Category Archives: ogiue

Let’s Start Off the New Year with a CONSPIRACY

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Some of my first untranslated manga purchases ever were Japanese volumes of Great Teacher Onizuka. I found them again recently and began flipping through, when I saw something startling.

Here are pages from the GTO extra comic series, “F(iction) GTO Gaiden.”

Do you notice anything peculiar? If not, let me help you out.

Genshiken began in 2002. GTO began in 1997 and ended in 2002.

There are a lot of funky hairstyles in anime and manga, and plenty of top knots, but none of them are quite the same as Ogiue’s distinctive “paintbrush” hair. On top of that, the character in question (labeled “Chief” in the comic) has front bangs similar to Ogiue as well, and dresses in a style similar to Ogiue.

Sure, it’s not uncommon for someone to be wearing these kinds of clothes, but Genshiken itself has bothered to point out that Ogiue prefers to wear this sort of clothing.

I am not sure what to make of all this, and I have no concrete answers. However, what I believe based on this information is that there is someone out there who is the model for both of these characters, a real person on whom Ogiue is visually based (we already know that personality-wise Ogiue is based on Kio Shimoku himself).

Genshiken ran in Monthly Afternoon, GTO in Shounen Magazine. Both are owned by the publishing company Kodansha. Perhaps the model is a Kodansha employee. Also, it might not even be a girl.

The writer of FGTO, Hosokawa Makoto, is called the “sub-chief.” Who, then, is the “chief?” Further research reveals that it’s probably Ayamine Rando, creator of  Get Backers and former assistant to Fujisawa Tohru. Ayamine has a series, Holy Talker, currently running in Manga Rival, a magazine published by Kodansha.

Here’s a self-portrait from Volume 3 of GTO by Ayamine.

His hairstyle is more realistic, shown here as just a sloppily tied together ponytail without the unusual paintbrush shape, but this also means that “Chief” might just be him.

There are other asisstants’ names. One of them is “Takeda Chikanoshin.” Chikanoshin? Chika? No visual evidence, though.

Could this be purely a coincidence? That is certainly a possibility and probably the most sensible one. The only way to know for certain is to find out if there’s any connection between Kio Shimoku and Ayamine Rando. Until then, I hope you’ve enjoyed my tinfoil hat endeavors.

There Are Still Ogiue Doujinshi at Comic Market

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Yes, despite Ogiue and Genshiken having nothing new to offer otaku this year, at least a few faithful acolytes are still keeping the dream alive.

Ogiue is a bit of an anomaly in regards to doujinshi. If you’ve ever kept up with that scene, you’d notice that an increase of character-specific doujinshi tends to occur when a manga gets adapted for animation. There might be a few doujinshi out there beforehand, but it’s the anime which brings the pencil to paper. Not so with Ogiue; her doujin heyday was shortly after the climax of Genshiken’s story. Powered by love, care, and perhaps other things, by comparison the amount of Ogiue doujinshi when Genshiken 2 came out was rather sparse. Makes sense though, seeing as the anime never even got to that climax.

Comic Market 75 is to be held this year from Sunday, December 28 to Tuesday, December 30 at Tokyo Big Sight. Don’t forget that there’s something special happening with the Eureka Seven movie too.

Tatsu, Tatsu, Koko ni Tatsu

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Hey, Japan. I know you keep trying to remake Cowboy Bebop to tap into the American market. You think, “Americans must like American things!” and you’d be pretty much right. But I’m gonna give you a tip on the down-low about something that’s so American that you’re sure to see dudes dropping dollar bills while they eat hot dogs and sing the Star-Spangled Banner.

Picture a youth traveling the country with a bag over his shoulders, never satisfied with staying in one place, always looking for the next challenge. Is he a Martial Artist? A Traveler? A Drift Racer? No, he is a Stand-up Comedian.

Meet the rival who cannot forgive anyone who steals jokes. Meet the beautiful girl in the crowd who follows our hero to all of his events but the hero’s too oblivious to notice. Get a narrator who will explain the nuance and power of each joke dropped by the hero as his audience sits gasping.

It’s the kind of thing that could go on for hundreds of episodes or just three and it would have the ability to be good either way.

No need to thank me, Japan. Any check you cut, just commission Kio Shimoku to draw a life-size Ogiue poster to mail to me.

