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Watashi Rashiku: Genshiken II, Chapter 88

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Genshiken II, Chapter 88 is Winter ComiFes! As always, the Comic Festival chapters are among the best or most interesting in Genshiken.

It’s Day 1 of ComiFes and Angela Burton the Athletic Bostonian has come back to Japan. Though she’s decided to tone it down she still ends up stirring the pot, especially by noticing that something funny’s going on with Madarame and Sue. During the event, as the others move about, Ogiue and Yabusaki sell the doujinshi they’ve been working on. They even manage to completely exhaust their 1000-book supply, which is a first for them. Hato, who is abstaining from BL, tries to act like a normal otaku and even perv out like a normal otaku, but it just doesn’t work for him, and he ends up not enjoying what is normally a highlight of his life. The chapter ends at the start of Day 2. Yajima plans to buy a yaoi doujinshi for Hato, which may be hinting at some more romantic feelings.

This chapter of Genshiken had the same energy as the old ComiFes chapters, and especially compared to the last one doesn’t have quite so much overt drama. Not that it doesn’t have any drama, of course, but it’s a little more low-key, and you can really feel the hustle and bustle of a event as huge and as crazy as not-Comiket (because it’s a fictional world, remember). At least, that’s how it is for Day 1. Who knows what Days 2 and 3 will bring?

I couldn’t recognize either cosplay this time around, but thankfully there’s at least one blogger who knows his stuff: The first cosplay (pictured above) is from a new series called Shuushokunan Zombie Tori Girl (“Employment Scarcity Zombie-Catching Girl”), and the other is from Hi Score Girl, which if I recall, won some kind of award recently? In any case, I want to check out both manga now. The image of a blue collar worker using a combination fishing pole and net is quite striking.

Just in general, I thought the fashion in this chapter was really nice. Clothing-wise, the two characters who stand out to me the most this chapter are Yoshitake and Angela, for different reasons. For Yoshitake, it’s because of the way she’s able to at times look like the coolest girl around and at other times like the biggest dork in history (or “history dork in history”), when probably both are true. For Angela, I feel like Kio expresses her character through her clothing especially well. Even when trying to hold herself back (another “be yourself, or not” moment?), she still exudes a confidence in herself, her body, and her actions that’s hard to find in even someone like Saki. I’d like to point out that she’s wearing shorts in the middle of winter, when Comic Market is known for sometimes for being blisteringly cold.

I actually like Angela more and more every time she shows up, possibly because of the way that she shakes up the current situation of the club no matter what it might be. Her attitude towards just about everything is a far cry from everyone else, best exemplified when she suspects there being a thing between Madarame and Sue. Angela has some romantic and physical interest in Madarame, and to see her react not with jealousy or anger but with the same excitement she displays when talking about her favorite character types really cuts through the more conventional sense of relationships you see elsewhere.

Ogiue gets a good amount of focus this time around because of the fact that she’s selling her collaborative doujinshi with Yabusaki. If you’re not sure why the two of them are freaking out from the get-go, it’s because they’ve been put in a spot that’s usually reserved for the most popular and highest-selling doujinshi circles. Their table is against the wall, and at a doujin event, the groups whose products will create the most traffic are put against the wall in order to reduce traffic congestion. Ogiue says it’s mainly because the title they chose to parody this time is extremely popular, and that it wasn’t all under their own power, but I think selling out of 1000 copies is amazing no matter the circumstances.

While I of coursed loved seeing Ogiue back when she was struggling with herself, it also brings me joy to see Ogiue this happy. Though she’s hardly what you’d call totally uninhibited now, it’s clear how much more relaxed and comfortable she is now, especially when her nervousness this time around has more to do with feeling like a little fish in a big pond, and not anger at herself. The pinnacle of this can be seen in the very last panel of the chapter, where she’s in the classic doujinshi-buying frenzy. The panel even references the line that something is opening up at the top of her head, the thing that happened to Sasahara at his first ComiFes. The last time we saw Ogiue do this, she was disguised and frustrated about having to disguise herself, but now Ogiue isn’t holding herself back, or trying to disguise herself, or anything. It’s Ogiue, who has allowed herself to be herself. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ogiue with such a look of confidence and authority before.

