Genshiken

The most tantalizing thing about Genshikken is perhaps that in the end it is a story about normal people. Sure each of them has their own quirks, but don't all people have their quirks? Sure they're all otaku, but that doesn't exempt them from the labors of life such as: attending class, buying food, finding jobs, pursuing romance and friendships, and most importantly trying to find a place in life. Because of this Genshiken is that rare manga where you can really find that character who you identify as yourself. Perhaps you identify with Sasahara (as I did), the timid and introverted otaku who knows what he loves, but is too afraid to admit it to others, even those who feel the same. Or perhaps you feel more like Madarame, who is too honest for his own good and so hides his feelings behind the veil of a fake personality.Whatever the case, at its heart Genshiken is a story about a group of teenagers, brought together by a similar interest (or in Saki's case, a cute guy with disgusting hobbies) who as a result all grow up together, and share their most treasured experiences with one another.

Oh, and it's a comedy, too. I did mention that, right? No? Well, it's a comedy. A pretty good comedy, actually. Genshiken is a veritable slew of parodies, ranging from Madarame spouting Gundam quotes left and right to ring tones that use theme songs from anime nobody even remembers. It is a story about otaku, for otaku, and there's something ironically humorous about it all.

The comedy of the club serves to show the reader just how important the Genshiken is to each of its members. This is a story about individuals who are drawn together via similar interest, and as a result become a family. A perverted, bickering, blundering, awkward family, but a family regardless. Genshiken is a slice of life. Genshiken is a comedy. Genshiken is a rare piece that I would say is a requirement for all serious anime and manga fans to read. It is a chronicle of those like you, a story about your life, even if the events don't quite match up. It teaches that it's okay to be open about your love. It teaches that it's okay to find comfort in those who have similar interest. It teaches that just because you're an otaku, doesn't mean you aren't also a human being. It teaches that in the end, everybody can find happiness, regardless of their likes and dislikes. To an outsider it might seem both alien and quaint, yet to us otaku it is a life changing piece that serves to both question and identify out place in the world: the same as anybody else.

There's a huge misconception in the Western world about the word "otaku", especially regarding it's usage. Most Westerners believe that the term refers to someone who is a zealous fan of something, in particular (but not exclusively so), anime and manga, with the word gaining a distinctly positive bias over the years. This is partly due to Gainax's tongue-in-cheek usage of the term in their 1991 movie "Otaku no Video", however the word has much darker and far more derogatory connotations in Japan, something which continues even to this day.

Bit of a sombre beginning to a review of a comedy manga isn't it? Well it does have a purpose, particularly as Genshiken is a series about otaku in their various forms, from the cosplayers and fujoshis (girls who are crazy about "boy's love" stories), to the doujinshi mangakas and the game junkies, and everyone in between.

Created by Kio Shimoku in 2002, the manga quickly filled the void left by Comic Party and established itself as a firm fan favourite due to its realistically humourous take on otaku subculture. The story focuses on a university club called GENdai SHIkaku Bunka KENkyūkai (The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture - the capitalised letters show where the title "Genshiken" comes from), which, in truth, is nothing more than a collection of oddballs and social misfits who are only linked by a love of anime, manga, games, and other pastimes that are the "normal" realms of the social recluse. Into this strange environment walks freshman student and closet otaku Sasahara Kanji, a shy young man who wants to join a club that he would enjoy (and where he might be able to watch/read some hentai/porn).

If there's one memorable aspect of the slice of life plot that the manga adopts, it's the quirky, and often humourous, manner in which the various characters interact with each other. Genshiken is very much a character driven piece which, ironically enough, is also the main reason why the comedy works so well. In truth, the series is very much an otaku sit-com, and much of the humour is derivative of social stereotypes, particularly the more derogatory ones.

The thing that is most pleasing about the plot though, is that it presents a broad spectrum of otaku subculture rather than focusing on one single type. Each of the characters brings something unique to the story, especially Kusakabe Saki, who is basically the only "normal" major character in the series. Whilst it's true that otaku are portrayed through rose-tinted lenses throughout the manga, Genshiken also presents the characters as plausible human beings, something that no other otaku based story has done (until NHK ni Youkoso! that is).

