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ファイト／ステイナイト 
Yeah, the animation really does look a lot better here although I still think the character design is still not as good as the first season. In addition to this, since the OVA would only have 3 episodes, they should have used this episode to feature the comifes part of the story. I just think it's a lot more interesting and than the story they ended up using here. Besides, I kind of want to see Kousaka as a trap scene animated in its full glory. Don't give me that funny look. I thought trap is all the rage these days. That scene is worth it just to hear/see Madarame and Kugapii's reaction. Plus, who can forget Saki's reaction afterwards. At any rate, instead of fun Kousaka trap, we have Madarame being metrosexual here and while the concept is funny, the execution is not that amusing in my opinion. Certainly not on the same level as the first episode.
OP Theme: 「青春として」- Seishun Toshite by MANZO - PSP version (16.3MB)
Well, here's an attempt by me to catch up with the OVAs. It's been a bit hard for me to do this due to the limited amount of time that I have for blogging these days. It doesn't help that my interest in anime is kind of going up and down in the past few months. Anyway, Genshiken is definitely one of those series where you have to see it first in order to be excited about it. Because everytime I imagine that I'd be watching an anime about a group of Otaku, the idea seems less entertaining than the actual episode itself. However, it is actually a lot more interesting once you sit down and watch the episode because the character's interaction and the things that they do within it are a lot more hilarious than the show's description. Unfortunately the animation and character design for this OVA are pretty bad. I can't remember who did the animation for the 1st season but I know it's a lot better than this.
February 20, 2005 | 
7 Comments
I was quite surprised when the licensing announcement came out one day after this episode was released. Now I kind of regret buying the first R2 boxset. But I really thought that this is one of those unusual shows that are not likely to be licensed by R1 companies. Oh well, at least the R2 box is very nice and sturdy and it comes with Kujian first episode. Anyway, this episode itself is a decent conclusion to the series. I sort of guessed that the series would use a 'life goes on' type of ending since there really is no major plot that holds all of the episodes together. Because of that, I'm not particularly upset or ecstatic with the show's conclusion.
Well, this is much better than the last one. While there are some boring bits, this episode also has its share of funny scenes. I think this the sort of episode that I like from this series. One that shows the various aspect of otakudom instead of the social life of its members. Animation-wise, this episode seems to be okay although there is nothing exceptionally outstanding about it. Anyway, with one more episode to go, this episode seems to be intentionally geared to provide some kind of closure for the season finale. But considering the nature of the series, I think it's possible that there won't be any real conclusion in the upcoming final episode.
This is a funny episode but I find it to be a tad on the generalisation side. I feel that the series is much better when it doesn't talk about what an Otaku is like but rather discussing their hobbies. Unfortunately, this one seems trying too hard to generalise all Otaku into one pigeonhole that in the end I can't help but feel a little bit annoyed by it. Thankfully, the animation seems to be improving now. The humour is also a bit better than the last 2 episodes, especially episode 8. It still hasn't go back to the brilliance of the first 5 episodes though. I guess I just want to see more of anime-related activities instead of getting an incorrect assessment on what makes Otaku ticks. And unfortunately for me, this episode does not deliver on that front.
December 28, 2004 | 2 Comments
These two episodes are completely different from each other that one must wonder if it was created by the same people. Hell, halfway through episode 8, I wonder if the animators purposedly make the episode looks ugly because I don't know any graphic artist who'll purposedly jeopardising their career by creating such a sub-par arts unless the art director and the producer are aware of the intention. The episode also somewhat boring despite my interest in plastic-model building. Episode 9, on the other hand, is quite fun. In fact, the last episode I remember being this entertaining was episode 5. Both episode, however, shares the same theme of how members of Genshiken finds Saki unapproachable. Having said that, she does make some small attempts to understand the guys better. So while she has her flaws, she's not exactly a bad character either.
December 12, 2004 | 0 Comments
I can't believe that one week away from blogging ends up leaving me with a long list of backlog but unfortunately that's the reality. There are so many episodes that I need to catch up with, it's becoming a bit taxing at times. It's good when the episode is funny like episode 6 but when the episode is annoying like the episode that follows it, I find it hard to find the motivation to blog the episode. I probably was in a bad mood when I watched episode 7 but I felt that the episode basically consist of nothing but scenes of 2 annoying twats not mixing well with the regular characters. Top this off with a short appearance of Haraguchi, and this ends up becoming an episode where the regulars (and myself) get mentally tortured by 3 unpleasant characters.
