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對自己的性向感到困惑的波戶，毅然決然地放棄了BL和女裝！在這些暗戀斑目的女（男）生們還沒理清關係的時候，安琪拉為參加ComiFes再度來到日本！
為期三天的ComiFes上，情況越來越失控！在她發覺另外兩人的心意時，又會做出什麼令人意想不到的決定呢！？
為期三天的ComiFes上，情況越來越失控！在她發覺另外兩人的心意時，又會做出什麼令人意想不到的決定呢！？
183 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2013
36 people want to read
About the author
Shimoku Kio
104 books26 followersShimoku Kio (木尾士目) is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga Genshiken, which was originally serialized in the Afternoon Magazine. It was later published in Japan by Kodansha, which produces Afternoon Magazine, and by Del Rey in the United States. Genshiken is an anime, manga, and light novel series about a college otaku club and its members.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 27, 2015
Here’s my thing with Genshiken as a series overall: I do really like this series. I like that it’s a story about growing up and trying to reconcile your passions with adulthood. I like that the second half of the first series and the majority of the second series does get into being a female otaku and the perceptions and stereotypes that come with it and doesn’t 100% look down on the female characters for it. I really like Hato’s character development as he’s coming to terms with his sexuality and gender identity. And this entire series is problematic as fuck. There is a lot of cultural dissonance at work here, and depending on how events will play out, this series could be seen as a massive “one step forward, two steps back.”
Much of this has to do with the ongoing arc about Hato and his coming to terms about not only being a fudanshi, but also his cross-dressing and feelings toward Madarame. How Hato’s female personality is treated in text is frankly awful—the female persona really only exists in regards to Hato being a BL fan and that’s the only way he feels like he can enjoy it or even draw it. (I’m really hesitant to call Hato nonbinary or trans* because he does identify as male.) The thing is that I don’t think many Western anime and manga fans realize is that Japanese society still has a massive stigma against LGBTQIA+-- for as much as it comes up in anime and manga series (and the doushinji scene), it’s very much treated like a fetish and seen as deviant behavior. (Not that there hasn’t been series that deals with queer and trans* issues seriously—see Wandering Son which is an amazing series about trans* kids in Japan—but the general idea is that these relationships are seen outside the norm. Especially if geared towards otaku, because Japanese society looks down on otaku as being creepy and deviant.) And the problem is that I feel that Hato’s storyline—especially about his unresolved feelings towards Madarame—is going to be resolved according to those societal expectations: Hato will realize that his liking BL and the cross-dressing was his way of hiding from the world, and he’ll ultimately give them up in the end. And while I do think that it’s a terrible way to handle things, and that I can’t shrug and say “Oh well, that’s the way things are,” I do unfortunately think this is how Kio Shimoku will go. (Considering the Madarame’s storyline is that he’s still not completely over his crush on Kasukabe…yeah…)
Not helping with this volume is Sue’s insistence that Hato gets together with Madarame so that it can just be like Hato’s drawings. Sue is one of the worst characters in the series (only second to Kuchiki, who is The Worst), especially since she had pretty good character development in the first series, and in this one, it just feels like she exists to the boorish American otaku who butts into everyone’s business and shouts out the only phrases she knows in Japanese. (Which was her character when she first showed up, but she did get some depth to her.) But the bigger problem is that Sue and Kuchiki’s solutions to getting Hato and Madarame to do something about this situation is that they both barge in without any regard to either one of the involved characters. If it was Ohno or Ogiue or even bring back Sasahara and Kousaka to talk to Hato and/or Madarame about what’s going on and going with that, instead of Kuchiki deciding to tackle Madarame and start messing with him, or Sue barging into Hato’s room, screaming “HATO X MADA!” (I get that they’re supposed to boorish otaku stereotypes. But there’s a point when I’m just like “Move on already.”)
