Genshiken 2

The first time I saw Genshiken, I was just completely taken in. Now the second season has taken it to the next level. Continuing from the OVA series that takes place after the first season, Genshiken 2 makes another Otaku come back for the fans. This time with some new characters and some interesting background stories, the story of Genshiken has become more in depth with the real world while still having it's Anime based zanies. The story begins when Sasahara takes his new presidency of the Genshiken club to the next level, by entering the club into a Comi-fest Dojinshi retail. Now he teams up with a new member, Ogire, to make some awesome manga. Meanwhile, Madarame is having a difficult time leaving the sanctaty of college, Ohno and Tanaka are getting closer then ever, Kasakabe is starting to understand Kousaka's Otaku lifestlye, plus Kugayama is starting to learn to standup for himself and speak out. Alot goes around until Sasahara decides to leave Ohno as president in order to become a Manga editor, and admit his true feelings to Ogire. Yes, alot has changed with the Genshiken crew. For those who read this should agree that this Anime shares alot of what most of us go through everyday while living in this Anime loving world of ours. I believe if you watch this Anime from the first season to this new one, you'll say to yourself "yea. I love being an otaku". All in all the story was solid and kept in touch with the first season. The character development is great. And the comedic attude is right where it should be. Now, you just have to watch it.

Genshiken 2 is probably the best of its series. This season focuses on the characters' developments and creates quite an inspirational, fun and dramatic show. This should REALLY be watched by people, specially lost college students because of its ending. It's really good, that the whole series is now VERY DEFINITELY a MUST WATCH for complete understanding. The first season was about otaku people and culture. This season also showed a little bit of that, featuring Genshiken's participation in the Comic-fest and the introduction of two non-japanese otaku, but it's mainly about the lives of the Genshiken members. It features relationship developments, dream chasing, job hunting, socialization, graduation, and post-graduation. It shows some of reality's hardships towards these aspects and how the characters overcome them. This has really good stories that give viewers an even better slice of life's reality. The art is improved so much in this season. The characters are drawn better, the backgrounds and layouts are excellent and the animation is now high quality. Everything just looks great and so much better than the first season and the OVAs. The sounds are good like in the first season, and even better because aside from having the same excellent voices, the effects, and soundtracks used are also excellent. The only minus they have here is that the OP and ED songs are indeed nice but they don't fit the show unlike the ones used in the first season. The characters were already developed a lot in the first season, and they still continue to develop a lot here. The new characters are also great and the annoying Kuchiki is now tolerable and actually adds more fun to the show with his shameless, straight forward and weird personality. Everyone is now likable except for Haraguchi of course (everyone hates Haraguchi). Not to be hated so much, Haraguchi essentially helps in developing the characters, so it's really an all good, outstanding cast. This season is super enjoyable. The comedy was indeed lessened but it's still there giving some great laughs with added drama and inspirational scenes. There is one problem though that majority of the viewer's would find troublesome and it's about an episode where a lot of yaoi scenes coming from Ogiue's imagination are visualized. It's not much of a problem though because it doesn't ruin the show at all and is a big plus for other viewers.

Well after watching this last episode of Genshiken 2 i was fairly disappointed with this season. The reason i fell in love with Genshiken was the COMEDY. I was laughing so hard i thought i was gonna die during the 1st season. Dont get me wrong the 2nd season had its moments but it felt that it went from a comedy to a serious drama. The last 5 episodes all together might've made me laugh maybe twice total. I liked the character development and the new characters but towards the end it became two serious, everything revolved around two characters.Felt like they were killing everyone off. But yea that is my opinion.

