Alternative TitlesSynonyms: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture Japanese: げんしけん
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 12
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 10, 2004 to Dec 26, 2004
Duration:
25 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.051 (scored by 14311 users)
Ranked: #3022
Popularity: #108
Members: 23,673
Favorites: 453 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
comedy otaku school slice of life |
SynopsisSasahara Kanji is a college freshman who decides to join a student society to share his hidden thoughts on manga, anime and gaming.
When he first visited Genshiken, short for "Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyuu Kai" (Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture), his groundless pride was destroyed by the plotting of Madarame, a sophomore student in Genshiken, but he still couldn't admit that he is an otaku.
However, as he participates in society activities such as visiting dojin (private publishing) shops and anime festivals, and hangs out with other society members Kosaka (a hardcore otaku despite his extreme eccentricities and good looks), Kosaka's girlfriend Kasuga Saki (who isn't really an otaku), Ohno (a cosplayer) and the others, he opens his mind and resolves that he will make his way into the otaku world. With their help, Sasahara slowly adjusts to otaku life in Genshiken.
[taken from AnimeNfo] |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Genshiken
Spin-off: Kujibiki Unbalance
Sequel: Genshiken OVA, Genshiken 2
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Psychonaut
58 of 78 people found this review helpful
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12 of 12 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
If you were ever sitting around with your friends one day talking about anime, munching on pocky, sifting eagerly through the plunder and spoils after a grueling day at your favorite convention, wishing you could find a date, dreaming about selling your own Japanese animation idea, and wondering about your future, well then, my fellow otaku, a show has been made about you.
Genshiken, adapted from the manga by Kio Shimoku, is about a college club for otaku who never quite grew out of the doujinshi, cosplay, and resin-kit building phase of their lives, and how the members of the club find support and acceptance in the eyes and hearts of each other when the rest of the world labels them as, in the words of one of the characters, "failed human beings". Reoccurring themes throughout the anime are the ritualistic attendance of a Tokyo-based doujinshi convention, Comi-Fes, hanging out aimlessly in the club room discussing the latest installment of Kujibiki Unbalance (a fictitious anime series that often acts as the catalyst for many of the series' early events) and dealing with real life vs. otakudom.
The story of Genshiken, much like the relationships between the characters, starts off uncertain and it may seem to the uninformed viewer at times stuck in second gear. But as the characters begin to mingle and expose their personalities more and more, so too does the storyline of Genshiken grow in cohesiveness and also direction. Fans of the slice of life genre will not be daunted by the slow beginning, and will find themselves hooked by the third or fourth episode, as the storyline picks up the pace and wastes no time with the pestilent fluff that is the downfall of many mainstream series today. In a lot of ways, Genshiken reminds me of Azumanga Daioh in that as the series begins, you're indoctrinated into a newly formed circle of friends, almost like a silent observer, but you feel like you're there because of the strong storytelling and realism; by the end, as characters move on with their lives, you feel that profound sense of sadness that one feels leaving their friends behind from high school or college as the next phase of life's journey awaits them.
Artistically, Genshiken is on the mark. Tsutomu Mizushima, who adapted the series from Shimoku's manga, was true to form in favoring a mute, more realistic color palette and style of artwork. The background artwork is never shunned and scarcely ever will a frame or series of frames be blatantly recycled. Viewers might be puzzled, however, as toward the end of the series there seems to be some sort of shift in both coloration and style.
The sound effects of Genshiken are average, but the voice acting might as well be deemed stellar. Clearly, the brightest and most illustrious of Japan's voice talent was assembled for this job. In a series like Genshiken, where bells and whistles and intense action sequences or gratuitous nudity or fan service can't distract you from poor voice acting, the seiyuu chosen from each role is a critical choice. Each voice actor fits their role flawlessly, especially the character of Harunobu Madarame (voiced by Nobuyuki Hiyama), a high-strung, ultra-hardcore otaku and fetishist.
I'm a tough critic, so my numbers may be skewed from what you're used to reading. But truth be told, Genshiken deserves a 9 when it comes to characters. Very rarely do you come across characters in an anime with real problems, real vices, and real dilemmas. Genshiken characters are not stock, folks. They're you. They're your friends. And you'll get attached to them so much that it hurts. It is purely the characters that drive Genshiken, an echo of a world all to familiar to the series' sympathetic viewers.