The thing is that I do like the ComiKet arcs of Genshiken, especially given how much happens in the story whenever the story’s timeline rolls around to that time of year. I just think at this point that this particular storyline needs a more mature viewpoint to it, instead of going for the “Look! Funny!” (Not really. It’s creepy. ) And I do want to go back to focusing on Yajima (especially since she has her feelings towards Hato now) and Yoshitake and the other characters. Again, I do really like this series overall, but I can’t ignore the fact that Genshiken is incredibly problematic at its core. I do like this volume, I like a lot of the aspects of this volume (sidenote: Ohno’s winter ComiKet group cosplay is Bodacious Space Pirates! YES!) but there is a lot here that I need to point out and say, “No, I’m not okay with this.”
Much of this has to do with the ongoing arc about Hato and his coming to terms about not only being a fudanshi, but also his cross-dressing and feelings toward Madarame. How Hato’s female personality is treated in text is frankly awful—the female persona really only exists in regards to Hato being a BL fan and that’s the only way he feels like he can enjoy it or even draw it. (I’m really hesitant to call Hato nonbinary or trans* because he does identify as male.) The thing is that I don’t think many Western anime and manga fans realize is that Japanese society still has a massive stigma against LGBTQIA+-- for as much as it comes up in anime and manga series (and the doushinji scene), it’s very much treated like a fetish and seen as deviant behavior. (Not that there hasn’t been series that deals with queer and trans* issues seriously—see Wandering Son which is an amazing series about trans* kids in Japan—but the general idea is that these relationships are seen outside the norm. Especially if geared towards otaku, because Japanese society looks down on otaku as being creepy and deviant.) And the problem is that I feel that Hato’s storyline—especially about his unresolved feelings towards Madarame—is going to be resolved according to those societal expectations: Hato will realize that his liking BL and the cross-dressing was his way of hiding from the world, and he’ll ultimately give them up in the end. And while I do think that it’s a terrible way to handle things, and that I can’t shrug and say “Oh well, that’s the way things are,” I do unfortunately think this is how Kio Shimoku will go. (Considering the Madarame’s storyline is that he’s still not completely over his crush on Kasukabe…yeah…)
Not helping with this volume is Sue’s insistence that Hato gets together with Madarame so that it can just be like Hato’s drawings. Sue is one of the worst characters in the series (only second to Kuchiki, who is The Worst), especially since she had pretty good character development in the first series, and in this one, it just feels like she exists to the boorish American otaku who butts into everyone’s business and shouts out the only phrases she knows in Japanese. (Which was her character when she first showed up, but she did get some depth to her.) But the bigger problem is that Sue and Kuchiki’s solutions to getting Hato and Madarame to do something about this situation is that they both barge in without any regard to either one of the involved characters. If it was Ohno or Ogiue or even bring back Sasahara and Kousaka to talk to Hato and/or Madarame about what’s going on and going with that, instead of Kuchiki deciding to tackle Madarame and start messing with him, or Sue barging into Hato’s room, screaming “HATO X MADA!” (I get that they’re supposed to boorish otaku stereotypes. But there’s a point when I’m just like “Move on already.”)
The thing is that I do like the ComiKet arcs of Genshiken, especially given how much happens in the story whenever the story’s timeline rolls around to that time of year. I just think at this point that this particular storyline needs a more mature viewpoint to it, instead of going for the “Look! Funny!” (Not really. It’s creepy. ) And I do want to go back to focusing on Yajima (especially since she has her feelings towards Hato now) and Yoshitake and the other characters. Again, I do really like this series overall, but I can’t ignore the fact that Genshiken is incredibly problematic at its core. I do like this volume, I like a lot of the aspects of this volume (sidenote: Ohno’s winter ComiKet group cosplay is Bodacious Space Pirates! YES!) but there is a lot here that I need to point out and say, “No, I’m not okay with this.”
