Genshiken (Season 1) An anime about Otaku in a club is very common nowadays. Genshiken is from 2004 however, before there was a series like this every season, and it has a lot of charm and unique personality. It's a full on Slice of Life, mundane adventures of these characters in a University anime club. They focus on many aspects of Otaku culture like doujin, cosplay, Gunpla and video games. The cast is great and I really enjoyed the slow pace. There are some seriously creative episodes here.
Saki is the character that makes the dynamic interesting. She's the outsider in the group who hates Otaku stuff but puts up with it because her boyfriend is into it. Saki is really quite mean but it all comes around in the end and you see her slowing warming up to it. Kousaka was hilarious, he's more interested in anime and games than Saki which leads to a lot of funny moments. Sasahara is the self insert character, he's very simple and balanced. Madarame is hilarious, he's such a freak. There is this incredible episode where he's in the club room with Saki and the whole time he's overthinking and trying to socialize with her. But he's so socially inept that he keeps failing. This is the entire full length episode and it shows how crafty the show is.
All the episodes are different and there are some great ones. I loved the Gundam episode. Saki gets oddly jealous when everyone enjoys building Gunpla kits and putting in lots of effort. It really shows the joy of Gunpla. Saki borders on unlikable in this episode though, especially when she breaks Oono's kit by moving the leg. Genshiken has a great atmosphere and mood. It has that slightly older anime feel, slow moving. It gets you in on these character's lives. There is a fake anime they watch, a mysterious club president and lots of weird little quirks.
I really enjoyed this first season and there is plenty more to watch. I have known about this show for many years and I was waiting for the right time to watch it. Now was certainly a good time, it's just fun to watch these characters hang out. Since things are how they are now this is a good show to watch and live vicariously through the characters.
Genshiken OVA This is a 3 episode OVA to bridge between seasons 1 and 2. It introduces a new character Chika who notably adds a lot to the dynamic. The art is better in this OVA and so is the writing. We see more care put into the personalities of each character. It's actually insane how much of an improvement this is and it gives me reasonable hopes for season 2. Chika's introduction is weird but she quickly falls in. I really liked her tsundere attitude.
Episode 2 of this OVA was really special. It tapped into something I haven't quite seen in anime before. This episode focuses on Madarame and Saki mostly. It shows how Saki actually cares about him and tries to help in her own way. The focus is on fashion. Saki starts by critiquing the way Chika dresses and then the focus turns to Madarame. Saki notes how he dresses like a typical otaku with no thought put into what he wears. Madarame then goes out of his comfort zone and goes into a trendy clothes store after almost running away a few times. We really feel how uncomfortable and out of place he thinks he is.
He gets resolve and buys the kind of clothes he wants. Later he comes across Saki in public and he learns from an encounter they have earlier in the episode so he greets her. This leads to a great moment where they get sushi and ride home. You see Madarame develop throughout the episode and come to a realization. Buying new clothes he put thought into helps his self confidence and he is excited to show Saki how he's taken her advice to heart. He is very awkward and Saki makes fun of him for it but the show treats him like a real person instead of the Otaku stereotype he was in season 1.
I was extremely impressed with the writing of this episode and how human it felt. These characters were given new depth and Saki especially suddenly felt less like a hot blooded mean girl. I loved the message of the episode and the character development. It really struck a chord with me. There were so many subtle moments that were brilliant here and I could write a lot about it. In short this is a great OVA.