Tag Archives: genshiken nidaime

Powerful Genshiken Second Season Episode 10

Posted on by

Mysteries melt away this episode! Covering chapters 76 and 77, it’s one of the more significant parts of the whole series.

In previous episode reflections (a better term than review I now realize), I mentioned how elements from the manga were cut and shifted, sometimes for thematic consistency within an episode, but more often because the Nidaime anime clearly has a particular end goal in mind. With Episode 10, we’re finally able to see whether or not this “cutting of the fat” has paid off, more or less. It already began with the previous episode to an extent, but this is when the revelations truly begin, and it’ll continue into the next episode too.

In this regard, I think that Episode 10 is probably the strongest one of the season so far. Whether it’s because of Mamiko’s excellent performance as Kaminaga, the portrayal of the way Hato’s denial/hiding of his inner self to others weighs heavily on him, Konno’s amazing facial expressions, or some combination of the three, I think that this episode communicates all of the complex emotions which make up Genshiken. The manga chapters were already great and enlightening, and the adaptation does them justice. In some cases, it even makes things clearer. One example is when Hato sees his brother driving with Kaminaga, with the clear implication being romance. In the manga, Yuuichirou’s expression is kind of ambiguous, but in the anime you can clearly see him smiling. It wasn’t necessary, but it helps communicate that information more overtly.

When I say good adaptation, though, I don’t simply mean that it’s accurate or 1:1 in terms of elements. The anime added an additional thing about Kaminaga moving in with Hato and his brother, but in the manga Hato lives on his own in an apartment far from the university so that he can maintain both his BL and crossdressing. They even visited it in one chapter, which was cut from the anime. The original manga also shows that Konno had dyed her hair in between high school and college, while the anime has always been brunette. It doesn’t impact the story much, but it is curious.

Yamamoto Nozomi also probably puts out some of her best Ogiue performance as well this episode. I still give the edge to Mizuhashi, but Yamamoto really displays a sense of Ogiue, particularly her delivery of Ogiue saying that turning your own boyfriend into BL material is “normal.” It really gives off the vibe that this is an area where Ogiue has not only a lot of experience, but a lot of history, while also showing how far Ogiue has come from her previous self.

I really like how the anime took the scene of Sue mimicking Rei from Fist of the North Star from the manga and added the after-images and laser lines from Fist of the North Star‘s anime. Basically, the anime adaptation of Genshiken enhanced its portrayal of a manga scene parodying a famous manga by utilizing the iconic effects from that famous manga’s own adaptation. The Crunchyroll subs do not make the reference obvious: Sue says, “Nanto Kyuukyoku Ougi!” and likely the translator either misheard or didn’t even hear the “Nanto” part.

One of the categories in the Fujoshi Files is “Fujoshi Level,” which is a not-so-serious way of describing just how polluted the mind of a particular character can be. While I actually don’t create specific rankings and try to give just a general impression in them, here you could see an obvious hierarchy: Kaminaga is off the deep end, Ogiue is right behind her along with Hato, and Konno and Fuji are definitely not as powerful. It makes me want to perhaps write up a full Fujoshi/Fudanshi Tier List one of these days.

It’s Been a While: Genshiken Second Season Episode 9

Posted on by

I’ve been away for the last couple of weeks so it’s time to do some catchup! Episode 9 covers Chapters 74 and 75. Also, there’s quite a bit of cosplay in this episode, and luckily for me a Japanese blogger Renko’s already laid out all of the references.

Sue = Meruru (Atelier Meruru)

Ohno = Asama Tomo (Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere)

Yoshitake = Inahime (Samurai Warriors)

Sawatari = Kunoichi (Samurai Warriors)

Fukuda = Okuni (Samurai Warriors)

Mimasaka = Leia Rolando (Tales of Xillia)

Yajima = Hirano Kouta (Highschool of the Dead)

Kuchiki = Matsudaira Katakuriko (Gintama)

The sheer amount of Ogiue content in this episode makes me happy, just as it did with the manga. You can really see her take center stage at least in the first half of the episode, and the sheer range of facial expressions that are not coming from deep anger and frustration is quite satisfying. There’s also something hilarious about Sasahara essentially roleplaying as a fictional version of himself.

Speaking of Sasahara, the new voices at this point are old news, but I have to remark that Sasahara’s voice really throws me off. It’s like his old voice was just the perfect shade of average that anything else sounds odd. Moreover, Sasahara doesn’t appear often enough for me to get used to him.

