Genshiken

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Alternative Titles

English: Genshiken

Synonyms: 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

Premiered: Fall 2004

Broadcast: Sundays at Unknown

Producers: Genco, Lantis, Kids Station, Toshiba Entertainment

Licensors: Media Blasters

Studios: Palm Studio

Source: Manga

Genres: Slice of Life, Comedy, Parody

Duration: 25 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 7.66¹ (scored by 61,807 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #1123²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #981

Members: 151,080

Favorites: 1,335

7.66

Ranked #1123Popularity #981Members 151,080

Fall 2004TVPalm Studio

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Episodes: /12

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Synopsis

Kanji Sasahara is an introverted college freshman just looking for a place to fit in. One day, he happens to stumble upon the club known as the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture—otherwise known as Genshiken—that serves to bring the full spectrum of otaku culture together. His first visit to the club, however, does not end well as Sasahara's pride is crushed by his senior, Harunobu Madarame, and he leaves the meeting in full denial of his otaku nature. However, after befriending club member Makoto Kousaka, who turns out to be a hardcore otaku despite his looks, Sasahara becomes more involved with club activities which include obsessing over their favorite anime, reading doujinshi, and attending conventions. There, he meets other interesting people like Kousaka's vehemently non-otaku girlfriend Saki Kasukabe, who strives to turn her boyfriend into a "normal guy."

While Saki struggles to understand otaku culture and her boyfriend's love for it, Sasahara finds himself enjoying his time at Genshiken, gradually shedding any denial he once had about being an otaku and immersing himself in an otaku lifestyle.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Genshiken
Spin-off:	Kujibiki Unbalance
Sequel:	Genshiken OVA

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Madarame, Harunobu

Main

Hiyama, Nobuyuki
Japanese

Kasukabe, Saki

Main

Yukino, Satsuki
Japanese

Oono, Kanako

Main

Kawasumi, Ayako
Japanese

Sasahara, Kanji

Main

Ooyama, Takanori
Japanese

Kousaka, Makoto

Main

Saiga, Mitsuki
Japanese

Tanaka, Souichiro

Main

Seki, Tomokazu
Japanese

Kugayama, Mitsunori

Main

Nomura, Kenji
Japanese

Shodai Kaichou

Supporting

Ueda, Yuuji
Japanese

Kuchiki, Manabu

Supporting

Ishida, Akira
Japanese

Mizudori, Tsutomu

Supporting

Endou, Junichi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Ikehata, Takashi

Director

Aketagawa, Jin

Sound Director

Mizushima, Tsutomu

Episode Director, Storyboard, Screenplay, Series Composition

Tonokatsu, Hideki

Episode Director, Storyboard

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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)

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Ending Theme

"Biidama (びいだま)" by Saori Atsumi

More reviews

Reviews

Mar 5, 2008

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

Psychonaut (All reviews)

176 people found this review helpful

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.

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Jan 20, 2007

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 10

OtakuFreak (All reviews)

73 people found this review helpful

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, read more

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Apr 23, 2009

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

shinigamidono (All reviews)

56 people found this review helpful

NOTE: This is a review of the entire Genshiken anime series including both seasons and the three-episode OVA.

The first question on your mind might be the same one that was on mine when I first heard about Genshiken; so I think it might be appropriate to answer it right away. What exactly is a genshiken? Genshiken is an abbreviation. This anime revolves around a university club called [GEN]dai [SHI]kaku Bunka [KEN]kyūkai which translates to “The society for the study of modern visual culture”. The club was, as it is explained in the anime, originally formed ten years prior in order to bridge the gap between read more

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Jun 28, 2007

12 of 12 episodes seen

Overall Rating: 8

jet2r0cks (All reviews)

44 people found this review helpful

I think that this is one important anime in an Otaku\'s life. This shows how we as Otakus live and try to mingle with people like us. Some few things that I learned are that male otakus like cat ears, maid outfits, childhood friend or little sister like characters. Two, real Otakus take everything anime/manga related seriously.

This is the anime that got me back into being an Otaku. It brought back so many memories that I decided to live my old life and spend all my money on anime memorabilia once again. The anime made me wish I could go to the Comiket (?). I\'m read more

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	Poll: Genshiken Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Trie - Nov 7, 2007	55 replies	by Ochitsukaseru »» Feb 3, 8:10 AM
	Poll: Genshiken Episode 8 Discussion Fye_DX - Oct 3, 2007	48 replies	by Deagolt »» Jun 14, 2020 4:56 PM