Even her interactions with Yabusaki show this, and it’s possible to see how far their friendship has come from what was once a decidedly antagonistic relationship. Speaking of Yabusaki, or rather Asada, it’s interesting to see how a once-extremely minor character has been developed to the point that you can really get a sense of her friendship with Yabusaki, and how the two get along with each other. What once appeared to be Yabusaki as boisterous leader and Asada as quiet tag-along is actually more complex.

By the way, I think it’s telling that Nakajima did not show up, despite Ogiue being so much easier to find this time around.

“Being yourself,” as cliche as it sounds, seems to be the theme of this chapter, especially when taking into account Hato’s own situation. On this first day of ComiFes, the day with generally the most female-oriented and yaoi content, Hato decides that he will not buy any BL. The line towards the end of the chapter says it all, though. On Day 2, Hato has a revelation: “Everyone seems to be enjoying ComiFes, but I haven’t been enjoying it at all.”

In forcing himself to do the “right thing,” Hato suffers. ComiFes is supposed to be the space where otaku can let their otakudom loose, but he’s restrainined himself. Hato’s attempt to be a “normal” otaku brings up an important question: if you’re not having fun as an otaku, why are you trying to be one in the first place? Whether we’re using the older definition of otaku as a pathetic person lost in the delusion of his hobbies, or the more charitable one that emerged later on to just refer to someone passionate about his fandom, “otaku” is not something that’s supposed to cause you anguish because you can’t fulfill the proper behavior in being one. If anything, it’s traditionally the opposite such as with Ogiue.

Anyway, with everything happening, I am certainly looking forward to next month. Last time, I asked about the possibility of Sue x Hato. What about Hato x Yajima? I’m not one to pair couples typically, but there’s something about having the guy better looking than the girl which can create interesting stories and dynamics, particularly in terms of the issue of confidence.

Wacomplex: Genshiken II, Chapter 87

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First thing first, Genshiken anime info dump! it’s been confirmed that the Genshiken II (or Nidaime) anime will be starting this summer, with a different studio but with a lot of old staff. I do find it kind of funny that Genshiken can’t seem to get a consistent animation studio or anime character designer, and given the sheer variation of work that the character designer Taniguchi Junichirou has worked on, it’s hard to predict how they’ll look exactly. Also, Uesaka Sumire will be singing the opening. Next month is the voice cast reveal, so let the speculation begin!

Anyway.

In Chapter 87, Hato continues to try to be one of the boys, but the fact that he is unable to draw properly for the sake of Ogiue’s ComiFes doujinshi when not in drag causes him to go back to it, at least in private. At the same time, Ogiue has decided to charge into the 21st century by buying a pen tablet monitor in order to save time and manpower, but the transition isn’t as simple as she hoped for. As ComiFes is drawing near, familiar faces appear as Angela makes her return to Japan and Keiko is looking to take another stab at the event.

I literally laughed out loud when I saw the pen tablet monitor. It was clearly introduced by Kio Shimoku as a metaphor for not only Hato’s current situation, but also the Genshiken club itself and even the manga as a whole. In this regard, I think it does an excellent job of representing the dimensions of a generational divide.

By showing Ogiue struggling with her tablet despite purchasing it to alleviate her work schedule, Genshiken touches upon the idea that transition can be a difficult thing because of how much we must acknowledge and rework our assumptions. The strengths and limitations of the zoom function, referenced during Ogiue’s little rant, is the perfect example. On the one hand, it lets you get up close and put detail into even the smallest part of a drawing, but on the other hand it can be stifling if one is obsessed with detail.  Ogiue’s plight somewhat mirrors the difficulty by which the manga itself has transitioned into its new cast and their very different values, not only in terms of the content of the manga, but also for a good portion of the manga’s readerbase which seems to see the new Genshiken as “not Genshiken.”

However, I think it would be a mistake to say that the ideas implied by the tablet transition are narrowly limited to Genshiken as a topic, as I really think it goes beyond this one manga. What really adds to the tablet metaphor is the conversation between Hato, Yajima, and Yoshitake where they mention the simple fact that, for some artists, digital drawing is all they’ve ever known.

