Heads up, GeNizens, another review coming your way! Finally done with Genshiken 1 & Genshiken 2, and heres my spoiler-free 2 cents on the two series. So, where do I start? Shiiou University freshman Sasahara Kanji was looking for clubs to join, and after a funny turn of events primarily due to his otaku nature, ended up with the club Genshiken (Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai ) or The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture where he meets other otakus with a whole range of interests, and that sets the stage for the anime. 1. The setting The basis of the anime is exploring different areas of otaku-ism, and their respective trials and tribulations. From cosplaying, to plamo(plastic model) building and anime discussions, this anime has it all. Being an avid Gundam fan, I really enjoyed the plamo episode as the characters were able to experience and express their joy of gunpla building, and the idea of plamos having souls as the builder gradually puts them together that sets it apart from the toys was a really nice moment. The characters also regularly discuss about the main anime series they watch(yep, an anime within an anime), which is Kujibiki Unbalance. These are the kind of discussions with a lot of depth, like praising the author for writing the story, criticizing the same author for making bad decisions later on, which voice actor is preferred, etc. This shows the characters really know their stuff. 2. References Genshiken really loves references. These are the kind of references only otakus will understand, from one-liners(e.g Anta baka?) to parody series like Reass Mood(Code Geass) and Gungal BLEED(Gundam SEED). The second opening of Genshiken 2 was Gungal BLEED with the characters playing some parts e.g Madarame was the Char equivalent. Due to the animes co-production by Sega Sammy Holdings, youll see a lot of Guilty Gear in this anime. For someone who loves references and trivia, this was the aspect of Genshiken I liked the most. 3. Plot Despite having little plot progression due to being slice of life, there is time progression where different characters take up/succeed club roles. This doesnt happen too often, but its good that its there. But the slice of life nature made the anime feel draggy(for me at least, I still havent got used to SoLs yet I guess). This was partially mitigated by the shenanigans of the characters, as some episodes were initially boring but were absolutely hilarious by the end. Another contributing factor of the dragginess is the character Saki Kasukabe. She is the complete opposite of an otaku and has a strong disdain for them. Shed always have something to criticize about, and whats more annoying is her constantly trying to show off to the world yep Kousaka and I are f***ing. Heck, as a consequence of that, I started to dislike Kousaka a bit as well. After a while I realized that Kasukabe did indirectly play a part in emphasizing some of the otaku interests, but still doesnt excuse her for being a prick. Kasukabes character improved in the second half of Genshiken 1, where she suddenly became more lenient as if someone flipped a switch somewhere, and began to encourage others in their efforts rather than criticizing them just because theyre smelly otakus. Genshiken 2 was the saving grace that made up for Genshiken 1 IMHO. 2 is where a lot of exciting things began to happen, like more focus on Comifes excursions. There was even a couple of episodes where Ohno spoke Engrish when communicating with a couple of American girls who essentially had English dub voices for their characters. Also, throughout Genshiken 1 & 2, there was a heavy focus on ero-doujinshi and ero-games, from writing, selling, and other stuff like fantasizing and, due to the nature of doujinshi itself, paving the way for a ton of fap jokes, and due to the club having both male and female members, well, you get the idea. E.g when the group couldnt make it to Comifes and asked Kasukabe to buy a list of doujinshi, she replied Your end goal of these doujinshi is not buying buying them, but using them. Do you really want a girl to run that errand for you?. Welp, they deserved that jab anyway. Energetic fujoshi were also no exception(This is what I [BLEEP] to!), yeah. Honestly, explicitly discussing ero-material with another male just feels ultra-ghey, I was surprised how these guys can draw and make up their own stories. Welp, kudos for professionalism I guess. Conclusion Although Genshiken 1 & 2 did feel like a chore to watch after some time, it did have its fine moments. Overall, not a bad anime to watch. P.S Ill be skipping Genshiken Second Season due to the draggy bit.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 08:21:03 +0000
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