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Genshiken
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Animation - 8.0 |
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Sound - 8.1 |
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Story - 8.4 |
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Character - 9.0 |
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Value - 8.7 |
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Enjoyment - 9.1 |
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Average - 8.5 |
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Danny |
2009-10-17 18:08:56 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| The story revolves around a group of students who decides to join a club. During their time together they develop friendships with each other. Good animation, lovable characters. I would recommend this for people who like a light-hearted Anime. This anime does not have strong plot though.
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Kaj |
(2009-07-22 04:07:05) 2009-05-14 18:55:47 |
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| Average |
7.8 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| For any anime viewer, there comes a point in their life, when Genshiken simply HAS to be watched. At least Once. Yes, that's right, I'm advocating that everyone who's seen enough anime (or read enough manga... or played enough geeky games) should have this down on their essential "to watch" list.
Genshiken is a slice of life anime, focusing on the daily comings and goings of the members of a university society called "Genshiken" (the term is shortened from some long Japanese phrase that translates into English roughly as the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture). Essentially this is a society for combined otakus of anime, manga and video games. The reason for my wide recommendation is because anyone who's into the anime/manga, and to some lesser extent, video gaming culture will be able to appreciated the comical portrayal of the members of Genshiken, especially when events often unfold through the viewpoint of a non-otaku. But, due to the significant amount of "insider" jokes present, you really do need to have some knowledge under your belt in order to get a fuller appreciation of the anime.
This is one of the first great anime I've watched where the comedy significantly contributes to its "greatness". Considering this praise is coming from an anime comedy hater like myself, that is saying a lot. What sets this apart from most other anime comedy is that this one is heavily rooted in reality. The funny scenes are the kind that you can easily come across in real life, and not the kind that resort to using tedious devices such as SD in order to force you to laugh at situation that aren't even that funny to begin with. And even when Genshiken does become a bit over-the-top, like in one episode when the uber-otaku Madarame attempts to make decisions as though he was playing a game, it still does it in a toned-down fashion that doesn't alienate the people (like myself) who hates the general over-the-top anime comedy routines.
Looking beyond the comedy, the slice-of-life essence of the anime is also very strong, probably helped along by the "normal" style comedy. The sense of reality can be readily felt radiating from the anime, especially since viewers can easily associate with the events, the characters and their feelings. It's not an anime that gives in to the usual cliche of a bunch of losers that somehow always succeed in what they're trying to do (e.g. in most harem anime). In Genshiken, the way this dysfunctional group of people flounders in awkward situations is not only realistically portrayed and concluded, but often depressingly so. One of the best episodes is when one of the characters tries to socialise by pretending it's a dating sim. It's an episode that exposes the trouble otakus have with girls in a brutally honest fashion, and manages to be both hilarious and incredibly sad at the same time.
Even though the anime does an excellent job in conveying a sense of realism, it does stray from this path on a couple things. The first thing feels to be just a minor, overlooked point - these people are supposed to be university student otakus, but only the otaku aspect stands out. The characters in "Genshiken" never seem to worry, or even talk about exams, classes etc, that would be a part of virtually all students lives. Result is that the whole university thing just feels like a platform on which to bring the characters together. The other thing that doesn't feel realistic is more interesting. This one, most notably, is by design - it's the introduction of the non-otaku character Kasukabe Saki. The irony is that, despite the fact that Genshiken's strength, to a large extent, comes from its realism, it's actually this non-realistic inclusion of Saki that forms the foundation of the series, and transforms the series from a good one to truly GREAT one. Her presence really adds that extra spark to the character interactions, and her gradual understanding and coming to terms with the other members of Genshiken (and vice versa) is one of the most fascinating things about Genshiken. In fact that is pretty much the main basis of the character development in the first season.
Being an anime about the every day lives of otakus, there is a ton of references to other anime/manga games. However, pretty much all the proper names of character/series have been subtly changed, which I guess is due to licensing issues. The game that features the most in "Genshiken" is Guilty Gear, and the Genshiken members can often be seen playing on it. Unfortunately, it seems
like it's the same 2 characters are battling all the time, which, in some ways, is even more annoying than having the names changed... maybe they only obtained the license to use a couple of characters or something. It would be so cool if other companies would just allow Genshiken use references to their series properly, but that's probably not gonna happen in the corporate world.
