Gokusen

Nakama Yukie plays the character of Yamaguchi Kumiko, a self-righteous high school teacher who wants to make her mark on the Japanese educational system. Unfortunately, the school she teaches has its share of troublemakers. But fortunately, she's trained to handle them because her secret life in the past was that she was a membr of a major crime syndicate. Nakazawa plays her confidante, a kindergarden teacher. Matsumoto is the leader of a gang of problem kids. Sawamura Kazuki plays a love interest.

[NTV Synopsis]: Newly graduated Kumiko Yamaguchi wants to make her mark on the Japanese educational system as a teacher. All well and good until she finds out that the school she'll be teaching at has its fair share of troublemakers and rabble-rousers. The ruffians at the school don't frighten her though for she has a secret of her own-she's a fourth generation crime syndicate member and next in line to head it up. She's gone straight and wants to be a teacher though, but she's one person in whose class you don't want to be caught fooling around!

[Source: Daily Yomiuri, January 13, 2005, Wm. Penn]: Two popular sequels focusing on heroes with secret identities are back.

Gokusen (Saturdays, 9 p.m. on the NTV network) starts Jan. 15 and features Yukie Nakama as the granddaughter of a yakuza. She passes for a demure high school teacher during the day and only displays her dazzling martial arts skills when the kids are real, real bad.

From Televiews, Wm. Penn, May 23, 2008 for the Daily Yomiuri: At present, the big winner is Gokusen III (Saturdays, 9 p.m., NTV) holding firm with Video Research Co. ratings of 25.1 percent, which is about as high as one can realistically hope to get anymore. Viewers have seen it all before--twice--but still can't resist watching ratings queen Yukie Nakama vanquish her foes and turn her motley crew of students into happy high school grads.

STARRING: Nakama Yukie, Itoh Misaki, Namase Katsuhisa, Kaneko Ken, Sawamura Kazuki, Utsui Ken, Matsumoto Jun (Arashi), Sawamura Ikki, Oguri Shun, Ishigaki Yuma, Narimiya Hiroki, Waki Tomohiro and Nakazawa Yuko. Third Series: Nakama Yukie, Namase Katsuhisa, Enami Kyoko, Utsui Ken, Hirayama Aya, Anan Kenji, Ryogoku Hiroshi,
THEME SONG: "Feel Your Breeze" by V6
NETWORK: NTV
DURATION: April through June 2002. Second Series: January through March 2005. Third Series: April through June 2008.
REVIEWS:

Finally! A drama that is similar like GTO done well (way better than "Naomi"). Nakama Yukie does a great job in this drama and it's hillarious to watch! Check it out! - Jacque