The plot does have its flaws, but in truth these are mostly niggling annoyances rather than anything major. The story progresses at a good pace, neither too fast nor too slow, and because of the emphasis on the characters there are very few occasions where "events" are used to move it forward. Some readers may find certain chapters rather placid, especially those where nothing seems to happen, however it should be remembered that such small tales present the characters in ways that the manga may have only hinted at before.

As far as the artwork goes, I was honestly impressed by the level of simple detail in each panel. The author has taken great care with the designs of each character in an effort to make them as individual as possible while at the same time playing on the social stereotypes. This is particularly notable in the case of Kousaka Makoto, who is unlike the other members of the club (more on this in a bit). Given the focus on the characters and the fact that they are sometimes quite literally under the microscope, it's nice to see that the author has made them expressive in both mannerisms and actions. Facially the characters are pretty simplistic, however they are extremely emotive, and it's easy to tell what each character is feeling at a given time from their expression.

The backgrounds and settings, especially the clubroom where much of the story takes place, can sometimes seem haphazardly drawn, yet they are highly detailed, with very little in the way of open space used throughout the series. Each chapter takes place in an area that is literally filled with "stuff", and while the art may be a bit messy at times, each panel has a sense of realism about it because of the detailed nature of the artwork.

The characters form the centrepiece of Genshiken in terms of both the story and the club itself. Each of them are individuals to a tee, with their own thoughts, feelings, prejudices, hobbies, etc, etc. Genshiken is nothing if not a lesson in characterisation as each of the club members, together with the supporting characters, are complete from the start of the series. One needs to remember that because the story is set in a university club, the characters are adults for the most part. This gives the whole series an edge that many other otaku based tales lack in that the humour, the relationships, the prejudices, the emotions, the hang ups, etc, etc, are all presented in a manner that is more mature, more subtly humourous, and more accessible to fans of anime and manga, especially the older ones.

One of Genshiken's biggest achievements is the degree to which the characters develop over the course of the series. This isn't simply a story based on one year of life, but covers several years during which members of the club leave, whilst new members are admitted. Over the course of the manga there are many notable progressions for each of the characters, Madarame's attempt at shopping for "decent" clothes, Sasahara being made club president, Ohno and Tanaka's cosplay based relationship, and a whole heap of other points where the characters learn something new about themselves and the world.

Probably the most notable and interesting character is Kusakabe Saki, who is very much the epitome of normalcy. She is in a relationship with Kousaka Makoto, a self confessed otaku who, against all of Kuskabe's reasoning, logic and judgement, looks nothing like the stereotypical "freak". He is handsome, smart, stylish, sociable and amiable, and cares for her deeply. He is also the king of eroge (erotic video games), an anime junkie, and a dedicated club member. It is because of his association with Genshiken that she meets the other characters, and although she has a deeply rooted dislike for all things otaku, this openly conflicts with her desire to be with Kousaka, and with her gradual realisation that otakus may not be as bad as she first thought.

Kusakabe's relationship with Genshiken is probably the most important point of the story, as even though the otaku characters are very much plays on social stereotypes, she represents the voice of "society", and her gradual understanding of otaku subculture plays a huge part in the development of the story and every other character. In truth, one could say that Kusakabe is the most important character in the story, and that while Sasahara may be the main lead, she is the one whose influence on the other characters is the most telling.

Genshiken is a series like no other, not simply in terms of its realistic portrayal of otaku subculture, but also because of its sensitivity, humour, maturity, and the depth of its characters. Any fan of anime or manga will find themselves relating to the story in ways that they probably never thought of, no matter the age of the reader, and it's this level of accessibility that makes the series truly great. The dichotomy between normal and otaku is handled extremely well, however it should be noted that this is very much based on the Japanese perception of otaku.

