The new Genshiken has its first trailer, a 30-second clip. It’s just a voiceover with Yoshitake, Yajima, and Hato, as well as a small bit of Ogiue, but there are some things I observed in the trailer.

The main thing I noticed is that the new Ogiue voice, Yamamoto Nozomi, sounds similar to the previous actor Mizuhashi Kaori, though not Mizuhashi’s performance of Ogiue. Mizuhashi is quite varied (Ogiue doesn’t resemble Miyako in Hidamari Sketch), and Yamamoto’s performance sounds a bit closer to some of Mizuhashi’s other roles, such as Rosetta in Kaleidostar or Mami in Madoka Magica. So it’s sort of a match, but sort of not.

The other notable thing, I think, is that they didn’t give Yajima a “fat” voice. A lot of times, heavyset characters in anime have a deeper, rounder voice to emphasize their weight, but Yajima’s voice sounds more normal. It doesn’t quite have the coarseness I was expecting, but it’s still good to see it not fall into that old stereotype.

Genshiken Nidaime starts July 6th. I still haven’t decided if I’ll episode-blog it or not, especially because that eats up a whole bunch of my post slots (even if it would make for easy content). The other issue of course is that I’ve already done chapter reviews of the source material, and I worry that it’d be quite redundant. That said, maybe I can use it as a way to revisit those previous chapters.

What do you think? Are the chapter reviews already more than enough?

As Yoshitake pressures Yajima into potentially revealing that she has feelings for Hato, Kuchiki sees a distraught Hato committing the worst crime of ComiFes: not enjoying himself. In a rare moment of clarity and benevolence (albeit still horribly awkward), Kuchiki teaches Hato that worrying what other people think about you goes against the otaku way. Hato, who suspects that his interest in Madarame may be a matter of him being interested in Madarame in particular and not guys in general, suggests that he hook up with Angela (who is of course likely eager to do so).

This month’s Genshiken II, titled “Festival Evol,” is a reference to the anime Aquarion Evol, which is appropriate in a number of ways. First, Aquarion Evol is the next generation of characters after the original Genesis of Aquarion, which is similar to Nidaime. Second, in the final episode of Aquarion Evol (SPOILERS), the titular robot turns into “Aquarion LOVE,” which is of course one of the themes of Chapter 89. You could maybe read something into the separation between boys and girls in that series too, but that might be going too far. The next chapter preview quote is also from another robot anime, Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter, so it’s a good month for mecha references.

I find this chapter to somehow be incredibly straightforward but also quite complicated in terms of its developments, so I’m not entirely sure how to approach it. I guess the first thing I’ll say is that, I do know from personal experience that sometimes you think you like someone more than you actually do. I’ve had cases where I was interested in girls, and when they got significant others, my feelings were not jealousy or regret or forlorn heartbreak, but simply satisfaction and relief. In those cases, “what could have been” doesn’t really enter the equation, a personal realization that my own feelings weren’t that strong after all. Is this the case with Hato and his feelings towards Madarame? Something tells me “no,” if only because it only seems to be deflecting or delaying the problems surrounding him. I’m not sure if the BL genre’s classic “I don’t like men, I just like you!” line really works in “reality,” nor the reality Genshiken wishes to depict.

More generally, not understanding one’s own feelings is a recurring element of the otaku subculture, especially when it comes to human interaction. Not to fall into the stereotype of otaku and fujoshi having no social skills or sex, but it’s clear from previous chapters that their experiences with romance have been limited or marred with awkwardness. It only makes sense that not only Hato but Yajima seems to be either consciously or unconsciously denying something, even if it doesn’t necessarily go as far as sexual attraction. I find it both interesting and relevant to this chapter that both Hato and Yajima are the types to restrain themselves to a certain degree even when among their comrades.

The highlight of this chapter may be the fact that this is the first time we’ve seen Kuchiki successfully do something admirable. He’s tried in the past before, like when trying to stop the cosplay thief at the club recruitment fair, but that led to such disaster that it’s one of the first things mentioned in Genshiken II. While Kuchiki is obnoxious and doesn’t understand social problems, he does bring up the relevant point that Hato’s interests in and of themselves do not cause trouble for anyone, nor should they. It makes me think about the other classic annoying character of Genshiken who hasn’t appeared in forever, Haraguchi, and how different the two are. Unlike Haraguchi, Kuchiki is selfish and rude but too honest to be manipulative.

As for the possibility of Angela being Madarame’s first time, I actually really want it to happen now. I don’t particularly care if Madarame and Angela become a “thing,” and of course there’s the long-distance component in all that, but there’s something about Angela just getting the job done that I find potentially hilarious. Genshiken has never been big on valuing female virginity, going all the way back to Saki discussing her sex life with the club members, or the fact that Ogiue is at this point very much not one, but somehow Madarame the virgin is the bigger deal. Losing it in a brief fling where both parties are aware of the lack of classic romance as well as the time limitations would be appropriate and a subtle defiance of the “nerd guy gets the hot girl!” trope, without necessarily being sad, even if Madarame is portrayed as somewhat of a romantic at heart.

This month’s Genshiken also came with an extra comic by another artist, about one of the Genshiken Nidaime anime voice dubbing sessions. As previously discussed, the new anime has an entirely new voice cast, and it’s a lot about the director (who has worked on the previous Genshiken anime) instructing them on the nuances of the characters. Naturally, they don’t reference the previous actors, as that would compromise the legitimacy of the current cast. Probably the most interesting tidbit is at the end, when it turns out that a lot of the female voice actors are themselves fans of Genshiken, and were all asking Kio Shimoku for his autograph. Kio is reportedly a very private individual, which actually just makes me think of him as Madarame, secretly attractive.

Introduction: “Gattai Girls” is a series of posts dedicated to looking at giant robot anime featuring prominent female characters due to their relative rarity within that genre.

Here, “prominent” is primarily defined by two traits. First, the female character has to be either a main character (as opposed to a sidekick or support character), or she has to be in a role which distinguishes her. Second, the female character has to actually pilot a giant robot, preferrably the main giant robot of the series she’s in.

For example, Aim for the Top! would qualify because of Noriko (main character, pilots the most important mecha of her show), while Vision of Escaflowne would not, because Hitomi does not engage in any combat despite being a main character, nor would Full Metal Panic! because the most prominent robot pilot, Melissa Mao, is not prominent enough.