When it comes to adapting from manga to anime, I thought the decision to turn Yoshitake’s exposition into a Star Wars-esque text scroll was clever and properly captured the incessantly convoluted nature of her plot. The manga conveys this through the sheer amount of text in Yoshitake’s word bubble, but obviously that doesn’t fly in the animated format. Interestingly, when Yajima hits Yoshitake with the manga, you can see that it’s a Monthly Afternoon (the magazine Genshiken runs in), with its most famous and longest-running title Aa! Megami-sama on the spine.

(Seriously, Oh My Goddess! is still running).

Another thing I’ve been thinking about is the whole gendered pronouns thing (whether to refer to Hato as a “he” or a “she”), and while Japanese doesn’t typically use gendered pronouns the way English does, perhaps a comparison could be done between which characters refer to Hato as “Hato-kun” and which use “Hato-chan.” Those aren’t strictly gender-divided (guys can be referred to with -chan and girls with -kun), but it may speak to how they personally see Hato.

In the end, of all the things to happen in this episode, I especially hope people are enjoying the new characters’ old friends. Mimasaka comes across as the most shy and awkward of possibly any character in Genshiken (with her voice actor doing quite a good job showing this). You can also actually hear Yajima slipping into an accent when talking with Mimasaka, which is again a nice touch for the anime. I also have to wonder if Konno’s massive saucer eyes in the opening had people wondering just who she is. She doesn’t appear much, but she pretty much became my favorite of the new Nidaime characters just from her expressions. Given that Ogiue also had fantastic facial expressions, that might just be more indicative of my tastes than anything else.

As for Kaminaga’s debut, I find Noto Mamiko’s performance to be pretty spot-on with what I imagined.

Inazuma: Genshiken II, Chapter 91

Posted on by

Have you been enjoying the new Genshiken anime? I call the manga of Nidaime “Genshiken II” because that’s how I started, while I call the anime “Genshiken Second Season” because that’s how it’s widely advertised in English. While it makes things easier in terms of separating my anime and manga posts, I do feel a bit contradictory or incongruous in doing so. Anyway, here’s Chapter 91, which is a turning point, the latest of many.

After Yajima talks to Hato in an effort to tell him that he can’t simply dump Madarame onto Angela so he can get back to reading BL, Ohno calls to ask Hato to complete the Bodacious Space Pirates cosplay as the main character. Eager to rid himself of the fujoshi that is his mental alter ego, Hato agrees, but by doing so actually appears to reaffirm his feelings on Madarame. Hato apologizes to Angela, but Angela has other ideas, simultaneously confessing the mutual feelings of her, Hato, and Sue. Madarame, like a deer caught in headlights, tries to run but accidentally slips and fractures his wrist (again) when he sees Keiko.

I quite like how Kio Shimoku writes and draws Angela, as for all of her simplistic character traits she still comes across as a fully developed person. Angela makes various comments about basically having a foursome, but I don’t think we’re supposed to interpret that as her wanting that sort of relationship. Instead, I think the fact that her words intentionally sound like they’re coming straight of an eroge is what’s important. Previous chapters have established that Angela is extremely savvy and strategic when it comes to putting the moves on Madarame, such as Angela hoping that if she’s aggressive enough the timid and virginal Madarame will use her as masturbation material, and I have no doubt in my mind that she’s trying to appeal to that basic otaku side of Madarame, to give him the temptation to fuse fantasy and reality in his mind. There’s also the fact that Ohno stops interpreting out of embarrassment, so Angela has to be as braindead obvious with her words as possible.

Of course, the other component of all this is that Angela is blasting through the ambiguity in a way which normally Sue would, but this is not Sue’s area of comfort at all. It’s funny how the more social and perceptive characters in Genshiken have generally been the ones to point out budding feelings and similar developments where the dorks of the group have been oblivious, like when Keiko nonchalantly asked if Sasahara and Ogiue are dating before they started doing so. Even though Keiko makes only a brief appearance at the end, I think she provides a good amount of interesting material to analyze as well.

When I think about it, Keiko and Angela appear to be approaching Madarame in the same way, by trying to actively appeal to his otaku sensibilities. The way I see it, the key difference is that Angela is an otaku herself while Keiko is not. Angela is using her knowledge of anime, manga, and video games, her experience interacting with fellow otaku, and even how her own mind works, to feed into Madarame’s fantastic desires. Keiko, on the other hand, is giving herself a more natural appearance, maybe even one closer to Kasukabe’s, in an effort to appear less a part of the Shibuya world which most otaku reject. The fact that Angela has a dynamite body may or may not play a factor in this battle.

