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Name: Shigeta, Mina (重田三奈)
Alias: N/A
Relationship Status: N/A
Origin: Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture
Information:
Shigeta Mina is a former classmate of Ogiue Chika’s from their middle school days in Yamagata Prefecture in Tohoku. She was a member of the same Literature Club as Ogiue and Nakajima Yuuko, where they collaborated to create BL stories, though her friendship with Ogiue apparently soured after the incident with Ogiue’s then-boyfriend discovering the extremely graphic yaoi doujinshi they made of him.
Shigeta is still close friends with Nakajima, eveident from the fact that the two regularly attend Comic Festival together. Shigeta appears more quiet and relaxed than the more talkative Nakajima, which also appears to have been in the case in their younger days.
Fujoshi Level:
Other than the fact that Shigeta used to collaborate in the Literature Club’s BL works and that she has remained a yaoi fan, nothing else is known about the extent of her fujoshi fandom.
UPDATE: Small point made below.
Ever since the announcement of the new Genshiken anime, I’ve speculated about the voice cast. Courtesy of one Anonymous Spore and the official anime website, the new cast for the Genshiken Nidaime (or Genshiken II as I prefer to call it) has been revealed, and the big, big shocker is that Mizuhashi Kaori will no longer be playing Ogiue, that most grand of angry, once-traumatized hair-brushed fujoshi.
My initial reaction has been genuine surprise and confusion, as I thought she fit the role tremendously well, and seemed to be well-established as Ogiue. Her Ogiue felt genuinely conflicted about everything, and it’s my favorite role of hers (biased perhaps). She even participated in the Genchoken radio shows with Madarame’s voice actor Hiyama Nobuyuki, and drew a comic about how she landed the role as Ogiue. Even putting aside my own Ogiue fandom I’ve thought for a long time that Mizuhashi ranks among the best voice actors out there.
That said, I think it would be a bit unfair to judge Yamamoto Nozomi before I even get to hear her voice the part of my favorite character. She’s pretty new, but she’s also already played roles such as Yukimura in Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, and Tetora in Joshiraku. When I think about Tetora’s voice in particular, it may actually be a bit closer to how I imagined Ogiue’s voice in my mind when I first read the manga. Actually, Gankyou’s voice would have been even closer, but that’s maybe getting too off-topic.
As for the rest of the cast, you have Uesaka Sumire (Dekomori in Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai!) as Yoshitake Rika in addition to performing the opening theme, Uchiyama Yumi as Yajima Mirei (Davi in Dokidoki! Precure, Arata in Saki: Episode of Side A), and a combination of Kakuma Ai and Yamamoto Kazutomi handling the female and male voices of Hato Kenjirou, respectively. If you look at their list of works, all of them are pretty new voice actors, so perhaps there was something on the production side that required the use of newer voices. I read that they may be changing the old characters as well? Or maybe there was just a good old-fashioned scheduling conflict, which even happened with the Genshiken 2 anime and Keiko’s voice actor. In the end, it’s all just speculation, unless someone more familiar with the seiyuu scene could inform me otherwise.
Based on the previous roles of the actors for Yoshitake and Yajima, I can imagine them fitting their roles well, especially if they go for more naturalistic and awkward voices. I think Yajima especially will be a challenge.
In addition, voices aside, the art and character designs look probably the nicest they’ve ever been for Genshiken anime. I guess it all remains to be seen (and heard).
UPDATE: I decided to look at Mizuhashi Kaori’s official site, which isn’t really updated anymore, and what’s really curious is the fact that where once the front page image was of Ogiue in an empty cardboard box, now Ogiue has been replaced by a different character. I’m unsure if it’s meant to be Mizuhashi specifically or if it’s meant to be another one of the characters she played, but just the fact that she used to use an Ogiue image on her front page as early as September 2012 may indicate that she was rather close to the character of Ogiue.
