Genshiken ep.12

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.

This episode begins with Saki feeling depressed because she feels responsible for causing Genshiken to be temporarily evicted from their clubroom. She even cries when Madarame casually mentions that the whole mess happened due to one person's mistake. In the end, however, no amount of tears or anger can change the student council's decision. Genshiken members are banned from their room for 10 weeks, and they also have to perform various public service jobs as a punishment. Madarame is not happy about this because his public service schedule conflicts with the date of Winter Comicfes. Saki, who still feels guilty for the whole mess eventually agrees to go to Comicfes and buy Doujinshi for the guys.

In the second half of the series, the group is finally allowed to use their clubroom again. Much to everyone's surprise, however, Madarame announces that he's resigning as a chairman because he has to start looking for jobs. In addition to this, Madarame appoints Sasahara as the next chairman because he feels that Sasahara is the most normal Otaku of them all. At first Sasahara is reluctant to take the position. But since everyone else also vouches for him, he agrees to undertake the responsibility. Sasahara then tells the guys that now he's a chairman, he wants Genshiken to participate at Comicfes as Doujinshi creator. The episode concludes with Saki suggesting that they use げんしけん as their official group name at Comicfes.

Impression:

I think it's a natural progression that Genshiken finally becomes a functional Doujinshi group under Sasahara's leadership. After all, the reason Sasahara joined the group in the first place was because of his interest in Doujinshi. Anyway, it's also nice to see Saki changed for the better in the second half of the episode. Now, she actually shows some interests in the terminologies that the other guys use and seems to have mellowed down a bit. It's unfortunate, however, that the rest of the characters do not get as much exposure in this final episode of the series. In the end, Saki, Madarame, and Sasahara are the only characters that receive the majority of the series' plot.

© memento 2003