What will Sue cosplay as this time? Karen? Tsukihi? Meruru?
What They Say:
Merei Yajima is struggling to accept Hato’s crossdressing. Hato is a guy, but he’s more attractive, nicer, and more talented than she is, and she feels inferior. Finally she makes a demand: That he stop wearing women’s clothes altogether.
The Review:
We know what otaku boys are made of, Genshiken’s first seasons focusing on Sasahara showed us that. But what are otaku girls made of? Genshiken Second Season hopes to answer that question, and is doing so in brilliant fashion. As it turns out, at least Yajima is just as pervy as the guys. At least, according to original mangaka Shumoku Kio (a male), director Tsutomu Mizushima (a male), and series composer Michiko Yokote (a female). I appreciate that, in a show full of female otaku, they have a female writing the scripts.
Oguie’s got a one-shot manga to publish, though, and there’s really no time for pervy girl things like boys love (though they end up talking about BL anyway). But with Oguie’s deadline looming, everyone realizes that they might not make the club deadline for their Comiket circle. Everyone except Kuchiki and Ohno work double time at Oguie’s apartment to get everything done on time.
Otaku interactions are abound once again in Genshiken, and they never disappoint. They’re always about otaku stuff or otaku related stuff and it always feels authentic. The character writing by both Kio and Yokote is top notch and deserves its own credit among the myriad of other otaku-based shows nowadays.
In Summary:
Genshiken will always be one of my favorite anime, but there’s something off about Niidaime compared to Genshiken and Genshiken 2. The character designs are a little to sleek, and the girls a little too cute. You lose the vibe of awkwardness you had with the first seasons, and maybe that’s a consequence of the more outgoing characters and the abundance of females. Nonetheless, Genshiken still remains perhaps the best anime about otaku.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