Name: Nakajima, Yuuko (中島裕子)
Alias: N/A
Relationship Status: N/A
Origin: Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture II
Information:
Nakajima Yuuko is a fujoshi from Yamagata Prefecture in the Tohoku region of Japan. An old classmate of Ogiue Chika’s from their middle school days, the two would collaborate on their own amateur BL manga along with the rest of their school’s “Literature Club” with Nakajima as one of the writers. However, the two had a falling out when their last collaboration, an extremely graphic depiction of Ogiue’s secret boyfriend Makita with his own best friend, became known to Makita, which caused Makita to transfer schools. Though there is no direct evidence, it is likely that Nakajima and her friends are the ones who showed it to Makita in the first place, being aware of what was actually going on between Ogiue and him.
In the present, Nakajima still lives in Tohoku, and remains friends with at least one of the girls from her middle school days, Shigeta Mina. Though Nakajima is very stylish and fashionable, her regular trips to Comic Festival indicate that she is still very much into yaoi. In addition, her current feelings about Ogiue are not entirely clear, as she exhibits signs of jealousy and resentment towards her, and seemingly revels in reminding Ogiue (and Ogiue’s friends) of her past, but at the same time also appears to show a certain degree of concern for her.
Fujoshi Level:
There are no clear details about Nakajima’s fujocity other than that she has some experience writing BL stories, and that she is at least to some extent still a fan of yaoi.
First thing first, Genshiken anime info dump! it’s been confirmed that the Genshiken II (or Nidaime) anime will be starting this summer, with a different studio but with a lot of old staff. I do find it kind of funny that Genshiken can’t seem to get a consistent animation studio or anime character designer, and given the sheer variation of work that the character designer Taniguchi Junichirou has worked on, it’s hard to predict how they’ll look exactly. Also, Uesaka Sumire will be singing the opening. Next month is the voice cast reveal, so let the speculation begin!
Anyway.
In Chapter 87, Hato continues to try to be one of the boys, but the fact that he is unable to draw properly for the sake of Ogiue’s ComiFes doujinshi when not in drag causes him to go back to it, at least in private. At the same time, Ogiue has decided to charge into the 21st century by buying a pen tablet monitor in order to save time and manpower, but the transition isn’t as simple as she hoped for. As ComiFes is drawing near, familiar faces appear as Angela makes her return to Japan and Keiko is looking to take another stab at the event.
I literally laughed out loud when I saw the pen tablet monitor. It was clearly introduced by Kio Shimoku as a metaphor for not only Hato’s current situation, but also the Genshiken club itself and even the manga as a whole. In this regard, I think it does an excellent job of representing the dimensions of a generational divide.
By showing Ogiue struggling with her tablet despite purchasing it to alleviate her work schedule, Genshiken touches upon the idea that transition can be a difficult thing because of how much we must acknowledge and rework our assumptions. The strengths and limitations of the zoom function, referenced during Ogiue’s little rant, is the perfect example. On the one hand, it lets you get up close and put detail into even the smallest part of a drawing, but on the other hand it can be stifling if one is obsessed with detail. Ogiue’s plight somewhat mirrors the difficulty by which the manga itself has transitioned into its new cast and their very different values, not only in terms of the content of the manga, but also for a good portion of the manga’s readerbase which seems to see the new Genshiken as “not Genshiken.”
However, I think it would be a mistake to say that the ideas implied by the tablet transition are narrowly limited to Genshiken as a topic, as I really think it goes beyond this one manga. What really adds to the tablet metaphor is the conversation between Hato, Yajima, and Yoshitake where they mention the simple fact that, for some artists, digital drawing is all they’ve ever known.
Drafting, cleaning, paneling, for them, everything is done on the monitor, and it highlights this idea that, rather than this newer generation of artists being untrained in the old ways, that their “environment” is simply different and they have adapted to it in kind. Instead of the tablet being a facsimile of “real” drawing by mimicking pen on paper, for them the tablet is real drawing. That difference in mindset is so central to the changes between generations, whether it be music and art, dance, technology, or any other topic, and it shows how neither the old or new generation are “bad,” but that people are the product of their experiences.
I get the sense that, as the manga continues, Ogiue will continue to use the tablet, but that it will require her to adjust her current work habits to better fit it, or to make it more of a supplementary tool. In either case, if she does incorporate it, it means that her work may never be the same again. The impossibility of returning to the “old way” is also shown in the beginning of this chapter, when we see Madarame, Hato, and Kuchiki discussing anime much in the same way the club used to, with mentions of sakuga, seasons (cour), and the economic side. While definitely similar to the old Genshiken, something’s not quite right, especially in terms of how Yoshitake and Yajima appear a bit alienated by it because it’s not the atmosphere they’ve participated in and even helped to create. It feels a bit artifical and out of step with time, which also has implications in regards to Hato, who is trying to act like a “proper” male otaku.
