Another series from this past anime season was Genshiken Nidaime, which picked up from the previous seasons titled Genshiken. It features an almost whole new cast, and follows the antics of the otaku club for another season. I enjoyed this show, but I certainly come from a bias that compares it to the original experience I had with the first 2 seasons of the show that aired back in 2004. So here is my review spoiler free.
Synopsis
Whether you’re familiar with Genshiken or not, this season introduces a largely whole new cast of characters, so those previously unfamiliar with the series can jump in. It’s about the The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, which basically breaks down to be a bunch of otakus obsessed with anime, video games, and cosplay. The old crew has graduated, with the only links left being Ohno and Sasahara’s girlfriend who is the new club president, Ogiue. Now the club is comprised mostly of “rotten girls” who are into BL (boy’s love) and are female otakus. The times have changed in Genshiken which used to be almost exclusively male club members, but the guys make re-appearances, with Madarame being the center of attention for a multitude of episodes. Although there’s a large cast, the story focuses mainly on the character development of cross-dresser Hato, and his attempts to be accepted by a group of women. Madarame helps Hato a lot in this regard, and Hato also helps Madarame back, and they end up learning a lot about themselves as they enter adulthood. The students banter back and forth, and get up to some pretty nerdy stuff, which is fun to see for any anime fan.
Presentation
It’s been a number of years since Genshiken was first televised, and since then there’s been a lot of improvements visually to the art style. Now the animation is polished compared to the first 2 seasons of Genshiken which were animated a bit sloppily. Seeing the drastic change surprised me, as I didn’t know what to expect when I pressed the play button for the first episode. The art looks really great, and the old characters are cleaned up for a more fluid look to fit the update. It makes characters like Madarame look much less geeky, but he still sports the signature snaggle tooth, showing that they’ve still kept to their roots. Each character’s design is interesting and contrasts one another as there are characters like Sue who don bright blonde hair. The show in signature fashion pays homage to other animes by means of cosplay, and background touches like figures and posters, which is fun to see visually and offers for a bit of fanservice to the otaku fans who came back for a new episode each week. Naturally they had the returning voice cast for the old characters, which can be appreciated by the returning fans of the series. Both the opening and ending songs are nice on the ears, and every now and then they throw in a pop hit which any otaku could recognize. The Second Generation with its impressive updates get a 8.5 out of 10 for presentation. Gone are the days of sloppy animation, and the updates on all fronts are welcome for this aging series.
The Story
If you read the synopsis you might be wondering exactly how the story all fits together. Unfortunately for the other characters, it is almost exclusively interested in Hato and his character development. This leaves the interaction and development of the other members to limited segments never extending past the 5 minute mark at best. The reappearance of Madarame as a main character of focus is a bit surprising, as I didn’t expect him to become the focal point for a lot of episodes (but he becomes this through his close relationship to Hato that bridges on romance). Having him back is a nice addition, as he was my favourite character in the first series. But with such a small focus (being Hato and Madarame) their development is something to be desired. It goes into more explanation than development, and when they do finally change the season is pretty much over. The change is barely gradual, and it is thrown together last minute. My other issue as I mentioned before, is the lack of development on the other characters’ part. We get to meet 2 new members, Yoshitake and Yajima, but their presence is merely to interact with and challenge Hato’s sexual identity. Although they’re very likeable, I felt as though their contributions were minimal. Ohno’s existence is barely noticeable, Sue is a combination of one-liners and Kuchiki is forgettable. Ogiue has her moments of being the wise sempai, but is forgotten in the mix along with the others. A lot of moments are spent with nothing exciting happening, save for the interaction between Hato and Madarame. For all the potential this season had of exploring the dynamic between the old members and the new, they not only forgot about all the old members, but also all the new! The story gets a 5.5 out of 10. There are a lot of gripes I hold with the story, and it mainly concerns the lack of conflict, deep plot and development.
The Characters
As I mentioned earlier this season not only has the old club members as returning faces, but we also get a plethora of new characters who join the club for the first time. First there is Yoshitake, the boisterous and stubborn true “rotten girl”. Then there is Yajima who is heavier set, but convicted to what she believes is right and wrong, and of course this conflicts with her own rotten girl personality. Then there is the main focus of the show, Hato who is a rotten girl, but actually a guy. He struggles with accepting his identity that conflicts with the general conventions of what a man should like, versus what he really likes. He maintains to be heterosexual (although there is definitely a lot of romantic tension between him and Madarame). We also have returning characters from the manga that never made a television appearance, Ogiue, Kuchiki and Sue. Ogiue is the president who is working towards her professional career as a mangaka. She doubts in her own abilities but remains a strong role model for the other girls in the club. Sue is an American who is more of the observer than the participator, but whenever she acts she does it for the benefit of her fellow members. It makes her funnily altruistic, which contrasts with her moments of loud bursts of sudden revelation. Last is Kuchiki, the only current boy student in the club. He exists only to act as an overly perverted catalyst to Hato. Obnoxious and forgettable, we never get in his head or get any reason to be sympathetic to him. With the returning characters most of them are unchanged from the earlier seasons except for Kasukabe and Madarame. Although Kasukabe’s appearances are short, she’s become a much more understanding and peaceful person (surprising, I know). There’s also Madarame who’s toned himself down, and decided to live the Salary Man life, while visiting the club infrequently. His character is a bit sad as he remains passive to most things; he has lost passion for his otaku lifestyle and his overall vibrance for life. Seeing the older matured characters is kind of a nice reminder of how the story has evolved. All the characters are diverse and interesting as they contrast each other a lot. It’s hard to see how they can all be friends, but their otakuness is what binds them together. I’m giving the characters an 8.0 out of 10. They’re all interesting and relatable for different reasons. And although most of them are under-developed, they still have fully fleshed out personalities that challenge the norms of what would consist in the everyday person.
Final Thoughts
This anime is a bit of mixed bag for returning fans and newcomers. For a returning fan myself, I find myself conflicted between the lack of unity among developed characters mixed with the welcomed return of the old characters. With the main focus of the story focused around a character I didn’t particularly like, I found it hard to be engaged fully in the show. What motivated me was the dynamic of Madarame interacting with all the new club members, and how he developed. I can’t say I wasn’t happy to see Genshiken returning for another season though, as it offers refreshing moments that this time around, related more to women than men. From the above scores this anime gets a 7.3 out of 10. It loses out on its story, which wasn’t diverse enough nor engaging enough. For the plethora of characters it offers no attempt to immerse them fully into the driving plot, and they are merely there for their interaction with the main plot driver, Hato. Because of the lower score this anime received, I’m more inclined to pursue the manga, which I imagine goes above and beyond Hato to feature the other characters more fully. Perhaps I’ll be doing a review on the manga itself once I’ve gotten deep enough through the series to offer a fully formed opinion.
I hope you liked reading this review, and that it gave you ideas for whether you should check out Genshiken Nidaime or not!
Christina
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