An anime rarely comes along that has as much subtle impact as Genshiken packs in its surprisingly (and unfortunately) small 27-some total episodes. I am always convinced I have seen the best that anime has to offer, and that is when another series comes and wows me once again. Luckily, Genshiken does this in a very unique way. At first I wasn't expecting much. An anime about otaku? I'm not an otaku, this can't be about me! My friend had highly suggested it to me however, so for his sake I decided to give it a try. The story involves, as explained earlier, a group of college kids who are part of Genshiken, an abbreviation for a much longer name that seems to involve their justification of club legitimacy. It's members? Your ordinary set of otakus. Yet the fact that all of these members are surprisingly ordinary is, in itself, Genshiken's uniqueness. Genshiken somehow manages to make ordinary otakus fun to watch. When you are first introduced to the main cast, you will find yourself sort of disgusted at the ways they act; maybe you'll even think "I would never be their friends!" Halfway through even the first season, you feel like they ARE your friends. In just a few episodes, these ordinary people's quirks will arise from their otaku exterior, and by the time these different characters graduate, you will be sad to see them go. Genshiken does not keep time eternal, like most anime do. Instead, it brings characters through this wacky club that have their own quirks, and just when you are (almost) comfortable seeing these characters interact, they graduate and move on with their lives. For those of you who have moved, or graduated from high school, Genshiken may bring you back to those times, where you didn't appreciate what you had around you as much as you did after you left. Amazingly, Genshiken manages to duplicate this feeling, and you truly miss the characters that leave. It is hard to believe that an anime about otaku is the thing teaching this lesson, but lessons can come from strange places, and it makes Genshiken all the better. Genshiken's ability to get the audience loving the characters is the most sought-after technique for all anime. No one can create a compelling anime if the characters are flat and ordinary. While the characters in Genshiken appear ordinary at first, their lovable quirks are what bring you to realize that these quirky people are just that. People. Not some lead role in a shounen or your average tsundere. The way that Genshiken makes its characters realistic and at the same time lovable is a great refresher from the standard cookie-cutter formula for anime today, and is definitely a must-watch. Genshiken is entertaining throughout, and its realness only adds to the fun and beauty of its characters. If you have the time, I urge you to pick this anime up if you are at all into anime (why would you be reading this if you weren't...) So many of the jokes hit the nail on the head, and you will surely feel like a member of Genshiken yourself by the time it ends.

After the hugely disappointing "Genshiken OVA", I was honestly quite worried about "Genshiken 2". The original "Genshiken" was brilliant, but everything went off track in the OVA's, possibly due to the franchise being passed to a different studio. After watching the first few minutes of "Genshiken 2", I breathed a sigh of relief - it's is well and truly back on track! The charm and likability of the first season that's sorely missing from the OVA's thankfully makes a return in the second season. In some ways, "Genshiken 2" is less realistic than the original series, but in other ways it's more so. As the members of Genshiken enter their final years, issues such as graduation and job hunting starts to weigh heavily on their minds whereas previously, they never seemed to have worried about exams and the other things that you would expect most university students would be worried about. The bonus is that these aspects happen to be the strongest parts of "Genshiken 2". My personal highlight of "Genshiken 2" is probably the graduation episode. I consider the years I spent as an undergraduate at university to be some of the best years of my life, and that graduation episode, in which the chemistry between the members of Genshiken are there for all to see, really struck a chord with me. The elation of completing your course; the sense of sadness and nostalgia as you part ways with your friends and bid farewell to university life; the excitement mingled with fear of the unknown future... all these conflicting, bitter sweet emotions are captured to perfection in that episode. In contrast, a friend of mine who was sitting at home, unemployed after graduating at the time he watched "Genshiken 2" found his personal highlight to be the job hunting part, where he really empathised with the characters' troubles in that area. And this speak volumes about the fantastic ability of this show to connect with viewers who've experienced similar situations. For a slice of life, there can be few higher praise. In the otaku aspect of the story though, "Genshiken 2" is quite a distance off the standard set by the first series. The first series is a superb demonstration of uncomfortable humour done right, as we watched a very honest portrayal of the members in "Genshiken" flounder awkwardly in social situations. Part of the discomfort comes from sympathy for the characters, and part of it comes from perhaps seeing a part of our geeky selves within the characters. Unfortunately "Genhiken 2" is a demonstration of uncomfortable humour missing the mark. In-jokes about the otaku culture is all well and good, but the cringeworthy jokes involving topics such as yaoi are simply taken a bit too far. The American otaku's behaviour and their Engrish are also too cringeworthy. And this is the main problem with "Genshiken 2" - it comes off as overly self indulgent to the extent that it's slightly guilty of pandering, with parts of it feeling like it's moved from the first season's viewing of the otaku culture from an often external stand point straight into the heart of otaku fantasy land itself in the second season. This shows especially when you see the anime trying to to shoe-horn most of the socially inept members of Genshiken into romantic relationships, only one of which comes across as an expected and natural development. In addition to the excessive pandering that goes on, part of the reason for the significant shift of perspective is probably due to the fact that Kasukabe is no longer a major focal point of the series. Kasukabe played a pivotal role in the first season. Her biting comments directed at the otaku culture tempered the geekiness of the series with a cold dose of reality, and ensured that it didn't get bogged down by its explorations of otakudom. But her gradual, grudging acceptance of the subculture meant that her main role was done by the end of season 1, so it made sense for her to step into the background a bit and. As a result, the reality check that she provides are no longer there in "Genshiken 2", and this makes a significant impact on the feel of the series. "Genshiken 2" attempts to fill up the void left by Kasukabe with two characters. Firstly, Sasahara, (who everyone thought was the main character after the opening episode of the original series but who turned out to have a more minor role in that season) actually steps up to become the main character for "Genshiken 2", making up for the reduction in Kasukabe's screen time. Then there's the character newly introduced in the OVA's - Chika Ogiue, who takes over Kasukabe's role as the otaku hater. But to be honest, Ogiue's reason for disliking otakus doesn't sit well with me, and neither does she seem to express her dislike as convincingly as Kasukabe did. Sasahara is probably the best character in "Genshiken 2". There's a deliberate sense about the way his character is developed as he goes through the stern trials of being president of Genshiken, and even sterner trials of job hunting after graduation. Despite his bland personality, or perhaps because of it, he's probably the character that the majority of us can identify with the most. Despite the conceptual weaknesses with Oguie's character, she's interesting in her own right, and makes for a strong addition to the cast, adding a different kind of personality into the mix. Although Sasahara and Ogiue both make very positive contributions to the show, they're not nearly as interesting to watch as Kasukabe's interactions with the group in the first season. In addition to this, Madarame's crazy antics are also not what they used to be. With Sasahara and Ogiue not able to make up for the reduced impact of Kasukabe (the representative of "normal" people) and Madarame (the representative of extreme otaku), "Genshiken 2" doesn't have that special spark that the original series had. Also, I still have issues with Kasukabe's character apparently passing on a hefty portion of her aggressive personality onto Ohno, though this character inconsistency isn't nearly as glaring as it was in the OVAs. On the art style side, the second season is closer to the OAV's than the original. Even though it looks more crisp, I preferred the more down to earth plain-ness of the style of the first season. Overall, "Genshiken 2" has redeemed the franchise in my eyes. As good as the first season it is not, but it's recovered most of the charming qualities that made me enjoy the first season so much, and after the shambles that was the OVA's, I gladly welcome this new addition to the franchise with open arms.