If we look at the notion of the “proper” otaku (and perhaps even the whole debate over fake geeks), it’s kind of funny that people prescribe a certain set of behavior as “proper” for a group that has been traditionally stereotyped as behaving improperly by virtue of being otaku. I think Hato’s vain attempt to quit crossdressing and yaoi may be a sign of how ridiculous this can be, as if the manga is saying that it’s not as simple as getting rid of the girly stuff to bring back the “true” Genshiken, and that there has been a change in environment that the manga has been trying to address.
I may have gone a little too crazy with that analysis, but I honestly think that I haven’t completely or properly explained the intricacies of the tablet metaphor, though I’ll leave it as is for now. It’s been a while since we’ve had this much Ogiue in a chapter, so I’m pleased in that regard, and I’d been wondering when Angela would show up again a she’s a significant factor in the whole Madarame-Hato story. The fact that Keiko is planning to go to ComiFes out of her own free will may actually say everything about how much the world in and around Genshiken has changed.
(A bit of Ogiue Tohoku-ben inner dialogue teaching us that Ogiue is still not used to Kanto winters.)
Name: Shiguma, Rika (志熊理科)
Alias: N/A
Relationship Status: Single
Origin: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai!
Information:
Ostensibly a high school student at St. Chronica Academy, Shiguma Rika is a technological genius who performs her own independent research as her “curriculum” away from other classmates. Possessing poor social skills and an eccentric personality, Rika is a member of the “Neighbors Club,” a club secretly devoted to helping people become better at making friends.
Rika possesses a dirty mind, and is eager to turn almost anything anyone says into a sexual innuendo, specially when it comes to her fellow club member, Hasegawa Kodaka. In spite of a massive yaoi collection, Shiguma has never actually been to a Comic Market, owing to a sense of fear and discomfort towards large crowds. Rika once spoke of never having “kissed a mammal” before, and owns a video collection of invertebrate mating.
Fujoshi Level:
Rather than being a simple fujoshi, Shiguma Rika is more of an overall pervert. Her favorite titles are not simply yaoi-themed, but ones where giant robots engage in intercourse, described through creative visual metaphors.
Name: Hiiragi, Kagami (柊かがみ)
Alias: Kagamin (かがみん), Hiiragii (ひーらぎー)
Relationship Status: Single
Origin: Lucky Star
Information:
Hiiragi Kagami is a high school student and the older sibling to her twin sister, Tsukasa. Along with their friends Izumi Konata and Takahara Miyuki, the four spend their days playing games and engaging in idle discussion. Generally confident and assertive, especially compared to Tsukasa, Konata refers to Kagami as a “tsundere,” though Kagami does not exhibit fully tsundere traits as such. Kagami is introduced to BL, as well as the world of doujinshi as a whole, when she assists Konata in a Comic Market run.
While Kagami is not really an otaku, she is an avid reader of light novels and enjoys playing video games, especially those in the fighting game genre, though she can be over-competitive. To Kagami’s chagrin, she is often not in the same class as her sister or their friends, though she does have some good friends in her class, namely Minegishi Ayano and the eccentric Kusakabe Misao.
Fujoshi Level:
Kagami is an absolute beginner to the world of the fujoshi. Teetering on the edge, her first experience involved her barely being able to resist buying a yaoi doujinshi.
Genshiken II, Chapter 86 looks to possibly be a turning point. We’ve had quite a few of those already though. Also, next month there might be more news about the upcoming anime! It’ll be a long 30 days or so.
Sue visits Hato’s place, using Janglish to ask if he likes Madarame. Hato denies, but is clearly hiding something. After a tussle pitting Hato’s judo training against Sue’s freestyle which ends in a win by submission for the American, Sue discovers Hato’s secret Mada x Hato (in drag) drawings. Hato, who is increasingly confused about his feelings for Madarame (he feels that at this rate he might actually start liking Madarame), decides to just stop crossdressing and go back to being “a normal otaku.” This clearly makes Yajima uncomfortable despite her previous objections to Hato’s crossdressing.
