Genshiken

Kanji Sasahara is an introverted college freshman just looking for a place to fit in. One day, he happens to stumble upon the club known as the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture—otherwise known as Genshiken—that serves to bring the full spectrum of otaku culture together. His first visit to the club, however, does not end well as Sasahara's pride is crushed by his senior, Harunobu Madarame, and he leaves the meeting in full denial of his otaku nature. However, after befriending club member Makoto Kousaka, who turns out to be a hardcore otaku despite his looks, Sasahara becomes more involved with club activities which include obsessing over their favorite anime, reading doujinshi, and attending conventions. There, he meets other interesting people like Kousaka's vehemently non-otaku girlfriend Saki Kasukabe, who strives to turn her boyfriend into a "normal guy."

While Saki struggles to understand otaku culture and her boyfriend's love for it, Sasahara finds himself enjoying his time at Genshiken, gradually shedding any denial he once had about being an otaku and immersing himself in an otaku lifestyle.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Madarame, Harunobu Main

Hiyama, Nobuyuki Japanese

Kasukabe, Saki Main

Yukino, Satsuki Japanese

Oono, Kanako Main

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Sasahara, Kanji Main

Ooyama, Takanori Japanese

Kousaka, Makoto Main

Saiga, Mitsuki Japanese

Tanaka, Souichiro Main

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Kugayama, Mitsunori Main

Nomura, Kenji Japanese

Shodai Kaichou Supporting

Ueda, Yuuji Japanese

Kuchiki, Manabu Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Mizudori, Tsutomu Supporting

Endou, Junichi Japanese

Ibira, Takaya Producer

Suzuki, Seiji Assistant Producer

Ikehata, Takashi Director, Storyboard

Aketagawa, Jin Sound Director

Reviews

Mar 5, 2008

Psychonaut

Recommended

If you were ever sitting around with your friends one day talking about anime, munching on pocky, sifting eagerly through the plunder and spoils after a grueling day at your favorite convention, wishing you could find a date, dreaming about selling your own Japanese animation idea, and wondering about your future, well then, my fellow otaku, a show has been made about you.

Genshiken, adapted from the manga by Kio Shimoku, is about a college club for otaku who never quite grew out of the doujinshi, cosplay, and resin-kit building phase of their lives, and how the members of the club find support and acceptance in ... the eyes and hearts of each other when the rest of the world labels them as, in the words of one of the characters, "failed human beings". Reoccurring themes throughout the anime are the ritualistic attendance of a Tokyo-based doujinshi convention, Comi-Fes, hanging out aimlessly in the club room discussing the latest installment of Kujibiki Unbalance (a fictitious anime series that often acts as the catalyst for many of the series' early events) and dealing with real life vs. otakudom.

The story of Genshiken, much like the relationships between the characters, starts off uncertain and it may seem to the uninformed viewer at times stuck in second gear. But as the characters begin to mingle and expose their personalities more and more, so too does the storyline of Genshiken grow in cohesiveness and also direction. Fans of the slice of life genre will not be daunted by the slow beginning, and will find themselves hooked by the third or fourth episode, as the storyline picks up the pace and wastes no time with the pestilent fluff that is the downfall of many mainstream series today. In a lot of ways, Genshiken reminds me of Azumanga Daioh in that as the series begins, you're indoctrinated into a newly formed circle of friends, almost like a silent observer, but you feel like you're there because of the strong storytelling and realism; by the end, as characters move on with their lives, you feel that profound sense of sadness that one feels leaving their friends behind from high school or college as the next phase of life's journey awaits them.

Artistically, Genshiken is on the mark. Tsutomu Mizushima, who adapted the series from Shimoku's manga, was true to form in favoring a mute, more realistic color palette and style of artwork. The background artwork is never shunned and scarcely ever will a frame or series of frames be blatantly recycled. Viewers might be puzzled, however, as toward the end of the series there seems to be some sort of shift in both coloration and style.

The sound effects of Genshiken are average, but the voice acting might as well be deemed stellar. Clearly, the brightest and most illustrious of Japan's voice talent was assembled for this job. In a series like Genshiken, where bells and whistles and intense action sequences or gratuitous nudity or fan service can't distract you from poor voice acting, the seiyuu chosen from each role is a critical choice. Each voice actor fits their role flawlessly, especially the character of Harunobu Madarame (voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama), a high-strung, ultra-hardcore otaku and fetishist.

I'm a tough critic, so my numbers may be skewed from what you're used to reading. But truth be told, Genshiken deserves a 9 when it comes to characters. Very rarely do you come across characters in an anime with real problems, real vices, and real dilemmas. Genshiken characters are not stock, folks. They're you. They're your friends. And you'll get attached to them so much that it hurts. It is purely the characters that drive Genshiken, an echo of a world all to familiar to the series' sympathetic viewers.

You'll doubtlessly get a lot of enjoyment out of Genshiken, and each time you watch it, you'll learn something new, not only about the show, but about culture and the world you live in. Henceforth, the replay-ability of Genshiken is pretty high up there. Overall, it's a great show and worth forking over money for that pretty DVD boxed set your friends will envy.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 7, 2018

shysaviorkun

Mixed Feelings

The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, otherwise known as Genshiken. I am honestly not entirely sure how to go about describing this anime without simply referring you to the title.

In a short summary Genshiken is a show about otakus and the various forms of media that different otakus often specialize themselves in. We have our mecha experts, our cosplayers, our lovers of doujinshi, and our gamers. At the heart of this show however we have two main characters. One, a non-otaku who is part of Genshiken only to be with her otaku boyfriend, and the other, a young otaku who is only ... now developing his interest in our modern visual culture.