Hato’s feelings meanwhile are practically overwhelming him at this point, and the clarity that this chapter brings also serves to complicate things further. As silly as this may sound, I find significance in the fact that the “other Hato” has a different breast size compared to the “other Kaminaga” who has been appearing in Hato’s consciousness lately, as it basically means they’re two aspects of his mind. Both are representative of something inside him, but the other Hato, with her larger chest, speaks towards Hato’s ideal of the generic woman he’s aiming to visually emulate. As mentioned before in a 4koma, when Hato crossdresses he tries to have as many “female” signifiers in his appearance, and breasts are one of them. The other Kaminaga, on the other hand, has small breasts like the actual person, which I interpret as Hato tying that persona closer to the real Kaminaga, or more specifically her words, and her ability to cut to the heart of the matter. The fact that Kaminaga is literally the person he was originally trying to emulate has to mean something as well.

Aside from a panel or two, there wasn’t really an Ogiue content this chapter, but I do find an off-hand remark by Kuchiki to be interesting. Kohsaka and Sasahara mention to Hato that there’s nothing quite like the wrath of not so much a scorned woman but a humiliated one, which causes Kuchiki to refer to them as the “非DT,” or “not virgins,” to which Madarame and Kugayama react nervously. While Kohsaka is generally seen as the attractive guy, there’s something hilarious about having Sasahara considered even remotely close to being a stud.

This time, to finish, I’d actually like to talk a bit about the art, which I typically don’t get into much during these reviews. The same page where Kuchiki calls the two of them “not virgins” is rather nice, I think, because of the way the panel of Kohsaka up top anchors that small moment in time, as well as Kohsaka’s words (“I don’t think you can take thing back at this point”). This isn’t just because it’s a large panel, but the lack of a background contrasts with the busier panels before and after, which in turn makes that panel act as both a breather as well as a moment of impact. On top of that, it rests well at the top of the page and makes for a balanced composition. I think in general Kio is good at using these large empty panels, and if you look through previou chapters I’m sure you’ll find more examples.

Added Delusions, Genshiken Second Season Episode 8

Posted on by

With Episode 8 comes the second half of the previously discussed chapters of 70, 71, 72, and 73. You can now safely read them for my thoughts on the narrative developments of Second Season up to this point. Did you notice that Yoshitake’s drinking beer now that she was revealed to be 20? Oh, you wacky censorship.

As I mentioned last time, Episodes 7 and 8 mixed things up from the original manga, transforming this episode into a hyper-focused Hato exploration. I think it really does make the show feel even more focused on Hato than the comic. It’s strange to think about, because basically the same things happen overall. The fact that they added a new fantasy scene while extending another one also contributes to this. Funny that right as I said for episode 7 that the current anime cuts things out  while the previous one adds new scenes, Nidaime ends up putting in some original material, and racey material at that.

Specifically, the new scene involves Hato imagining Madarame walking in on him and then Hato seducing Madarame. While it’s not entirely out of character for him to imagine such a scenario, it feels like the anime is trying to push that angle harder than it was in the comic. Maybe this was done independent of Kio, or maybe Kio oversaw the addition, but author’s original intent or no, I think little things like that quicken the pace of that particular plot thread.

I don’t want these episode looks to merely be about nitpicking though, and I think the events in this episode can be discussed even further from what I originally spoke about in the chapter reviews. For one thing, I find Hato’s mental comment that male pregnancy may be a new thing for male-targeted works, it’s been  a long-standing trope in BL. It’s a funny thing to contemplate, that within the categorical segregation within manga and anime, that ideas arrive at different rates, but that ideas may also cross-pollenate as a result of reaching one before the other. It actually reminds me once again of something Fred Schodt wrote in Manga! Manga!, which is that during the early 80s when the book first came out, the character designs between girl-oriented and guy-oriented stuff began to converge a little, rather than being at their previous extremes. You can say that the current manga and anime industry reflects this as well.

To end off, let’s talk fanservice. There’s a lot of it in this episode, of course more concentrated in the BL-ish areas. Do you want to know what’s fanservice for me?

No, not Makoto and Madarame, more to the left.

Ogiue in a suit. Also this:

Truth be told, I’m still not entirely used to Ogiue’s eyes having so much more detail drawn into them.