There are several signs indicative of a good slice of life anime. Whilst watching a series, it's easy to get attached to the characters and you are often filled with a warm fuzzy feeling inside after watching an episode. Towards the end of a series, there's an often an accompanying feeling of regret as you don't want the anime to end, and after you've finished it, you often look back on it with fondness at the very mention of its title. Genshiken ticks all these boxes, and was an absolute joy to watch.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
0 |
| Sound |
0 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Very odd anime that is enjoyable in the most unorthodox way. Is it a shounen? Not really. A harem? Nope. Love romance? Nope. Sci fi, mecha, superpowers, martial arts, sports, mystery? Genshiken is none of these things but at the same time is about all of these things. So what is it exactly? Well, are you ready for this? It is an anime about people watching anime and discussing it. A slice of life about otakus. Oh, great, I'm so excited, an anime about anime nerds. It doesn't have awesome build ups to climatic battles, a mysterious identity that keeps you guessing who they are until the very end, or romantic and tear jerking moments, but it excels in the most fundamental and vital category, characters and their development.
While the first and last episode may suggest Sasahara is the main character, the show concentrates equally on all of the members of genshiken. So what is genshiken? It is short for "the study of modern visual culture", which is anime, manga, and video games. The members of this club are what nerds are stereotypically portrayed as; weak willed with little self esteem and socially clueless and awkward that pour their money into anime, manga, and video games.
Genshiken is nothing epic or exciting, though it is fun. The two characters that make it the most fun are Kousaka and Kasukabe who don't seem to fit the club. Kousaka is quite good looking that always has women looking towards him and has a non chalant behaviour, yet watching anime is a lot more appealing to him than sex. Kasukabe is a tough girl that likes to bully on the guys at genshiken who hates anime, manga, and especially video games. Her only reason for becoming a member was because of Kousaka who fell for his looks and is desperately trying to get him out of the club. Though over the course of the anime, while Kasukabe still doesn't like otakus, she defends the club from annoying board counselers who look to shut the club down and makes a great marketer against rival anime and manga clubs.
With Kasukabe around it makes it hard for the guys to do what they usually do, and that is play Guilty Gear, watch their favorite anime show, build Gundam models, etc. In fact their behaviour is exposed as defenseless, soft and low level class members of society. She picks on them, insults them, and just creates this uncomforting atmosphere with her alpha dog vibe around. How the guys deal with, or avoid her, is really the meat of Genshiken. You didn't think watching an anime about guys watching anime was going to be the reason why this was going to be a great watch? These characters are just so refreshing and unique and almost relateable, the genshiken cast is by far one of the more down to earth out there.
It really isn't anything on the hilarious side, more like on the light hearted side. There are a lot of references to anime, manga, and video games, and much of these are incorporated with the comedy. One such situation is when the chairman is sitting alone in the club room while Kousakube is reading a manga (for a change) smoking a cigarette, and he feels obliged to strike up a conversation. The problem is he doesn't know how to do it. The entire episode is then played out like a dating simulation with the chairman picking the wrong option almost all the time. There isn't a lot of moments where you're going to be cracking up, but it is very very amusing. With all the references to Japanese modern visual culture, Genshiken is like the Family Guy of the otaku world with 100x less flashbacks.
Sure it doesn't have classical epic battles or a large cast of beautiful women, but its portrayal of anime nerds is just about as accurate as you can get and how the comedy incorporates other animes, manga, and video games makes it even that much more enjoyable. With great character development, a single character that doesn't fit but changes the entire dynamics of the show, and references to other animes makes Genshiken one of the very best slice of life animes out there.
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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| Average |
7.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
7 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
| Genshiken is basically an anime that gives you a slice of life. Just pure humans that act like normal humans do. Well i shouldn't say normal, because they're otaku. Now I watched this because of the ranking however with its ranking (73) i was disappointed. I mean all this anime can offer is the daily lives of an otaku. Particularly there is nothing funny about this anime. Just probably four moments which are good. Oh Genshiken also reminded me about Comic Party, however it didn't deal with the main character making doujinshi.