With this chapter, I think I finally understand one of the big overarcing themes of Genshiken II. Yes, there’s the generation gap and the otaku/fujoshi distinction, but even more fundamental to the manga is a concept I’d describe as “the complexities of personal perceptions.”
The foremost example is Hato. He is getting to the point where he likely feels something for Madarame. I want to point out, however, the fact that Hato had no problems showing his “Hato x Mada” art to Sue, declaring that it was just the realm of fiction, but for some reason he also felt it necessary to keep his “Mada x Hato” hidden. I think the distinction between the two pairings is extremely important because it indicates a denial of clear-cut narratives about sexuality in describing otaku.
“What’s fiction is fiction, and what’s real is real” is a clear and concise argument. So is “what you’re attracted to in fiction can influence your real life preferences (and vice versa).” The former argument is used by Hato, while the latter was suggested by Kaminaga. With Hato and his feeling towards Madarame, however, it might actually be the case that his yaoi delusions are separate from his real feelings, but he began developing feelings for Madarame anyway due to their growing friendship, and that this manifests as Hato x Mada vs. Mada x Hato. I wonder if this is the case just because Mada x Hato for some reason apparently has to involve Hato crossdressing, as if to say the idea does not “make sense” to him otherwise.
In anime and manga about (or including) fujoshi, often there is significant time spent explaining how important the orders of pairings are important. “It’s like saying ‘curry on rice.’ No one says ‘rice on curry!’ says a character from the 4-koma series Doroko. This is generally played for laughs while trying to introduce to the reader the “mysterious” mind of the fujoshi, to allow the reader to say, “Oh fujoshi, you’re so lovably wacky.” I think that with Genshiken, Kio is trying to discuss that mindset a little more seriously.
I predict Ogiue is going to start playing a bigger role in this, just because Hato looks like he’s trying to run away from his current situation at all costs. Ogiue is more than familiar with this situation, is aware of how much trying to deny oneself can generate a festering wound of self-loathing, and just how complicated the real/fiction distinction can get. I think, or perhaps I simply hope, that Ogiue will manage to be Hato’s mentor, like how Ohno was there for her. Also, Hato says he’s “going back” to being a normal otaku, but was he ever a normal otaku? He discovered yaoi in junior high, so it’s been with him for a long time, which makes me think that Hato is trying to simply act like how a “normal otaku” is supposed to without truly direct experience, somewhat like how Ogiue sometimes tried to approximate a “non-otaku.”
If the Hato example is a little too crazy, I think Yajima in this chapter also provides an interesting case of personal perception. Clearly the reason why Yajima blushes at the end is because she still associates male Hato with the time she accidentally saw him naked, in addition to just the fact that he’s a guy. She doesn’t react this way so much to Hato in her female guise, which means that the wig and dress is enough to “trick” Yajima psychologically so that the first thing she thinks about is Hato’s clean-shaven personal area. What Yajima thinks of Hato is of course its own puzzle having at its origin her own self-image and her lack of experience interacting with men.
I don’t know if Sue counts towards this as well, but I do find it interesting that Sue’s embarrassment over kissing Madarame has nothing to do with him and everything to do with the fact that Kasukabe saw her doing it. On some level, I feel like I can really understand that distinction. Somewhat like that famous scene in His and Her Circumstances when Miyazawa accidentally runs into Arima while out of her “perfect student” guise,” there are people you feel like you can be a fool around and people you don’t. I also continue to think that it’s kind of brave of Kio to give Sue a larger role, as semi-fluent foreigner is not the easiest thing to pull off without reverting to very basic stereotypes. Sue is many things, but “basic” isn’t one of them.
By the way, there’s something I find really impressive about Sue and Hato’s fight scene, particularly the panel where Hato drags her and sweeps the leg. It captures that one moment so incredibly well, while allowing it to transition into the next set of panels. It actually makes me want to see Kio draw an action series.
To end, I want to ask a simple question: Sue x Hato, what are your thoughts? If this were a more popular series, I’m sure that neck-licking thing would have people talking.