A Never-Ending Journey

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Thanks, Anime

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It’s an interesting time in anime, and there’s plenty of stuff to be grateful for.


Thanks, Anime, for providing affordable DVDS of series loved by all types of otaku, from Gurren-Lagann to Ouran High School Host Club to Aria and beyond.


Thanks, Anime, for making strides to becoming more accessible. Strike Witches isn’t what I’d call a show I’d recommend to others, but I commend GONZO for putting itself out there. And while some of you may have made a few missteps, like Sony with your super-expensive PS3 episodes of Xam’d, I’ll still be there to buy the DVDs.


Thanks, Anime, for having an incredible season this year with something for everyone, with fine work in practically every genre and sub-genre. With this, I have no regrets.


Thanks, Anime, for your plans to give us an Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Movie that we’ve been waiting for since Max Heart ended. I look forward to the 11-girl Ultimate Crossover Pretty Cure Finisher. It’s also thanks to this image that I realize that the more athletic Precure girls have tanner skin. You learn something everyday.


Thanks, Anime, for slating a Professor Layton Animated Movie scheduled for 2010. I’m not even kidding.


And finally, Thank You for an incredible year of Ogiue, JAM Project, good friends, good opportunities, and so much more.

One Year Later, A Genshiken Review

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It might seem a bit too dramatic for me to say that Genshiken changed my life, but as I look at the influence that Genshiken has had upon me, including but not limited to the very existence of this blog, I have to say it isn’t an exaggeration. To celebrate the one year anniversary of Ogiue Maniax, I have decided to review Genshiken, by Kio Shimoku.

Before we begin, I will warn that this is in no way an objective review. Rather, it may be the most biased thing you will ever read.

Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture centers around a student club at the fictional Shiiou University (located in Tokyo) . This club, the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture (or Gendai Shikaku Kenkyuukai) is a gathering of nerds dedicated to the unification of gaming, anime, and manga clubs. At least, that was the original intent.

Along the way ambition was replaced by laziness and Genshiken has simply become a place for its members to hang out. As new members join and older members graduate and leave, so with them go old and new ideas as to what the club should be, leaving behind small legacies and transforming Genshiken’s very identity.

The main character of Genshiken is Sasahara Kanji, a young Japanese student who at the beginning has just started his life as a freshman at Shiiou University. Sasahara is what can be described as an unrealized otaku, someone who fits the category but doesn’t seem to be aware of that fact. It is through Sasahara’s eyes, inexperienced in the ways of fandom, that the story unfolds. Looking for a club to participate in, Sasahara tentatively decides to check out Genshiken. Though he is originally put off a little by its members and their rampant geekery, Sasahara eventually becomes more comfortable with himself and the other club members.

The most prominent member of Genshiken is a lanky, bespectacled upperclassman named Madarame Harunobu. The spitting image of otaku,  Madarame’s spending habits follow the philosophy of “don’t look at the price tags,” a philosophy which increasingly digs into his food budget. He even at one point gives an impassioned speech about how being attracted to drawings is only natural for human beings and that those who deny that are only fooling themselves. Taking over as chairman of Genshiken part-way into the story, it is Madarame who nurtures Sasahara’s realization into a true otaku more than anyone else. Madarame is still a dork with all the awkwardness one would expect though. For all of his posturing, Madarame is still an introvert by nature and vulnerable to little things like public displays of affection.

While Madarame is one main driving force in Genshiken, the other is a girl named Kasukabe Saki. A freshman like Sasahara, Saki is a fashionable sort, very keen on maintaining her own looks. Intelligent, confident, beautiful, Saki is many things, but otaku isn’t one of them. Eager to break up Genshiken, Saki only hangs around with the club due to her boyfriend, Kousaka Makoto, whose good looks and strong fashion sense belie the fact that he is an otaku on par with Madarame. Kousaka is not afraid to simply have (anime) porn lying around his apartment when Saki visits.

Other members include the big-busted cosplayer with a geriatric fetish Ohno, the stuttering heavy-set amateur artist Kugayama, the craft-loving Tanaka, and others. There are many characters in Genshiken and pretty much all of them are worth your time and admiration. Though I’ve given them rather brief descriptions, they are not the entirety of their characters. Almost none of the characters in Genshiken are flat, and the few who are still provide plenty of entertainment.