For the story this all takes place in the Genshiken society. We got the club president who is a complete weirdo. Kugayama Mitsunori who stutters when talking, Tanaka Soichiro loves making costumes and toy models. Ohno Kanako a cosplay lover. Madarame Harunobu one of the main protagonist who talks A LOT. Sasahra Kanji supposedly the main protagonist whose actually a normal human being. Kosaka Makoto a pretty boy who attracts all girls who he really doesn't pay attention to. What he enjoys most is playing games and ecchi games. Doesn't need a girlfriend really if he has those games. Kasukabe Saki the most annoying character and the subcharacter. She hates Otaku and wants to close down Genshiken so she can love Kosaka to the fullest.
Now to me i thought that most of this anime was really focused on Kaskukabe Saki. I mean she got most of the screentime in my opinion. Her goals are to make love with Kosaka. Foce him to lose interest in otaku stuff and close down Genshiken. However those change during the story. What is really depressing my point of view is that she likes Kosaka for his looks and nothing else. Didn't even go for personality. And now she wants to get rid of that personality. However Kosaku is a really CLUELESS guy around girls. I do have to say that Saki's personality is just PURE EVIL. However that is her character in Genshiken.
In Genshiken there's really nothing special going on. You just get the daily lives of different people of the otaku world. I mean their voice is just like a normal human being. So that's good at least. However there weren't any sound. Well if there was any i didn't really notice it. What was strange to me was the character design. I mean nothing that I've really seen before. I think that the people were trying to make them as normal as possible. Except for the club leader, his eyes are just freaky. However the best character would have to be Sasahara, because of his ways of thinking.
So for those who love action and some drama you've come to the wrong place. I would highly not recommend this anime for you.
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Jarik |
2008-02-28 18:49:19 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I'm not usually a fan of pure comedies.
Didn't get into Suzumiya Haruhi, didn't like School Rumble, couldn't get into Lucky Star, Azumanga Diaoh, etc etc.
So when my friend tried to force me to watch this, I kept procrastinating until he sat down with me at his house and forced me to watch it.
Boy was I surprised.
This is an anime about otakus.
Now I don't know if most Japanese otakus are *that* bad, or if most people in Japan look at otaku's, the same way or anything, but nonetheless, it all has events, thoughts and actions we can all identify to (hopefully, to a much lesser extent).
The humour is awesome, without being made unrealistic and slap-stick. Even when Saki, the non-otaku member who has to hang around Genshiken due to her boyfriend being an otaku, beats the crap out of some of the otakus, it's not done in an 'anime style', rather, it's drawn up rather realistically and all.
Overall, the anime has a very realistic feel. The character's wear normal clothes, act like normal geeks, and go to normal events. There's no punching people through brick walls, or blood noses while reading ero manga.
The sound was nothing special, but fit in for the anime. Especially the OP - it really created a 'video game like' atmosphere to it.
The main thing that made this interesting for me, is unlike many comedies, there *is* character development, mainly around Saki.
It's interesting to see someone who looks so down on Otaku's having to experience all of their little quirks. A scene that is brought to mind is when she first finds out her boyfriend looks at hentai, or when she tries to learn video games so that he has more interest in her.
She's the one who really makes this anime interesting in my opinion, and it'd be a lot less intriguing without her.
But yeah, the humour is hilarious, the anime is something you can relate to, it avoids any stupid slap-stick stuff and it has a good progression in it.
I reckon most people would find this funny. =)
~Jarik
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Encu |
(2008-02-02 04:16:18) 2008-01-21 11:21:25 |
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| Average |
7.2 |
| Animation |
5 |
| Sound |
6 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
6 |
| Value |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I laughed a lot while watching this series, and really hard, to boot. It's just funny, and that's what makes Genshiken worth watching.
The jokes are set up well, the situations are presented right, and it comes together in a way that makes it entertaining and worthwhile.
So, I'd really recommend this anime, but you probably want to have seen at least a few other anime before watching this series in order to appreciate its humor a bit more.
The second season, aka "Genshiken 2," is not nearly as good, so these numbers and recommendation only cover these first twelve episodes.
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|
|
| Average |
10.0 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| 10/10!