—

It’s not uncommon for an anime to pay homage to its predecessors, but when the homage becomes a source of inspiration itself, then you have something special. That’s Aim for the Top! Gunbuster. The image of Gunbuster rising up from a ship with its arms crossed is especially famous, and for anyone to whom the phrase “female robot anime protagonist” is relevant, Takaya Noriko and the Gunbuster carry great significance. As I even use it in my introduction, it was only a matter of time before Gattai Girls got around to Aim for the Top!

In the future, mankind is under siege from massive alien creatures. In order to combat them, young cadets are recruited and trained so that they may travel through space and confront the aliens directly. One such pilot is Takaya Noriko, who appears to be lacking, but the school’s coach sees potential in her and makes her a candidate for mankind’s strongest weapon, the Gunbuster. As she trains alongside her “big sister,” a talented, beautiful, and hardworking upperclassman named Amano Kazumi, Noriko learns and matures. However, because battling the enemy requires faster-than-lightspeed travel, those who fight must live in a different time frame from those they care about.

First released in 1988, Aim for the Top! is in many ways an anime for anime fans, which should come as no surprise when considering that it’s an early Gainax production. Gainax is famous for being the anime studio created by fans, and when you look at this OVA series and even the fact that it bucks the trend by going for a fierce and powerful female protagonist in Noriko likely stems from these origins. The series fuses the melodramatic shoujo sports setting of the tennis manga Aim for the Ace! (of which the OVA is at first clearly a parody) with both the hot-blooded nature of the super robot genre and the devil-may-care atmosphere of Top Gun. One thing that strikes me about Aim for the Top! is that, even though it has its basis in shoujo, the character designs and overall art style are quite far-removed from Aim for the Ace! and really embodies that 80s look.

If I had to pick a more modern series with similar tendencies (aside from its sequel Aim for the Top 2!, of course), it would be Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha and the way it takes the magical girl concept traditionally aimed towards girls and combines it with an almost mecha-like aesthetic for the enjoyment of male fans. Same goes for the treatment of male characters: like in Nanoha, guys are clearly less important, even to the point of being more plot devices than anything else.

The reason why I bring all of this up is because I can’t say that Takaya Noriko is intentionally a progressive character. Giant robots and cute girls are two popular tastes among otaku, and Noriko is a notable example of that. It also should be noted that Aim for the Top! is notorious for popularizing in anime the concept of incredibly jiggly breasts, the girls’ outfits emphasize their legs like crazy, and casual nudity is somewhat common in the series. Nevertheless, in some ways I would argue that there are very clear benefits to the fact that Noriko is a very strong female protagonist regardless of feminist intentions. Aim for the Top! asks, why can’t the girl be the lead? Why can’t she save the day? And why can’t she be the one yelling with fury at the top of her lungs as her robot plants the spiked treads on the bottom of its foot and tears through alien creatures ten times its size?

It’s not like Noriko at her core is a very original character. She’s not much different from her predecessor Hiromi in Aim for the Ace! (and Kazumi is still clearly based on Ochoufuujin from the same series), but just by shifting the activity and context, it changes the responsibility given to the lead character away from the relative safety of “sports as a female activity.” Where Hiromi learns to utilize a more “masculine” style of tennis which better suits her, Noriko ends up exceling in the traditionally masculine role of super robot pilot. In that capacity, “preventing the extinction of the entire human race” is a pretty big accomplishment.

I think the one thing which really captures Noriko’s appeal is her screaming. Noriko’s cry as she launches attacks is so distinct and memorable that, in terms of the ability to generate sheer excitement through her passion and intensity, she is possibly unmatched among female robot pilots in all of anime. By the end of the series, Noriko has more than proven herself as not only powerful in her own right, but a source of strength for others. Noriko’s strength is such that guys may not just want to be with her, but actually be her as well.

After much delay, I finally started playing NiGHTS into dreams… HD. I’ve never played too many games on my PC just because I didn’t even have a proper controller for a lot of the genres I normally play otherwise, but I decided to just go, “To hell with it” and purchase an X-Box 360 controller. I know I was hankering for some retro gaming when I decided to buy it in euros even though it’d cost me a little extra.

I’m not really going to review NiGHTS here just because the game has such a powerful reputation, a cult classic that all Sega Saturn owners either remember fondly or always pined after. It is indeed an exquisite game, especially in its visual presentation and its smooth controls, but what I’ve found upon returning to my old favorite is that the game occupies this strange space for me where it is both somehow therapeutic while at the same time motivating and challenging.

Actually, I will say one thing about the game: it doesn’t control quite like the original Sega Saturn NiGHTS, and while the difference isn’t huge, it’s still noticeable for someone like me who poured hours and hours and hours into the old one. Playing widescreen can also throw off my sense of timing because the camera changes at ever-so-slightly different points.

I’ve written previously about how a current hobby of mine, Japanese mahjong, is a combination of luck and deception, and is thus enormously nerve-wracking. NiGHTS isn’t this, but it also doesn’t feel “casual” or “mindless.” Rather, it’s a game with a simple, clear-cut goal (get the highest score while beating each stage and boss), but I always feel like the game is only as intense as I want it to be. Unlike another perennial favorite of mine, Pokemon, it also isn’t hampered by the permanence of decisions (can’t use your single-player team because it wasn’t EV-trained properly!!!) If I want to just enjoy the bright colors and scenery, I can. If I want to push myself to get as close to perfect as possible, I can. If I just want to fight the bosses over and over again (and I do love doing that), I actually can now, thanks to NiGHTS HD. I can kill Gulpo in 10 seconds.

That reminds me that, even back then, my biggest complaint about the game is that the bosses are simply too easy regardless of whether you’ve played the game a ton or not. It’s the one thing that I think the sequel, NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, improved upon tremendously (except for that stupid and frustrating fight against Bomamba).

Name: Masana (雅奈)
Alias: Masa-nee (雅姐）
Relationship Status: Dating
Origin: Fujoshi Kanojo.

Information:
Office lady, writes BL novels. Has obscure tastes and doesn’t like when things go mainstream. She particularly has a thing for yaoi stories about businessmen. Has an eye doctor boyfriend who is really into audio equipment, and is not very understanding of her fujoshi hobbies, creating a good deal of tension in their relationship. Good friends with Yuiko and Sacchin.