At the beginning of the review I mentioned that the word "otaku" is misinterpreted in the Western world, and it's understanding this fact that brings new depth and meaning to almost every aspect of the manga, from Ogiue's unwillingness to "come out of the closet", to Kusakabe's efforts to have a "normal" relationship with Kousaka. If the reader remembers that, for Japanese people at least, the word "otaku" is generally a derogatory term (although admittedly this perception is changing as anime, manga and games become more and more mainstream), then much of the story becomes more understandable.

One thing I think will clear things up a bit more is the anime series called Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu. In that show, the lead female character is a closet otaku who was shunned, teased and bullied to a degree when her schoolmates found out she was a huge fan of anime and manga. It may surprise many to know that this sort of reaction to fans of anime and manga was once considered acceptable, as otaku were, for the most part, shunned like lepers. This is how the word "otaku" is viewed in Japan. Not as something positive, but as something purely negative and derogatory.

Genshiken may be a comedy series, however it is in no way like Comic Party, Lucky Star, or any other otaku based comedies. The series possesses a sense of realism that is unlike many other manga, especially in terms of its interactions, and key to fully appreciating the story is knowing how the word "otaku" is meant to be used.

Now that you know the difference, give Genshiken another try. You may be surprised at how different it is.

This manga is a breath of fresh air compared to most manga I read. the chapters are usually one shot stories and the occasional mini-arc, as it follows the lives of a group of college students, which to me felt more enjoyable reading than epically long action manga that rambles on for 40+ volumes.
During the course of the series, the reader bears witness as the group grows in its cohesiveness over time, and bonds form between the characters as they begin to see themselves as more than fellow club members, but friends as well. We also see growth in characters like Sasahara, Kaskube and Ogiue, which will be noticed as you read along.
The character design may look basic, but also different from conventional styles, and the attention to background details is phenomenal! There are references to other manga, anime and video games ( as this is a manga about otakus) which will be fun to spot out and to test your trivia on manga, anime and video games.
This manga is only nine volumes and is worth buying, I found myself extremely entertained and has certainly become a favourite of mine!!!

Genshiken: A fairly simple story concept which gets executed with surprisingly deep results. This is a tale of a loosely-run club of otakus, and of the trials and tribulations of the various members. Although none of the plots of the show is entirely original, the characters and the fact that they suffer through realistic otaku problems (combined with the fact that most readers are probably otaku) make it a very fun, and occasionally emotional, manga.

Characters: You have Sasahara (freshman), the introverted guy who opens up as he gets to know the rest of the club members. Kohsaka (also a freshman), who is the hardest of the hardcore in otakudom, but who looks like a normal guy. Madarame, a guy who wears otaku pride on his sleeve, has trouble dealing with ordinary emotions when he feels them (personally, I see his story as the most heart-wrenching). Saki, a non-otaku, stuggles to realte to her otaku boyfriend. Ogiue, a disgruntled artist, deals with her conflicting emotions towards otakudom (is one, but hates others). Other cast members are well developed, making the group dynamic very believable.

Art: Fairly expressive, and very cute (in a non-moe way). The first reason why I loved this manga was the twist on the classic "blood vessel pop" that Shimoku uses especially with female characters.

Story: The plot tracks various members of the club through their four years of development as otaku and humans. The overall premises aren't spectacular, but are enough to carry the group dynamic along.

Overall: A very nice, relaxed, funny, and heartful manga. Definitely worth a look.

I gained slight interest of Genshiken after hearing about its premise. The story just being otaku life-style being explored in-depth and the praise I seen from the anime community/anime YouTubers made the series sounded very promising, though initially, I was turned off by its realistic otaku character design and the low production values of the anime to give it a shot years ago. My interest in the series came back at a time where I personally felt seriously depressed, questioning my purpose of being part of the anime/manga community as more of my in-depth, passionate analyses started to feel brushed off by most now, despite trying hard to get an interesting discussion rolling out of my analyses for this year. I figured that if I gave Genshiken a shot, maybe I could learn something more about the fans of each medium and get a greater understanding on how a natural otaku friendship forms. I chose to begin this series read the manga, since I still heavily disliked how the anime adaptation looked. Little did I know that I would become immensely/phenomenally engaged with Genshiken over the course of the manga’s ride.