The first half of Genshiken concerns itself with the world of otaku through the eyes of otaku, and does so with a surprising amount of realism. When I first showed my friends in college Genshiken, they could not help but point out moments that mirrored their own lives. When I showed it to another friend, he had to stop reading because Tanaka scrutinizing over how to bend the joints of a model kit reminded him too much of himself. The club’s initiation ritual involves gauging a potential member’s fondness for erotic doujinshi (the greater the better). It’s a humble, self-deprecating, yet optimistic look at otaku.

If Genshiken stayed in this comfort zone, resigned to being about “those wacky otaku,” it would have still been very good. Genshiken goes further however by giving real, almost tangible development to its characters. Sasahara goes from being an amateur otaku to a cornerstone of the club, eventually becoming Genshiken’s chairman. He spearheads the initiative to create an actual Genshiken doujin circle. Ohno, once shy and hesitant to reveal her “preferences” to even fellow anime fans, slowly becomes a mother figure, confident and firm in her own otakuhood. Saki, initially antagonistic towards Genshiken, becomes a good friend and member of the club, gradually melting away the societal barriers that separate otaku and non-otaku. She still isn’t an otaku though.

More than a comedy, more than a story about otaku, Genshiken is about the individuals in the Modern Visual Culture Society and how they transform each other’s lives. This is no more evident than in the character of Ogiue Chika. Born in the Tohoku region of Japan, she is the catalyst which elevates the story of Genshiken from memorable to life-changing. I talked before about Genshiken’s first half. The introduction of Ogiue is the start of the second.

Ogiue is a quiet, yet abrasive girl who badmouths otaku at any given opportunity. Unable to co-exist with the female members of the Manga Society, Ogiue is moved into Genshiken with volatile results. Her unsociable personality however turns out to be a defense mechanism of the highest order, as Ogiue Chika is a fujoshi with crippling self-hatred. Sasahara may have simply been an unawakened otaku, but Ogiue is an otaku in denial. She draws doujinshi in her spare time, fantasizes about male Genshiken members giving each other some intensely x-rated favors, and attends events celebrating these acts with regularity, but is loathe to admit to these activities. One might ask, “If she hates being an otaku so much, why would she join clubs or do anything which would give her away?” and the answer is simply that Ogiue cannot help it. “How does one become an otaku” is a constant theme throughout Genshiken’s story, and the answer is that you don’t, you just realize it one day. Having discovered yaoi as early as 5th grade, Ogiue exists at the point of no return, and it is Ogiue’s rocky path to self-acceptance which leads Genshiken to its finale. Through Ogiue, what was once a story of people with unique hobbies enjoying each other’s company transforms into a very personal look at what it means to face reality without letting go of yourself.

The Genshiken manga and anime differ in a number of ways, but the stories are overall similar. The anime adds a few extra scenes, gets rid of some others, and rearranges elements of the story or puts them on drama cds. The anime adaptation’s voice cast is stellar. Kawasumi Ayako (Lafiel, Crest of the Stars) as Ohno, Seki Tomokazu (Chiaki, Nodame Cantabile) as Tanaka, Hiyama Nobuyuki (Guy, Gaogaigar) as Madarame, and Mizuhashi Kaori (Miyako, Hidamari Sketch) are among the many who put forth an incredible effort in Genshiken. A lot of them use voices very different from the ones they’re famous for, showing both their talent and their desire to make Genshiken enjoyable. Mizuhashi’s Ogiue has to be heard; her constant inner conflict comes through in every one of her lines. Of note is the fact that between Genshiken season 1, the Genshiken OVA, and Genshiken 2, the visual style changes drastically due to animation studios and even character designers switching.

The anime is good, but in the end I prefer the manga and would recommend it over the anime if only for the fact that as of this post the anime has still not completed the full story of Genshiken. Also, the art is a joy to look at and the panels flow well into each other. The style evolves tremendously over the course of nine volumes, with 1 and 9 looking almost nothing alike. One stylistic element that remains intact through the manga are the detailed backgrounds, something the anime doesn’t do nearly as well with more and more CG shortcuts being taken with every sequel. Ogiue is also at her most striking and beautiful in the manga, with eyes that can render Ogiue Maniax bloggers powerless.