An older office lady, Masana (“Masa-nee” to her friends Yuiko and Sachi) is an author of BL novels. Interested especially in stories concerning businessmen, she has obscure tastes and does not enjoy genres as much when they become too mainstream. Masana dates an eye doctor who is not very understanding of her fujoshi hobbies, which creates a good deal of tension in their relationship, especially because he seems unable to see that his obsession with audio equipment is just as strong as Masana’s passion for yaoi.

Fujoshi Level:
In a fit of anger, Masana once wrote fanfiction of her boyfriend being the uke to the wires and cables of his own audio equipment.

The new Genshiken anime has begun airing, and with it comes not only a time skip over the conclusion to the original manga, but also a new cast of characters. Seeing as the anime is pretty much covering the manga panel-by-panel, and I’ve already reviewed the individual comic chapters along the way, there’s not much need for me to do a thorough analysis, but I do want to give some thoughts about the adaptation process at least. If you do want to see my thoughts on the events of episode 1 of Genshiken Second Season (or Genshiken Nidaime, or as I prefer to call it, Genshiken II), you can find them here and here.

By the way, the title of the first episode is a reference to the Japanese title for the Shinkai Makoto movie known in English as The Place Promised in Our Early Days.

While the anime is faithful to the manga so far, in watching the first episode I feel that the pacing of this newest anime is a good deal more frantic than what I’m used to seeing from Genshiken anime. While the series was never quite subdued moe comedy or Maria-sama ga Miteru levels of “slow,” there was always a kind of mellowness to them even in the sillier situations. Think of Saki talking to them about how Kohsaka (probably) watches anime while they’re having sex. The humor crescendoes, coming out gradually. With the new series, it feels like one gag after the other with little room to breathe in between.

The thing I’m not as sure about is to what degree this has to do with the adaptation itself by Production I.G. (and along with it the new voice actors), and to what degree this is because of the new cast of characters and their different personalities. Certainly as much as Madarame could get rather crazy in the old days, he’s no Yoshitake, whom Ogiue accurately describes as like Kuchiki, only with tact and sense. At the same time, I’ve re-read the manga recently and I didn’t get the impression that the pacing is different, even if some of the energy shown by its characters is.

If I had to pick out a major difference, I think it may have to do with the fact that the manga often presents varying pieces of information such as different dialogues and facial expressions at once, from panel to panel, while the anime presents the same stuff isolated from its connective moments. Of course, the fact that I’ve seen all of this already may also mean I’m more sensitive to this, and someone entirely unfamiliar with the new Genshiken might be taking in the crazy world of a girl-dominant Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture first and foremost.

I do also want to say just a couple of things about the voice actors. First, although they’re fine (but will take some getting used to), I experience cognitive dissonance when hearing Yukana as Ohno. No matter what, I can’t shake Cure White from my head. The other thing is that, in addition to finding Yamamoto Nozomi’s Ogiue performance to be somewhat similar to Mizuhashi Kaori’s other non-Ogiue roles, her Ogiue is actually closer to how I first imagined the character’s voice back when she appeared in the manga. At the time, I heard her voice as just the tiniest bit high-pitched with an equally small amount of nasalness, which Yamamoto has.

Speaking of Ogiue, one thing that didn’t occur to me while watching but I realize may be an issue with the animated Nidaime is that, for someone who had stuck only to the anime adaptations previously, Ogiue’s character might come across as way different from what they remembered. Whereas the last time we left Ogiue she had a tendency to stare daggers into everyone she met, now she’s kind of good-natured and filled with a good deal more joy, and without the Karuizawa arc from the manga showing both what her traumas were and how she eventually overcame then, this contrast in her old and new personalities is potentially jarring.

Anyway, to end things off, here’s a fun comparison for Ogiue fans everywhere.

Not too long ago I half-jokingly suggested that the first moe character was Hilda (pictured above), the heroine from the 1968 animated film Hols: Prince of the Sun. The basis of this was that Hilda was the creation of a young Takahata and Miyazaki, who would later go on to form Studio Ghibli, and if you’ve ever read Miyazaki’s recollection of his first time watching Legend of the White Serpent, you’ll not only see similarities between Hilda and Pai-Nan, the heroine of Legend of the White Serpent, but also between his reaction and the way fans of Key games talk about their beloved works: Miyazaki actually cried the whole night, and fell in love with Pai-Nan. Of course, if Pai-Nan had such an impression, then it’s possible to argue that she’s the first moe character, but regardless of what character has the distinction, I suspect that the tragic element which defines both of these characters also has an influence on the development of female characters in anime and manga, and by extension the idea of moe.

In the trailer to Hols: Prince of the Sun, Hilda is introduced, accompanied by on-screen text saying, “Am I a demon, or a human being?” This highlights the inner conflict of her character, as Hilda is both the sister of the main villain as well as the love interest of the hero. She plays both a romantic and an antagonistic role, and the fact that she struggles over which is her “true self” is the inherent tragedy of the character. Star-crossed lovers are nothing new to media, of course, but according to The Pretty Character Chronicles: The History of Animation Heroines, 1958-1999, the early Toei animated films, of which both Hols and Legend of the White Serpent are included (though these titles are themselves about a decade apart), often feature heroines who begin the movies as antagonists.

Pai-Nan doesn’t quite fit this concept, as she’s more of a tragically cursed character, a princess in need of rescue in the vein of  a classic Disney Princess. This makes a degree of sense, given that Toei’s goal was to try to be the “Disney of the East,” but when you look at heroines in classic Disney films, none of them fulfill the role that Hilda or other similar Toei heroines play as partial antagonists. In fact, if you look at Disney animated films as a whole, there’s pretty much only one character who does fit this bill: Megara from Hercules, a film from 1997. In other words, “damsel-in-distress” is not quite the function of these Toei heroines.

What relevance does this have to current anime and the presence of moe, then? My argument is that the tragedy component of heroines such as Hilda has been reduced or compacted to varying degrees, so when you have a character who has traits commonly considered moe, such as a character who suffers from being short in a slice-of-life comedy, what you’re seeing is an on-going series of tiny tragedies, like with Yuno in Hidamari Sketch. The tsundere, especially the more contemporary tsundere type, is another example, as a character who struggles with being true to her feelings can be considered tragic in her own way. Hidamari Sketch also provides one such character in the form of Natsume, whose feelings for the character Sae remain unrequited due to Natsume’s own stubbornness.

