Category Archives: manga

The spring season is sneaking up on me

Posted on by

Is it almost March already?

I feel like the winter season only just begun.

Why I Like Ogiue, Part 3

Posted on by

Otaku obsess over characters, and I am certainly no different. Hell, I named my blog after obsession #1. I’ve often been asked though, how is it I could maintain what is now an almost 3-year-long interest in the character of Ogiue, especially in this age of constant fansubs where the viewers are witness to new characters every season. I really don’t know if I have a complete answer to that, and this post is going to be about trying to find a reason.  Warning: meandering ahead.

First, I think Ogiue is totally deserving of it. I believe her to be one of the most unbelievably complete and well-rounded characters in anime and manga. Actually, this applies to pretty much every other Genshiken character as well. What puts her above the rest is that she’s attractive to me.

Aside from that, however, is the fact that I have a tendency to carry long-term obsessions with characters in general, and it just manifests itself most strongly with Ogiue. Maetel, Tomoyo, Eureka, Cagalli, Hinata, in many, many cases once a character manages to catch my eye, they never quite leave. Some have faded a bit over time (Filia from Slayers TRY for example), but for the most part the strong presences of my past are not overridden by the strong characters of the present.

The real question, then, is why exactly am I able to obsess over characters for significantly longer periods of time compared to some of my peers? One possibility is that I form what feels like an emotional bond with the characters such that even if the quality of the character is not as great as I imagine, even if they turn out to be fairly big cliches, my memories of fondness for the characters are much stronger than objective reasoning. If they are indeed strong characters with strong emotions, such as Eureka, then that connection becomes much stronger and much longer-lasting. That said, I don’t think I’m all that susceptible to pandering fanservice characters (no matter what type of fanservice it may be), but there are always a few. I don’t call them guilty pleasures because they never really are.

I don’t think all that many people actually just cast their preferred characters aside when a new season starts, and the primary difference between me and some friends becomes how we display our passion for anime and its characters. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve stuck with the Ogiue paraphernalia (avatars, name tags, this blog) for quite a while. It’s the public display that is more important. New, strong characters appear every season, but I stick with Ogiue.

Maybe it’s just how I want people to think of me, but I feel more like I’m compelled to do so, because she is that strong of a character.

On confidence in being an anime fan

Posted on by

Many times, I see people, particularly on the internet, who are simply afraid to admit that they’re anime fans in real life. They’re afraid that it’ll alienate their friends, or that people will think less of them.

I have issues of confidence as well in certain areas, but being an anime fan isn’t one of them, and I think it’s important for an anime fan to be able to tell others that he or she is a fan. It’s not a deep dark secret. There’s no downside to being an anime fan unless you let there be one. If you truly are an anime fan, if something is a part of your very being, or if it’s even just a simple time waster of a hobby, to be unable to express who you really are to others is a far worse fate than some people thinking that you’re a loser because you watch cartoons.

At the same time, this does not mean that anime fans have a free pass to push their hobby onto others. As with any good relationship among people, there has to be listening and understanding. Barging through your friends’ conversations to talk about something they may not have interest in in order to fulfill your own desires is just plain rude.

In short, don’t be afraid to tell people that you’re an anime fan, but don’t advertise it either like it’s your only defining character trait.

Because it never is.

Bamboo Blade is its name, and Tama-chan is its star

Posted on by

I’ve been told that in any story there is always only one true protagonist as much as it would seem otherwise. It’s not necessarily the character who gets the most screen-time. It’s not the character who acts as narrator. It’s not even the one with the most prominent lines, but the character who moves the story along the most. Even when there seems to be multiple protagonists, in the writer’s mind there is only one.

I know I said otherwise previously, but I’ve come to realize that Isaac Dian is the main protagonist of Baccano! because he has by far the most influence on characters in the story. Even though Morikawa George, creator of Hajime no Ippo, has said that he treats his manga like every character is a main character, the mere fact that it’s titled “Hajime no Ippo” says otherwise. And in Bamboo Blade, of which I’ve watched the first seven episodes, Kawazoe Tamaki is the lead.

Tamaki has a clear purpose in the story, even if it’s the result of watching too much anime: protecting justice from evil. Even though she’s managed to repel evil, i.e. those two older boys in the club, it’s a never-ending battle, at least in her mind. Her actions, more than any other characters’, move the story along, as she is the one primarily responsible for transforming the ragtag Kendo Club into a workable team. As much time and emphasis that Koujirou gets, he acts more as a fairly passive narrator.

So with that in mind, I have to say that Tama-chan makes for a wonderful protagonist. I hope to see her speed-eating and kendo skills even more.

Hopefully it will involve ramen.

Being unhealthy on Valentine’s Day

Posted on by

It reminds me of Ogiue’s hangover in Volume 8.

Oh Happy Day

Posted on by

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, kransom managed to obtain for me my long sought-after Genshiken manga volume 6 special edition with school swimsuit Ogiue cover and official doujinshi.

Yesterday, that package arrived. And it is wonderful.

Pictures are on the way, but you should be able to find them easy enough. If you have the Del Rey version, all you’re really missing is the school swimsuit cover and the extras at the end have been shrunk down to fit into the manga, rather than being a separate book.

I’ll probably also give a review of volume 6 just because I can. Maybe this time my rereading of it will reveal new information!

Actually, this is just an excuse to read one of my favorite volumes again.

Clarification on the Genshiken Novel title

Posted on by

There have been many translations and transliterations of the title, and it’s all been a bit confusing, so I’m going to clear this up.

The title is “Shoron Genshiken: Hairu Ranto no Yabou”

Hairu Ranto is the name of a character in the novel.  He is a young CEO who has transferred into Shiiou University for whatever reason.  He has a sister, Hairu Anna.

So the actual title is  “Genshiken the Light Novel: The Ambition of Hairu Ranto”

Got it?  Good.

I have begun work on an Ogiue “image collection”

Posted on by

Let’s just say it’ll be something.

Genshiken Novel is probably an alternate universe

Posted on by

The setting is very unusual in regards to it not making complete sense given what we know of Genshiken.

Madarame is still chairman of Genshiken, so this story would be occurring prior to Ogiue arriving, except… Kuchiki is a member!

How can Kuchiki be a member of Genshiken during Madarame’s period as Chairman when he only joined officially after Madarame passed the position over to Sasahara?  Unless this takes place in that brief period where Kuchiki tried to become a member but didn’t, I think we can safely say that this story does not take place in the manga or anime timelines.

Genshiken ~Return of the Otaku~ is Ogi-less

Posted on by

A glaring flaw, but I won’t hold it against them.  It seems to take place prior to Ogiue appearing.

I purchased the book today, and while I’ve only read through the first chapter I can already tell that it’s going to be quite different from anything Genshiken-related that I’ve ever seen.

To give you an idea of just how different, the first chapter revolves around Kuchiki.