The First Season was decent and had an interesting storyline, though a kinda bland beginning. The bold exploration of different kinds of Japanese otaku talking about otaku things (such as doujins, porn games, and cosplay) was interesting. There was also good, intriguing, and subtle/realistic character developments and complex/inner conflicts of discussing made the manga a nice read, but it did not make for a very engaging read. It was not until the first romance formed in the Genshiken (The romance after Saki/Kousaka) happened when the series finally became a captivating read. The character developments onward build up pretty greatly, with the last fifths of the first season personally impacting me to some degree in how I personally/boldly approach discussion on otaku hobbies.

The way Genshiken characters nonchalantly discuss even the most risqué subjects and naturally growing romances and friendships with each other was pretty inspiring to me. It was especially so inspiring for me with a certain couple that briefly develops an interesting story that involves working in the manga industry. The only complaints I have with the first season is just the extra content that explores each character’s personal tastes and online write-ups about fictional series created for Genshiken. The fictional anime/manga/game names made me cringe most of the time and the deep write-ups for fictional series did not interest me at all. As much as I understand the author wanting to add these to build extra layers to the otaku matters for the overall experience, I feel there were better ways to approach such deep explorations. The extra content broke the flow of the story for me so often, that I just skimmed over most fictional write-ups and character profiles just to read the next chapter. I understood the point of these and quickly moved from them after 10 chapters.

As for the Second Season, I personally think it is absolutely phenomenal and immensely entertaining. Although, the beginning chapters are rough. The story no longer focused on the growth/exploration the original Genshiken otakus, rather the new Genshiken members. I initially thought the new members had over-exaggerated personalities, despite the ok character developments that still show interesting otaku explorations that compliment with entertaining moments. That, the heavy focus on a certain/new Genshiken member’s conflicts, and the mangaka plot line slowly fading away made me worry that the series was going downhill with no interesting story directions to keep me interested. I did not understand what the author was doing, until the build-up to another huge plot line came around the 80+ chapter mark. That is when the series took off to an uncharted, immensely fascinating direction. I had become so engaged at that point, and my interest/care for the story/characters scaled higher and higher with each chapter.

I will not spoil what this plot line is, but I can tell you my compliments. Somehow, the mangaka managed to weave in otaku exploration, two super interesting character conflicts, SOMEHOW managing to make character growth feel realistic and natural, while also providing phenomenal build-up to the story, bringing several plot twists, and offering a colossal amount of entertaining moments that made me slowly love every character currently participating in this generation’s Genshiken club. The build-up led up to a sensational conclusion with the last 25 chapters that literally made me fucking explode in hype emotions for every fucking scene that happens. That plot line’s last chapters engaged and entertained me to a level that I have not felt in ages since first watching To Love-Ru Darkness’s 2nd season’s OVA conclusion. By the end, I could not help but feel depressed when reading the last chapter, knowing that it was the last time I will engage with these memorable characters, or should I say now, my closest friends.

I personally consider the Second Season way WAY better than the First Season, in terms of entertainment, engagement, and character arcs. For me, the First Season is easily outclassed by Second Season, no contest. Really, the only gripe I have honestly is that certain character’s conflict I mentioned earlier going on for too long. That character’s conflict grows so interesting as the plot line begins to set fortunately, but I felt there could have been more opportunities to have chapters exploring the other otakus and the older otakus that disappear in the story, but that is a minor complaint for me now. Everyone must read Genshiken. Whether you are a manga, anime, or gaming fan, I think you will have a great experience with this series, if you give it a chance to let the slow character developments and exploration unfold into something beautiful. I sincerely hope that the mangaka creates a Third Season, because I am very interested in the relationships that were established in the final chapters and the third generation of Genshiken members that could potentially make Third Season even more phenomenal than the Second Season. (I need more Ogiue and Sue in my life badly!!!)