Genshiken gives viewers, particularly overseas anime fans, a realistic look into the lives of otaku in Japan. In essence, the anime is about issues otaku face, their passion in various areas of "otakudom", their interaction with each other characterised by "otakudom", and their interaction with people who are NOT otaku.
The humour in the series relies heavily on character interaction, especially between Saki (an outsider who views otaku as antisocial, have no sense of taste, and generally uncool) and the hard core Genshiken members. I like the humour in Genshiken as it is not blatantly exaggerated with exaggerated motions and exaggerated lines. Every bit of humour is very much generated from the characters themselves.
Besides the obvious strong point of characterisation, the anime excels also in its animation and sound. Animation is smooth, clear and detailed, whereas the sound has a crisp and amusing feel to it.
A slice of life drama anime, Genshiken has done well and exceeded expectation. It doesn't seem to have a plot, but life's like that.
Genshiken second season delves deeper in "otakudom", featuring this time, on female otaku. I'll have to wait for the full series to finish to review that one, but if it follows the manga, it'll just be as entertaining as its predecessor.
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|
|
|
| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Genshiken is a very pleasant 12 episode long anime to which many viewers can associate their own personal experiences with.
The graphics and animation in Genshiken is relatively simplistic, but sufficient, and occasionally extremely detailed. Graphical glitches are rare, and the in-game sequences are realistic and good to look at. The character designs are unique, and the anime has an overall pleasant look.
The theme songs in Genshiken might initially sound very strange, but they make more sense over time and fit in very well with the setting of the anime. Many viewers might be confused by the opening theme of the first episode, as that is actually the opening of the anime being watched by the characters in Genshiken, Kujibiki Unbalance, which comes included with the Genshiken DVD. Theme tunes aside, Genshiken features some excellent voice acting. Most characters sound realistic, and their expressions are carried through very well. However, the soundtrack in Genshiken is nothing too impressive.
As Genshiken's storyline is mainly focused on a group of anime fanatics at a university, its setting is quite realistic. The events and actions of the various characters, although slightly exaggerated, by no means appear to be artificial. I can certainly associate a number of events throughout the series with my own personal real-life experience, as I am sure many viewers will be likewise, which makes Genshiken all the more enjoyable.
Development wise, the story follows the group through various aspects of social and school life, but none of which are too exciting. Overall, the storyline in Genshiken is nothing too impressive.
The characters in Genshiken are extremely entertaining to watch, especially with the high quality voice acting. Every character is totally unique, and thanks to the setting, makes the actions and emotions of the characters seem very realistic. Once again, development is very limited, but it was not something that impacted the anime significantly.
Genshiken is a pleasant anime to which many viewers will be able to relate to in real-life, as it features a realistic cast and has a realistic setting. The anime provides an overall pleasant viewing experience, with nothing too exciting taking place. Value wise, the Genshiken DVD comes with three episodes of Kujibiki Unbalance, the anime watched by the characters in Genshiken. The three episodes, although less impressive quality wise, are quite funny, and is an interesting bonus. I would recommend Genshiken when asked, although you would not be missing out on too much should you skip it.
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2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
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eyeresist |
(2009-09-20 22:23:46) 2007-08-17 00:29:12 |
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| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Recently watched Genshiken and really enjoyed it. (Haven't seen Comic Party or Otaku no Video.) Production looked good for a TV, but the script was great. Don't know how close it was to the manga. A few big laughs each episode, based more on character and human situations than slapstick, which is a nice change. Character relationships and situations really felt real.
I actually recognised the Big Sight convention building! (It turned into a mecha in Nurse Witch Komugi, and had its own theme song.)
I was expecting the otaku interests to be a bit broader - the characters are mainly into doujinshi, watching Kujibiki Unbalance (fictional anime show), with a bit of cosplay and model building. In one of the extras on the DVD you can see a crowd of otaku bopping to a "live" performance of the KU theme song at a convention, so I guess that's an aspect I'm glad they didn't cover.
The 3 KU episodes are an extra worth watching, particularly the middle "re-cap" episode, which parodies a whole bunch of stuff.
This should be a favourite of every otaku, and any fan of character-based comedy.