Drafting, cleaning, paneling, for them, everything is done on the monitor, and it highlights this idea that, rather than this newer generation of artists being untrained in the old ways, that their “environment” is simply different and they have adapted to it in kind. Instead of the tablet being a facsimile of “real” drawing by mimicking pen on paper, for them the tablet is real drawing. That difference in mindset is so central to the changes between generations, whether it be music and art, dance, technology, or any other topic, and it shows how neither the old or new generation are “bad,” but that people are the product of their experiences.

I get the sense that, as the manga continues, Ogiue will continue to use the tablet, but that it will require her to adjust her current work habits to better fit it, or to make it more of a supplementary tool. In either case, if she does incorporate it, it means that her work may never be the same again. The impossibility of returning to the “old way” is also shown in the beginning of this chapter, when we see Madarame, Hato, and Kuchiki discussing anime much in the same way the club used to, with mentions of sakuga, seasons (cour), and the economic side. While definitely similar to the old Genshiken, something’s not quite right, especially in terms of how Yoshitake and Yajima appear a bit alienated by it because it’s not the atmosphere they’ve participated in and even helped to create. It feels a bit artifical and out of step with time, which also has implications in regards to Hato, who is trying to act like a “proper” male otaku.

If we look at the notion of the “proper” otaku (and perhaps even the whole debate over fake geeks), it’s kind of funny that people prescribe a certain set of behavior as “proper” for a group that has been traditionally stereotyped as behaving improperly by virtue of being otaku. I think Hato’s vain attempt to quit crossdressing and yaoi may be a sign of how ridiculous this can be, as if the manga is saying that it’s not as simple as getting rid of the girly stuff to bring back the “true” Genshiken, and that there has been a change in environment that the manga has been trying to address.

I may have gone a little too crazy with that analysis, but I honestly think that I haven’t completely or properly explained the intricacies of the tablet metaphor, though I’ll leave it as is for now. It’s been a while since we’ve had this much Ogiue in a chapter, so I’m pleased in that regard, and I’d been wondering when Angela would show up again a she’s a significant factor in the whole Madarame-Hato story. The fact that Keiko is planning to go to ComiFes out of her own free will may actually say everything about how much the world in and around Genshiken has changed.

(A bit of Ogiue Tohoku-ben inner dialogue teaching us that Ogiue is still not used to Kanto winters.)

If Only There Was an Angela Burton Spinoff

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While I’m naturally excited about the new Genshiken anime that’s been announced recently, there’s one thing I wish could happen but most likely never will: a spinoff about Ohno’s American friend Angela Burton. I feel like it would be fun to see some of the quirks of American anime fandom accurately and painfully conveyed.

One big element of American fandom that for the most part doesn’t exist in Japan would be the convention scene, with its fan panels, industry Q&A, and AMV competitions, providing a unique venue and experience compared to the chapters about Genshiken‘s Comic Market analogue, Comic Festival, but also giving it a similar treatment concerning scale and impact. The huge otaku that she is, it would be no surprise to see Angela attending multiple conventions as a cosplayer, especially Anime Boston given that she’s from the area.

The Angela spinoff I’m picturing would have the same strong sense of characterization as Genshiken proper, giving the same sort of loving but at times harsh portrayal to the personalities that tend to crop up in college anime clubs in the US. I also see Angela herself making for an interesting main character, despite the fact that she has a fairly minor role in Genshiken because of her forward personality and her undeniable love of anime and manga.

One potentially serious topic could actually be the whole “fake geek girl” thing, as I can imagine Angela being subject to it fairly often. Angela is not only portrayed as extremely attractive to the point of being able to make guys nervous, but also as someone with relatively liberal views on relationships and sex (she doesn’t think one-night stands are that big of a deal) that might cause people who didn’t know her better to accuse her of not being “real.”

Incidentally, in reading Japanese comments about the new anime, it’s clear that the concept of the “fake geek girl” exists in Japan as well. There, it’s tied to the whole Densha Otoko boom and the “mainstreaming” of Akihabara, which at least a few commenters claim the Genshiken manga is reflecting.

Angela Attack: Genshiken II, Chapter 66

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I’ve been waiting for a month to use that title.