November 16, 2004 | 2 Comments
This episode confirms my guess that Saki is indeed one of the more important characters in the story. In fact, I'd say that her importance in this series either ties with Sasahara, or even higher than his. After these two, Madarame is probably the next character that appears on the importance scale. Unfortunately, much to my disappointment Kousaka is not utilised effectively in this series. I mean he's there most of the time, but he mostly serves as Saki's foil instead of as a full-fledged character whose thoughts and opinion is taken more seriously. In fact, most of the characters in the series actually see him as someone strange because he doesn't fit either side of the pigeon-holes. However, the fact that he doesn't fit the mould is what makes him interesting. So I wish they'll explore his character a bit more in the future.
I wonder if the animators created some kind of a rule where the even-numbered episodes have to be funnier than the odd-numbered episodes or something? Because this episode and the second one are definitely funnier than the third and the first one. In this episode, the series decides to focus more on cosplaying and video-gaming. I'm not big on cosplaying so I can understand Saki's reaction here. On the other hand, I'm crazy about video games although I admit that I suck badly at beat-them-up games like the Guilty Gear and Street Fighter series. I normally tend to go for the survival horror and the RPG games because they are more entertaining and less frustrating to play. The only exception to this is that last boss on Silent Hill 4. What a nasty piece of work that guy turns out to be even in the normal mode >_<.
First of all, I'm really sorry for the downtime yesterday. I knew the site was going down due to excessive bandwidth use but since it was only for a couple of hours, I figure no one is going to lose sleep over it. Anyway, I finally managed to watch this episode in its entirety without falling asleep halfway through. I guess I'm not really big on doujinshi and therefore can't understand why anyone will want to line up with hundreds, if not thousands, other people on a rainy day just to buy doujinshi. There isn't as much humour here either in my opinion. Or at least not one that makes me laugh out loud. What is good, however, is the episode's observation on Sasahara's gradual change as he turns from an ordinary fellow to an Otaku.
As I mentioned before, I don't have that much time to blog right now so I'm afraid most of my summaries are going to be shorter from now on. Anyway, onto the series itself, the second episode finally features the actual opening for Genshiken. In comparison to Kujibiki Unbalance, however, this is not as memorable. The opening simply shows the various characters going about their daily routine or doing some anime/manga/video-game activities. The song, My Pace Daiou is okay though. I'll probably grow to like it in the future. Animation-wise, there's nothing earth shattering here. I know some people have said that the series is kind of boring because of its lack of animation. However, I think the simple animation works well with the laid-back nature of the series.
Or should I say "Genshiken/Kujibiki Unbalance ep.1"? To be honest, I'm a bit confused here. And that's because Kujibiki Unbalance is actually shown at the start of this show. To top it off, the opening theme for Kujibiki Unbalance is actually the one that is used as the official opening for this episode whereas Genshiken opening itself is non-existent. However, the actual Kujibiki Unbalance show itself was only a mere 1 minute. So I'm hesitant to call it a real show just yet. I prefer it if both shows are separated more clearly with each show having their own opening and ending and at least 15 minutes screen time. God, what am I talking about? This review has been one incoherent mess so far. I guess at this point in time I'm too confused to give more opinion on the way the two shows are combined. So I'll just say that I like the self-titled opening theme for Kujibiki Unbalance.
September 24, 2004 | 0 Comments
If you're looking for a new anime illustration for this series then I'm afraid you're out of luck. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single illustration for this series in the October issue of Japanese anime magazines such as Newtype or Animage. Judging from the exposures that other series receive, however, it does seem as if Genshiken is ignored in favour of other 'big' October titles such as Bleach or Gankutsuou. But since there are so many anime that will be released this upcoming season, it's understandable that the magazines can't cover each individudal series in great details. Anyway, back to Genshiken, I finally get to see the trailers on the official site and the series looks promising so far. The animation looks quite polished and the characters design look a lot like the ones in the manga version.