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|
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| Average |
8.4 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
10 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
0 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| I, Davindo, AKA Over 120 Anime Seen, say that Genshiken is definitely a interesting watch. The series definitely has a slow first episode and it takes a while to engage the viewer. Once it does though, it is quite fun. The best part of the series is that it does not hold back punches. It shows a very accurate portrayal of human interaction. I liked how at the start they showed the main character "examining" a doll, showing that they were not messing around.
The story in this anime is okay. The series though, is more based on the characters and was just a way for them to interact, so that’s how I think it should be judged.
The characters are a total mixed bag, some are amazing and others are just boring. The “main character”(gets about as much time as other characters) who is in the intro is not that fun to watch. He is an acceptable Otaku and kind of grows on you as the series progresses, but he just isn’t that interesting. The second female too who was a cosplayer was also quite boring. She just wouldn’t shut up about her obsession with cosplaying, I mean, she acted like it was the greatest thing in the world to do, and I probably wouldn’t have a problem with this if she wasn’t so bland and dumb. There is hope in this series though! Madarame Harunobu, the second director is an incredible character. Any time he talks about something other then anime(which sadly he does a lot), it is just a lot of fun to see. Episode 9 where he and the female role Kasukabe interact is very entertaining. The first director is also a lot of fun to see, and he does some of the funniest things of the whole series. His shameless and cunning tactics can’t help but make you laugh. The female Kasukabe was definitely an interesting part of the anime. You couldn’t help but sympathize with her problem with her Otaku boyfriend. At the same time you had to respect him for holding his ground and just being who he was.
Not bad at all, check it out if you’re looking for a light comedy, with some implications you can use in your own life!
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|
|
| Average |
8.8 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Genshiken really is a great anime, not for techincal reasons, but for character design and development.
The interaction and dialogue between the characters is subtle and develops over the course of the anime, although you may have to look for it happening.
On the surface it is the story of a geek club at a college, but I found it to be more than that. There were elements of coming to terms with accepting people for who they are, wrapped in the pathetic guise of otaku fandom. The characters are realistic, not perfect, not idealized versions of people, but they have a nice realism to their dialogue and presentation.
Although somewhat simple, the animation is well done, and doesn't get in the way of the story or the characters dialogue by trying to over do the visual appeal.
The anime stays faithful to the manga for the most part, although the manga does portray the characters with a bit more depth. Perhaps the anime to some extent highlight the better parts of the manag, if you are already familiar with the characters.
This anime certainly won't appeal to the action buff, or surrealist, but if character driven dialogue, and playful character design appeals to you, I think you will enjoy it.
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supafrog |
(2007-06-11 00:31:41) 2007-02-09 19:46:28 |
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| Average |
9.0 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| At first I was really put off by Genshiken. None of the characters seemed to be to my liking at first, but it seemed interesting, so I continued. And you know what? I ended up liking just about every character to some degree.
I don't usually laugh out loud when I'm by myself, but Genshiken got me at least once per episode. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the funniest thing ever, I would have to give it an 8 or so.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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|
|
|
| Average |
9.5 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| I just love this series. It is not an action series and it's not comedy. All characters are likable, no villains or good guys. It's just pure enjoyment. Many people say that episode 9 is boring, it's probably the best.
It's got a feel of many indie movies of the 90's about often a little dysfunction group of friends.
Just perfect, well I juft finished watching the last episode and I am still under the impression of it.
I like when the series leaves you wanting for more.
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Sergio |
(2007-01-03 21:47:56) 2007-01-03 21:46:48 |
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| Average |
5.0 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
1 |
| Character |
4 |
| Value |
5 |
| Enjoyment |
5 |
| Vi esta serie por los reviews favorables que mucha gente escribia acerca de este anime, y en ese tiempo tenia muchas ganas de ver una anime de comedia.
La animacion esta bien, es de una calidad muy aceptable y cumple con el cometido, pues el argumento no le exige gran cosa a este apartado.
El sonido, bueno, fui generoso porque ni recuerdo las canciones y eso por lo regular es indicador que la musica era mala o al menos para olvidarser, pero pues si no recuerdo le dejo un 7.
La historia es pesima, la verdad que poca inspiracion del autor de este anime, la serie se trata de lo comico que pueden ser las experiencias de los otakus japoneses, las burlas de las que son objeto, sus fetiches, sus gustos por los videojuegos y demas tonterias por el estilo, solo que con un toque exagerado como muchos animes.