Thank you Genshiken, for helping me fully accept my hobbies, demonstrating the true friendship of otakus, and giving me the courage to boldly express these hobbies to other fans across the globe. I will cherish the memories I have with Genshiken for years to come.

“Otaku” is a term that I’ve labeled myself with in the past, when I’d eagerly watch new episodes of seasonal anime that come out weekly as a getaway from hours of tedious class lectures. Fully professing as one at the peak of my teenage years, I rejected most of the reality around me and got absorbed at the 2D world in front of my laptop screen. I had friends who would identify as one and we’d chatter away during school breaks about the latest developments in the anime world. I’d start obsessing over the latest doujins and video games which caused me to neglect real life priorities. This hobby persisted up until college, where I slowly lost interest due to academic stress. I’d still come back to its comfort frequently but it’s often short-lived. Now that I’m at the end of my college days, Genshiken came at the right time and reminded me that the days I’ve spent living the otaku life wasn’t time wasted.

One striking aspect of the manga is that it holds well a sense of realism. The Genshiken members act like what an otaku would act like in real life. They are hopeless and degenerate, but the story shows the embracement of it rather than shaming it. It is self-aware about the negative perceptions about otakus, but it addresses them in a mature manner. The eccentricities are present, but they are not overbearing to the point of being annoying. Rather, the manga uses it to its advantage to present a healthy group dynamic among the cast which results to very enjoyable and hilarious moments. The manga is split into two generations: the old and the new generation.

The old Genshiken members include the enthusiastic Madarame, the timid Sasahara, the cosplay otaku Tanaka, the artist Kugayama, the normal Kasukabe, the BL-loving Ohno, the flawless Kousaka, and the otaku-hating Oguie. It’s worth noting that the manga doesn’t have an actual main character, even though we are fooled to believe that it’s Sasahara at the start of the story. What I really loved with this generation is that it manages to develop and flesh out almost all its characters. The narrative shows how the Genshiken members warm up to each other over time, even leading to romantic developments. Every activity that they bond over with builds up their friendship over time, leading to a fulfilling closure as they separate paths in the future.

The new cast for Genshiken Nidaime sees most of the old members graduating and some of the side characters in the previous generation gaining more relevance to the story. The new addition to the mix includes the crossdresser Hato and the fujoshis Yoshitaka and Yajima. There’s an observable shift in the tone of the series, as most of the gags revolve around BL. It’s also used to progress the plot as there are some immense romantic developments that are handled in a way that is not forced. It might alienate the fans of the old Genshiken gang but it’s a refreshing way to continue the story. What I also like about the reserialization of the manga is that the mangaka came back with a really improved artwork.

There are some issues I have with the manga but most of them are just nitpicks. One of which is that we didn’t see much of the campus life outside the clubroom. It could’ve help put that realism up a notch. Another one is that it derails to certain romance subplots, detours with no conclusion, and then the manga picks it up again later. There are also some characters that could’ve used more of the spotlight to make the readers more invested in them. But then again, it could complicate the plot that was already at the brink of collapsing near the end, only to be saved by a well-executed conclusion.

Overall, this is a must read for anyone who has the slightest idea what it means to be an “otaku”. It’s a well-written story that throws in typical otaku clichés and stereotypes and makes it an enjoyable and emotional reading experience. If Welcome to the NHK displays the dark side of being an otaku, Genshiken shows the fun side of it while not neglecting its drawbacks. Don’t miss out on this amazing manga.

With a medium-sized cast of characters, Genshiken provides a rich and realistic portrayal of otaku life, showing the otaku as not necessarily a positive or negative subculture, but simply one that is.

The characters designs are unique, with distinct yet reasonably subdued designs backed by an elaborately detailed look at the otaku world around them. The artwork changes significantly over time, but it manages to remain at a high quality all throughout. The only point in which the art suffers a little is in the volume 8 4-panel comics.

