For most fans of anime or manga, we might all once experienced a moment when we went through a phase where we couldn't stop watching/reading a piece of work from a franchise until we get that feeling of, “ah, now that was a masterpiece....”. I know I have and those moments feels great especially for something we've enjoyed. However, it may also feel a bit painful as well. Then again, there's always a better series out there in the future that comes by. (most times anyways) Why am I saying this? Well, that's because I've enjoyed the previous seasons of Genshiken and never thought the day another season would be adapted. Then, a news came in the month of January of 2013. Genshiken gets another adaptation. From there, I thought, “Thank you wishing stone, thank you”.
Genshiken Nidaime is a new season adapted from the manga of the same name written by Shimoku Kio. There's a few important points to take notice here though. Even though the series is titled as such, it is imperative to watch the previous seasons and from my perspectives the OVAs as well. The reason being that is because some of the main characters from the previous seasons all make their debuts but plays more of a minor role. Therefore, to get a satisfying experience, I recommend watching the previous seasons in order.
For a brief refreshment, the show Genshiken is an abbreviation of a club's name - Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai. As for the club itself, it consists of a group of young college students that embraces the otaku culture and its lifestyle. As such, prepare to experience references from other franchise (anime/manga/video games) thrown at your face every episode. These can include popular anime from both the past and present times such as Madoka, School Days, Squid Girl, Bakemonogatari, and the list goes so on. The show constantly portrays the otaku culture as a fun way of lifestyle presented in a comedy manner. This is especially true involving the characters' cast of this series.
This season follows a set of characters that offers a different type of enjoyment for viewers. Chika Ogiue now plays a sort of leader role in her position at the club. In fact, she even manages to recruit new members with her artistical skills. These new characters offer a fun new outlook on the show especially in the comedy department. It's no surprise though that the new characters seems to have some trouble adjusting to the club at first. In fact, one particular character is a cross-dresser that seems to have trouble getting in and out of his clothing. At many variances, it plays on the gender bender trope with humorous results along with compromising situations. However despite this, the clubs' members continues to bring forth entertainment and offers great promise.
For returning characters, there are some noticeable ones such as Susanna Hopins and Marunobu Madarame. In particular, Susanna takes the role of the cosplay girl portraying as various characters from other popular series. For fans unfamiliar with her, Susanna is the type of girl who is antisocial but comes with a great fascination in yaoi. The way she blurts out various anime and manga references is also hilariously amusing. Marunobu's return to the show is also quite refreshing as there's not much change to his character. He is still in love with a particular girl from the previous series but at the same time offers to help out a new crossdressing member of the club. Other characters from the show also makes their cameos from here and there to progresses through the slice of life style of Genshiken.
The new club members might be a bit difficult to get used to at first. Even for some people, the gender bender theme plays on the new member of the club, Kenjirou Hato. Nicknamed as the “mysterious beauty”, Hato embraces on a feminine side by putting on a wig, speaking in a feminine voice, and attends the club meetings as a 'girl'. This spells out some awkward moments and confusion at first. Even later on, his interactions with Madarabe creates tension. It doesn't also help by the fact that Hato is fan of BL and this brings forth even more complexity in their relationship. Along with our cross-dresser, there's also a fujoshi and a somewhat antisocial girl introduced to the club. All three members brings a new and natural experience to Genshiken as we witness their daily lives and experience the way of an otaku.
Because Genshiken plays on the otaku culture, there's plenty of activities related to it beyond just cosplaying and referencing. In this season, the club also work on their own to present to the world their own pieces of work. These comes in the form of BL manga and doujinshi. With the new three members in check, they all offer their talent in building their dreams. These dreams takes them to places such as the Comic Festival, a large anime/manga convention. They each possesses their own skills whether it's background imagery, page cleanup, or getting by deadlines.
The comedy of the show is generally tolerable although sometimes feels a bit repetitive. The heavy doses of BL vibes can feel like a loop at times since it's played out a bit more than what I expected it to be. Furthermore, there's the character interactions that offers various forms of entertainment. In one way, most of the character seems to get along well. On the other hand, there are times when we scratch our heads and may ask 'what just happened?' For me though, Genshiken's character interactions focuses more on reality. It portrays it as a slice of life anime and succeeds in presenting the otaku culture. Viewers gets the chance to feel as if themselves are there with the club. The way the members work around the club to perfect their art also shows how dedicated they are. The pieces of comedy connects together even with a touch of supernatural to it with a floating spirit in particular episodes. If comedy is what you're looking for, then Genshiken will not be a painful experience. However, it can be somewhat painful to witness a few of the characters' interactions to sudden situations or scenes in the show. It becomes a bit cliched and predictable along with its awkwardness. Trust me, if you're a guy, then it might even be more awkward.
The artwork of this season also remains not only consistent but also realistic. The simple club room is presented exactly as the way it should be with the background anime/manga images. The merchandise that appears here and there also fun to take notice. Along with that, character designs gives a refreshing appeal to how an otaku is dressed such as Madarame's glasses, Susanna's various cosplaying outfits, or Kuchiki's body proportions. Even Susanna's American friends gives off their refreshing feelings of being foreigners accompanied with their English accents.
Unfortunately, soundtrack is perhaps one of the lesser focus of Genshiken. There's not much strength in the OST as most of the soundtrack remains generally the same and hardly noticeable. The OP song “Genshi, Joshi wa, Taiyou Datta." by Sumire Uesaka is perhaps the only catchy tone with its J-Pop like rhythms accompanied by its montage plays. However, if we talk about voice acting, then there's definitely some to take notice of. In particular, Kazutomi Yamamoto gets praise for her double portrayal in voice acting because of the gender bender involving her character. Voicing a character with a dual personality is not easy but she pulls it off marvelously. Naomi Ohzora's voice for Susanna can also be noticeable for someone who plays a girl that is not sociable towards others. The accents of the foreign characters seems more out of place though and can be more taken in as comedy although not too impressive on any scale.
The Genshiken franchise is the ultimate portrayal of the otaku culture. It's a place where we get to see the lifestyle of otaku in various ways. The cosplaying and references brings forth both an entertaining and refreshing appeal to fans. It might also bring back some nostalgia as well for fans of the original series. There's a lack of highlights though in some of the main characters from the previous seasons so be aware of that. I don't take this as a backlash though because it gives chances for our new characters to shine that offers potential. That potential and execution carried out might give you a different impression. However, it's not just this series that impressed me. It's the way of Genshiken. Otaku isn't just a culture for the kids in this show, it's a way of life.