This season is about Sasahara, who has inherited the Genshiken. The focus of the series shifts from simply enjoying manga to the actual production, leading to a lot of drama as the usually easy going Genshiken crew are faced with stress, deadlines and surprisingly, romantic intrigue! This season doesn't have as clear a story as the first, but it actually spoke to me much more. The stress of job searching after college is a humiliating, heartbreaking experience, and this series captures that perfectly. It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling frustrated. My only complaint is with Angela: the "American" who could barely speak English. Needless to say, this was much better in the manga. Suzy does and will always rule, however. Oguie is a masterpiece in characterization. She's the walking representation of every girl I've ever loved. I suspect she will be yours as well. Favorite Character: Oguie Crushing on: Oguie Favorite Episode: 5, the most painful/funny episode in all of anime Favorite Music: Ending, Clubhouse Sandwich by Yuumao

Things seem to pick up in Genshiken 2 versus the events in part 1. The art goes through some changes and improves over the quality in part 1 in my opinion. The plot seems to expand outside of the club room more as part 2 brings with it a lot more changes to the members and their personal lives. It's a bit sad to see characters we grew to like moving on with their lives, but it's also a bit odd compared to what we generally see in Slice of Life anime. Most titles in the genre are more than eager to broach and even go full on rainbows and sunshine on the topic of moving on and missing your friends and loved ones: after all, the point, according to the majority, is not to think about the days when you'll miss your friends, but to remember and enjoy the times you have in the present. The problem with these feel good emotions is that very few of those shows actually follow through with it. In fact, most of them leave the viewer feeling as if the characters will be in school forever. That everyone is just like Peter Pan and the days of adulthood will never come. Genshiken 2 does not fall into this category, which, as stated, can be a little sad, but it's also refreshing to see an anime actually showing life move on. *** This is part 2 of a Genshiken, it is highly recommended to watch part 1. It is also highly recommended to watch the OVA's before beginning part 2. Many animes have OVA's bundled with various seasons that are really little more than extra stories; however, the Genshiken OVA's are actually vital transition episodes from part 1 to part 2. While you can generally get the gist of what happens between the end of 1 and the beginning of 2, you will see characters show up in part 2 that might leave you scratching your head going, "Where did they come from? And what happened between those guys?" Later in the season there are also direct references to events from the OVA. I hadn't actually seen the OVA's, believing they were simply extra side-story episodes. That was until about half-way through 2 when some of the references were going over my head and I had to go back and watch the OVA's.

NOTE* This review is the same as Genshiken season 1; I review after I've seen all of the anime. This anime was okay and with something to provide in the humor department, but then the story dropped off after that. It seemed that the general aim of the show was to just show the progressing lives of otakus', but it wasn't very coherent. The first impressions you get are completely lost over time, and are subbed in with mini-stories. BUT it's not as bad as I'm making it out as. Like I said, the humor in here is funny and since I can relate to the anime craze like the characters in here, it was interesting. 7/10, look, not all anime is gold, and anime that isn't gold isn't necessarily crap. Just watch this series if you're bored or something.

