentary on issues such as homosexuality, gender identity disorder, and psychological pregnancy--as well as bullying (of both students and teachers), teenage pregnancy, teenage suicide, and the extreme pressure to do well in school.

The series began in 1979, a pivotal year when issues such as delinquency and on campus violence reached a fever-pitch amongst the educational spectrum; "Kinpachi Sensei," portrayed by former singer Tetsuya Takeda of Kaientai fame, attempts to resolve such problems using a blend of charisma, honesty, and humor and wit.

In 2001, the series helped to rocket Aya Ueto to greater national attention after she portrayed a student with gender identity disorder; Kinpachi made it his mission to teach the class about issues relating to gender identity so as to stop Ueto's character from feeling consistently alienated from her peers.

Part of Kinpachi sensei's enduring appeal is the fact that the character's energy and dynamism help to steer him through a slew of difficulties; there never seems to be a single time in the show's history in which Kinpachi is not beset by a slew of social or personal problems: teen bullying, Kinpachi's son developing cancer, violence directed against teachers.

One of the more fascinating seasons of the program focused on one student's hikikomori brother. Since the hikikomori brother was violent but completely withdrawn from the rest of the world, his younger sibling began to demonstrate violent and manipulative traits amongst his classmates: appearing completely angelic before Kinpachi, but controlling the actions of his subordinates to an extreme degree. By the end of the season, Kinpachi successfully sees through the younger brother's subterfuge, convinces the hikikomori brother to join the rest of the world, and manages to coordinate his class's efforts in the school music festival in which they perform a traditional fishing dance called the "Souranbushi."

[edit] References

• Author Koushun Takami's Battle Royale contains a character named Kinpatsu Sakamochi, a satirical reference to Kinpachi. In Takami's text, Sakamochi is a sadistic individual who seems to gleefully delight in the exploits of the 42 students forced to kill each other in "The Program." There is some speculation on the part of many literary critics who see Sakamochi's sadistic qualities as a sardonic attack on the idealized portrayal of a "good teacher" in Kinpachi's earnestness and kindness. The manga version of Battle Royale has an "evil" teacher named Yonemi Kamon, while the film has Kitano.