The series can be divided into roughly two parts, with the arrival of the character Chika Ogiue. Her appearance results in a gradual shift from a more general view of otaku life to more personal character studies, prioritizing their lives as human beings over the fact that they are otaku. However, that should not be cause for alarm, as the characters remain true to their existence, and the story Shimoku Kio proves is emotionally satisfying.

I cannot recommend Genshiken enough.

Summary: Genshiken starts off good. Then Ogiue appears. Which turns it from good to great. No, great isn't a sufficiently positive adjective for it.

So I'll say that Genshiken turns from good to Ogiue.

Genshiken is a slice of life comedy about a college otaku club.

To start, I'll first state that I like to split Genshiken into three parts, based on the generation of the members of the club. There is the first part, with Sasahara, Saki, and Kousaka. Then, there is the second part, after Ogiue and Kuchi join, and then finally the third part with Hato, Yoshitake, and Yajima. While it's hard to choose a favorite, I think that the second part is the strongest, followed by the third, and then the first. If I were to rate them, I'd give the first part a solid 8, the second part a 10, and the third part a 9, which rounds to an overall 9/10 rating.

Where the story really starts to shine is through its characters. Every character is very different, and they all have great personalities. The author also manages to draw all of them with pretty discerning features, so I didn't get confused as I often do with some other manga. The story starts out by making you think that Sasahara will be a main character, but in reality the manga has no main character. Instead, it's about all the members in the club and what they go through, and I love this because you start to see all the tiny details about every character.

Something that the manga does very well is the old characters keep appearing, even if they have already graduated. It's great to see what they are up to, and see them interact with the newer generation. (That being said, I still wanted Saki and Kousaka to appear a lot more than they did after they graduated, but I guess that couldn't be helped.) Often, a lot of characters are just forgotten in other manga, but it feels like no one is left out in here.

But as amazing as this manga is, I wouldn't recommend this for everybody. To start, it's very obvious that the demographic is for slightly older readers, as the characters talk about things like doujinshi and porn very freely. The chapters are also very dialogue heavy, which means each chapter can feel very long (this might be a positive though!).

If you are the average person who isn't too much into manga and really just consumes basic shonen, you probably wouldn't like this as much as I did. But, if you consider yourself a fan of manga or anime, you are doing yourself a great disservice if you don't check this series out.

Extra note: The 4-Koma at the end of each chapter are hilarious and probably the best out of any manga I've read. They are all small additions to the story, or small clarifications to something that a character said, which I find very fun to read.

My first and favorite manga.

What makes this manga so great is the premise. What could have been a meandering slice-of-life kind of story about a college anime club, is transformed into something much greater by a very careful set up.

Although it takes a little longer to get there than in the anime, there is a definite story being told here.The manga doesn't just pull out random days for our amusement like most slice-of-life shows, it's building towards the conclusion of the conflict and the development of its characters.

Featuring some of the most three dimensional characterization I've seen, detailed and careful artwork and a story that actually has something to say, I can't do anything but recommend Genshiken.

What is Genshiken about? Put simply, it's about a group of college students who hang around in a college club for the 'study' of manga, anime and video games, the club being called Genshiken (The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture). The group go to Comicfest (a convention held twice a year where fan made manga gets sold) twice a year and hold a school event once a year, but most of the series takes place within the Genshiken club room. Also, there's no real main character -- some characters got more 'page time' then others but there wasn't a character that was focused on a significant amount more than the others.

Genshiken is a very odd series. You'd expect a series with a small amount of main characters, not a lot of variation in the backgrounds and lots of repetitive otaku (people with obsessive interests, with manga, anime and/or video games usually being the interest) fun to get boring after reading for awhile. But that wasn't the case with Genshiken -- whenever I opened up one of the volumes, I found myself able to read the book from back to front without issue. Maybe it's because I'm into anime, manga and video games myself and, to certain extent at least, can relate to the cast? I don't know. All I know for sure is that the dialogue was well written, the art was very well drawn and the author just generally put a lot of effort into his work. As a series made for otaku by an otaku, it succeeds.