While I think the criticism of moe characters as feeding off the desire of men to want to rescue the poor female victim is valid to a good extent, I think that the quality which has transmitted itself from those early Toei days all the way to the current age is not so much that of the “helpless girl” but that of “helplessness.” A girl tragically trapped in a situation can be moe, but what’s considered even more moe is the heroine who can’t be helped no matter what. In such a case, powerlesssness becomes not so much the half-way point in an elaborate power fantasy, but the end point in and of itself, with the potential for empathy between not just the viewer and the hero, but the viewer and the heroine. Of course, that’s somewhat of an extreme case, and the end result really depends on how individual works wish to resolve the inner conflict of the descendants of the tragic antagonistic heroines.

I might be calling this an episodic review in the tags, but that’s kind of a misnomer. Instead, I’d like to talk about Genshiken Second Season episode 2, or rather, what’s missing from it.

The manga equivalents of this episode would be Chapters 58, 59, and 60, but if you look at Chapter 59 you’ll notice a rather important Madarame story being cut from it. Now, this might be them cutting it out entirely, or it might be a pacing issue or something where they’d prefer to explore the new characters before putting the spotlight on the old guard again. That’s why, for now, we’ll leave it aside and assume it might actually appear in the anime at a later date, and focus on another curious cut. For those who are sticking to the anime, be warned that Chapter 59 is potentially pretty spoilery for you.

In Episode 2, Yajima, Yoshitake, and Hato all go over to Yajima’s place to create their profiles for the club magazine, Mebaetame. Prior to this, they go to buy some drinks, during which Yoshitake talks about her fantastic metabolism. What the anime did not include, however, is the fact that Yoshitake was trying to buy alcohol to liven up the party. The scene was originally a way to show how Yoshitake is as free-spirited as Yajima is straight-laced (her objection is mainly that they’re below drinking age), especially when Yoshitake ends up getting the beers anyway. Curiously, whereas in the manga they pass out due to drunkenness, in the anime, they simply got tired.

Here’s what I’m wondering: Was this cut due to time constraints, or was it cut in order to avoid showing underage drinking?

I don’t know enough about Japanese television censorship or censorship laws to determine if this is the true cause, but I do know I’ve seen plenty of manga to anime adaptations play it safe in roughly similar ways. The Bokurano anime, for example, turned a rape and exploitation storyline from the manga into something much less extreme. Genshiken does not even begin to approach that territory, but maybe for this show it’s still something they’d like to avoid.

Another thing, though not exactly a cut, is a loss of context. The moment when Ogiue slams the door on Ohno is a visual reference to the time Ogiue invited Sasahara over alone. That part of Genshiken isn’t animated, so the connection is lost.

The opening is kind of interesting. It has quite a bit of information about what’s going to happen (including the appearance of a certain saucer-eyed character and her friend), but what I find most interesting about it is that it makes it very clear that Hato is the focus of the new series, something which wasn’t always immediately obvious in the manga. Also, Sue as Koujiro Frau from Robotics;Notes is about as perfect as it gets. That’s something that wasn’t in the manga but fits Sue’s character so amazingly well that I wish it had been. There is precedent for anime stuff to make it into the original manga, though, so hope is not lost.

Hear me out.

Tomoko, the main character of No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! (aka Watamote) is a sad sack whose life gradually rolls downhill as her own delusions of greatness collide with the reality of her crippling social awkwardness. You can even see this in the fact that, contrary to original translations of the manga, the title emphasizes that she blames other people for her problems. Some of those problems are real, some imagined, but what’s generally true is that she makes things worse for herself.

A lot of characters are likened to Tomoko as a kind of shorthand to understand the humor, horror, and appeal of her character. I’ve seen Shinji from Evangelion, Wile E. Coyote (because of how everything she does backfires), and I was originally even fond of comparing Tomoko to Charlie Brown, but the more I think about it, the more that I realize that ol’ blockhead for all of his misfortune doesn’t quite cut it, and that there is only one true answer.

• Obsessed with media and entertainment, but also thinks a lot of it is crap
• Not entirely incompetent, but definitely overestimates his own intelligence
• Awkward, stuttering laugh
• Hears dirty words where there are none
• Misguidedly misanthropic
• Plans to make his life better backfire constantly
• Sometimes believes he got “laid” just by being near a girl

Think about it. I guess the only thing is that Butt-head “wins” more often because he enrages his principal.

A company called Anime Sols has been trying to crowdfund a number of old anime, some classics, some rather obscure. Despite streaming all of their shows at least in part, none of the anime they’ve picked so far seem to be anywhere near their intended goals, and I think it’s a bit of a shame. Of their shows, the one that seems to have the best shot is Magical Angel Creamy Mami. At over $8000 currently of its $19,000 goal, it’s been much more “successful” than its fellow Anime Sols shows, and I’ve even pledged myself. With only four days left there isn’t a lot of time, but that also means it’s still possible to contribute.

A popular 80s magical girl show which is still well-loved, Creamy Mami is less Sailor Moon-style “magical girls as fighting force” and more Full Moon o Sagashite’s “magical girls using magic to turn into adults.” It’s from a different era and conception of magical girls, and thematically also very representative of what was around at the time, and the ability to have these shows brought over and sold to English speakers would be great for fans of anime, especially those interested in the mahou shoujo genre.

Now those who’ve read Ogiue Maniax may be aware that I’ve not exactly given Creamy Mami the best reviews. I don’t exactly find it to be a riveting show, so it may seem like I’m talking out of both sides of my mouth, but my support of Creamy Mami has less to do with the quality of the individual show and more about the potential opportunity it brings to have more classic magical girl anime available. I’m a fan of mahou shoujo for aesthetic, narrative, and emotional reasons, and so even if Creamy Mami isn’t fantastic, it may be the bridge to shows of a similar cloth which are. Keep in mind that I’m not asking people to support a magical girl show so that they can get more violent action shows or harem works, nor am I suggesting that failure to support this would mean the death of all anime crowdfunding. However, if mahou shoujo is your thing, then it might just be worthwhile.

And once again, I have to say that the second ending theme for Creamy Mami is really good.

Once again this is a review that isn’t. Relevant manga discussions are Chapter 59 and Chapter 61.

Before I get into it though, I want to point out an interesting comment I got recently on my previous episode “review” in response to the cut alcohol scenes. Natsuno, a Japanese person, replied that Japanese TV does in fact regulate depictions of alcohol consumption. Interesting thing to find out, I think.