Genshiken Second Season Episode 7, Cutting and Splicing

Posted on by

Episode 7 of Genshiken Second Season covers Chapter 70 as well as parts of Chapter 71, 72, and even 73 of the original manga. You can read my manga analyses there, though keep in mind that the missing parts of 71 through 73 are likely going to appear in Episode 8, so you might want to avoid them for spoilers.

First thing’s first, I must fulfill the promise I made last time and explain each of the cosplays at the beginning of the episode. I’m sure everyone at least recognizes one or two, but just to play it safe I’ll lay them all out.

Sue is dressed as the ever-enigmatic Princess of the Crystal, from Mawaru Penguindrum (a show I would highly recommend).

Kuchiki is Mr. 2, the master of “Okama Kenpou” from One Piece.

Ohno is the titular character from the popular PS3 game Bayonetta.

Other references include Sue’s “Nu-nu-nu Piccon!” which comes from Ramen Saiyuuki (thanks Anonspore) and Ohno’s mention of “HTT,” or “Houkago Tea Time,” the main characters’ band in K-On! who have a tendency to sit around and snack on sweets.

As I continue to watch the anime, one of the things I find interesting about the Genshiken Second Season anime compared to the Genshiken 2 anime is that where the latter would create additional scenes which didn’t exist in the manga, the current series cuts and rearranges things, and that in both cases it was so each series could reach a specific stopping point. With the previous anime, you even had entire episodes devoted to topics which were only barely touched upon, like how Tanaka and Ohno started going out, or an extended 20-something minute look at Ogiue’s BL fantasies.

I’m beginning to wonder if this relatively sped-up Nidaime is having an effect on how the narrative plays out. In the process of hastening things to get to “key points,” I sometimes feel like the meat of Genshiken gets kind of lost, that the little comments and rambling conversations played out in full have a lot of details and bits of characterization which flesh out the psychology and complexes contained within the characters. In looking again at Episode 6 versus Chapter 69, the manga version puts a strong emphasis on Risa feeling like she’s at a crossroads. Even though she enjoys basketball that if she keeps down this path she’ll never have the opportunity to do other things, a problem I don’t think any other Genshiken character has ever had to deal with. In comparison, Risa in the anime seems a bit…abrupt?

Also, the way the show shifts things around so that each episode contains a specific focus as opposed to the relatively constant shifting of the manga makes for somewhat of a different experience. I do wonder if it makes the show feel even more Hato-focused than the manga. In any case, I may just be over-thinking things here, or valuing the manga in my head too much. If I had approached the anime without the prior knowledge, I obviously wouldn’t be able to make comparisons in this manner, though I don’t know if I’d still feel like something’s just a bit off anyway.

Some other things:

Seeing the show zoom in on Male Hato’s drawing made me really want to see an entire comic drawn in that peculiar style. Even if it isn’t “beautiful,” it could be something great.

In this episode the series once again references Ogiue’s past with the assumption that you’d already read the first series, though at least this time the anime’s provided some information in a previous episode about those traumatic events. I feel like there’s a small issue with the Crunchyroll translation in that scene: when Ogiue remembers her past collaborations with Nakajima it’s not that they “usually don’t work out” but that it largely didn’t work out for Ogiue in particular, referencing the fact that her last collaboration with Nakajima was the foundation of Ogiue’s eventual suicide attempt and years of psychological turmoil. It’s sort of nitpicking, but I think that the context is pretty important, and that the translation should reflect that more thoroughly.

As always, I also like to keep track of the voice actors for new characters, which in this case is just Yajima’s old friend from high school you see in the flash back. The mousey friend is voiced by Akutsu Kana, who hasn’t done a lot of work, but was Henrietta in Gunslinger Girl: Il Teatriano.

As for the lack of romantic experience with Yoshitake and Yajima, I think it sort of shows 1) why the club was initially intimidating for Yajima and 2) Yoshitake is extroverted and excitable but not a master of all things. As I did in the manga, I also liked Yoshitake’s statement that part of fashion is communication between girls, albeit in this case aggressive communication. It’s a small way of saying that girls don’t necessarily dress up to be attractive to the opposite sex, as is often assumed when looking at girls who do dress boldly.

Genshiken Second Season Japanese Blurays Exclusive Deal Until September 1st

Posted on by

NIS America announced last month that they have the rights to the Genshiken Second Season anime, and knowing their history of putting out deluxe box sets that are a little pricier but come with all sorts of doodads (an art book being the main one), anyone who’s a Genshiken fan would be satisfied with their Bluray release (though we don’t know what’s there yet).