Genshiken is like a best friend. It knows me well and points out my flaws, flaws which I may at first deny. It gives me confidence and inspiration, and it has helped me learn a lot about who I am, what I stand for, and how I should approach life. And among the many characters in Genshiken who have taught me these lessons, Ogiue is the most important of all.

What’s old is new again with extras

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The Genshiken Official Data Book is due December 16 in English, providing profile details, side stories, and even an interview with Love Hina and Negima creator Akamatsu Ken. I already have the book in Japanese, so I was a little on the fence about re-buying it in English, but then I went to Del Rey’s site and it mentions that this book will come with a free poster. The Japanese version did not come with anything of the sort.

So it’s tempting…very tempting…to have something Ogiue-related on my wall.

A Maiden’s Virginity: Is it as “Necessary” as We Believe?

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Recently there’s been some controversy among otaku on both 2ch and 4chan regarding Nagi from Kannagi. A recent manga chapter, or perhaps the minds of the otaku reading it, have posited the idea that Nagi is not a virgin. And this is apparently tainting Nagi in the eyes of some of her fans. However silly you think this to be (in my case very), it brings up the question of how valued “virginity” is for idols, fictional or otherwise.

Idols in Japan are not supposed to have boyfriends to give the illusion that any fan has a “chance.” Is this the same ideal that surrounds wanting an anime character to be pure and virginal? Both the real-life idol and the anime character are for all intents and purposes unattainable by the fans, but notion that a female idol will retain her virginity for her fans is futile at best. Maybe that’s part of the appeal of the anime-character-as-virgin, they can maintain the status forever.

(Actually, in some cases, I don’t think the fans mind. Momoi had a concert where she was already pregnant, and she was still loved by her fans.)

I was in contact with Ogiue fans in Japan back when Ogiue first lost her virginity in the manga. What’s odd, relative to this whole Nagi thing, is that Ogiue entering a clearly sexual relationship did not turn off her fans. It did not push them away, or cause them to call Ogiue a “slut.” It only made them love Ogiue more, not because she had sex but because it was a result of her finding happiness. Perhaps the place where it differs is that Ogiue’s sexual relationship was pretty much the resolution to a story while Nagi’s is background information?

I-it’s not like I want to be tsundere, okay?!

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Yes, this is another post about Aisaka Taiga. Let’s call this a Taiga Weekend Carnival.

Previously, I’ve established my belief that moe is tied to empathy, it is the connection of viewer to character in regards to some type of weakness, though the character may not necessarily be weak, physically, mentally, or emotionally. Think of it as a character having relatable character traits-which-may-be-interpreted as flaws. In this regard, Aisaka Taiga, the tora in Toradora, is one of the most effectively moe tsundere characters I have ever seen, a tsundere moe on the level of Ogiue. Tsundere has become a very common trope in otaku-oriented media, so to describe what makes Taiga a very moe character is to explain why she stands out from her peers. And to explain that is to explain why Taiga is tsundere.

Taiga is a girl who has difficulty expressing her own emotions. When Taiga speaks, her words are the culmination of 1001 battles fought inside of her mind. It’s a violent battle, and the victor emerges not without a few scars. The result is that Taiga comes across as rude, blunt, perhaps even shy. Unlike many of her contemporaries at Tsundere Academy, who use their brash attitudes to actively hide how they feel, or Ogiue, whose tsundere is caused by years of deep-seated self-loathing, Taiga’s outward attitude is the consequence of falling short of a greater goal, that of being able to accurately express one’s feelings through words. Taiga is tsundere, but only because she can’t help it.

Clumsy, socially awkward, unable to convey the proper meaning in words when talking to others, this describes more than just Taiga, this describes a feeling that hits close to home for me and I’m sure many others. Even if we’ve gotten better over time, we can still remember the days when talking was one of the most difficult things we’ve ever had to do, and are reminded constantly that for us introverted folk, being social is not a natural talent but one that has to be learned and built upon. It is from the people watching that Taiga truly generates her moe.

Tsundere characters, be they the traditional type which slowly turn from tsun to dere, or the modern type which switch back and forth constantly, are generally girls to be sought, to be pursued. They are the goal. Taiga is not the goal. Taiga is us.

Have a Mega Chain Combo Halloween

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