The Ulitmate Teacher

Original Title: 恐怖のバイオ人間 最終教師
Romanized: Kyoufu no Baio-Ningen - Saishuu Kyoushi
Literal: The Dread Bio-Human - The Final Teacher

Plot Synopsis

At Emperor High, the most wretched high school in the district, gangs run rampant and the teachers live in fear of their students. Enter Ganpachi Chibane, the self proclaimed "Ultimate Teacher." No ordinary teacher would be up to the task, but Ganpachi isn't just any Ultimate Teacher--he is also known as the Fearsome Bioreconstructed Man; having escaped from a secret government experiment years earlier, Ganpachi has been gifted with strength and fighting abilities far beyond those of any ordinary human, and he's determined to bring discipline to Emperor High, whatever the cost.

But his adversary is the head of all the gangs at Emperor--Shiratori Hinako. She's no ordinary opponent, and isn't about to let him mess up her perfectly good (by her standards, anyway) school, either. But, to complicate matters more, you don't get to the top without making some enemies, and they're bound to side with the new power on campus. Then there's that scientist who has devoted his life to tracking down his escaped experiment. Oh, yes... there's also a little thing that has to do with Lucky Kitty Gym Shorts...

Quick Review

Rating: 4 / 5
Reviewer: Marc
Review Date: 2006-07-22

A forgotten gem of anime insanity, The Ultimate Teacher is utterly bizarre and absolutely tasteless in all the right ways for those with an appropriately warped sense of humor. A parody of anime cliches from street fighting, to youth gangs, to those escaped government experiments that always seem to run amok, it also takes quick pot shots at costumed superheroes (Spider Man fans take note... and be afraid), cool superpowered ninja teams, and a few other categories. Impressively, it manages a surprisingly coherent storyline and sympathetic characters even while lampooning so many genres. It's decent looking for an OAV of its age, and the action even includes a couple mildly cool touches. Also look for a fittingly raucous end theme by popular Japanese rock group Kome Kome Club.

The Ultimate Teacher definitely won't appeal to many people--most will find it too weird for its own good. But for those with the right sense of humor and an affinity for the truly bizarre, it is inspired hilarity that shouldn't be missed, if you can find it.

US DVD Review

None exists as of this writing, in any country.

Content Guide

A few objectionable scenes, and lots of gross humor; about a 13-up.

Violence: 2 - Lots of fighting, but mostly pretty silly stuff.

Nudity: 2 - One brief scene, and more scenes with briefs (and gym shorts) than you can shake a stick at.

Sex/Mature Themes: 2 - Nothing terribly objectionable, but some off-color jokes and a total lack of taste.

Language: 1 - Scattered expletives.

Notes and Trivia

A note on the title: The second half of the title, "Saishuu Kyoushi" (literally meaning "Final Teacher") is probably a play on the phrase "saishuu heiki," meaning "ultimate weapon" (literally, "final weapon"). As such, "The Ultimate Teacher" is probably the most accurate translation in spirit.

The end theme music is by the popular Japanese rock group Kome Kome Club; they've been around since the '80s, and are known for fun music much of which has less than serious lyrics, as well as extremely elaborate and wacky stage shows (which is entirely appropriate for the Ultimate Teacher). They also happen to be one of Akemi's favorite groups.

Availability

A very early (1993) subtitled VHS release by US Manga Corps, they also re-released it on subtitled and dubbed VHS in the mid-90s. All versions are long out of print.

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