The question is, would you be satisfied enough?

bd1_animate bd1_gamers bd1_toranoana

For the Japanese release of Genshiken Second Season, there is a special deal: If you preorder all 4 Bluray volumes before September 1st from one of three specific stores, you will get a 12-page illustration booklet AND a color print by Kio Shimoku. Order from Animate for Double Hato, Gamers for Yoshitake and Yajima, and finally Toranoana for Ogiue and Sue.

(To be a Hato you’ve gotta be strong, humble never braggin’.)

This is in addition to existing extras, which at least for Volume 1 include a 16-page illustration booklet and an animated extra entitled “The First Meeting to Discuss How a Girl This Cute Can’t Possibly Be a Girl,” as well as a “Post-Clubroom Rambling Discussion.” Whether that’s another animated feature or voice-only, I don’t know.

The only thing is, if you opt into one of these deals, you’re looking at roughly 30,000 yen for 13 episodes. Also keep in mind that a lot of these stores don’t ship internationally so you’ll have to find a way around that, which can cost you even more. You can get them cheaper through Amazon JP but then of course you wouldn’t get the extra extras.

I’ve pre-ordered the Blurays because I am an idiot. As you may have guessed, I went for the Toranoana version. I did not decide to get all three sets of Blurays because even I’m not that insane.

Honestly, unless you’re me, you’re probably better off sticking with the NIS America release as I’m pretty confident it’ll look good. The Japanese Blurays are a realm beyond, for those looking to collect every bit of Ogiue merchandise they can (there’s not a lot, you know).

Actually I’m going to buy the NIS America release as well.

Genshiken Second Season Episode 6: Yoshitake Siblings and Other Stuff

Posted on by

First, here are the equivalent chapters from the manga if you want to see my thoughts on the narrative itself, as well as some image analysis: 67 68 69

When the cast list for Nidaime first came out, I found the abscene of Risa/Rihito rather conspicuous. Despite my worries that they would skip over her appearance in the anime in order to get to some of the big events later in the series, Risa did show up after all. Interestingly, this appears to her voice actor’s first anime work. If you look at Sakurai Shou’s profile, she seems to only have experience in narration and at her school’s drama club. I’m actually kind of impressed because I kept thinking she was another more established voice actor, like Park Romi.

There are a couple of things from the manga which don’t quite make it into the anime. The first one is that in the manga the reveal that Yoshitake is actually 20 (the legal drinking age in Japan) also becomes the reason she was able to buy all that alcohol the last time around. Without the scene in Episode 2 involving alcohol, this connection is lost. Similarly, when they all go over to Yoshitake’s place to drink, the manga points out that her younger sister is drinking juice instead.

The other cut seems to have to do more with time constraints and keeping the narrative flow intact from the beginning to the end of the episode. In the manga, the partying goes on until the next day, which has them all together in the morning. Rather than Hato changing at Yoshitake’s place, they all go back to Hato’s apartment first, where they find out that the reason he lives so far away is so he can have a walk-in closet for all of his women’s clothing. Again, it doesn’t appear to be for censorship reasons, just timing and pacing. One side effect of this is that when you compare the manga to the anime the characters are wearing different clothing and hairstyles.

In my original analysis of Risa, I didn’t really go into the fact that she’s the first character in Genshiken whose primary interest is shotacon. While other characters have shown the possibility (Ogiue herself is into Roy x Ed from not-Fullmetal Alchemist and who knows about Kuchiki), it feels like a whole other can of worms with the younger Yoshitake compared to the usual fujoshi pairing talk. Even the series itself acknowledges this difference, as you can see how the other characters, although accepting of her tastes, awkwardly react to some of Risa’s statements (she’s mostly into 2D). At the same time, Risa’s also another example of a person who doesn’t quite fit the typical mold of the otaku or fujoshi, being more of an athlete with “unique” interests and for whom competition takes priority over hobbies. She’s neither full-on geek nor simply a “normal.”

Incidentally, if you’re wondering why Risa hasn’t appeared in the Fujoshi Files, it’s because there’s no evidence she’s into guy-on-guy action or pairings.