You'll doubtlessly get a lot of enjoyment out of Genshiken, and each time you watch it, you'll learn something new, not only about the show, but about culture and the world you live in. Henceforth, the replay-ability of Genshiken is pretty high up there. Overall, it's a great show and worth forking over money for that pretty DVD boxed set your friends will envy. read more
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OtakuFreak
43 of 63 people found this review helpful
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12 episodes
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
Well, when I first herd of this anime from my friend, I was thinking "An anime about anime fans? This is gotta be some kind of joke". My friend lent me Genshiken, and like I said it was a joke, but not in a bad way. This anime is supposed to be a drama kind of thing but in reallity it's more comedy then drama. It pretty much sums out ever Otaku's life and interests. For those who have friends (and so forth) that don't understand anime and the Otaku world this is the perfect anime to introduce them too.
The story begins in Tokyo University, where a very small club of shy and discouraged people waste their day watching anime, playing hentai games, reading manga, and building Gundam models. The main character is Sassahara, and he's like everyone else in the club. But unlike the others, he's always nervous and still has a long way to becoming a true otaku like his other clubroommates. Through out the show, Sassahara learns more and more of what it means to be an otaku.
Meanwhile the story also shifts between other group members, like Madarame. Madarame is pretty much the head hanco of the club. He's an expert on anime and hentai (and prefers hentai over the real deal). He's very nervous of women, and has some what and attraction to the club's anti-anime girl, Saki.
Saki falls in love with one of her old childhood friends, Kosaka, which happens to be an advid anime gamer. Saki likes the fact that Kosaka is a hunky dream boat, what she hates about him is his addiction to video games and anime. She tries everything she can to make Kosaka give up his interest, even put some of the other club members down. Eventually Saki becomes a member of the group and then we notice signs of her slowly getting into Cosplay.
The story is very good. I also did some research on this anime as well, and this version I saw was a renewed version of one that they made after the Gundam hype. This anime bases itself on the advertisement of another anime called,Kubjuki Unbalanced (sorry if I spelt it wrong). The previous one revolved around Gundam and many other famous anime's of the late 70's through the early 80's.
All in all, this is an anime worth seeing over and over again (even the theme song is kinda addictive). This is one you shouldn't pass up. So if you are an Otaku and want everyone around you to understand you better, just say "watch Genshiken". read more
Recommendations
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shows about being an otaku...experiences, people you meet and the trouble being part of a subculture or fitting in the "normal" world...NHK goes even further...the main protag is a NEET and not only a plain otaku. Genshiken is much more light-hearted opposed to the often very dark sarcastic humor of NHK.
It's all about otakuness and relationships between people.
Genshiken is an anime about otaku.
NHK is about hikkikomori.
hikkikomori and otaku share many traits,and so the animes are similar. Although NHK has a serious undertone to it because it actually looks into the disadvantages and reprocussions of being a hikkikimori.
its more seriusly into the Okatu thng.. its as much as funny.. not much school stuff involved but it has more emotions involved in it.. etc its awesome
Both are otaku and slice of life themed. On a personal note, Genshiken is better than NHK Ni Youkosu.
Like Genshiken, NHK deals with different geek and otaku subcultures in Japan. Both can be simultaneously comedic and uncomfortable. However, where Genshiken stays primarily focused on light and geeky themes, NHK delves into the hidden, desolate lives that many social outcasts have found themselves in.
Many people are attracted to Genshiken because they see a part of themselves in it, and personally know the unique humor of being an outcast. But at the same time, the reality can also be very lonely, and even painful. In the end, NHK ultimately centers around one question: when a person has become completely trapped in a hopeless life, do they still have the ability to turn around and come back? Genshiken, on the other hand, speaks for otaku culture as a whole: at the core of their beings, are they really as strange as they're made out to be?
Atmosphere in these two are about the same.
We have couple otaku, depressed mood but in a funny way, parody, and sometimes even som girlbeauty hangin around.
However, while there are pretty darn serious moments in NHK, Genshiken has only those moments when they are NOT bombing comedy.
So Genshiken for comedy and slice-of-life, NHK ni Youkoso as well for comedy, but together with moving story.
Both animes are about otakus or NEETs, and the main characters have poor experiences in finding jobs and try to create a game and doujinshi. Otakus themed animes are more into how to interact with people but at time they include comedy scenes or ecchi. NHK is much better for its comedy.
Both are looks into the social structure of Japan, primariy of the otaku subculture. This similar thread runs throughout the series.