The final day of Comic Festival is nearing its end, and Madarame is in deep trouble, at least from Hato’s perspective. First, Madarame and Hato encounter Kohsaka, whose picture-perfect crossplay (to promote his company’s new 18+ game) blows away both of them. Hato remarking with amazement that Kohsaka, unlike himself, doesn’t even need makeup to complete the gender illusion, wonders why things aren’t more uncomfortable between Madarame, who likes Saki, and Kohsaka, her boyfriend. Hato comes to the conclusion that Madarame’s just isn’t able to compete for Saki’s affections. Madarame and Hato comfort each other over their respective areas of inferiority relative to Kohsaka, though Hato points out that he’s much better at undergoing the cross-gender transformation by using his feminine voice.

Angela strikes, laying on the flirt as thick as humanly possible, with Madarame naturally not being sure what to do. Hato jumps in for the rescue, pointing out that Angela is flying back the next day, so obviously there’s no way anything could happen between them, but Angela doesn’t quite agree.

Knowing that the actual reason Madarame can’t even begin to think of Angela is because Saki is still in his heart but not wanting Madarame to know that he is aware of Madarame’s unrequited love, Hato changes his thought midstream to try and find a safer reason. In doing so, he blurts out that Madarame is such an uke that there’s no way he should be with a girl, though unbeknownst to Hato, Angela is a big fan of Madarame as “sou-uke,” and instantly bonds with him. Wanting to point out however that real life and fiction are different, physically different, Angela tries to give Madarame his Very First Boob Grab, but is deflected by Sue, who then admonishes Angela’s rash action with a roundhouse kick.

At the end of the day, Angela still has her eyes set out on the 72-year-old Pit Viper, Madarame and Hato grow in their friendship, and Madarame comes to the shocking realization that he is in fact perceived as the catcher in yaoi imaginings.

Angela’s forwardness and acknowledgement of previous experience with one night stands sets her far apart from the nerds of Genshiken and at first it might come across as too far out there from how Genshiken has been in the past, but given what has happened in the manga before, it doesn’t seem so inappropriate. If you think about it, the awkward expression of sexuality has been a big part of Genshiken from day 1, whether it’s Saki having to come to terms with Kohsaka’s 2-D complex, the Sasahara x Madarame doujinshi that underscores Sasahara and Ogiue’s relationship, or even the fact that every ComiFest ever has been about buying comics not to “read” but to “use,” and the understanding that everyone else you know is doing the same. In this regard, the most awkward moment of all might just be seeing Angela’s “sex on the first date is okay” viewpoint collide with Madarame’s otaku chivalry, the same noble attitude that at first kept Madarame from taking a seat on the train in place of Saki back in Chapter 32.

That said, it is still a bit of a shock to just see Angela just blast down that implied wall of silence that surrounds the topic of sex, a wall that normally is talked around  or through tiny holes, but is rarely trampled over so easily. It’s a kind of bluntness similar to Sue, and I have to wonder if this is a shared American trait for the purpose of the story. On the other hand, Angela and Sue’s aggressive attitudes aren’t quite the same, and while we see Sue expressing her fondness for yaoi or making references all the time, I can’t really ever see her coming on to a guy as nonchalantly as Angela does. It makes me want to see their friendship in action outside of the context of a visit to Japan.

While that might be considered an inter-otaku cultural gap between Japan and America (and even only somewhat so), the inter-otaku generation gap is also clearly  present in this chapter with Madarame and Hato. At first when Hato sees Madarame talking to Kohsaka. “Why isn’t Madarame seeing him as a rival?” Hato wonders, but just the fact that Hato is asking that question shows a different mindset from the older members of Genshiken. Going after a girl who’s already in a relationship when, on top of that, you’re friends with the both of them? That stuff is for fiction, man. How differently might this manga have turned out had Madarame gone for it from the start, or if Ogiue and Ohno already had boyfriends prior to meeting Sasahara and Tanaka? Would those two have even bothered? But that’s just not how Genshiken is, because that’s not how the characters are. After all, I’m sure that people besides Tanaka entertained the thought of having a relationship with Ohno after she joined, but once it was established that she had a thing with Tanaka, that ship sailed. It’s not a matter of monogamy or anything like that, but simply that someone like Hato (or Yoshitake) carry an extroverted attitude and awareness of interpersonal relationships romantic, sexual, or otherwise, that only the non-otaku Saki and Keiko could see as clearly.