In the episode, Risa talks about how she’d rather guys be completely smooth down there, but when confronted with the real deal it’s clearly not what she was expecting. It brings to mind Fred Schodt’s Manga! Manga! where he recalls an editor of a BL magazine mentioning to a reader that fantasy and reality don’t match up and that she should stick to the imagination if that’s what she wants.

I do wish we’d see more of Risa.

The next episode preview has some cosplay, but I’ll leave that breakdown for next time.

The Cosplay ID Game for Comic Festival in Genshiken Second Season (Episodes 4 and 5)

Posted on by

So Genshiken Second Season Episode 5 isn’t terribly different from its corresponding chapters, 65 and 66, so I won’t be discussing much about the adaptation process this time around. I will say though that I’m glad the actors for Angela and Ohno can at least pronounce American R’s.

The only changes are a ton of background cosplay that wasn’t in the manga, and this imaginary shot of a seductive Angela.

genshikennidaime05-angelafantasy

That said, there is a ton of cosplay in this episode and the last, so I’ve taken the time to try and identify as many of them as I can. I’m unsure of some, and flat out don’t know others, so feel free to leave a comment if you recognize one I didn’t. I’ve actually already received a bit of help. For the cosplay in Ogiue’s room in Episode 4, most of the answers are here.

All cosplay identifications are approximately from left to right, and any Genshiken main cast cosplays I ignore after the first time.

genshikennidaime04-cosplay01Yamada (Kujibiki Unbalance, the in-universe favorite anime of Genshiken), Manaka (Love Plus)

genshikennidaime04-cosplay02Panty and Stocking (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt), Chamber and Amy (Gargantia)

genshikennidaime04-cosplay03Don Valentino (Cuticle Detective Inaba) (Thanks Kate), Azazel (Yondemasuyo Azazel-san), Unknown Soldiers, Titan (Attack on Titan) (Thanks eatallhumans)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay01Miho and Yukari in Anglerfish Costume (Girls und Panzer), Tsukihi and Karen (Monogatari series), Akane and Kougami (Psycho-Pass), Soldier from Attack on Titan, Miku and Rin (Vocaloid), Saaya and Amy (Gargantia), Shima (Stellvia), Kuroko’s Basketball, Railgun (?), Neon Genesis Evangelion

genshikennidaime05-cosplay02
Tsukiko (Henneko) (Thanks to @Buffered), Sort of Marisa and Reimu (Touhou) (Thanks to @elliotpage), Hanayo or Rin (Love Live!)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay03Mami and Homura (Madoka Magica)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay03.1Neko and Kushina Anna (K) (Thanks Kate)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay03.2Qyubey (Madoka Magica)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay03.3Kougami and Akane (Psycho-Pass), Azazel (Yondemasuyo Azazel-san)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay04Shouko (Valvrave), Unknown schoolgirl, Kyouko and Sayaka (Madoka Magica), Muromi and Otohime (Muromi-san)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay04.1Amy and Lukkage (Gargantia)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay04.2Rise (Persona 4)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay05Charlotte in boy’s uniform (Infinite Stratos)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay06Kohsaka Makoto (Rakuen no 7 Shuuhan, an in-universe game)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay07Neko and Kuro (K), Buratei Marii (Joshiraku)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay07.1Madoka (Madoka Magica)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay07.2Homura (Madoka Magica)

genshikennidaime05-cosplay08
Motoko (Ghost in the Shell: Arise), Yukari, Saori, and Mako (Girls und Panzer)

genshikennidaime04-suekyoooo(Not a cosplay) Sue making a Katte ni Kaizou reference

genshikennidaime05-chaikick(Also not a cosplay) Sue performing a Chai Kick (Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple)

Just Go For It: Genshiken II, Chapter 90

Posted on by

In this month’s Genshiken the guys and girls are separated on the line to Comic Festival, but in both cases the topic is the same: Madarame, and the women (and man) who might love him. There’s also some cosplay, as the girls dress up as the cast from Bodacious Space Pirates.

Yajima as Luca, Yoshitake as Coorie

The real-life Comic Market upon which Genshiken‘s Comic Festival is based is traditionally seen as a space existing in a dimension separate from the realm of romance and general extroverted interaction. It’s a distinction acknowledged even by Genshiken itself (Madarame’s famous exclamation that having a tan at ComiFes is “embarrassing), but it’s also a series where relations are fostered (Sasahara and Ogiue). Even though the series does have a tendency to place those conventionally incongruous elements together, the juxtaposition between people discussing potential love interests while waiting hours to buy doujinshi is nevertheless still quite strong.

