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Hey Genshiken fans! So, I read this manga all over this week. I knew the name from before actually, with the vague idea of being about otaku club, but until now I didn't got to try it. At the very first chapters, I had to say it seemed weak, bland. Not very funny. Was I supposed to laugh with the characters, or at the characters? I needed a few chapters to get it going on, and near the end of volume 1 when the characters have been presented and their relationships established, it did click for me. One of the key facts for me is that the mc isn't really the Sasahara, he kinds of disappears in the background after admitting to himself he is an otaku in a few chapters, but actually for an otaku series, it focused in many chapters in Saki (or at least, they were seen from her perspective). The outsider perspective, the contrast between her and the rest, the comedy it bringed, it all contributed to me liking the series. Later it's a more a ensemble series, and a bit later Ogie is introduced, which has a bit more of depth, she brings her own issues, and then Sasahara's character comes back and grow both in romantic factor and others (like his quest for a job). The first part, in summary, feels as a great mix of comedy, slice of life in college, coming of age, with a bit of romance and even a tiny bit of drama. The great end that the volume 9 had closed the deal, about the end of a epoch, knowing that the years they lived together were happy but they are graduating so they won't come back and with time they will go separate ways. Hell, I also like it was only nine volumes, long enough to develop the story and the characters and have good comedy, but that's it, with an end. It didn't go on and on and on... The second part... I'm in the side of those that believe it isn't as good. Oh yes, this discussion again :P. It's still decent enough to read on so I'm not one of those fans that want to travel back in time and stop the author. You still can see the mangaka's virtues here and there; and at this point I'm interested in the character's fates, both new and old, but that said, I wanted to make a little critique -too much Hato-kun. Yeah, I'm not very original here. He is the character with most depth, so it makes sense to invest more chapters to him, and I don't have anything against a character with gender and sexuality issues here, but as I read all the chapters in one go, I can testify there are long stretches of chapters that is all Hato Hato Hato. With some intermissions of other characters talking about Hato. Was this a ensemble work? I could swear it was. A story about a club? Or a story about one guy? I said, he has the most depth, but even then it isn't enough to justify all the pages dedicated to him. Essentially, the reader knows what are his issues ("yeah, sure you like to crossdress only to read BL, that totally doesn't make you a potential transvestite gay!") and more or less what would happen in the series since early (I knew his would have a phase of doubt where he would reject him-herself, I knew he would develop feeling for Mada and it wasn't only for "shipping" etc), but everything takes time to happen in the series, which while "realistic", it doesn't make for the most riveting story. At some point I was bored of him doubting what toilet to use or if go on with the crossdressing or not, or him shipping himself. The whole dual "imaginary apparition" is actually interesting, and makes the point that he isn't fully in control, there will be tears before this finishes. -a bit too much romance. See, the first Genshiken was a simple story of group of friends. Sometimes, simple works. There were some couples in the first part, but they were just there (Saki) or were just in the background (Ohno) or they were more developed like Ogie's story... but even her story is just one volume, maybe volume and a half, including problems, flashback, climax for the drama, self acceptance and finally love (Hato-kun's story feels too decompressed, in comparison!). Now we have here Madarame's love problems in full throttle, that makes the comic a bit "just another romance series" and less Genshiken. And now including a harem. Which appeared almost out of nowhere, to be honest it's another weak point. It feels it's happening because the author wanted to happen, not because it's a natural development in the story. I can argue that Sue's case is legit but we didn't knew because the story haven't focused on her for now (and that's another thing, if they want to go for the harem and develop all this, he is going to develop characters like Angela and Sue more, the second part is going to be eventually longer than the first one), the same as Hato, but the other two had barely any interaction with Mada! -realism vs otaku series. Genshiken was a manga about otakus. Except for some comedy related hijinks, it kind of felt real. There were a group of people with normal friendships, a few normal couples, with some common hobbies between them. Now this feels more like an otaku manga about otakus. What's the difference? Stuff like the harem. Stuff like having a trap creating problems (even if they play the character straight and "serious" with him). Stuff like the greater amount of anime references both direct and indirect (they increased in this second part). Stuff like the new females members going on and on about shipping and BL and umes and sekes (I suppose it's realistic, and in that case poor girls, but tiring for the reader; you may make the case that before you had male otakus buying doujinshi that is the same, and yeah it's the same poo poo but they were more silent about it, I also would be tired if they wouldn't stop talking about it, hell I would have left the series if it wouldn't evolved from the rocky start of "otakus buying dj in shops and comiket and reading it on the club). Stuff like some character's behavior. I feel as if before, if anyone treated to make an anime trope into real life, they would laugh at it and be embarrassed, because even if they are shy otakus way into way into the stuff they like they aren't stupid or dense like animu~ main characters and know anime can't be applied to real life, in fact they pointed it out a few times. I feel now the characters are starting to be manga/anime characters and not "real ones". Why a shy otaku like Mada with problems socializing wouldn't have problems or issues dealing with a crossdressing guy that loves BL, and ship him in it? and later says he likes him? That's nice for him, but I dunno if it's realistic. I would be more realistic Mada having problems coping with it! Why he would start to be dense about the whole romantic situation he is in? He lampshades it saying how harem protagonist are "incredible" in a way, but it doesn't make sense for his character to act that way. It may also be that now the series lack a non otaku character like Saki to ground the story, laugh at them, and have them in check. Sasahara's little sister could have made the role, but she barely appeared. Turin Turambar fucked around with this message at 23:00 on May 8, 2014 |
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May 8, 2014 22:54
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sincx posted:GOD drat IT, chapter 103, gently caress you Kio. Why the gently caress is all this NTR poo poo so popular. Madarame doesn't deserve this, loving hell. Where the hell have you read it?
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Aug 25, 2014 21:58
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