It’s also nice to see the friendship that has formed between Madarame and Hato. Could it be something more? I doubt it, given that both have said outright that they are not into same-sex relationships, at least outside of the world of BL, but I could see the idea continuing to make things a little awkward for them, especially given the number of (too much) high-power fujoshi populating the club.

There was only one small Ogiue cameo this chapter, so let’s close out with it.

Mamma Mia! Genshiken II, Chapter 65

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It’s Comic Festival Day 3 (the guys’ day), and Madarame’s in danger! How is he going to fare against a girl who actually wants him? That’s  Genshiken II, Chapter 65.

If it wasn’t obvious from the previous chapter (see the image at the bottom of the post), Ohno’s buxom Bostonian friend, has a certain agenda in mind, and that is to get some sweet, sweet scrawny Japanese nerd ass. Angela does what any remotely observant person would call “really blatant flirting,” and the only things preventing Madarame from realizing the truth are a language barrier, his own nerdish obliviousness, and lingering feelings for Saki. Hato, seeing him in trouble, sheds his female guise and offers to help Madarame and the other guys out with the doujinshi run, at the expense of not being able to participate in a round of cosplay with Ohno and the other girls (Ogiue is still out sick).

As Ohno and Friends are cosplaying the cast of Madoka Magica (sans Madoka herself, who was going to be Hato, and before she caught a fever, Ogiue), Ohno asks Angela about her actions in regard to Madarame, and Angela responds that she’s been interested for a long time now, ever since her first trip to Japan, in fact, but hasn’t made a move because of how infatuated Madarame was with Saki.

Hato, also noticing Angela’s attempts, asks Madarame about his interest towards 3-D girls. Madarame vehemently denies any affection for any dimensions beyond two, but Hato knows that he’s lying,  having previously discovered Madarame’s hidden stash of Kasukabe cosplay photos. At the same time, they also visit the industry booths at ComiFest, where they run into a crossplaying Kohsaka, whose presence surely reminds Madarame of Saki, and also shows Hato what it is to be a natural at crossdressing.

The chapter ends with Angela planning her next move.

There are a lot of little things in this chapter I enjoy, such as the fact that not only is Ogiue absent from ComiFest but so is Sasahara, Sue’s, uh, “cosplay,” and the reactions on everyone’s faces as Angela continues to flirt with Madarame. Of course, the biggest part of this chapter is Angela’s aggressive interest in Madarame, which probably comes as a bit of a surprise if you haven’t seen the second Genshiken TV series. In fact, in this chapter there is a flashback to a scene where Madarame helps Angela read an anime magazine, the moment that Angela started to have a thing for him, but it only ever happened in the anime. Combined with the canonization of the cat-mouth girl’s name as Asada, it’s clear that either the makers of the Genshiken 2 anime consulted Kio Shimoku about the scenes they expanded upon, or that Kio decided to use those ideas for himself.

It still is kind of out of the blue though, considering that aside from the aforementioned anime scene, the only hints we had previously were Angela saying that she has a thing for glasses-wearing “uke,” which Madarame fits to a tee, and a splash image where Angela is wearing his glasses. And I know a question that’s bound to be on people’s minds is, “Why Madarame?” Having a gorgeous blonde all over a skinny otaku is bound to have people accusing Genshiken of catering to fantasies of regular hopeless nerds getting incredibly hot women, but I don’t think it’s as simple as that. It is, however, simple in a different way.

I think it’s clear that whatever Angela’s feelings are for Madarame, it isn’t a profound love that has grown through constant interaction like with Sasahara and Ogiue, or Tanaka and Ohno. More likely, it’s probably a mix of yellow fever and Angela having a thing for guys who are easily flustered, and I even doubt that Madarame is exactly what she wants in a man. And if anything does happen, I think Angela is comfortable with either having it be a brief fling or something longer-lasting; this may be my own interpretation, but I see her as being okay with sex without any deep romantic feelings. In any case, pure virgin bride she is not, but then that’s never been an issue with Genshiken from chapter 1. Also, as Keiko pointed out to Madarame, it’s pretty obvious to everyone that he has feelings for Saki, and it should be no surprise that someone like Angela has also been aware of this fact.