Los personajes no son nada interesantes desde mi punto de vista, muy estereotipados, nada digno de mencion en este aspecto.
En mi opinion, me parecio que era un anime que no se trata de nada, no hubo nada que en serio me enganchara ver esta serie, el ritmo al que va es muy al estilo de Beck, si bien no me parecio un anime pesimo si se me hizo mediocre porque ni siquiera me parecio entretenido.
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0 of 0 people found this review helpful.
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|
|
| Average |
3.0 |
| Animation |
3 |
| Sound |
3 |
| Story |
3 |
| Character |
3 |
| Value |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
3 |
| Overall
I didn't like this anime at all. It's basically about a whole bunch of kids who love to watch anime and play video games. Now why you watch an anime about people watching anime and playing video games. When instead you can watch a better anime or play one of your old video games again. I don't get it, but somehow I finished this anime and still managed to stay alive. You can summarize this anime in three words which are "boring and dull." And you will see I use that phrase a whole lot when reviewing this anime.
Animations
Animations are terrible. There is no color what so all. All of the characters wear color shirts, but with no designs on them. (I'm just wearing an all red shirt and blue jeans and the next day I will wear an all green shirt with blue jeans.) The animations were boring and so was the background. I mean if the otakus were going to be in the club roon watching animes all day and playing video games or reading hentai magazines then they should at least make the room look nice. But instead it looks boring, even more boring then my bathroom. The characters look really deformed. It looked like some people had square faces and some people had triangular faces. So overall the anime had really awful animations. Boring backgrounds? CHECK! Deformed characters? CHECK! No colors? CHECK! It's like the producers had a check list to make this anime as ugly as they could.
Sound
OP gives me a headache whenever I hear it. It's like listening to your dad singing in the shower. The ED wasn't any better and it sounded awful. There is no background music what so ever. And if there was then it wasn't noticable for me to listen. Voice acting is fine, but then it gets a little boring hearing the otaku's talk about hentai magazines over and over again. There were some sound effects, but mostly in the club room you can only hear hentai magazine pages flipping and the sound of the video game they are playing. Horrible music what so ever. The only good song was the first episode's OP which was called "Kujibiki Unbalance." But then that song gets replaced by some other boring anime OP that will make you want to leave the room. None of the background music in this anime is worth mentioning and you'll be best to turn the volume off and just reading the subtitles. Sound is even worse then the animations.
Story
No story at all. Just a bunch of otakus having a good time playing video games, watching hentai, or doing something they haven't done before. The character Kanji Sasahara wants to join the Society for teh Modern Visual Culture. Which is just an anime/manga fan club, but who knows why they used such a long name to describe their club? Then the story changes into a girl trying to force her boyfriend out of the otaku club. Saki Kasukabe is the girl who wants her boyfriend to get out of the club, but then she joins the club somehow and is forced to participate in the Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture activities. Like reading hentai magazine which is really weird for a girl to be reading a hentai magazine. The story is boring, because why do you want to watch an anime about people doing stuff like watching animes and reading hentai and playing video games. When instead you can be watching a much better anime or playing an awesome game or you should play one of your old games again, because that's always fun. The ending of the anime was boring. I thought something extraordinary would happen, but nothing did. The last episode was just like every other episode, boring and dull.
Characters
Characters were so plain and they all looked so ugly. The character's barely change, but I'll run through the characters anyway.
Saki Kasukabe - The only good character in this anime and that is why I'm giving this category a three. She doesn't like the club, but is forced to join because of mysterious reasons. Her boyfriend is an otaku, so she uses her time in there with him. But that's the only thing she will do. I have to give a round of applaus to her. She is able to withstand the boring characters in this anime and still use her precious time hanging with them.
Makoto Kohsaka - He is good at video games, especially fighting games. He always smiles and is unusually nice. He's an ok character, I guess. Nothing of his personality really stand out though.
Harunobu Madarame - He is the president of the club. But he is really loud and obnoxious sometimes. He alwata buys hentai magazines without looking at the price tag. Which leaves him really poor and almost with no money. I thought he was really poor and pathetic, because he then gets broke and has to borrow money from his friends sometimes.
