Genshiken [TV]
The story follows an introvert college freshman named Kanji Sasahara, who was just looking for a place to belong to. During club day on his university, he decides to join a club that he will actually enjoy, hoping that he will fit in. He stumbles upon a club called Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyuu Kai (shortened to Genshiken), a society that aims to bring otaku culture and its members together.
However, his first visit to Genshiken went awful, as his fragile pride was shattered by his senior, Harunobu Madarame. He leaves Genshiken, still denying that he is an otaku at heart. He then meets a club member Makoto Kousuka, who, despite his good looks and charm, is a hardcore otaku and was not ashamed to show it. From then on onwards, Sasahara accepted his otaku nature, and began immersing himself in otaku culture, enjoying his time inside Genshiken.Meanwhile, Makoto Kousuka’s girlfriend Saki, tries her best to make his boyfriend a “normal person” again.
Watch the members of Genshiken share love for their common hobbies, and how they deal with the trials and adventure they face as an otaku.
About the Show
Genshiken is an anime adaptation of the comedy, slice-of-life manga series under the same name, written and illustrated by Shimoku Kio. Produced by Palm Studio, the series aired a total of 37 episodes (divided into two seasons, plus 3 OVAs), between October 11, 2004 and September 29, 2013.
Characters
Kanji Sasahara
Kanji Sasahara started off as an introverted member of the Genshiken, who did not immediately accept his otaku nature. He loves hentai PC games, even though not having his own PC. As the series progressed, Sasahara’s demeanor noticeably changes, becoming a strong-willed and persistent member of the Genshiken, especially during his time as club president.
Makoto Kousaka
Despite his charming looks and cool demeanor, Makoto Kousaka is one of the most hard-core member of the Genshiken. He defies the stereotypes for otakus, as he can balance fashion and his obsession for videogames, particularly in the hentai and fighting genre.
Saki Kasukabe
Although being a member of the Genshiken, Saki Kasukabe vehemently hates otaku culture, and is nowhere nearly similar to an otaku. Just like his boyfriend, she is fashionable and confident, but is violent and occasionally smokes. However, as the series progressed, Saki developed close bonds with the members of Genshiken, and even saves the club from being shut down twice.
Harunobu Madarame
Personally chosen as successor by the first president, Harunobu became the second leader of Genshiken. Of all its members, Harunobu is the most hardcore of them all that his clubmates call the highest level of an otaku as a “Harunobu”. He particularly loves Gundam, and overspends on doujinshis. He takes pride on his purchases, even though when he just randomly picks them. Due to his loud and adamant support for otakus, he became the nemesis of Saki, who was working really hard to “cure” his boyfriend. Later in the series, he develops feelings for Saki, but decides to keep them for himself as he was afraid it would ruin their friendship. A lesson he learned from playing too much porn games.
Souichirou Tanaka
Out of the three original upperclassmen, Souichiro has the most neutral demeanor. He is not as eager to rant like Madarame, but more confident than Kugayama. Hardcore cosplayer and genius costume designer, he can bring costumes to life even when they are almost considered to be impossible. While well-versed in many areas of model and figure culture, Tanaka is personally not experienced with figure-modeling, but attempts to learn by sculpting a model of Shinobu from Kujibiki Unbalance.
Mitsunori Kugayama
Mitsunori is one of the first upperclassmen of Genshiken, and was its only artist prior to Ogiue’s arrival. He has very low confidence, and stutters most of the time. Despite being quite talented in drawing, he lacks motivation in finishing full-fledged doujinshis.
Kanako Ohno
Kanako is the fourth president of Genshiken, and was raised in the United States since she was in the third grade. She ended up joining Genshiken due to the nature of her fetish. Although being very sexy and womanly, she has a weird preference to yaoi, especially those involving muscular, bald, middle-aged men. She is normally soft spoken and shy, but becomes upfront when it comes to her yaoi fetish and in cosplaying. Thanks to her large breasts, she became the main attraction for Genshiken during student fairs.
Chika Ogiue
Former member of the Manga Society, Ogiue became the fifth president of Genshiken despite her hate for otakus, especially females. Interestingly, her obsession for yaoi exceeds Kanako’s. She is easily swayed, as she eventually agrees to things she initially disagrees with. Ogiue has terrible eyesight, and is still an amateur artist if compared to Kugayama. She has a tendency to fantasize about and then draw highly sexual homosexual encounters between the men she knows in real life, particularly Sasahara and Madarame.
Manubu Kuchiki
After being kicked out of the Anime club, Kuchiki joins and becomes a full member of Genshiken together with Ogiue. He has a noisy and obnoxious style speech, and hyperactive mannerisms that often offend other people. He is often beaten throughout the series, due to his failed sexual attempts both on women and men. Despite all this, he does mind whatever the others think of him, and in fact enjoys it.
Quick Review
Do you love anything and everything that has to do with anime? Do you love anime so much that it grows into obsession? Are you an otaku, and have experienced being bullied or hated for being one? Then my friend, an anime series has been made about you. The story is well written, and the characters undergo noticeable developments throughout the series. With various anime and videogame references, the episodes are littered with otaku humor. This anime is both entertaining and memorable, a series that you should not pass up on. Moreover, if you want your friends to understand your love for anime, just tell them to watch this series!