What I find really interesting about Angela’s flirting is Madarame’s reaction to it, which is “complete denial that such a thing could ever happen.” To some extent, I am with Hato in thinking that Saki’s image is still burned into Madarame’s retina and that he’s having trouble moving on because of it, but I also think it’s Madarame denying the possibility that a hot American girl could ever want him. This is a very realistic response from someone who believes he has no chance with women, or that he has no likable qualities as a man, and you see it with dorks everywhere. Personally speaking, I can remember hearing that a girl really liked me in junior high, and oddly enough, like Madarame, my hands were a point of attraction. My response was to completely ignore this information, because I thought that a) no girl could possibly be attracted to me, and b) it must be a prank. Granted, I was 13 and Madarame is in his 20s, but like me, thinking that it’s some kind of cruel joke is exactly his response.

Boy can Tamagomago call it.

I guess the only thing left to ask myself is, am I okay with the idea of Angela x Madarame? My gut reaction is “sure,” but letting my mind into the conversation a little, my revised response is, “As long as it’s written well.” That said, there’s no guarantee of anything happening.

Let’s Analyze Genshiken Chapter 56

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Now that a good number of you have received my Christmas present, I think it’s time we take a closer look at this Chapter 56 of Genshiken. Warning, spoilers follow for the original Genshiken series as well as Chapter 56. You might also want to check out my review of Genshiken.

Ever since Genshiken ended back in 2006 or so, I, being rather fond of Ogiue, wanted to see what the club would be like with her as chairman. If you were lucky enough to pick up the two volumes of Kujibiki♡Unbalance, then you got a glimpse into this future. Ogiue changed hairstyles, using the straight-down style from the final chapter of the manga as her default and only switching to her signature brush head when working on manga. Sue started studying in Japan, and her Japanese has improved by leaps and bounds. Ohno is delaying graduation in order to fend off the real world for just a little longer. And now with this new special, we get to see the next generation of Genshiken members.

From left to right: Hato, Yoshitake, and Yajima

While Ogiue is of course always wonderful and Sue pretty much steals the show with her penchant for references and her skillful impersonation of an American Character in Anime probably the most fascinating part of Chapter 56 is the long-awaited arrival of new blood in the circle. Hato, Yoshitake, and Yajima’s biggest impact on Genshiken is that they make you realize the fact that characters like them were missing from the series all along.

“Well yeah, it’s not like Genshiken ever had a crossdresser aside from that one time with Kohsaka,” you might be saying, but we’ve also not seen a guy who’s on the other side of the doujin fence, so to speak. Yoshitake meanwhile is a super enthusiastic fujoshi unlike any we’ve seen before, even among Yabusaki’s friends or Ohno’s American pals. Yoshitake’s the kind of character who would probably fit in best at an American con. Yajima is kind of similar to Ogiue in personality, except that where Ogiue is often like a blazing inferno kept in check by a thick insulated coating, Yajima is actually just a woman of few words. She also seems to have the most “normal” stance on yaoi, asking Yoshitake to restrain her enthusiasm in public. Her weight also can’t be overlooked, as it gives her an interesting quality in that she feels a bit overwhelmed by the previous generation of gorgeous Genshiken girls.

Much like how Ogiue’s first glimpse of Sasahara as a leader colored her perceptions of him, the three new members of the Modern Culture Society are viewing Ohno entirely as that motherly figure she eventually became, and Ogiue as an authority figure. . It’s all summed up in the scene where Ohno starts to “brag” at the new members about Ogiue’s accomplishments, and it just goes to show how different things can be when the person on the bottom of the totem pole has suddenly reached the top.

And though I said that the most fascinating part about Genshiken Chapter 56 is the new members, I still want to spend some time talking about Ogiue. It is wonderful to see how she handles her leadership role, using her talents and ideas to try and grow the club which she has grown to love over time. It’s great to see her relationship with Sasahara, even if it at times becomes awkward and semi-professional. She’s the Ogiue I remember, and yet still quite different from what she was. She’s matured in her time at college and become more comfortable in her own skin, and it’s just a reminder of why I consider her the best female character, period.