The boys’ discussion revolves around the four whom Kasukabe believes have something for Madarame, namely Angela, Sue, Keiko, and Hato. Although Kasukabe is the definitely the most socially perceptive character in the series she’s also not perfect (she thought Madarame fell in love with her well before he actually did), so it isn’t necessarily presented as the gospel truth aside from the extremely obvious Angela. Given her strong observational skills, however, it’d still be fun to discuss each of them in detail, not to pick the “best” one but to do some semi-intense character analysis.

Before we get into it, though, I do want to say that it isn’t that unusual for Madarame to be  a target of affection, and I don’t mean that in a “deep down he’s a good guy” sort of way. Not only is Madarame kind and intelligent, but he’s made major strides of the years to improve his sociability. That, and some girls are into the scrawny nerd type.

Angela,dressed as Misa Grandwood, Ohno in the background as Chiaki Kurihara

If you’ll recall, Angela’s interest in Madarame is actually a retcon from the second TV series (Genshiken 2, not be confused with Genshiken Second Season even though it’s totally easy to do so). The aggressive Angela enjoys Madarame’s passive demeanor, and what’s especially important about her perspective is that she isn’t thinking of this in a very romantic sort of way. While she wouldn’t mind seeing him long-term, she’s also definitely okay with a down and dirty one night stand. One thing I find interesting about Angela is that in her you have the portrayal of a woman who’s using every asset at her disposal to (literally) charm the pants off a guy. Even putting aside the aggression, if you look again at Chapter 66, you’ll notice that at the end of the day Angela switches from the outfit she was wearing in the morning to one with a short skirt and exposed cleavage.

Angela’s original appearance in the manga involves her, a non-Japanese speaking foreigner with a perfect body being very social, a form of kryptonite to the poor otaku Madarame. Personally speaking, there’s something hilarious about a rigid guy being with a sexually charged bombshell in that it’s fun to watch the layers of restraint and fear either melt away or intensify. For Madarame it’s more the latter, a response I find to be realistic for a nerd, though the fact that the unrequited love for Kasukabe is now a done deal changes the game. Her attitude frequently makes me wonder about what life is like for her most of the year, especially because she’s such a fearsome individual, able to notice Madarame’s pining for Kasukabe after just one or two brief ComiFes visits.

Sue as Gruier Serenity

While I’ve seen some Angelas in the American anime fandom, I’ve seen many more Sues, and I still find her to be surprisingly close to the kind of fans I tend to encounter at US anime conventions (although Yoshitake is actually pretty close too). Sue appears shortly after Angela in the original series delivering Asuka’s signature insult (“Anta baka?”), and it’s been interesting seeing her develop, from a non-sequitur gag machine with a penchant for making things awkward for those around her, to a fully fleshed-out character fluent in Japanese though still capable of intentionally generating the same awkwardness.

Sue’s feelings for Madarame aren’t as clear-cut as Angela’s, but Sue also frequently interacts with Madarame while appearing to enjoy it immensely. If she does like Madarame to that extent, it explains a lot of her actions with respect to him, like her remark that Madarame should “find a new love.” I also have to wonder how an actual relationship between the two would look. Sue is perhaps the only girl that can go toe-to-toe with Madarame when it comes to sheer obsession with anime and manga to the point of building up a seemingly endless wealth of quotes. There’s also something about their combined awkwardness that makes me imagine some of the interactions from Nichijou.

The thing I find funniest about Keiko is that years ago, when the original manga was still running in Japan, before there were these specific moments in Nidaime between the two to fuel the fire, there were already fans of the Madarame x Keiko pairing. If I had to reason why the combination has its supporters, it could be that in a way this would be the most “realistic” (read: cynical) couple, that image of the otaku whose average-looking girlfriend doesn’t quite understand his hobby and is a little too frivolous with cash. Perhaps the best reason is that Madarame was rejected by Kasukabe while Keiko’s affections for Kohsaka never went anywhere, comfort in mutual sorrow. Still, the reaction from Madarame and Sasahara is understandable (and also hilarious), as Sasahara basically pleads with Kohsaka and Hato to strike the very idea from the world. Watching the two guys basically not even consider her a factor is one of the best parts of the chapter.