I think Genshiken is a rather average slice of life show, what differentiates it from others in the genre is the fact that it follows otakus in a college age setting. Beyond the choice of setting, the show boasts a very strong lineup of characters, that are all unique, interesting, and most importantly, feel like real people. Unfortunately the show falls a little flat in my opinion because of the lack of a true main character with an actual goal. The two main characters I mentioned earlier,despite progressing as characters, don't really do much. None of the cast really does much...at all. The show in this sense feels kind of pointless even by slice of life standards. Not much really changes apart from the attitudes of some of the characters and a strengthening of the friendships within the Genshiken club.

If you are looking for something to help you relax and unwind for an evening or a lazy afternoon, then Genshiken is a solid choice. It has fun, relatable characters, solid sound design that does its job of accentuating the relaxing atmosphere that the show provides, and a pleasant story that doesn't require you to tire yourself out trying to understand anything.

I gave this show a 6 out of 10. I had some good laughs while watching it and I think the show succeeded at what it was trying to do.

PS: If you want more context for my scores out of 10, please visit my profile.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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May 12, 2018

Dionkeykong

Not Recommended

I'm Dion Bauer and these were the worst 288 minutes of my life.

WARNING:This review contains sarcasm and fun and all the things the PC fruitcakes hate.

Now on to the review and where do i fucking start with this one?It's like asking me to write the memoirs of a rotten corpse i met just 2 minutes ago..I mean it's a fucking corpse,it doesn't talk,it doesn't move its' hands so sign language is out of the question..What the hell am i supposed to do?

I know,i'll do what every single other reviewer does and make shit up about how this anime is the holy book of otakus given ... to our ancestors by God Otaku himself 2000 yrs ago.Yeah that's the way to go..

Or not..You see i'm not your average reviewer so when i review something i want to review it for what it is and what it offers in terms of excitement and entertainment.After all when you decide to spend your time watching something you don't do it because it seems fun ending up wasting your time on it and full of regrets that will haunt you till your bitter end.

And based on what i just watched this anime is without a benefit of a doubt one of the most boring animes i've ever seen in all my life.This anime is as lifeless as the unidentified corpse i met earlier.And coming up is why i think that way.

And let's start with the opening song,which is the only thing in the whole anime that has pulse and energy.It's somewhat uplifting and cheery,not at all deserving of this borefest.Troubles start when the opening song ends and with it ends any hope you had of watching something worthwhile.

You're being bombarded by a hideous animation the likes of which has only been seen in 80's or 90's anime,which is odd because this anime was released in 2004.This shows how much confidence they had in their product..Think about it,who in their right minds would invest money on a bag full of cat shit?Don't believe me?I dare you to watch even 20 seconds of this abomination without getting blind by the sheer ugliness of the damn thing..I don't think there are words in the english dictionary to describe it..

Oh i know what happened..The budget was soooooooo low that they went to an elementary school and asked the kids to draw them and then they just took the whole thing,drew some background and that was that.One thing i'm gonna give to them is that they took some time to at least make a decent background at the clubroom.

Then there are the characters themselves.I don't know and don't care what you've read or heard so far from on internet.com but take my word for it,these are the most bland,boring,overly stereotypical ones you'll even encounter in your lifetime..The lead character,the one that should be on the frontlines taking a battering ram and slamming it on your door,welcoming him to your house,to your food,your beer,your wife like a viking invader is instead your doormat...No i'm being unfair to doormats cause they have a use,unlike him who is always there uttering 2 or 3 words for the entirety of the episode and then vanishing like dust.

As for the rest of them..I don't think i want to bother writing about them cause they don't deserve more than the time i already spent,thinking of what to write in this review.And even if i wanted to i've already forgotten all about them.That's how boring and uninteresting this lot is.

Story?What fucking story?It has no story,it's just the daily routine of 6 nerds and a hot chick who is in love with one nerd and thus stuck with them for the sake of her hormones.

Now i know what you're thinking "oh come on Dion,other animes also don't have a story but they.............STOP IT RIGHT THERE...Do you see veins sprouting out of my forehead?See me turning slowly green?That's pure fucking rage heading towards you if continue...Yes indeed other animes don't have a story but at least the characters and the situations they're in are interesting.The writers took time to think carefully and present something fun,something comedic,something to justify its' existence.They give you a reason not only to give it a fair chance but also keep on coming back for more..And this doesn't,it's a borefest start to finish apart from some very scarce moments,which you can count on the fingers of one finger.

Would you find fun an anime that has characters sitting around looking at the sky?Of course not.That's mostly what this anime has to offer.Horrible animation,absolutely no story of any sorts,characters that would be better off if they got slammed in the face by a heat seeking missle..

To give you an example of animes that show daily lives of people in a more realistic and way more interesting way?Although it can be counted as a sacrilege even mentioning this anime or even comparing it to this shit...Shirobako.

Now it's up to you whether you want toinvest time on this but i'll advice you not to..And if you don't believe me just watch the first 2 eps and come back and tell me i'm wrong.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Genshiken Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Trie - Nov 7, 2007	63 replies	by Lol1268 »» Nov 30, 11:32 PM
	Poll: Genshiken Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 ) then - Dec 8, 2007	64 replies	by Tsuna-Ryu »» Oct 5, 8:10 PM
	Poll: Genshiken Episode 6 Discussion Trie - Nov 8, 2007	41 replies	by nirererin »» Jul 28, 11:35 PM
	Poll: Genshiken Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Trie - Nov 7, 2007	59 replies	by nirererin »» Jul 28, 10:48 AM
	Poll: Genshiken Episode 4 Discussion Trie - Nov 7, 2007	40 replies	by nirererin »» Jul 28, 9:20 AM

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