So that’s the next generation of Genshiken. To top it off, let’s go through the references Sue and others make, or at least the ones I was able to figure out. The tricky thing about Sue now is that because her Japanese has gotten better, sometimes she doesn’t make references and instead just speaks actual Japanese, and so everything she says you have to first figure out if she’s taking a line from something or just her own head.

Sue: “Oh no! What an awful room! It’s like a rabbit pen in here!“

This is from Kinnikuman Lady, a genderbent parody of the original Kinnikuman. Sue is dressed like Terryman’s female counterpart Terrygirl. Keep in mind that Sue actually says, “Oh no!” in English here.

Sue: “Ogiue Chika is mah wife!”

Again from Kinnikuman Lady. In the Japanese version, Sue is imitating the Terryman-style of Janglish by saying “Me no yome” instead of “My” or “Ore no.”

Ohno: “I really wanted to be Robin, though.”

Kinnikuman Lady once again, as well as her cosplay.

Kuchiki: “Ramen Angel P (etc.).”

Ramen Angel Pretty Menma is a made-up visual novel/ero game in Genshiken. Sasahara really likes the series.

Sue: “My harsh remarks are made by transmuting…”

A line by Senjougahara Hitagi from Bakemonogatari.

Yuki x Shige

I’m not sure if this is just a made up series or not, but I suspect it’s Sengoku Basara-related.

Sue: “My name is Ogiue and I hate otaku!”

This and the followup is of course from Ogiue’s infamous introduction.

Sue: “Rararame.“

Again from Bakemonogatari, but this time Sue is referencing the character Hachikuji Mayoi. The entire gag following this is an extended Hachikuji reference.

Snapple Pricking Gheam

A parody of the Zan Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei OP “Apple Picking Beam.” In Japanese, the original song is “Ringo Mogire Beam” while Genshiken wrote it as “Bingo Mobire Geam.” According to the Genshiken timeline this show shouldn’t actually exist yet, but we’ll let it slide.

Sue: “Yahhh! Your house is haunted!”

This is a line from My Neighbor Totoro.

That’s all. To Genshiken. May it get another anime adaptation to finish its story. May Kio Shimoku feel the desire to revisit these characters again. May Angela and Sue get their own most excellent American spin-off.

Actually, one last question to you all: should Hato be considered for the fujoshi files?

The Fujoshi Files 11: Angela Burton

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Name: Burton, Angela (アンジェラ・バートン）
Alias: N/A
Relationship Status: Single
Origin: Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture

Information:
Angela Burton is an anime and manga fan hailing from Boston, Massachusetts who befriended a Japanese student named Ohno Kanako while the latter was living in the United States. Though Ohno eventually had to return to Japan, Angela would come to visit Japan on more than one occasion, along with their good friend Susanna Hopkins. While they were partly interested in reuniting with Ohno, their main task was attending the largest doujin event of the year, Comic Festival. Initially, the flaxen-haired Angela startled the members of Ohno’s club with her strong, outgoing personality and her attractive and athletic figure, but would soon become a valued friend and an otaku comrade-in-arms.

Angela has a talent for sports, allowing her to physically endure the wear and exhaustion of an all-day doujin event far better than most. Her favorite shows include General Frog and Gungal Bleed, and she also possesses a strong fetish for glasses-wearing characters, though she does not actually wear glasses herself.

Fujoshi Level:
Angela Burton is unusually athletically fit for a fujoshi, which allows her to accomplish more, but what really sets her apart is her personality, specifically her openness as a fan. Perhaps due to her American upbringing (combined with the corrupting influence of anime), Angela can easily declare her fetishes in public and describe them in explicit detail. Angela’s tastes are also more diverse than most fujoshi, as she describes herself as being interested in both “male-oriented” and “female-oriented” doujinshi.

Incredible America: Genshiken and the Accidentally Accurate Portrayal of Americans

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In Volume 1 of Genshiken, Ohno’s character profile states that her favorite game is Samurai Spirits. “Well that makes perfect sense,” you might think, seeing as how Ohno lived in America for many years, and how that very game was released in the US under the name Samurai Sho-down, but a later comment in the Genshiken Official Book reveals something interesting. It turns out that Kio Shimoku had no idea whether or not Samurai Spirits was ever released in America, and most likely picked it for Ohno due to the game having multiple old/burly types such as Earthquake.