The extras in Volumes 13 and 14 of Genshiken paint an interesting picture of Keiko. In Volume 14, Hato notices that Keiko has actually changed her makeup style to a more natural-looking one. One of Keiko’s visual characteristics since her debut in the manga has been her heavy makeup, and to forego it in favor of a lighter look implies that she’s aiming for a guy who might find that heavily dolled up look intimidating. On the other hand, a Volume 13 extra also shows that she has some interest in Hato, asking him if he’d be willing to have sex with a girl while still in drag. That 4-panel comic actually changed my perception of Keiko, and I wonder if her position in all of this is more complex than first expected.

Then there’s Hato, whose interactions with Madarame I’ve analyzed many times over and which you’ll find in numerous previous chapter reviews. Two things are clear: Hato is really complicated, and he pays a lot of attention to both Madarame and the people around Madarame. After all, he’s the one who noticed that Keiko changed her makeup. He’s also clearly very confused about what he does and doesn’t want, and you can see it in the way he went from needing to crossdress no matter what, to absolutely refusing to do so and trying to play the part of Average Joe Otaku. It sort of reminds me of when nerds who know nothing about sports (which includes myself to an extent!) try to discuss basketball or something: awkward, unfamiliar, clearly an act.

His past with Kaminaga makes it even more difficult to discern his intentions, as it isn’t clear whether he wanted her or wanted to be with her (or perhaps even both). However, if we assume that Hato does have feelings for Madarame, he then presents an interesting position in that he would see himself as a man who likes to crossdress and look at yaoi, but not someone who identifies as a woman and would therefore see a relationship with a man as heterosexual. If Genshiken then actually had him get together with Madarame, it would bring the entire manga to a whole other place.

The chapter ends with Yajima getting ready to say something to Hato, and amidst this strange situation their relationship is also something which has changed over time. Where once Yajima had been uncomfortable with Hato in drag, now she’s the opposite, mirroring Hato’s own feelings. I’m actually quite looking forward to how this develops next month. The “next chapter” reference, by the way, is Jewelpet Happiness.

One last vitally important thing to discuss: Ogiue’s cosplay is amazing. Somehow the series keeps finding great characters for her to dress up as, and even if the look doesn’t match entirely her intense expression makes it entertaining nonetheless. Ogiue cosplay is something special.

Ogiue as Quartz Christie

Genshiken Second Season Episode 4, Familiar (?) Old Friends

Posted on by

Genshiken Second Season Episode 4 features both cosplay antics and some Comic Festival drama. My overall thoughts can be found in my reviews of the equivalent manga chapters: 62 63 64

You can also see my thoughts on Ogiue cosplaying Azusa from K-On! The anime went and kind of made it more…fanservicey?

One of the differences between the anime and manga in this episode have to do with format pacing, as the arrival of Ogiue’s old hometown companions occurs at the end of Chapter 63 and acts as a cliffhanger, whereas the same event occurs in the middle of the second half of Episode 4 and resolves by the end. Some of the dramatic impact disappeared from the scene in my opinion, and I think that they could’ve done more, whether with timing or music choice or something else.

Also, I noticed that because some lines of dialogue were cut from the anime, the Crunchyroll subs didn’t quite accurately translate certain points. Yabusaki wasn’t saying that Genshiken president is a perfect job for Ogiue, the line was meant to convey that Yajima isn’t at all surprised that Ogiue would have such a past of making yaoi out of her boyfriend and the ensuing trauma which came out of it. The manga dialogue also has Yabusaki mention that it was her and the other Manga Society girls who pushed her to jump out of a window, a tinge of guilt in her expression.

That’s me nitpicking, though. The real purpose of this post is actually to ask a question.

I’m really into Genshiken, and while I don’t have the whole thing memorized, it’s something I’ve obviously thought about a lot. Thus, when Nakajima first shows up again, I had a strong reaction, somewhere between “oh snaaaappppp” and “holy crap.” It was a big deal for me, and I remember my body tensing up and me having to re-read that point just to let it all sink in. That’s because I recognized Nakajima and Shigeta instantly, and I’ve come to realize that simply not everyone has Genshiken on the brain to the point that they would have that instant reaction. Not only that, but for those who stuck with the anime exclusively, the series never delved heavily into Ogiue’s past, so this is the first time those viewers are learning about her suicide attempt and the events surrounding it.

So, what I want to ask is, what was your impression when Nakajima first arrives in Nidaime?

Did you recall her immediately? Did you need some of the dialogue to jog your memory? Did you totally forget who she was? For those who are anime-only, did you learn something significant? Could you remember Nakajima from that one episode from Genshiken 2?