March 25, 2024
My heart can’t take this
September 9, 2015
Poor Madarame has the worst luck with injuries at Comiket. Still liking this series, though I'm starting to get a bit weary of all the BL references. A bit of change in the focus of the humor would be nice. As always, the translators have done an excellent job with the Notes section at the back of the book explaining some of the more obscure references.
November 27, 2015
3.5 stars
December 13, 2024
Perhaps a person interested in BL would find this to be interesting and enjoyable. I'm not into BL and it's beginning to leave me cold, especially since I'm only half way through. I think the characters are poorly defined excepting Madarame and Hato. That makes the story somewhat hard to follow. But, I will trudge on.
April 21, 2019
This part is as boring and pointless as the first part...😟😴💕📖📖
July 8, 2025
Oh no
So I was feeling like calling Haru-chan she might had been an over reach ; however, the ending has me back to my train of thought.
So I was feeling like calling Haru-chan she might had been an over reach ; however, the ending has me back to my train of thought.
February 13, 2016
Wow, I really loved this volume of Genshiken. We have the normal silly antics, the references, various characters and their relationships, but we also got something more serious.
Most of the manga was focussed on Hato. Hato who dresses up as a girl, who can draw when dressed up as a girl, but who is also a boy who feels uncomfortable drawing and reading Boy Love stuff. And he feels uncomfortable because of his growing feelings for one of the male Genshiken people (well, ex-Genshiken, but it seems he just can't leave). And I can imagine that feeling like this, knowing you are falling hard for someone you shouldn't fall for, is weird, especially if you are a guy, and he is a guy.
So it was really interesting to see how Hato went through his life, trying to ignore the urge to crossdress and to ignore his crush. I felt really sad and sorry for him, you can clearly tell he was not happy. He felt terrible, he wanted to change and read BL so badly, but didn't want to, afraid of it spiralling out of control.
I loved how things went at the last part of the manga. I won't spoil anything, but I am delighted with how it turned out.
Madarame was a very interesting character, though it is a bit strange that he keeps coming back to the Genshiken room and read/watch anime or discuss stuff with people there. Of course, I am happy to see him there, but I also wish he would get a job again. He has graduated, he can't just hang around all day any more.
Sue, ah Sue. She is still the most amazing character of all the Genshiken people. She is silly, determined and various other things. I loved her cosplay of Shimakaze (Kantai Collection) near the end of the volume. I loved how she tried to convince Hato at the beginning, but only ended up making everything a mess. Only ended up hurting Hato.
The art is fantastic again. Genshiken has really come far and if you compare the first manga with this one, you will see enough differences. The mangaka/author has improved so much.
Of course, this is Genshiken so we have a whole lot of references to anime/manga/Japanese culture. It is really fun to find them all, of course I don't know them all (they sometimes use stuff that is only really known in Japan), but luckily the end of the book has a little part with explanations.
All in all, this is one manga I would highly recommend. :)
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Most of the manga was focussed on Hato. Hato who dresses up as a girl, who can draw when dressed up as a girl, but who is also a boy who feels uncomfortable drawing and reading Boy Love stuff. And he feels uncomfortable because of his growing feelings for one of the male Genshiken people (well, ex-Genshiken, but it seems he just can't leave). And I can imagine that feeling like this, knowing you are falling hard for someone you shouldn't fall for, is weird, especially if you are a guy, and he is a guy.
So it was really interesting to see how Hato went through his life, trying to ignore the urge to crossdress and to ignore his crush. I felt really sad and sorry for him, you can clearly tell he was not happy. He felt terrible, he wanted to change and read BL so badly, but didn't want to, afraid of it spiralling out of control.
I loved how things went at the last part of the manga. I won't spoil anything, but I am delighted with how it turned out.
Madarame was a very interesting character, though it is a bit strange that he keeps coming back to the Genshiken room and read/watch anime or discuss stuff with people there. Of course, I am happy to see him there, but I also wish he would get a job again. He has graduated, he can't just hang around all day any more.