A large amount of the chapters involve the cast simply sitting in the club room and talking about whatever the chapter in question focuses on. This allows Genshiken to be easy to pick-up and read, but it also means that the manga will fail in the eyes of someone who isn't able to like or connect with the characters. So, in a nutshell, what makes Genshiken work is the characters, and that's why I'm going to spend most of this review covering the characters in as much non-spoilerific detail as possible.

One of the few negative comments I can throw at Genshiken is that a couple of the characters don't come across as realistic. The majority do, Madarame in particular coming across as very real, but I can't say the same about the best character (in my opinion, of course) in the story, Kasukabe, and her boyfriend Kousaka. It was a smart move by the author to attempt to link the lives of otaku to the the life of a 'normal', clothes loving woman because it allowed people who aren't as crazy as the rest of the cast to connect to at least one character. However, it's hard to believe that, for a period of around four years, a 'normal' woman would hang around with a group of otaku when she doesn't even have much interest in what the rest of the group are into. And as for Kousaka, her boyfriend, have you ever seen or heard of a real otaku that has sex appeal, doesn't wear glasses, spends money on fashionable clothes AND has an incredibly hot/understanding girlfriend? I rest my case. And in terms of personality, he's just an airhead...or, put in a more nasty way, he doesn't seem all the ticket. I assume his character was only created in order to link Kasukabe with Genshiken, and that's exactly why his character was a failure in my eyes -- rather than him having been created as a realistic otaku, he was made completely unrealistic in attempt to make 'normal' Kasukabe loving him and joining Genshiken to be with him realistic. For a story that's supposed to show the lives fictional but real people, the above two just don't quite fit.

I do love Kasukabe's character, though. Believable or not, she has the sort of fiery personality usually reserved for red-heads, and I must confess to having something of a fetish for the 'red-head personality'. Her character alone made the series funny at first with her comments and general lack of understanding with regards to how obsessive manga/anime/video games fans function. It was hard not to laugh when she had a serious discussion about her boyfriend deciding to switch positions during sex (doggy style, if interested) so that he could face the TV when an anime episode was on. Again, I have to question the believability since I find it hard (think anything twisted and you're a pervert) to imagine any male being able to focus on a TV screen whilst having sex with an attractive woman...but, of course, that didn't make the mental image any less funny. Her role did, sadly, become less important as the story went on due to her becoming more accepting of the group she, for some odd reason, spends a lot of time with for four years of her life. I kept hoping she'd switch from being more of a supporting character and return to being more of a main character but it became clear she wasn't going to once she stopped trying to get the Genshiken club to vanish.

As for the rest of the cast, only Madarame, a true otaku, was a truly memorable character. The rest of the characters have a quirk or two that separates them from each other but very little personality beyond those quirks. Madarame, on the other hand, came across as a person as well as an otaku. He had the 'camera' pointed at him a lot during the first half of the story, just like Kasukabe did, and that resulted in him receiving some decent development as he and Kasukabe, opposites in just about every respect, bounced words off each other. The most interesting aspect of his character is the hidden feelings he holds for Kasukabe and how he hides his true feelings because he knows she'll never return them, which allowed him to become more than just another otaku -- he became a person with understandable emotions; not just an insane guy. One of the best chapters involved Madarame attempting to act normal when alone with Kasukabe in the Genshiken room for the first time, with her oblivious to the fact that he was sweating like a pig and didn't know where to look or what to do in order to look normal. Sadly, like with every relationship of this kind where, for one reason or another, the male won't reveal his feelings, the scenes the two shared alone never built up to anything beyond friendship...but there was a chapter close to the end that repeated the earlier chapter where the two were alone near the start, and this time around they actually managed to talk, which showed how much they'd both changed over the course of the story.