As the name implies this is a continuation of the first season of Genshiken. I found this to be even more interesting than the first season although it was three episodes shorter. There was much more parodying of manga and anime a la "Hayate no Gotoku" which is a good thing in my book. In the last few epidsodes they may have even surpassed Hayate in that department. If you haven't seen the first season watch it, it's worth it if only to get to the second season.

Here I am again with Genshiken 2, and I must say it was very gratifying to watch this anime, this experience was very fruitful. The anime further raised the quality of its predecessor, with a prettier design, interesting topics to be discussed and the dynamics of interaction between the characters was also very well used given what it had already built in its previous one. However, one thing that made me miss was its more melancholy side, since in this now, as soundtracks are more present and better set up the mood that wants to be played in a specific situation, however this is not a problem, it's just me I really liked this "sadlier" footprint from the predecessor ;). Genshiken 2 is a title that is very worth seeing, all the characters are at their maximum development, everything in tune, everything very organic, the comedy is still there and even better than its predecessor. Genshiken is indeed one of my favorite animes, and I hope it becomes yours too when you see such a work of art; D!

An surprising upgrade from the first season in my opinion. The story is more smoother in my opinion now and you can feel the difference in how it has changed the graphics having been bumped up. Its a direct sequel kinda from the first thats easy to see although that is if you have watched the ova episodes. That there is an anime that begins with creating an doujinshii is very interesting and unique in the anime world. The added new characters have their own impact on the anime although sadly one of the is just so annoying that you want to throw down a deep pit. I think if anyone has managed to get throough the first season then this one is a brease and it will be that great sequel that one can expect. As mentioned earlier the graphics got bumped up which started actually with the ovas and it makes the serie look alot cleaner. Not saying it was bad before it just looks brighter in a good way. The sound is much the same as before its good but nothing to write home or talk about. Character wise there isnt much difference than the original one although Sasahara, Kanji has grown some more backbone and it doesnt feel like you want to strange him for being so undecided. There are alot of new kinda impact full characters but the most being Ogiue, Chika who is the newest member of genshiken. She has a self proclamained hate for Otakus and she hates everything that has to do with Yaoi which kinda becomes her introduction you can say. She is a Tsundere in many ways but she is interesting to follow and see the interaction with the rest of the members specially Oono, Kanako is funny in every sense. I can say i enjoyed the second season more than the first due to the better interaction between different characters and more fluid story. It was fun from first to last episode and it just made me want more. If you like the first one you will deffintely like this one i can say that with almost 100% certainty. Its interesting and its well done so if your an otaku fan i advice it will all my heart. I actually think this anime fits anyone who enjoys slice of life anime since the way the creators show a life led by otakus and it feels real as you watch. Overall for me the second season deserves a 9 due to it having improved alot from the first and it just feels easier and better to follow overall. My cons if you want to is the how many things are hinted too much but not fully explained which i fault the creators for not using the content from the manga better. It doesnt have that masterpiece feel to it but i definitely feel that it feels great in many ways for what they do and how clearly they show it.

In this season, it still tells about the activities of the otaku club or association like the previous season. However, there are a lot of differences here, starting to improve and the shortcomings as I mentioned in the previous season are starting to be minimized. Just as parody from anime in real life began to appear, the comedy began to improve a bit since a new character or member entered the club and the conflict in it began to feel like graduation and love. The love life of fellow otaku, events or events that occur in clubs, feelings of love that begin to grow and otaku's relationship with work and after graduation from college are common to them.

So, I loved the first season of Genshiken, I really did. It was truly hilarious, hysterical at times. However, the second season is another story. I mean, the first part of it is good. Basically my score is for the first half of the season. The second half of it suddenly went from comedy to some dramatic romance and (wtf?) stories about people looking for jobs. Like, really, after about 20 episodes of comedy you decided to teach me some moral values and the way real life works? Thanks but no thanks. Also, they added some fun service in genshiken 2, which was uncalled for but it's whatever.

Everything ends eventually and here it is. I won't go into it any further, because I would just repeat what has already been said here. For me, it ends definitively, since I won't see the last season and the OVA due to the lack of translation. I liked the plot, just like everything before it, and I highly recommend it. The animation was better than the previous season and I liked the ED. I hate to admit it, but I'm also at an age where I should stop with this and finally focus on something more meaningful, so it hurt me to watch this knowing that I'm not an exception.