In Episode 3 we’re introduced to the “other” Hato, the imaginary female version of Hato who makes fangirl comments in his head. No matter what you call it, a Stand, an 801-chan (not used in the anime though), or whatever, it’s meant to be an example of how Hato is able to have a distanced fujoshi view while still maintaining his own thoughts.

The anime’s portrayal of the other Hato came across to me as a bit different from the manga version, despite the scenes being pretty much the same. What I realized afterwards was that this has a lot to do with medium, that conversion from paper to television, and the different conceptions of time that come with it.

In the early chapters of Naruto, one of the gimmicks of the character Haruno Sakura is that she often has thoughts she isn’t willing to express openly, and this usually takes the form of an “Inner Sakura,” a more comically angry-looking version of her silently shouting her true feelings. In the manga, I thought this gag was pretty funny, but in the anime it didn’t work for me at all. This is because in the manga the presence of Inner Sakura appears to take place at the same time as the regular Sakura, a simultaneous existence, whereas to emphasize it for the anime they had to first show Sakura talking, and then Inner Sakura’s response, one and then the other. Although to a lesser extent, I find this to be pretty much the difference between the Nidaime manga and anime.

I think what it comes down to is that when you have that inner and outer self interaction as with Sakura or Hato and you depict it on the page, you can concentrate on one piece at a time while still seeing that they’re on the same page, or more specifically in the same panel. That one panel becomes a cohesive piece of information which can be approached and broken down, and doesn’t need to rely on the linear time of an animated sequence, nor the loss of attention that would occur if the anime did actually play both scenes simultaneously.

Name: Konishi, Nozomi (小西望)
Alias: Nozomin (のぞみん）
Relationship Status: Dating
Origin: Fudanshism: Fudanshi Shugi na Seikatsu

Information:
Konishi Nozomi is a teenager who attends Kentei Academy and acts as the vice-president of the school’s manga club. A sincere girl who is quiet (but not necessarily shy), one year at Comic Manga Market she meets a gothic lolita girl named Amane. Over time, the two grow closer, though unbeknownst to Nozomi, Amane is actually her male classmate, Miyano Amata, the most popular boy in school. However, when Amata’s secret eventually comes out, Nozomi shows that she had already realized the truth at some point, and the two begin a relationship of sorts.

A versatile otaku, Nozomi is skilled in both drawing and cosplay, and is particularly a fan of the magical girl anime Omakase Tentel and the BL pairing of Tentel x Mikoto, the main character Yanami’s mascot companions. She also is the premiere shipper of manga club member Kiyokawa Atsumu with his best friend and manga club president Matsumoto Senri. Her favorite doujin circle is “Gojappe,” she prefers to cosplay as Yanami, and though she is strongly in favor of Ten x Miko, she also gets along with the Miko x Ten contingent of her club.

Fujoshi Level:
Nozomi can be absolutely overwhelmed by her intense fujoshi feelings. So powerful is this potential reaction that, once, after seeing a particularly erotic Ten x Miko drawing, Nozomi had to go to the nurse’s office at school the next day to see if something was wrong with her. In addition, according to Miyano Tamae’s rankings, she is a “Dreamy Maiden Fujoshi” with a Delusion Power level of 5000 and an Economic Power level of 800.

I was recently on The Cockpit discussing the recent giant robots ‘n monster film Pacific Rim along with the host Patz, as well as the Reverse Thieves. The podcast is super spoileriffic so it’s recommended for people who’ve already seen it.

If you have any love for giant robots and/or giant monters, you might not necessarily love the movie, but you’ll at least like it a fair deal.

Genshiken Second Season Episode 4 features both cosplay antics and some Comic Festival drama. My overall thoughts can be found in my reviews of the equivalent manga chapters: 62 63 64

You can also see my thoughts on Ogiue cosplaying Azusa from K-On! The anime went and kind of made it more…fanservicey?

One of the differences between the anime and manga in this episode have to do with format pacing, as the arrival of Ogiue’s old hometown companions occurs at the end of Chapter 63 and acts as a cliffhanger, whereas the same event occurs in the middle of the second half of Episode 4 and resolves by the end. Some of the dramatic impact disappeared from the scene in my opinion, and I think that they could’ve done more, whether with timing or music choice or something else.

Also, I noticed that because some lines of dialogue were cut from the anime, the Crunchyroll subs didn’t quite accurately translate certain points. Yabusaki wasn’t saying that Genshiken president is a perfect job for Ogiue, the line was meant to convey that Yajima isn’t at all surprised that Ogiue would have such a past of making yaoi out of her boyfriend and the ensuing trauma which came out of it. The manga dialogue also has Yabusaki mention that it was her and the other Manga Society girls who pushed her to jump out of a window, a tinge of guilt in her expression.

That’s me nitpicking, though. The real purpose of this post is actually to ask a question.

I’m really into Genshiken, and while I don’t have the whole thing memorized, it’s something I’ve obviously thought about a lot. Thus, when Nakajima first shows up again, I had a strong reaction, somewhere between “oh snaaaappppp” and “holy crap.” It was a big deal for me, and I remember my body tensing up and me having to re-read that point just to let it all sink in. That’s because I recognized Nakajima and Shigeta instantly, and I’ve come to realize that simply not everyone has Genshiken on the brain to the point that they would have that instant reaction. Not only that, but for those who stuck with the anime exclusively, the series never delved heavily into Ogiue’s past, so this is the first time those viewers are learning about her suicide attempt and the events surrounding it.

So, what I want to ask is, what was your impression when Nakajima first arrives in Nidaime?

Did you recall her immediately? Did you need some of the dialogue to jog your memory? Did you totally forget who she was? For those who are anime-only, did you learn something significant? Could you remember Nakajima from that one episode from Genshiken 2?

In this month’s Genshiken the guys and girls are separated on the line to Comic Festival, but in both cases the topic is the same: Madarame, and the women (and man) who might love him. There’s also some cosplay, as the girls dress up as the cast from Bodacious Space Pirates.