(Warning: This post contains spoilers.)
There are many interesting aspects about the anime Robotics;Notes, but one thing that’s particularly noteworthy is that it is a show about giant robots. That might not sound so impressive on its own, but it’s actually quite rare for a show to be “about” giant robots. Certainly, there are anime which include giant robots, anime which place giant robots in the spotlight, and giant robot anime which are driven by strong themes, all of which can be strong in their own rights. Where Robotics;Notes differs, however, is that it concerns the very thematic concept of giant robots, particularly what they mean to the people who watch and follow them.
Senomiya Akiho, Robotics Club President
In episode 1, we’re introduced to the Central Tanegashima High School Robotics Club and its president, Senomiya Akiho. An energetic girl, Akiho is an avid fan of giant robot anime, particularly the highly influential and hot-blooded series Gunvarrel. Akiho’s primary goal as Robotics Club president is to complete a 1:1 scale functioning robot replica of Gunvarrel called the Guntsuku-1, a task she inherited from her sister Misaki. Akiho, we are shown, has nowhere near the genius of her sister who designed the blueprints for Guntsuku-1 in the first place, and the enormous task before her sets up a couple of important questions. First, is Robotics;Notes the sort of anime that would, after deliberately pointing out how unfeasible it would be to replicate the design of an in-story fictional robot while also providing examples of “realistic” robots in society, allow Guntsuku-1 to be completed? Second, whether it ends up being finished or not, how prominently will Guntsuku-1 figure into the narrative? More specifically, will it actually somehow fulfill the role of a giant robot even with its various setbacks? These two mysteries work together to create a slow-burning sense of anticipation in Robotics;Notes which center upon the idea of “giant robots,” or more specifically the “giant robots of anime.”
Legendary anime Gunvarrel
The “high school kids in a club” setting is not new to anime, but because of its increasing prominence in recent years Robotics;Notes initially gives off the impression that it might stay primarily in the microcosm of the clubroom. Even when factoring in the fact that Robotics;Notes is from the same company which created Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate, two series with grander themes than K-On!, there still exists in the early episodes the possibility that the anime would focus on the everyday of the Robotics Club amidst this greater story, or at most show how small their world is by comparison. While the story of the Robotics Club does eventually begin to tie itself into a greater conspiracy and makes it clear that the show is not so limited in scope, even from the beginning Robotics;Notes creates a strong sense of connection between many of the characters and varying conceptions of robots. This in turn helps to establish that deeper thematic level of the meanings of giant robots.
Robotics Club members (left to right): Senomiya Akiho, Daitoku Junna, Koujiro Frau, Yashio Kaito, Hidaka Subaru
Going by just the club members, the male lead and childhood friend of Akiho, Yashio Kaito, is a slacker who primarily experiences giant robots through a fictional Virtual On-esque game called Kill-Ballad, which is itself inspired by Gunvarrel. The hikikomori fujoshi Koujiro Frau, turns out to be not only the creator of Kill-Ballad, but also the daughter of the producer of the original Gunvarrel anime, making Gunvarrel her tie to her missing mother. Hidaka Subaru, who initially refuses to join, is a champion of small-scale robot battle competitions who is forced to compete in secrecy because of his father’s disapproval. Daitoku Junna’s grandfather specializes in robotics, but an accident at a young age left her with a fear of robots. In each of these examples, Robotics;Notes in some way connects the theme of giant robots to other people.
The completed Guntsuku-1
There are two important developments about halfway through the series. First, the Robotics Club manages to complete Guntsuku-1, but it turns out to have accumulated over time so many compromises and shortcuts in its construction that the final product is a cumbersome and ugly-looking machine. Physically speaking, it is no more a robot than a golf cart with a head grafted on. Second, it is revealed that the final episode of Gunvarrel never aired because it was actually brainwashing propaganda (the broadcast of which was was stopped by Frau’s mother), which creates an extremely negative public opinion of Akiho’s beloved anime. Here, Akiho’s reactions to both events emphasizes the role of giant robots in her life, which in turn foregrounds how giant robots as a fictional concept can be interpreted.
