Forum - View topicGenshiken as a whole
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Viga_of_stars
 Posts: 1240 Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier |
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This topic came up in another forum I frequent. Now that the series is done in America what do you think?
I love the story throughout. It's more than a story with otaku and happy anime references but it's filled with character developments. You can see that when you follow each character. (except for Kuchii. He's crazy all the way. Gag character I call him. Kohsaka is somewhat stationary too.) It's filled with situations and slice of life stuff in the world of otaku. Same thing that happened to you but in this type of world. I like seeing all the characters pop out different sides to them in each story presented. Ohno in the later chapters is so awesome! spoiler[(spoiler: Jesse my friend and I call her bad side Dark Ohno. Ever since Oguie came around and it surfaced she became a bit more dimensional as a character, IMO. Plus it's funny when she uses the mask for evilness at first and her outburst about yaoi in vol. 8. and in English in 7 verfied that fact. )] That later added Ogiue created new tension and a reason to continue the manga when the Sasahara and Saki story lines were dragging. When Ogiue took center it managed to breath new life into the series. Watching the art get better throughout the series was awesome. Compare the work from vol. 1 to vol. 5 to vol. 9. You an see the difference. At first it seemed Shimoku Kio was trying to be more realistic in his drawings. Probably because of the fact that it IS based on his college experience. The art was good but not great. He eased up on the lines and stylized them some more. Less detailed from before but just enough. Even his Kujibiki Unbalanced got a little makeover to be more cute and moe like to fit the type of story it was. You can even see his art work change in vol. one as you keep reading. I think Del Rey was perfect to bring this series to America. They added a little lexicon in the back and included the extras that Japan had. The one bad thing was the Del Rey took forever to release a new one. I waited 9 months for vol. 9! I recommend this for people who either loved Otaku no Video, Comic Party and the like or has been a fan for a long while. I don't recommend this for a newbie fan as much but hey, if they like it I wont stop them at all. |
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fenriswol7
Posts: 5 |
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Without doubt, Genshiken is one of my favorite things I have ever read in any genre. For me it all started with absolutely loving the first anime, and desperately wanting the story to continue. As a result of this, I ended up buying my very first manga ever (which I believe was actually volume 2). I just couldn't get enough of the series, and kept buying more until finally, as of Wednesday, I have the entire manga series.
What really speaks to me about this story is the sense of familiarity I have with the characters. All of the characters seem like real people with their own interesting quirks and insecurities. I can empathize with Sasahara's initial shyness, with Ogiue's guarded behavior, and especially Madarame's hopeless infatuation. Perhaps the best thing about the whole group is that no matter how hard life treats them, the Genshiken is always there to give them companionship and hope. Even if they all are hopeless otaku, they have the wonderful ability to be otaku together, and that's what I'm going to miss most about the Genshiken manga. What manga will ever give me that same feeling of being otaku together? |
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Viga_of_stars
Posts: 1240 Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier |
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If you loved Genshiken you can get a similar feeling from watching Otaku no Video or reading Comic Party. You might even get that a little from Aoi House but not as much. Otaku no Video is definite though. I wish that had a manga to go with it.
That familarity I found in Genshiken drawn me closer. I'm a mix of Madarame and Saki myself. With just a pinch of Ogiue. |
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Kotonaru
 Posts: 23 |
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Yeah, I know how you feel. Defidently one of the high points of this manga. I loved every minute of it, even though alot of people seem to think its boring. Genshiken to me was unlike any other manga I've read, it was one of those that you could really relate to. As I get more into anime and manga, I find myself becoming Madarame, heh  .
Another cool thing about it, I thought, was basicly just that it was an anime and manga club  . If I ever saw an anime or manga club I would join immediately, because to me it's way too cool  Anyways, to me Genshiken as a whole was amazing. (for those who only watch the anime, dont forget that the second season will be finished soon in japan .. )
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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Genshiken was definetly something I found to be good. In it was comprised that of the soul of those who love what we love. But in college, you also get into the naughty stuff too
 I liked it because it reminded me of how people were in Japan when it came to those hardcore dedicated fans, which I knew some while I was living there too.
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bookworm007
Posts: 3 |
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Genshiken is definatly one of my favorites. I see myself as a mix of sasahara and ogiue, and there are times where i say to myself "if sasahara/oguie can do X, then you can do Y!" I don't exactly admire them, but they are very relatable, I see myself and people I know within the characters.
I just got book 9 two days ago, and it was a satisfying ending. It still had a few loose ends (I want to know what's going to happen to ohno and kuchii, I can't really see them as part of the workforce), but overall it wraps things up in a nice way. I didn't love the last chapter; I think that it should have stopped at the second to last chapter (which had a stronger feeling of finality to me) and either incoperated the actual graduation into it, or made it into a bonus story. you get the sense that it was trying to be one last hurrah, but it felt dragged on by that point.Still, it's one of my favorite series, and i've been watching the anime on and off. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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It was a good ending where the setting of the story was one in a college. I've seen this happen in quite a few series that have school settings, and what happens is that the story will come to a close once the main character or characters graduate. It's just do you end the storyline before they go off to another world. It would've been nice to see how the Ogiue/Sasahara relationship would have developed as a whole, but we got a good part of it. |
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chicogrande
 Posts: 190 Location: Huntsville, Alabama |
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On an emotional level, Genshiken made me melancholic and happy at the same time. It touched a part of me that longs for the kind of friendship and companionship shown among its pages. It is, with a bit of sadness, that I see this current chapter of the membership of the Genshiken come to a close. With the inevitable passage of time, I say goodbye to a group of characters that are moving on in their lives, some with regrets and all with great expectations.
Genshiken, the manga, was a fine purchase. Worth every penny. One of the very first that I was willing to purchase for as long as it was published. See, I'm sad.
But, I'm happy too.
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Kotonaru
Posts: 23 |
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yeah, It's good to see that I wasn't the only person who felt that way. None of my friends are otaku and think its wierd that I'm such a huge fan of anime and manga. They dont even know what otaku is... *wipes away a tear* hehe well im glad everyone enjoyed it like I did
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Ayokillyou
 Posts: 29 Location: Brooklyn, New York City |
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Fabulous comic.
Every nerd should read it. The middle/late volumes made me so nostalgic for the good old days in my old comic/anime clubs. The thing that makes it great is that Shimoku strikes a balance between making fun of the characters and revealing a deep love and fondness for them in spite of (or because of?) their deep flaws, obsessions, quirks and so on. |
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