Kanako Ohno - A boring nice character. Her personality is so boring, she tries to be nice and she's really shy. She gets embarrased easily also and that makes her really annoying. One of the most annoyingst characters in this anime.
Kanji Sasahara - In my opinion he is the worst character. He is so boring. He loves anime/manga, but he's too shy to say anything about it. He's one of those characters that won't do anything interesting, unless you put interesting characters around him. Personally he's really boring and shy and quiet.
Souichirou Tanaka - A quiet person who likes action figures. He can be pretty quiet and won't talk that much. Unless you make him mad by breaking one of his action figures.
Mitsunori Kugayama - The shyest member of the club. He stammers when he is talking to someone he doesn't know. (Like the manga cashier man, or a new otaku member, or Saki Kasukabe when he met her for the first time) I find him boring and mediocre.
All of these characters all boring and dull and don't change at all in this anime. Saki Kasukabe was the only good character and that is the only reason I'm giving this category a three.
Value/Enjoyment
I would not recommend this anime to anyone. Because the animations are horrible and the sound is even worse. The story is boring and the jokes get old. All of the characters are one sided and they don't change in the whole anime. I had to force myself to stay awake for the last few episodes of this anime, because it was so boring and dull.
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Solitaire |
(2007-02-22 18:20:51) 2006-11-28 18:20:38 |
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| Average |
8.5 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Genshiken is an excellent anime which manages to be both entertaining and hilarious even when it really isn't trying to be anything at all. While the series starts of fairly poorly, the other episodes will quickly make that irrelevant.
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|
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| Average |
9.7 |
| Animation |
10 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Character |
10 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| fionally a series about otaku,cosplay,dojinshi,anime figures and so much more.i enjoyed genshiken so much i just couldnt stop watching because i can relate to every character and this is how my life is.
animatyion- was very realistic and extremely nice and detailed. the cosplayers outfits were perfect they looked so good and the characters in kujibiki unbalanced looked so kawaii.the trading figures were extremely detailed ...lol if u now what i mean.the doujinshis and posters were also good and naughty.
sound- the oppening was very nice it wasnt upbeat but still nice and calm and yet it sounded very good.the characters had awesome voices im sorry i love ohnos voice actor.
story- this is a real story and it goes like this a guy named sasahara is going to college and he joins a club called Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyuu Kai and he walks in there and he sees anime posters figures manga anime and so on . the whole story consist of the characters in the anime club and how they go to a conventions buy manga and buy large amounts of doujinshi.this is just like my life and i love this so much.
characters-the cast was all hilarious and fun to watch all there antics and what tyoe of anime and manga they were interested in.first ill name saki who hates anime yet he boyfriend is obsesed who is makoto and boy is he a otaku.next is ohno who is our cosplayer and i love her .oh yeah she likes bald men.sasahara was a cool main character its funny how he got into this and how he ends up enjoying himeself.mitsunora was a little dull but he was still cool overall.madarme is the ultimate otaku and the ultiomate perv he is my rollmodel.
enjoyment- if you like anime about about manga anime doujinshi figures and yes cosplay if you are a otaku this is a must watch.
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Darts |
(2006-07-25 14:34:47) 2006-06-25 16:49:05 |
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| Average |
8.2 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| When I first read a review about the anime Genshiken and what it was all about I thought to myself its about Otakus and I am one. So then I bought the first DVD. Soon after watching it I bought the other 2 dvds and now i own it.
Animation - The animation is average for the year. There were no sketchy parts. But also no outstanding colors or any really CG noticable.
Sound - Definitely one of the high points in this anime series. The origional voice acting was outstanding. the characters actually sounded Otaku which the characters were.
Story - The story was pretty cool. Its about members in the club called Genshiken. The club Genshiken watches anime, reads manga and plays video games. It alo gives youa look of through some otaku's personalities and thought also activities.
Characters - I thought the charcters were a very special part of this anime. The characters each have their own personalities even though they areall otaku. For example one likes to cosplay. Another one lik,es to make cospaly attire. Another one like video games a lot. While another one likes to build models. This isn't all to their personality I wasj ust giving you a little example.
Value - The value to me is that I think its a little pricey but thats ok if your a rewatcher And I like to rewatch this prety often maybe because somehow I can relate to them because I am sort of an Otaku.