As the story moved closer to the end, a new character, who would end up getting a huge amount of chapters focused on her, came into the story -- Ogiue, an otaku in denial who enjoys drawing hardcore yaoi. The story started focusing more on the characters and less on otaku culture around the time Ogiue came into the picture. She was very difficult to like or understand because what she said (otaku hate) and what she did (joining otaku clubs, reading/drawing yaoi) contradicted each other. The reasoning behind her actions was explained in volume 8, but what was shown didn't seem to be a good enough reason for her to act as bitchy as she did for a lengthy period. Tsundere or not, I was never able to like her very much because what she did and the reasons behind what she did weren't equal enough for me to think, "Oh, I can understand why she was such a pain in the arse now. The poor thing..."

...If I keep going like this, talking about each character in detail, it's going to go on all year, so now that I've covered the most important characters I'm going to cover the rest of the important characters in a few sentences:

Sasahara (Kanji) - The first character in the story. He joins Genshiken right after he starts at his new college. At first he's afraid to admit he's an otaku and show his true colours, but the Genshiken group soon enable him to come out from within himself. He's a passive, rather boring character -- the sort that fades from memory quickly. He didn't have much to do until near the end, where he and Ogiue started spending a fair amount of time together. Out of all the characters, he was the most plain and lacked individuality.

Ohno: the cosplay freak. She joined Genshiken in order to cosplay. At first I thought she was just going to be there to show off her gigantic breasts in various costumes and smile (in other words, fan service), but her personality came out quickly once she started arguing about cosplay being a form of expression and the good of yaoi. She was one of the better, most likeable characters.

Tanaka - The model building and costume creating freak. He's not really a very important character, and he fades away like nearly all of the early cast do as the series goes on, but I thought I'd mention him because he's an important character for Ohno -- he makes all of her costumes and is involved in nearly all of cosplay related chapters.

There are a few other members of Genshiken but none of them are important enough for me to spend another couple of paragraphs covering. I'm sure after reading the above you will have a good feel for most of the cast and know if Genshiken sounds like your cup of tea already.

Like I said before I started talking about the characters, Genshiken doesn't have a main plot thread and, aside from a few chapters, most of the stories are self-contained. It's hard to rate the plot because of that. I was going to give the plot a 9 because, in this series, the plot and characters are one and the same...however, the open, inconclusive ending made me reduce the rating to 8 instead. Don't you just hate it when a story ends at a random point, without telling you anything about what happens to the characters? The Count of Monte Cristo did after 1250 pages; ‘Welcome to the NHK’, a very similar series to Genshiken, did and Genshiken also did. The blow was softened a little with Genshiken because there was a bonus chapter included that showed the characters talking after the end, but that didn't really make up for the abrupt nature of the ending.

Talking of bonuses, each Genshiken volume was full of extras. Every chapter has at least two four-panel stories, which connect to the chapter they appear after. They're all fairly amusing and added to my overall enjoyment. There was also a couple of bonus chapters, including what I mentioned above, and Del Rey spent a few pages in every volume explaining what certain words meant and what characters were referring to when they talked about certain otaku related things. If you're the sort of person who gets annoyed with buying anime DVDs and discovering no extras were put on the disc then reading the Genshiken volumes will please you.

And, finally, the art needs to be talked about a little. Each character was drawn excellently and I had no problem differentiating between them. It's worth mentioning that the characters often changed clothes between the chapters, which made the characters more real and showed that the author was far from a lazy person. And to back up that point, I'd also like to mention that the backgrounds are very detailed -- it was impressive to see that, in an attempt to make the rooms of the main characters look real, lots of games, books and models were included in their messy rooms.
The reason I haven't given the art max points? The Genshiken room. It appeared so much that I was able to memorize the layout, and that's saying a lot when I'm a goldfish. I got a little tired of seeing the exact same background over and over. It's not really a flaw when the series wouldn't have worked if not for the Genshiken room, but still...

Overall, I loved Genshiken. I put it straight into my top five after finishing it. There are few, if any, better character driven stories out there. It's a must read for every manga/anime fan because there aren't any out there that wouldn't be able to see parts of themselves in the characters. If money isn't tight or if you don't like to take the anti-piracy moral high ground then I recommend you read this series as soon as possible because you won't be able to stop reading once you start.

Rating: 9/10