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Charming is the singular word I'd use to describe Genshiken. The book has its share of plot and characterization problems, but I've never failed to be charmed by a volume of Genshiken, so I forgive a lot.

The characterization of this series is just balanced so well. Shimoku Kio has created the best realized and most sympathetic otaku portrait of all time with Madarame. Unlike the protagonists of Welcome to the NHK and Ressentiment, we see Madarame go to dark places because of his investment in otaku-dom, but he never loses a sense of optimism. You can tell the author loved to draw him, too. ... His wide, expressive face is the punchline of the comic's best visual gags.

Not all members of the Genshiken get as much love as Madarame. Some are sympathetic, three-dimensional characters who go through real emotional arcs, but others, like Kousaka, just seem to inhabit archetypes that feel out of place next to great characterizations like Sasahara or Kasukabe.

The majority of Genshiken is talking heads in similar environments, but the art in the series is still very good. The characters are clean, consistent and expressive, and the detailed backgrounds have a real lived-in feel to them.

It's been said Genshiken sputters without a plot, but plot isn't what Genshiken readers are here for. They're here for the characters, and the series definitely has compelling arcs. When Madarame worked up the nerve to spill his guts to Kasukabe, I was sucked into his emotional struggle, and when the first generation of Genshiken members graduated, I felt closure and satisfaction.