Yajima as Luca, Yoshitake as Coorie

The real-life Comic Market upon which Genshiken‘s Comic Festival is based is traditionally seen as a space existing in a dimension separate from the realm of romance and general extroverted interaction. It’s a distinction acknowledged even by Genshiken itself (Madarame’s famous exclamation that having a tan at ComiFes is “embarrassing), but it’s also a series where relations are fostered (Sasahara and Ogiue). Even though the series does have a tendency to place those conventionally incongruous elements together, the juxtaposition between people discussing potential love interests while waiting hours to buy doujinshi is nevertheless still quite strong.

The boys’ discussion revolves around the four whom Kasukabe believes have something for Madarame, namely Angela, Sue, Keiko, and Hato. Although Kasukabe is the definitely the most socially perceptive character in the series she’s also not perfect (she thought Madarame fell in love with her well before he actually did), so it isn’t necessarily presented as the gospel truth aside from the extremely obvious Angela. Given her strong observational skills, however, it’d still be fun to discuss each of them in detail, not to pick the “best” one but to do some semi-intense character analysis.

Before we get into it, though, I do want to say that it isn’t that unusual for Madarame to be  a target of affection, and I don’t mean that in a “deep down he’s a good guy” sort of way. Not only is Madarame kind and intelligent, but he’s made major strides of the years to improve his sociability. That, and some girls are into the scrawny nerd type.

Angela,dressed as Misa Grandwood, Ohno in the background as Chiaki Kurihara

If you’ll recall, Angela’s interest in Madarame is actually a retcon from the second TV series (Genshiken 2, not be confused with Genshiken Second Season even though it’s totally easy to do so). The aggressive Angela enjoys Madarame’s passive demeanor, and what’s especially important about her perspective is that she isn’t thinking of this in a very romantic sort of way. While she wouldn’t mind seeing him long-term, she’s also definitely okay with a down and dirty one night stand. One thing I find interesting about Angela is that in her you have the portrayal of a woman who’s using every asset at her disposal to (literally) charm the pants off a guy. Even putting aside the aggression, if you look again at Chapter 66, you’ll notice that at the end of the day Angela switches from the outfit she was wearing in the morning to one with a short skirt and exposed cleavage.

Angela’s original appearance in the manga involves her, a non-Japanese speaking foreigner with a perfect body being very social, a form of kryptonite to the poor otaku Madarame. Personally speaking, there’s something hilarious about a rigid guy being with a sexually charged bombshell in that it’s fun to watch the layers of restraint and fear either melt away or intensify. For Madarame it’s more the latter, a response I find to be realistic for a nerd, though the fact that the unrequited love for Kasukabe is now a done deal changes the game. Her attitude frequently makes me wonder about what life is like for her most of the year, especially because she’s such a fearsome individual, able to notice Madarame’s pining for Kasukabe after just one or two brief ComiFes visits.

Sue as Gruier Serenity

While I’ve seen some Angelas in the American anime fandom, I’ve seen many more Sues, and I still find her to be surprisingly close to the kind of fans I tend to encounter at US anime conventions (although Yoshitake is actually pretty close too). Sue appears shortly after Angela in the original series delivering Asuka’s signature insult (“Anta baka?”), and it’s been interesting seeing her develop, from a non-sequitur gag machine with a penchant for making things awkward for those around her, to a fully fleshed-out character fluent in Japanese though still capable of intentionally generating the same awkwardness.

Sue’s feelings for Madarame aren’t as clear-cut as Angela’s, but Sue also frequently interacts with Madarame while appearing to enjoy it immensely. If she does like Madarame to that extent, it explains a lot of her actions with respect to him, like her remark that Madarame should “find a new love.” I also have to wonder how an actual relationship between the two would look. Sue is perhaps the only girl that can go toe-to-toe with Madarame when it comes to sheer obsession with anime and manga to the point of building up a seemingly endless wealth of quotes. There’s also something about their combined awkwardness that makes me imagine some of the interactions from Nichijou.

The thing I find funniest about Keiko is that years ago, when the original manga was still running in Japan, before there were these specific moments in Nidaime between the two to fuel the fire, there were already fans of the Madarame x Keiko pairing. If I had to reason why the combination has its supporters, it could be that in a way this would be the most “realistic” (read: cynical) couple, that image of the otaku whose average-looking girlfriend doesn’t quite understand his hobby and is a little too frivolous with cash. Perhaps the best reason is that Madarame was rejected by Kasukabe while Keiko’s affections for Kohsaka never went anywhere, comfort in mutual sorrow. Still, the reaction from Madarame and Sasahara is understandable (and also hilarious), as Sasahara basically pleads with Kohsaka and Hato to strike the very idea from the world. Watching the two guys basically not even consider her a factor is one of the best parts of the chapter.

The extras in Volumes 13 and 14 of Genshiken paint an interesting picture of Keiko. In Volume 14, Hato notices that Keiko has actually changed her makeup style to a more natural-looking one. One of Keiko’s visual characteristics since her debut in the manga has been her heavy makeup, and to forego it in favor of a lighter look implies that she’s aiming for a guy who might find that heavily dolled up look intimidating. On the other hand, a Volume 13 extra also shows that she has some interest in Hato, asking him if he’d be willing to have sex with a girl while still in drag. That 4-panel comic actually changed my perception of Keiko, and I wonder if her position in all of this is more complex than first expected.

Then there’s Hato, whose interactions with Madarame I’ve analyzed many times over and which you’ll find in numerous previous chapter reviews. Two things are clear: Hato is really complicated, and he pays a lot of attention to both Madarame and the people around Madarame. After all, he’s the one who noticed that Keiko changed her makeup. He’s also clearly very confused about what he does and doesn’t want, and you can see it in the way he went from needing to crossdress no matter what, to absolutely refusing to do so and trying to play the part of Average Joe Otaku. It sort of reminds me of when nerds who know nothing about sports (which includes myself to an extent!) try to discuss basketball or something: awkward, unfamiliar, clearly an act.

His past with Kaminaga makes it even more difficult to discern his intentions, as it isn’t clear whether he wanted her or wanted to be with her (or perhaps even both). However, if we assume that Hato does have feelings for Madarame, he then presents an interesting position in that he would see himself as a man who likes to crossdress and look at yaoi, but not someone who identifies as a woman and would therefore see a relationship with a man as heterosexual. If Genshiken then actually had him get together with Madarame, it would bring the entire manga to a whole other place.

