Category: Comedy

Manga of the Month: Genshiken

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Genshiken (げんしけん) by Kio Shimoku

narutaki_icon_4040 Convention season always puts Genshiken back on my mind. This year though, Genshiken is officially back in the spotlight with a currently airing anime. Plus, here in the states we are slowly getting the new class’s story in manga form, and to top it off, Kodansha USA has also releasing omnibus editions of the original story.

Simply put, Genshiken is about the geeks that we all are and know, albeit a bit exaggerated. The story is centered around an otaku club in college where we encounter various personalities, relationships, struggles, hijinks, and, of course, geekery. From cosplay to doujinshi, from figures to eroge games; everything and more is referenced, discussed, argued over, and loved within the pages of Genshiken.

Genshiken truly begins when new student Sasahara joins the club as a freshman. It follows him over four years in the club as he gets to know its members, learns a lot about himself, and even becomes more of an otaku in the process. But Genshiken is truly an ensemble story that shines brightest when it is about the group dynamic of the club. Sadly (though not really), characters must graduate and move forward but that doesn’t mean Genshiken ends as new students are always knocking on the door of the club room looking for a friendly place to share their fandom.

In Genshiken, sometimes the stories are strange, sometimes the stories are very poignant, and these stories are always told with big dose of humor. The appeal of Genshiken is that you are part of the club. You may or may not see yourself as one of the characters, but you always see yourself within the context of their lives.

~ kate

Dengeki Stryker: The Bittersweet Rewards of Being a Hero

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I already did a fairly thorough review of the Dengeki Stryker demo from MangaGamer already so there is no need for me to reiterate what I said there already. But I felt I should do a bit of a follow-up article now that I have played the full game. While the MangaGamer demo is undoubtedly meaty I don’t think it tells the full story of game. This is not really MangaGamer‘s fault. All the game changing stuff always comes in the last fourth of the two paths in the story. So other than plastering a big disclaimer that “STUFF GETS SERIOUS SOMETIME AFTER THIS” or a list of spoilers after you play through the demo there was not much they could do. But I do feel it is enough of a change that I should update my review. I will try to avoid spoilers for anyone still thinking about buying the game. Continue reading →

Manga of the Month: Binbogami ga!

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Binbogami ga! (貧乏神が!) by Yoshiaki Sukeno

Some manga genres are safer than others. Shonen fighting manga don’t always sell gangbusters but they are usually a fairly safe bet. They are the blue chips stocks of manga. Josei manga on the other hand have yet to have anything close to a major success story. Josei has had several critical successes but nothing that sets the world on fire in English in terms of sales. But there is one category of manga that neither get critical praise nor major sales numbers. That is comedy manga. Even titles that you think would sell great due to animated popularity like Azumanga Daioh don’t particularly sell well.

And so American manga companies always seem very reluctant to pick up anything comedy related unless it has a stronger hook that moves it into another category where it might do well. There are a few exceptions to this rule but manga companies tend live by the motto of “once burned, twice shy.” So while I love Binbogami ga! I don’t think it is going to get picked up by Viz anytime soon. Which is a shame because it is a great series.

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