Sue, ah Sue. She is still the most amazing character of all the Genshiken people. She is silly, determined and various other things. I loved her cosplay of Shimakaze (Kantai Collection) near the end of the volume. I loved how she tried to convince Hato at the beginning, but only ended up making everything a mess. Only ended up hurting Hato.
The art is fantastic again. Genshiken has really come far and if you compare the first manga with this one, you will see enough differences. The mangaka/author has improved so much.
Of course, this is Genshiken so we have a whole lot of references to anime/manga/Japanese culture. It is really fun to find them all, of course I don't know them all (they sometimes use stuff that is only really known in Japan), but luckily the end of the book has a little part with explanations.
All in all, this is one manga I would highly recommend. :)
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
November 11, 2019
I'm plugging along at a good pace with these books and so far they aren't disappointing me one bit!
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***
So the members of Genshiken return to a place where they are truly in their element, COMICFEST!!! They all get together and head to the summer comicfest to get all the comics they want and cosplay until they can't cosplay anymore! :-)
The story also shows the return of the character, Angela, from America. It was cool to see her again, but she has a hidden agenda in this issue. She is trying to hook up with Madarame, but Hato and Sue manage to thwart her plans and show her what she is doing is wrong.
We also get to see more into the psyche of Hato and find out more about why he cross-dresses and why he loves that lifestyle. And at one point he seems to come to a conclusion about his cross dressing and his love of BL.
***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS***
All in all it was a great issue and it showed the return of some of my favorite characters such as Tanaka and Madarame, Any fan of Genshiken will love this issue! Check it out!
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***
So the members of Genshiken return to a place where they are truly in their element, COMICFEST!!! They all get together and head to the summer comicfest to get all the comics they want and cosplay until they can't cosplay anymore! :-)
The story also shows the return of the character, Angela, from America. It was cool to see her again, but she has a hidden agenda in this issue. She is trying to hook up with Madarame, but Hato and Sue manage to thwart her plans and show her what she is doing is wrong.
We also get to see more into the psyche of Hato and find out more about why he cross-dresses and why he loves that lifestyle. And at one point he seems to come to a conclusion about his cross dressing and his love of BL.
***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS***
All in all it was a great issue and it showed the return of some of my favorite characters such as Tanaka and Madarame, Any fan of Genshiken will love this issue! Check it out!
January 9, 2016
once again the series slipped into obnoxious with Sue just walking around screaming "HatoMada!!!" and ... yeaaaah, there's tryin to play to fujoshi & bad stereotypes, and then there's this heavy Hato sexuality/crossdressing dilemma that's centered in the worst light
Actually, Madarame & Hato being the entire center of the plot is the biggest problem. The Genshiken has other members!! The orig series spent time with each member & their own brand of otaku, can the fujoshi plz get same treatment
Actually, Madarame & Hato being the entire center of the plot is the biggest problem. The Genshiken has other members!! The orig series spent time with each member & their own brand of otaku, can the fujoshi plz get same treatment
December 14, 2016
Not sure I follow Hato's logic in regard to BL and crossdressing and his (possible) feelings for Madarame, but maybe a a reread will clear that up. I'm still interested to see where his character arc is going.
Hoping this "Madarame harem route" thing just stays mostly satirical, honestly. The bit we got with Ohno in the last volume was nice...and we're still seeing a lot of Yajima and Yoshitake. Wish we could get some more perspective on Sue, though, since she's clearly going to be more important than reference-spouting comedic relief.
Hoping this "Madarame harem route" thing just stays mostly satirical, honestly. The bit we got with Ohno in the last volume was nice...and we're still seeing a lot of Yajima and Yoshitake. Wish we could get some more perspective on Sue, though, since she's clearly going to be more important than reference-spouting comedic relief.
September 11, 2015
The pacing is starting to drag compared to the first season.
August 21, 2015
Actually a sad keyword of aimlessness & confusion.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews