Genshiken Volume 1: The Society for the Study of Visual Culture

Reviewed by Aricson Tarasova
October 13, 2005

Series Chief Animation Director: Hirotaka Kinoshita Genre: Situation Comedy Distributor: Media Blasters Age Rating: 13 and older Review Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Genshiken examines the life of the average Japanese anime nerd or ‘otaku'. This is an anime about anime-fans and it is refreshingly brutal. Manga, doujinshi, hentai, anime videogames, TV shows, movies, figures, cosplay, model kits and conventions are all celebrated by the nerdy members of the college club ‘Genshiken'.

What makes Genshiken more than a witty attack on an outcast click is that it also empathizes with it. The filmmakers of Genshiken illustrate the obsessions of the anime nerd from inside and outside perspectives of the otaku experience through its two main protagonists Sachi and Sasahara.

Sachi is a college freshman who is into fashion, shopping, drinking, smoking, bars and sex. She gets sucked into the otaku college club ‘Genshiken' when the boy she has the hots for turns out to be a hard core anime otaku. Sachi becomes obsessed with exorcizing her near perfect boyfriend, the charming Kosaka, out of his otakuness while she openly mocks, ridicules, physically abuses and down right antagonizes the otakus of Genshiken.

Sasahara is the neophyte otaku who is shown the world of anime fandom by Genshiken's four fetish obsessed members: There is Madarame, the vocal alpha-otaku who militantly defends otaku ideals while openly admitting to prefer anime girls over real girls; Tanaka, the older, easy–going student who makes and wears cosplay costumes while building anime model kits; Kaguyama, the shy, over-weight and under-spoken otaku who sketches anime characters, when he's not absorbing every delicious bit of anime and manga gossip the net has to offer; and Ohno, the club's only female cosplaying member who harbors a secret fetish for bald anime character types.

There is also Genshiken's vaguely creepy founder and official club chairman, Mr. Chairman, who for 10 years (degree still not attained) as a student club leader has not once directing his club to produce anything tangible, give its members any job experience, skill acquisitions, class preparation, career mentoring, networking opportunities, or give the student council any other merit for Genshiken's existence. Could his lack of initiative and passive anime escapism force the university to close down Genshiken's doors?

What Sachi unwillingly and Sasahara willingly join, is not just a club, but also a new family. Each member brings companionship, emotional support, and perspectives to the others in a time when parental expectations outweigh parental love. Genshiken has enough intelligent execution to examine the imperfect human heart found in each Genshiken member that longs for something more than itself, all while satirizing the clichéd sentiment found in countless commercial anime and manga.

The character designs stay true to the original Genshiken manga. The background and costume designs are not only breathtaking, but give the American audience a glimpse of an authentic modern Japan . In addition, the animation and direction is superb. However, the American voice actors are c-grade community college talent. Watch it in Japanese with the subs. Volume 1 DVD goodies include a voice acting panel and a cosplayer performance from the Tokyo Character Show. Also included is the first episode of Kujibiki Unbalanced .

Although I give Genshiken a high quality rating, I must give it a medium evolution rating for one major reason: it's U.S. distributor, Media Blasters, is not aggressive enough in marketing itself and its products by means of tradeshow attendance and general advertising. Media Blasters also have problems communicating with its retailers whom experience product delays and/or shortages.