Genshiken: Second Season 1 [Paperback]

Genshiken makes its welcome return to my bookshelf. Taking place the semester after the original series ended, we see the return of all the major characters (though most are sadly only cameo appearances) and three new characters in the form of the "next generation" of Otaku. Of the old cast the only returning characters are Ogiue, Ohno, Kuchiki and Sue (who was a minor character in the original, but has a much expanded role).

The series has always been something of a snapshot of the Otaku culture, making references to contemporary anime and manga (with a few classics thrown in) and in that regard this new book is exactly like the old series. With references to Bakemonogatari and Puella Magi Madoka Magica (if you don't know either of those two series, consider looking them up as many jokes in this manga require knowledge of them) we keep in the spirit of the original series. This does make a bit of an issue in terms of continuity though. As mentioned before this takes place the semester after the original series ended, which means they ended their anime references with series during mid 2006. Suddenly they are talking about shows from the 2010s. This may come off as annoying to some, but it's not really a big deal. It keeps the jokes current and makes the transition smoother.

All in all I would recommend this for fans of the original series. If you didn't read the original Genshiken... DO NOT START HERE. The character's have had several books of development and newcomers could easily be lost.

There's going to be some mixed emotions about some of the content in this book, because at times it feels so vastly different than the first "season" of Genshiken. This is both a good and a bad thing, depending on how you look at it.

Part of what made the original set of Genshiken manga so much fun was how realistic it felt, giving so many of us a feeling of "we've totally experienced this". To an extent this is still present in this volume, but over all of this there's a veneer of complete and total unrealism that comes with fictional manga. You know what I mean: that feeling that no matter how "real life" the manga tries to be, you can't shake that this is utterly a manga and doesn't seem like it'd be the least likely to happen IRL. The volume is full of typical manga-esque setups and the like on occasion that sort of bring this into focus even more. This doesn't make the various situations in this volume bad, mind you, but it is a change from the first season and some will slightly begrudge that the series has taken this turn. I have to admit that even as I loved this, part of me mourned that this is sort of becoming "fictional". I know this sounds vague, but there's not a lot of other way to describe this.

That being said, this was a pretty fun read. The new characters are nice and I especially love Hato, even as this character seems to be a symbol of the change from "actual life realistic" to "fictional manga realistic". Once you read about this character you'll understand. My only big gripe is that one of the characters seems a little too abrasive at times for the rest of the laid back Genshiken members and occasionally says and does things that she should've been called out on earlier in the volume. Slight spoiler there, but it's frustrating that it took so long for someone to say something. Sue is also fairly present in this volume, although at times I really wish that she was more than just comic relief. Maybe this will improve in the further volumes, hopefully. For now her strangeness is fun in this volume but I can see where it could eventually become overbearing.

What really makes this a joy is that despite the growing feeling of fictional-ness, there's still an overly healthy dollop of otaku culture. I really can't dislike the changes in this manga overall. The series couldn't stay as it was, as the first season covered a lot of the basics and the second season would be ill served if it were to simply be a re-hashing of the first one with different characters. Like I said, this will probably irritate some readers but I think most will take this in stride.

But if you haven't read the first season, do so. The publisher is releasing the series in chunky volumes and while you don't absolutely positively have to read the first season to completely enjoy this one, you'll miss out on so much that it'd be like drinking Diet Coke when you're expecting Pepsi.

I am a great fan of the Genshiken series, both manga and anime, and hated to see the run end. I waited with bated breath for the new series and the first issue does NOT disappoint.