The Gunvarrel conspiracy
In regards to Guntsuku-1 and its lackluster debut, Akiho specifically mentions that they are not abandoning Guntsuku-1. Rather, they are setting it aside so that they can come back to it later, which is indicative of Akiho’s belief in the spirit of the giant robot concept. Even as the Robotics Club moves onto working on a more realistic robot (the Guntsuku-2) for a robotics expo, Akiho not only makes sure not to forget Guntsuku-1, but her influence encourages the other club members to create an augmented reality modification so that people using a technological interface can view Guntsuku-2 as if it actually were Gunvarrel. Similarly, even when the horrible truth of Gunvarrel becomes known and people view it with disdain, Akiho resolves to still love Gunvarrel because she believes that her positive experiences with it trump whatever diabolical authorial intent may have been at the heart of it. At this point, it becomes increasingly clear that what is important to Akiho (and Robotic;Notes) is not the physical component of giant robots as massive titans of power but as symbols and icons of inspiration, existing in the hearts of those who love what it could be, instead of what it was supposed to be.
Akiho’s persistent spirit along with Guntsuku-2
Akiho embodies this “giant robot spirit.” Late in the series, when the conspiracy which underpins the series is in full swing, Akiho falls into a panicked depression, which comes as a shock to Kaito. Throughout the series, Kaito acts like a reluctant accomplice to Akiho’s madness, someone who follows only because he must. In this situation, however, Kai reveals that he was only able to act the role of the slacker because Akiho was there as his beacon of light, with enough motivation to carry the both of them. Kaito always saw in Akiho what Akiho sees in giant robots: something (or someone) who is not the most logical or rational but is an enduring source of motivation.
Guntsuku-1, revived
By the end of the series, the Robotics Club must stop the leader of the conspiracy and prevent the death of millions. In order to do so, they (along with their friends and family) repurpose the Guntsuku-1 using parts of Guntsuku-2, giving it functional modifications that they were simply unable to the first time. Appearance-wise, it’s still more or les the cumbersome hunk of metal it was before, but at this point in the story it’s clear that what makes Guntsuku-1 into a valiant giant robot just like Gunvarrel is not how closely it matches the original design but rather the intent of the people who support it. This includes not just the current Robotics Club and the people they know, but the people who worked on it throughout the years such as Akiho’s sister. As if to reinforce this point, when the antagonists view Guntsuku-1 through the technological interface of their own robot, all they can see is the actual Gunvarrel (via the same augmented reality image used for Guntsuku-2), complete with signature attacks.
The virtual image of Guntsuku-1
In describing Robotics;Notes as an anime about giant robots unlike so many others, this distinction mainly has to do with the fact that Robotics;Notes incorporates into its story how giant robots as cultural artifacts are received and interpreted by the people who engage with them. It is not the only anime to address this on some level, with Martian Successor Nadesico and the 2004 Tetsujin 28 being a couple of examples, but Robotics;Notes does so while putting into question throughout its narrative the very existence of its signature robot. It is not until the conceptual processes for conceiving the effects of “giant robots” are in place that Guntsuku-1 truly takes center stage, which in turn creates a unique and interesting position for Robotics;Notes. If one were to categorize Robotics;Notes, would it be considered a “giant robot anime?” The fact that this can be argued both ways is, rather than being a weakness of Robotics;Notes, one of its greatest strengths.
Dyuhuhu
Name: Hisakawa, Ayane (久川綾音)
Alias: N/A
Relationship Status: N/A
Origin: The Manken Club, Like Whirlwind and Surge Waves!!
Information:
Hisakawa Ayane is a 1st-year student and a member of the Manken Club lead by Rinbara Megumi. In addition to an interest in yaoi doujinshi, Hisakawa is also an exhibitionist.
Fujoshi Level:
Hisakawa joined her club president Rinbara in using up the club’s funds to buy yaoi doujinshi.
Name: Rinbara, Megumi (林原恵)
Alias: Buchou/President (部長)
Relationship Status: Complicated
Origin: The Manken Club, Like Whirlwind and Surge Waves!!
Information:
Rinbara Megumi is a second-year student and the president of her school’s manga club, though somewhat irresponsible. She is comfortable with using her body for personal gain.
Fujoshi Level:
Rinbara depleted the Manken Club’s funds by buying nothing but yaoi doujinshi.
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