I recomend this to anyone who likes anime,manga and based video games. Or who is an Otaku and can relate to the characters.
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| Average |
6.7 |
| Animation |
6 |
| Sound |
5 |
| Story |
6 |
| Character |
8 |
| Value |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
| Life as an otaku can be very hard and rewarding at the same time. They express it in this anime. I really enjoyed Genshiken because I can familiarize myself with the stereotypical otaku and its humors since I also enjoy their hobbies as well. It shows a down-to-earth point of view what a "normal" otaku ventures in with a few unlikely otakus as well into the mix.
Animation is subpar. Aside from the Kujikibi Unbalance anime that regularly airs in the series, there isn't much animation than regular character movements. Colors are dull and drab almost like real life colors. Most of the characters are pale though which might be a design to incorporate the otaku appearance. But I don't think flashy effects would be suitable for this anime since there aren't many instances or events where the animators can use them so it's a waste of time.
Sound was okay. The OP and ED are mildly intriguing and really makes you feel laid-back while hearing it. There's actually no trace of BGM while the show is going on so expect a lot of dialogue and silent moments. The seiyuus handle their talents with excellence here. Alas, it does not save it from me giving it a medioce score.
Slice-of-Life with some comedy in it. If you don't like otakus then don't even watch a minute of it because every episode will revolve around the activities that an otaku enjoys. It also shows a boundary between the otaku and the "commoner" circles and how they react to each other. Basically, the story goes with characte development with no ongoing continuous plot.
Characters are which this anime shines the most. There isn't much explanation on the backgrounds of the main cast, but the interaction between them is what strikes me best.
Try renting this at first. This is not for the casual anime or beginner otaku because most of the events that will happen are based on what an otaku does and might be confusing and convoluted to some.
As I have said, this anime is not for everyone even to the stereotypical otaku preferences. It's for those people who want to see human psyche on how they could not stop in their enjoyed endeavors and how they react to people who don't agree or share their views and interests. In other words, it's a psychological anime which has its fun parts, but will mostly bore you unless you see it in a different light.
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|
|
| Average |
8.7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Story |
9 |
| Character |
9 |
| Value |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
10 |
| Genshiken is an anemoly. In fact that's my key word for this series. ^^ At it's core, it really is just watching college otaku in Japan hanging out and relishing in their life-consuming hobby. So how on earth did it end up being one of the most riveting and enjoyable things I've ever watched?
Probably a part of it is the realism. The series centers around a group of otaku, each one addicted to one major part of the fandom. Whether it be mecha, cosplay, gaming, or a little bit of everything.
They are all connected by their favorite show at the time- "Kujibiki Unbalance" an anime within an anime so to speak. We get to see the giant mass of chaos that are conventions, making a mech model, a
cosplay competition, struggles in keeping the club together, and the group getting to know one another. Ultimately an otaku is known to be someone who has no life. Who does everything in their house, lives
and breathes media. But between the members of Genshiken there is a sense of comradery, rather than just watching and reading like zombies, they have distinct and well-written personalities and can
have entertaining interactions. If you've ever been obsessed with anything or have any intensity in your personality, you'll be able to see yourself in many of these characters. The writing is just often that good.
One interesting facet of the series that brings up the tension a bit is that one of the main characters is an outsider to the sub-culture. A pretty ordinary college girl who joins Genshiken in order to get
closer to her boyfriend.. and convince him to let go of his unsavory hobby (and change his life). In the process she begins to see these "menaces of society" in a different light. Maybe more as people, like
herself.
But as much as this show humanizes otaku, it also pokes lots and lots of light fun. There are alot of parodies within this series and many, many nods to series you've probably heard of. A great pro could probably make a list of the series that pop up in a single episode. (A nod to Ghibli, lolita, Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien (by the same studio after all), Guilty Gear, Puyo Puyo, doujinshi, Gundam, etc etc etc)
So overall I enjoyed nearly every minute of this series. I was hooked to it infaliably, and even though it is in the slice-of-life genre, there was very rarely a dull moment. A funny, quirky show that is unique and in my view, successful in everything it tried to do. I'll be hoping impatiently for a sequel.
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