Genshiken is a comedy focused solely on the otaku lifestyle, while NHK is a dramatic look at the larger society and at the human condition as a whole.
Genshiken deals with otaku's and Welcome to the NHK deals with a hikikamori and a otaku.They both had the same feel.
Both are about people who are otaku's even though Welcome to the NHK has a more serious tone and Genshiken is comedy and everyday school life.
both are comedies at the first sight but infact have deeper meaning to peoples lifes , the otakus in genshiken are mostly bad looking and ..lame while the main character in NHK is a hikomori and might be considered lame too as he is insecure and lives a life almost like an otaku
both animes deal with oktaku-ness. i had some good laughs watching both these series
Both series concentrate on otakus. NHK takes a more serious approach and deals with hikikomoris in particular while Genshiken takes a much more comedic approach and deals with the otaku culture in general. Both however deal with a lot of similar things such as spending all your earnings on "otaku merchandise", otaku clothing, cosplay, women and the otakus...
These two shows are not similar enough to say that if you like one you will definitely like the other. However, if you find the subject matter of otakus and the otaku culture interesting, you will likely have an interest in both of these series.
It explores the Japanese subcultres in the same way like Genshiken but goes a step further while exploring many subcultres
Both animes share similar themes dealing with otakus. Genshiken's story is more broad, exploring the comings and goings of an otaku club in a university, while NHK's story is more focused on the story of an otaku hikikomori and a girl who is trying to help him
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Both depicts deeply in Japanese culture in both a humorous and true way.
A must watch!
Both animes deal with the topic of otakuness and subtopics like games, manga, anime itself, cosplay, soundtracks and what not. Genshiken can deal with the topics in a serious way, creating an ambiance of pride and what not, and Lucky Star derives the topic into a silly story of life, more for the sake of the viewers' laughter.
Lucky Star and Genshiken are different, yes. One series has a bunch of cute girls doing random and crazy day-to-day things, and the other has a cast of mostly unattractive guys trying to keep their anime, game and manga club up and running. But both these anime should be a treat for any otaku viewer. Both have a lot of references to anime, manga and video games. And both are pretty funny. Different types of anime, same type of otaku.
Both have a lot of humor, references to another animes, and otakus! =)
both are about otakus but have different styles, one is with cute females and the other with university students..mostly unatractive , genshiken has a plot but lucky star dosnt.both have great comedy
Genshiken is a more serious and realistic version of Lucky Star, although focusing on male characters. Both series deal with "Ero-games", although they are more "featured" in Genshiken.
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Opening Theme#1: "Kujibiki Unbalance (くじびきアンバランス)" by UNDER17 (ep 1)
#2: "My Pace Daioh (マイペース大王)" by manzo (eps 2-12)
Ending Theme"Biidama (びいだま)" by Saori Atsumi
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Related ClubsThese otaku's club!, !~~tsubasalover's Friendships~~!, Random Anime & Manga Club, Hikikomori Kyoukai!, Mole=Moe, Anime Fans Who Have A Life, SKYclub ~ SKY Animes, #MAL_KL, seinen & josei, Kionniko's Stuff, SOS for Modern Visual Culture, Just Noticed, Otaku, MALs Comedy Club, society for the study of genshiken, Against all odds, Anime Madness, El club de los señores feudales el gran Marques Dols y el glorioso Conde Jous y sus dicharacheros criados, Oliver's Secret Yaoi Night Club (Belgium), Yon Toko OtakuThe Engrish Club, iCarly fanclub, College Anime Lovers, Banzai Conventions, First President Alliance, ~* SAIGA MITSUKI FANS *~, Genshiken-club, MSU Anime Club, CLUB 4 VIRGINS, The Otaku of Anime, Genshiken Otakus, Slice of Anime Life, TGIF Club, Failed Attempt, GHHS Anime club, Pirate Party MAL, BANZAI! federation, Anime is Life and Love, FC: Otaku, I'm an Otaku with a LIFE !, [_Comical Corner_], Japanese Pop Culture Club (JPCC), Fang-tan, Anime Connection, Parody Lovers!, Genshiken, 2D Marriage Supporters, Sensei! - Ninomiya-kun!, Texas Ani-Cons, Smoker's club, --||international Hikikomori Kyoukai||--, OtAku-sb's Anime FC, The Lighthearted Anime Club, Grammar Nazis see all
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