げんしけん

GENSHIKEN

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
9
RELEASE
May 25, 2006
CHAPTERS
55

DESCRIPTION

It’s spring of freshman year, and Kanji Sasahara has a difficult dilemma. Should he declare his love for manga and anime fandom by joining an otaku club, like he has always wanted to? Is he prepared to deal with the social stigma attached to being an otaku? Meanwhile, Saki Kasakabe has her own otaku conundrum. How can she turn her boyfriend, anime fanboy Makoto, into a normal guy? Kanji follow his heart as does Saki. When both Kanji and Makoto join Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Saki chases Makoto through the various activities of the club from cosplaying and comic conventions, to video gaming and anime model figures. Saki finds otaku to be more than she imagined, but not necessarily in a good way.

(Source: Kodansha USA)

CAST

Harunobu Madarame
Chika Ogiue
Saki Kasukabe
Kanako Oono
Kanji Sasahara
Makoto Kousaka
Susanna Hopkins
Souichiro Tanaka
Shodai Kaichou
Manabu Kuchiki
Angela Burton
Haraguchi
Keiko Sasahara
Kato
Mitsunori Kugayama
Kaminaga
Yuuko Nakajima
Sawazaki
Makita
Konno
Naoko Asada
Mina Shigeta
Kimura
Kumiko Yabusaki
Fuji

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO GENSHIKEN

ANIME ComedyGenshiken

OVA ComedyGenshiken OVA

ANIME ComedyGenshiken 2

MANGA ComedyGenshiken Nidaime

Cover Art for Genshiken Hairu Ranto no Yabou: Return of the OTAKU

NOVEL ComedyGenshiken Hairu Ranto no Yabou: Return of the OTAKU

REVIEWS

thewilhelm
100/100
Genshiken and the realization of change
Genshiken (Manga, 2002-2006, Kio Shimoku/Kodansha)

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Do you know when something is so perfect and touches you so deeply that you think it was made for you? Well, this is what this masterpiece created by Kio Shimoku means to me.

In 2002, some local friends and I created a "Japanese Animation Club", where every Saturday we would delve deep into an OVA or a couple of episodes of an Anime series, using a 29" CRT television for that. After each thrilling exhibition of what Japan had best in terms of animation, we would have a chat about what we had just experienced. Internet access back then was very limited, so the best way to discover new things was by reading niche magazines about anime, manga, and games, and sharing information with your club friends. Going out to buy manga and read it at our established point downtown was also very common.

Some of us were very interested in video games as well, like me, so we had a lot of gaming nights playing the best that era had to offer (Playstation 2, Dreamcast, and some classic games as well, like Super Nintendo and Mega Drive). When the Sony PSP came about, wow, we used to game all day together!

It was marvelous.

The thing is.... it ended.

In Genshiken you see that same dynamic happening. It shows how much you can build, learn and grow with a group of friends until it has to end. Despite not having a proper main protagonist, displaying the club itself as such, Harunobu Madarame is a prime example of the slow road that is realizing things change and that is inevitable. They started as college students, having a lot of time to enjoy their hobbies and have fun.

One day though, jobs must be chased down. Classes finish. You graduate.

Despite having very interesting displays of doubt, shame, and character growth throughout the series and showing one of the most accurate depictions of the early-2000s otaku fandom as it really was, even with the proper names for the media consumed, what Genshiken shows us is that one day, things probably are going to change and you gotta be prepared to it.

Today, at 33 years old, I can say more than never that you need to enjoy every step of the way or you will be bound to wander.

Thanks for being with me for 20+ years, guys.

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Genshiken (Mangá, 2002-2006, Kio Shimoku/Kodansha)

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Sabe quando algo é tão perfeito e te toca tão profundamente que você pensa que foi feito para você?

Bem, é isso que esta obra-prima criada por Kio Shimoku significa para mim.

Em 2002, alguns amigos locais e eu criamos um "Clube de Animação Japonesa", onde todos os sábados nos aprofundávamos num OVA ou em alguns episódios de uma série de Anime, usando para isso uma televisão CRT de 29". o que o Japão tinha de melhor em termos de animação, conversávamos sobre o que tínhamos acabado de vivenciar. O acesso à Internet naquela época era muito limitado, então a melhor maneira de descobrir coisas novas era lendo revistas de nicho sobre animes, mangás e jogos, e compartilhar informações com os amigos do clube. Sair para comprar mangá e lê-lo em nosso ponto estabelecido no centro da cidade também era muito comum.

Alguns de nós também tínhamos muito interesse em videogames, como eu, então tivemos muitas noites de jogos jogando o melhor que aquela época tinha a oferecer (Playstation 2, Dreamcast e alguns jogos clássicos também, como Super Nintendo e Mega Drive ). Quando surgiu o Sony PSP, nossa, jogávamos o dia todo juntos!

Foi maravilhoso.

A questão é... acabou.

Em Genshiken você vê a mesma dinâmica acontecendo. Mostra o quanto você pode construir, aprender e crescer com um grupo de amigos até o fim. Apesar de não ter um protagonista principal adequado, apresentando o próprio clube como tal, Harunobu Madarame é um excelente exemplo do caminho lento que é perceber que as coisas mudam e isso é inevitável. Eles começaram como estudantes universitários, tendo muito tempo para curtir seus hobbies e se divertir.

Um dia, porém, os empregos deverão ser perseguidos. As aulas terminam. Você se forma.

Apesar de ter demonstrações muito interessantes de dúvida, vergonha e crescimento do personagem ao longo da série e mostrar uma das representações mais precisas do fandom otaku do início dos anos 2000 como realmente era, mesmo com os nomes próprios da mídia consumida, o que Genshiken nos mostra é que um dia as coisas provavelmente vão mudar e você tem que estar preparado para isso.

Hoje, aos 33 anos, posso dizer mais do que nunca que você precisa aproveitar cada passo do caminho ou estará fadado a vagar.

Obrigado por estarem comigo há mais de 20 anos, pessoal.
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