So what we have here is what seems to be a surprisingly decently researched aspect of the American video game/anime fandom from the 90s but instead is just a lucky coincidence. Of course, Ohno and her preferences aren’t the most “American” aspect of Genshiken. That title naturally belongs to her friends Angela and Sue. And when you look at Angela and Sue across their incarnations (anime, manga, drama cd), you get the feeling that Kio Shimoku and the staff of the anime ended up portraying American fangirls with surprising accuracy, but based on the Ohno-Samurai Spirits Revelation there is the very real possibility that this too was also one huge coincidence.

Much of the portrayal of Angela and Sue can boil down to “HAHA AMERICANS ARE SO MUCH MORE DIRECT THAN JAPANESE,” but there is a grain of truth to that, and I think the result is that this “fictional” portrayal is about as realistic as the portrayals of the actual Genshiken members. Sue may possess a knowledge of anime far beyond your typical female otaku, but keep in mind that her otakudom was fostered by a Japanese fujoshi, so it might not be surprising for her to reference, say, Saint Seiya. Sue’s got a fairly abrasive personality, a general lack of manners, and you often cannot tell if she’s being awkward or devilish. Her frequent and loud reciting of anime quotes in lieu of real Japanese is definitely a trait you can find in fangirls (though she eventually becomes comfortable enough with the language to actually start speaking it fluently, albeit with an accent).

Then there’s Angela, who loudly declares to Sasahara that she may in fact be bisexual, which Sasahara despite his limited English ability seems to get the jist of. It might be somewhat stereotypical to brand Angela as very open when it comes to sex and sexual relationships, i.e. very AMERICAN, but it’s not like this is unprecedented even if you ignore anime cons and the fact that they are places where sex occurs in less than small amounts. Not that I’m saying she’s a slut or anything, merely that she is possibly about as sexually experienced as Saki, maybe more. I can also totally see Angela attending an anime club in America and being the center of attention among male members, but maybe I’m reading too much into it. As an aside, I sometimes wish there would be a Genshiken AMERICA spinoff starring Angela and Sue and seeing the interactions between characters in that respect. Maybe this could be a fanfic or a fancomic, I don’t know.

Sue is either young-looking for her age or actually young (her age is never given, only loosely implied), and we already know that the anime fans are getting younger and younger, so this makes plenty of sense. Angela meanwhile has a dynamite figure which some might say isn’t terribly realistic for a nerd girl, but I speak from experience (no not that kind of experience) when I say that this is not an impossibility. There are geek girls who look that good. You might see them cosplaying.

Though I think what stands out to me most about Sue and Angela and their American-ness is a scene in the Drama CD “Road to Ikebukuro,” where together they recite the famous line that so many female anime fans in the US have tied to their very histories: “In the name of the moon, I’ll punish you!” Granted, it’s said in Japanese, but I know that plenty of Sailor Moon fans are familiar with the Japanese catch phrases. And Sailor Moon was popular in Japan too (Love Hina creator Akamatsu Ken mentions it as the inspiration for him getting into doujinshi), but that doesn’t take away from the fact that Sailor Moon is arguably one of the most significant shows in American fandom history.

And again, all of this could just be happy coincidence! Kio Shimoku could have simply said, “I have no idea what American anime fans are really like so I’ll just make them however.” Which is to say, Kio Shimoku is a frightening man.

Don’t Think I Forgot About the 4th of July Either

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You can help me celebrate the fact that THIS IS USA, as opposed to JAPAN.

Today, on this Independence Day, I order you to  act like an American Anime Character.

-Remember to replace simple Japanese pronouns and random words with AMERICAN ones.
-Blond hair isn’t necessary, but it can often help.
-If you have trouble gaining acceptance, claim that you are in fact Half-Japanese.
-TALK AS LOUDLY AS POSSIBLE.

If you’re still not up to the task, I instead ask that you observe Americans in the wild.

GEN-SHEE-KEN TWO Volume TWO

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So I got my copy of Genshiken 2 Volume 2, and it comes with the long-awaited Drama CD, “Road to Ikebukuro.”

And a lot of it is in English.

Oh boy.

PS: Sue makes a Jagi reference. KUYASHII NO? KUYASHII NO?