The chapter ends with Yajima getting ready to say something to Hato, and amidst this strange situation their relationship is also something which has changed over time. Where once Yajima had been uncomfortable with Hato in drag, now she’s the opposite, mirroring Hato’s own feelings. I’m actually quite looking forward to how this develops next month. The “next chapter” reference, by the way, is Jewelpet Happiness.

One last vitally important thing to discuss: Ogiue’s cosplay is amazing. Somehow the series keeps finding great characters for her to dress up as, and even if the look doesn’t match entirely her intense expression makes it entertaining nonetheless. Ogiue cosplay is something special.

Ogiue as Quartz Christie

So Genshiken Second Season Episode 5 isn’t terribly different from its corresponding chapters, 65 and 66, so I won’t be discussing much about the adaptation process this time around. I will say though that I’m glad the actors for Angela and Ohno can at least pronounce American R’s.

The only changes are a ton of background cosplay that wasn’t in the manga, and this imaginary shot of a seductive Angela.

That said, there is a ton of cosplay in this episode and the last, so I’ve taken the time to try and identify as many of them as I can. I’m unsure of some, and flat out don’t know others, so feel free to leave a comment if you recognize one I didn’t. I’ve actually already received a bit of help. For the cosplay in Ogiue’s room in Episode 4, most of the answers are here.

All cosplay identifications are approximately from left to right, and any Genshiken main cast cosplays I ignore after the first time.

Yamada (Kujibiki Unbalance, the in-universe favorite anime of Genshiken), Manaka (Love Plus)

Panty and Stocking (Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt), Chamber and Amy (Gargantia)

Don Valentino (Cuticle Detective Inaba) (Thanks Kate), Azazel (Yondemasuyo Azazel-san), Unknown Soldiers, Titan (Attack on Titan) (Thanks eatallhumans)

Miho and Yukari in Anglerfish Costume (Girls und Panzer), Tsukihi and Karen (Monogatari series), Akane and Kougami (Psycho-Pass), Soldier from Attack on Titan, Miku and Rin (Vocaloid), Saaya and Amy (Gargantia), Shima (Stellvia), Kuroko’s Basketball, Railgun (?), Neon Genesis Evangelion

Tsukiko (Henneko) (Thanks to @Buffered), Sort of Marisa and Reimu (Touhou) (Thanks to @elliotpage), Hanayo or Rin (Love Live!)

Mami and Homura (Madoka Magica)

Neko and Kushina Anna (K) (Thanks Kate)

Qyubey (Madoka Magica)

Kougami and Akane (Psycho-Pass), Azazel (Yondemasuyo Azazel-san)

Shouko (Valvrave), Unknown schoolgirl, Kyouko and Sayaka (Madoka Magica), Muromi and Otohime (Muromi-san)

Amy and Lukkage (Gargantia)

Rise (Persona 4)

Charlotte in boy’s uniform (Infinite Stratos)

Kohsaka Makoto (Rakuen no 7 Shuuhan, an in-universe game)

Neko and Kuro (K), Buratei Marii (Joshiraku)

Madoka (Madoka Magica)

Homura (Madoka Magica)

Motoko (Ghost in the Shell: Arise), Yukari, Saori, and Mako (Girls und Panzer)

(Not a cosplay) Sue making a Katte ni Kaizou reference

(Also not a cosplay) Sue performing a Chai Kick (Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple)

Once again I’ll be attending Otakon this year, from August 9th to the 11th. This time it’s their 20th Anniversary, and they’ve pulled out all the stops with amazing guests such as Watanabe Shinichirou (director of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Kids on the Slope) and Kanno Yohko (composer for Turn A Gundam, Cowboy Bebop, Kids on the Slope, Aquarion, and many many other shows).

I won’t be doing any panels this year but I’ll be wearing the above image in my badgeholder. If you know me or recognize me, I’m always open to talking Genshiken.

I’ve also posted a tentative list of things I’ll do below. The contradictions in the schedule are because things happen and I’m also notoriously indecisive.

FRIDAY

11:00am: Anime vs. Hollywood (Panel 4)
11:00am: We Con, Therefore We Are (Panel 7)
12:30pm: Opening Ceremonies (Panel 2)
12:30pm: Anime and Manga Studies (Panel 3)
1:45pm: Ozaki Q&A (Panel 1)
1:45pm: West to East: Anime Adaptations of Western Literature (Panel 4)
3:00pm: A Study of Heroines: Compassion and Courage in Revolutionary Girl Utena and Madoka Magica (Panel 4)
3:00pm: Tomokazu Seki Q&A (Panel 5)
4:15pm: Maruyama Q&A (Panel 6)
4:15pm: Suwa, Tachikawa Q&A (Panel 3)
5:00pm: Otakon Game Show: Qualification Quiz! (Workshop 1)
5:00pm: Tomokazu Seki Autograph
5:00pm: Shinichiro Watanabe Autograph
5:30pm: The Worst Anime of All Time (Panel 2)
6:45pm: Anime Amazons (Panel 1)
8:00pm: Mystery Anime Theater 3000 (Panel 2)
8:00pm: Awesome Women in Anime (Panel 3)
9:00pm: Otakon Game Show (Panel 5

SATURDAY

10:45pm: Crunchyroll (Panel 1)
10:45pm: Aniplex Industry Panel (Panel 2)
1:15pm: Vertical Panel (Panel 2)
3:45pm: World War Two in Anime (Panel 3)
4:00pm: Saturday Concert (Mariner Arena)
4:45pm: Anime Mythology: Giant Robots & Superheroes (Panel 5)
5:00pm: Daisuki Industry Panel (Panel 6)
6:15pm: Girls und Panel (Panel 4)
7:30pm: 45 Years of Shonen Jump: A Visual History (Panel 1)
7:30pm: Otaku Hotspots in Tokyo (Panel 4)
8:45pm: Kill ‘em All and Let Sunrise Sort ‘em Out: A Yoshiyuki Tomino Panel (Panel 1)
10:30pm: Anime’s Craziest Deaths (Panel 7)
10:45pm: Bad Anime, Bad!! (Panel 5)

SUNDAY

11:00am: Shinichiro Watanbe Q&A (Panel 2)
11:00am: Anime After the Quake (Panel 5)
1:00pm: Sunday Concert (Main Events)
3:00pm: Con Feedback Session (Panel 2)

It’s been a month or two since I watched Wolf Children so my thoughts on it aren’t really fresh. I’m calling this a “review” I guess, but it’s more an evaluation of what’s left of my impression of the film. Given my usual meandering, this may turn into more of a real review than most of what I write.

