Takashi Ikehata Genshiken

Plot

Kosaka Makoto is your above average college student: academically inclined, handsome, popular, and the object of all of the ladies' eyes, but why is a guy like him, Saki Kasukabe wonders, going to the anime and manga tables at the club fair?

No way! Could he really be an otaku?

Being old friends with Kosaka, and being quite interested in the remarkable man he has bloomed into, Saki rekindles their old friendship, and pushes to make it more. As their relationship grows, she comes to grip more and more with the uncomfortable truth: her boyfriend really IS an otaku!

But Hell hath no fury to that of a woman with a mission; She'll turn her boyfriend away from the Dark Side at all costs!

Delivery

In the same vein as "Comic Party", "Cosplay Complex" and "Otaku No Video", Genshiken pokes fun at its characters' quirks, which also happen to be those of the show's own audience: anime fans. The concept isn't new, but the show is certainly a lot more complex than some of the shows that pre-date it, which almost seem like a constant barrage of otaku-centered gags and then a poorly executed attempt at a romance twist.

Entertainment Value

This show proves to be quite a bit more entertaining if you have ever actually been in an anime club, especially when it is an overtly fanboyish one. From cosplay fanatics, and closet fans, to "That Guy That Saw An Anime Once" and the new guy who obnoxiously sings Gundam opening songs at the Karaoke bar (we called him "Rookie" in my group), the show is exploding at the seams with characters that you may have met at your local anime club, convention, or mall wherever DVDs and Videos are sold.

The great thing is that most of the characters, is that while they have their faults, there is an overwhelmingly redeeming side to them, which makes you feel a little bit better about them, and helping the show from seeming too heavy-handed.

Final Thoughts

The show is frequented with ridiculously ecchi humor. All of the male main characters are more than a bit perverted. Their favorite show, "Kujibiki Unbalance" (or Kujiun), constantly puts the characters, the typical cast composition of any harem anime, in somewhat suggestive situations. After all, a good part of the show is about Kujiun's pandering to Doujin writers.

Who this Anime is For

This show is not for ultra-content purists. There are references to sexual acts (of the Single Player kind), but that's about it. Ultimately, this show is for old-time otaku who are a bit longer in the teeth and have seen, and can appreciate, or perhaps are, the kinds of people parodied in this show.

Would I recommend this Anime?

I would answer with an emphatic, "Yes".

"Yes, yes, that's funny because I know that guy, yes!"