Professor Obara is a nice guy, but not a very effective Professor. His lectures are somewhat organized, however, it is REALLY hard to follow him sometimes. I think this is partially due to his lecture style as well as the material itself. Also, I think his accent is a major setback, because although he is very knowledgable about the subject, he has a hard time trying to make the students understand.

His midterm is pretty easy and if you do the homework, you should do great on it. The final is really long and he only gives the class 2 hours, when we would have loved the whole 3 hours. However, the best part of his class is that the curve is OVERLY generous! Almost everyone gets As and Bs and a minority of the class gets Cs. Nothing lower than that, I believe unless you don't take any of the tests or something. He tries to reward you as much as he can and although he's not a really great professor, he will most definitely make sure that your GPA doesn't plummet!

AH, just took Obara's Econ 101 final. Worst final I've ever taken. HOWEVER I know that some of you who are reading this WILL take his class cuz he's really not that bad of a prof. Give him a shot. Below I listed what I believe is some very helpful advice~especially for those of you who are looking to get an A or a B in the class--ahem...especially those of you who are pre BIZ ECON...
Lectures: His lectures aren't very interesting but then again, most econ lectures w/many profs. aren't. Lecture is somewhat okay in explaining the material. A lot of it requires you to learn on your own or with the help of prof./TAs office hours. My best advice is to attend discussion and make use of your TA!

Homework: The homework is manageable...if you can understand the lecture notes. Once again, your TA and possibly fellow students are your best assets in completing and understanding the hw.

Midterm: The midterm is actually not that bad. My best advice is to do and study the HW and Exercise I that he posts online. MAKE SURE you understand Exercise I.

Final: The final is incredibly long and it's a huge struggle to get it all done. Time manage and keep in mind which questions are worth the most AND take the most time to finish. It's relatively hard but you should be able to do most of the problems IF you can complete the HW (1-4) and both Exercises(I and II) that he posts online. They are vital to your success on the final!

Grading: On the first day of lecture, Prof. Obara announced that 80% of the class gets As and Bs. Not too bad wouldn't you say? The HW is worth 10%, the Midterm 30% and the Final 60%. If you do better on the final than the midterm, your Final exam grade will replace the midterm grade...nice eh? BUT put everything on the final cuz it is not an easy exam.

Obara seems like a really nice, friendly guy. Im sure he is smart too, and knows what he is doing. But despite this, the man is a FAILURE when it comes to teaching class. His English is good, thats not the problem. He just doesnt know what he is doing in lecture. He prepares slides for class but doesnt know how to explain what is on them. He comes across some slides where he forgets what he was trying to explain when he was making the slides. His explanations are ambiguous, slow and boring. Its really hard to concentrate on what he is saying. His tests are easy, true; but you will likely get a bad grade because the TAs suck at grading. I got 6 extra points on my midterm because a TA misgraded a problem. I really didnt enjoy this class.

Professor Obara is not teaching an English class, and he knows more than enough English to teach his econ class. His lecture notes are very neat and he posts them on the class web. During his lecture, he goes through them carefully and slowly and tries to explain concepts from different perspectives. He's always at his office during his office hours and he's ready to help. His tests are fair.

Possibly the worst English speaking professor at UCLA. I went to maybe 5 classes and slept in all of them. The midterm was candy, and the final was easy too. His econ 101 class is basically econ 11 (with Zame) with Game Theory, and maybe some other small concepts. Don't buy the book, it's worthless. Just study the class slides, homework, and past midterms. However, he does put in extra concepts into the final that he does not explicitly teach and he expects you to figure it out yourself from what you've learned (kinda sux). If you're the type that gets good grades by only studying, you will fail the class; if you're good at figuring out new concepts by yourself (without someone teaching you), you only need some study skills, don't need to go to class, and this class is for you.

"Anybody who tells you that money is the root of all evil, doesn't have any. They say money can't buy happiness. Look at the smile on my face. Ear to ear baby." - Boiler Room

The worst professor I have ever had. This guy does not really care what anyone learned. The TAs did not even like him. I studied more for this class than any class in my life and only got a B. I went to 4 discussions a week plus TA office hours. I went to Ichiro's office hours, but they were pointless. Plus he doesn't really speak english that well. I would prefer to understand what my professors are saying. Avoid him at all costs.

ok, so i definitely agree with the other reviewers who say that obara tries. i really think he does make an effort and he seems like a nice enough guy. his midterm was cake, but i missed 8 points for a really stupid calculation error...hello?! partial credit?! the homework was hard, but do-able, but there were some major grading discrepancies. i spent the entire 3 hours on the final and probably wrote down half decent answers down to 60% of it. he has some organization problems and isn't that great at communicating what he's thinking. strangely enough i stayed awake through more of his econ lectures than anyone else. he curved the class pretty decently in the end. it's also pretty funny how he's really dodgey when it comes to answering question about exam material.

Prof. Obara has good intentions, but has trouble communicating to the class when asked questions because he of his trouble with English. His lectures are confusing with twenty thousand variables in his equations. Oh yeah, he likes to change the answers to his study exercises constantly on the web so you never know if you are studying the right answers or not. Its hilarious. HE CHANGED THE ANSWERS TO 2 QUESTIONS THE DAY BEFORE THE FINAL!!!! Thats all I have to say.

The bottom line is this: for most of you bus-econ or econ majors, this class is required. Obara is a lot better than most of the econ 101 teachers. I've sat in a lot of different classes, and until a better one comes along, I say go with Ichiro. If you spend a minimum of 3 hours a week on this class, you can probably get an A no problem. But most people tried to do the homeworks at the last minute, same with studying. Just stay on top of the material and the concepts aren't difficult. Use your TAs. Honestly, though - just put in a little effort every other day to make sure you understand what he lectured on and this class, or any class, will be so much easier. Ichiro Obara had a little difficulty this quarter, being his first, but I can almost guarantee he'll be infinitely better by next quarter.

Obara tries.His lectures are a bit hard to understand but he teaches at a slow pace. His homeworks are difficult and he never teaches all the stuff you need to know to complete it. His midterm was beyond easy, his final was beyond insane. It was the hardest and longest test I've ever taken in my life. It was his first quarter teaching, maybe he'll change or improve, but i doubt it.