Wolf Children is about a human mother raising her half-human/half-wolf son and daughter. Directed by Hosoda Mamoru, it bears some similarities to his previous movies, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars, but the changing perspectives of Wolf Children between the older sister Yuki, her brother Ame, and Hana the mother veers it away from the heavy teenager focus of the other films. Both Yuki and Ame are still children, and through Hana we get to see the two half-wolves as a mother would. This three-sided view, along with the fact that those individual views change significantly along the way, is core to the movie’s strength and emotional weight.

In order to fit into human society, the two wolf children are taught that they must hide their wolf sides, which is difficult for them because they transition between the two almost unconsciously. Having to keep their true selves a secret is one of the recurring themes of the movie, especially in terms of how difficult it is both on a pragmatic level and on a psychological one. Making them choose, even unintentionally, between human and wolf worlds clearly has an effect on how they view themselves.  There’s a racism aspect to it, but also the idea that ultimately children decide their own paths, even if their parents disapprove or worry that it wasn’t the right choice. The fact that the “wolf” in them is actually the Japanese wolf, a once-indigenous and now-extinct species, the concept of the other that has been pushed out of society mingles with a softer message concerning environmentalism.

The visuals of the movie are quite beautiful, though one thing that really stands out to me is the variety of animation techniques on display. Throughout the movie there’s a mix of traditional animation, heavy rotoscoping in moments you wouldn’t expect it, compositing, and (I think) even some 3-D animation. It lends the movie a somewhat jarring feel at times, which didn’t jar me out of the film, but at least presented an interesting plethora.

Though talking about the specialness of anime is easily derided (and I’ve done so myself quite often), the use of the mother protagonist and the incorporation of a subdued supernatural element makes me think that such a film would not easily be made in, say, the United States, at least not as a mainstream film or even an animated one. In contrast, Wolf Children did enormously well in Japan. Like all of Hosoda’s movies, it’s worth seeing, and I think it shows a different side of his work.

Name: Miyano, Tamae (宮野環依)
Alias: Tamatan (たまたん), Tama-nee (タマ姐), Gojappe (ゴジャッペ)
Relationship Status: Single
Origin: Fudanshism: Fudanshi Shugi na Seikatsu

Information:
Miyano Tamae is a woman who, despite her youthful appearance, is actually a college student. When she falls sick and becomes unable to attend Comic Manga Market, her little brother Amata ends up being her replacement, which is also the origins of his crossdressing adventures as “Amane.” Initiating Amata into the world of the fujoshi, she also acts as a mentor for all things otaku-related.

Along with Morikawa Rion and Kawashima Moko, Tamae (under the name “Tamatan”) is a member of the popular doujin circle Gojappe, which specializes in the pairing of mascots Tentel and Mikoto (in that order) from the magical girl series Omakase Tentel. Gojappe is a popular circle, and even Tamae herself was originally a fan of the group before joining. Tamae is into guys with glasses, has a tendency to end her sentences with the syllable “yo,” and is so extremely knowledgeable about anime and manga as well as the culture surrounding it to the extent that she is able to explain even the subtlest distinctions to absolute beginners.

Fujoshi Level:
Tamae’s wealth of information on anime and manga naturally extends to yaoi and BL, acting as an encouraging older sister (both literal and figurative) for those less experienced in those matters. She also created her own comprehensive fujoshi rating system, where she categorizes herself as a “Music Game Fujoshi,” with a Delusion Power rating of 1000 and and an Economic Power rating of 800.

First, here are the equivalent chapters from the manga if you want to see my thoughts on the narrative itself, as well as some image analysis: 67 68 69

When the cast list for Nidaime first came out, I found the abscene of Risa/Rihito rather conspicuous. Despite my worries that they would skip over her appearance in the anime in order to get to some of the big events later in the series, Risa did show up after all. Interestingly, this appears to her voice actor’s first anime work. If you look at Sakurai Shou’s profile, she seems to only have experience in narration and at her school’s drama club. I’m actually kind of impressed because I kept thinking she was another more established voice actor, like Park Romi.

There are a couple of things from the manga which don’t quite make it into the anime. The first one is that in the manga the reveal that Yoshitake is actually 20 (the legal drinking age in Japan) also becomes the reason she was able to buy all that alcohol the last time around. Without the scene in Episode 2 involving alcohol, this connection is lost. Similarly, when they all go over to Yoshitake’s place to drink, the manga points out that her younger sister is drinking juice instead.

The other cut seems to have to do more with time constraints and keeping the narrative flow intact from the beginning to the end of the episode. In the manga, the partying goes on until the next day, which has them all together in the morning. Rather than Hato changing at Yoshitake’s place, they all go back to Hato’s apartment first, where they find out that the reason he lives so far away is so he can have a walk-in closet for all of his women’s clothing. Again, it doesn’t appear to be for censorship reasons, just timing and pacing. One side effect of this is that when you compare the manga to the anime the characters are wearing different clothing and hairstyles.

In my original analysis of Risa, I didn’t really go into the fact that she’s the first character in Genshiken whose primary interest is shotacon. While other characters have shown the possibility (Ogiue herself is into Roy x Ed from not-Fullmetal Alchemist and who knows about Kuchiki), it feels like a whole other can of worms with the younger Yoshitake compared to the usual fujoshi pairing talk. Even the series itself acknowledges this difference, as you can see how the other characters, although accepting of her tastes, awkwardly react to some of Risa’s statements (she’s mostly into 2D). At the same time, Risa’s also another example of a person who doesn’t quite fit the typical mold of the otaku or fujoshi, being more of an athlete with “unique” interests and for whom competition takes priority over hobbies. She’s neither full-on geek nor simply a “normal.”

Incidentally, if you’re wondering why Risa hasn’t appeared in the Fujoshi Files, it’s because there’s no evidence she’s into guy-on-guy action or pairings.

In the episode, Risa talks about how she’d rather guys be completely smooth down there, but when confronted with the real deal it’s clearly not what she was expecting. It brings to mind Fred Schodt’s Manga! Manga! where he recalls an editor of a BL magazine mentioning to a reader that fantasy and reality don’t match up and that she should stick to the imagination if that’s what she wants.

I do wish we’d see more of Risa.

The next episode preview has some cosplay, but I’ll leave that breakdown for next time.