Customer Reviews

Genshiken Official Book

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a huge Genshiken fan and was so excited when I first saw this book was going to be coming out. I got it as soon as it was available and since I'm such a huge Genshiken fan I'm happy I did but there's not much new info here.

The "new stories" in the book were not written by Kio Shimoku, the original author, but are really just fan fiction pieces added to the book. They are also only text, don't expect new manga or omake.

One of these newer stories does center around Sasahara and Ogiue and since she's my favorite character I did enjoy it.

The book is pretty much a review of the Genshiken universe and talks about different subjects of the otaku life and adds many scenes from the original manga to show as examples.

It does include some more detailed character sheets for most of the members along with some interesting information from the creator about why certain things were chosen, such as a characters favorite anime shows.

If your a huge fan of Genshiken I'd say it's worth the purchase but don't expect much new. If your on the fence about getting it or not, just re-read the original manga again.

Exactly what makes a manga series popular?

It really is a mystery as to what makes any series popular and sell well, but behind the best selling Genshiken series, a rabid fan base lies. Precisely how rabid only Kio Shimoku has managed to explain in any logical fashion. The resulting thesis is a remarkable illustrated examination that reads like the series yet seems applicable to any fan base. Substitute north American comics for Manga, and New York or San Diego for Comic Fest and you begin to understand the similarities.

Manga has cosplay, and we have costume contests in North America. Add independant press for fanzine, and so on.

As far as the book goes, Kio discusses Newbie Orientation, Genshiken Members Unite, Love Within the Genshiken, The Otaku 10 Commandments, Required Reading, 1987 isue of Mebaetame, Unofficial Side Story, and It's a Beautiful Otaku Life. The content is illuminating to us North American readers. One strange side comment centers on the masturbation related to cosplay images. Are some North American comic books much different?

The Official Book is more than just a guide, it is a guided tour through the world of Manga led by one well versed in all its' aspects.

Highly recommended.

Tim Lasiuta

When I saw that this was coming out, I eagerly pre-ordered it at my bookstore. After all, a guidebook! To Genshiken! A book for otakus about a manga that is about & parodies the otaku culture! What fun!

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot in this that I didn't already see in the manga. There's not a lot of new information added to it. The new stories are all fanfiction & are only in text. There's also not a lot of artwork in the book that I haven't already seen elsewhere. The cards that the book touted? Not actual cards, but black & white reproductions. To be fair, I wasn't really expecting a wonderful insert or anything, but I was at least expecting them to be printed in color.

The stories are nice & there is some decent information in this book, but at the same time I just couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. There's not a lot in here that you couldn't have already gotten off the internet for free... and every single bit of it is in color.

Bottom line: this is probably only good for the obsessive collectors & die-hard fans. Otherwise, I'd recommend that you save your money & borrow a friend's copy. Or just look all of the info up on the internet.

A lot of terms about "Otaku" and the life they go through. A bio of the Genshiken characters and how some of their personality actually relates to real life people. I see Otaku as more of a person who loves to collect certain things. Although the person can be too much into it, they are quite passionate on their collection; however, some people see it as a weird type of lifestyle.

If your a diehard fan of this great manga/anime then this may be for you if not then don't bother. And don't start here but read the manga first then watch the anime and then perhaps go here. Its decent but a bit expensive for what you get.

This is the official Genshiken Guide. It also claims to be a guide to Otaku life. Unfortunately it does not excel in any of those. About half of the book consists of information about the Genshiken series, but most of it is just a summary of basic things that happened during the series, with nothing special. There are no innovations or in-depth guides whatsoever. The book promises "a brand-new story set in the world of Genshiken" and indeed there are 2 original stories. Alas these are written as text (as opposed to being in manga form) and to add insult to injury they are fan made spin-offs with no connection to the original manga artist. Another disappointment comes in the fact that the "kujibiki unbalanced" trading cards are only reproductions (black and white copies) of the original color cards that where included in the Japanese version. The best positive thing I found in the first half of the book were the "Otaku 10 commandments" by Madarame which I have to admit are very funny indeed.
The other half of the book is about Otaku as a way of life. This includes "serious stuff" like a small interview with the artist Akamatsu Ken (about Comiket), a series of small articles that very vaguely summaries the history of fighting games, cosplay and the like, and a couple of pages about Otaku terminology. All of these may sound interesting but they are poorly lacking in context and credibility, and so are rendered useless as references for real academic writing. Some even seem like a copy-paste of of wikipedia. To sum it up this half of the book is on the easy side, almost as if made for little kids (or people who know absolutely nothing about Otaku, but for some strange reason already read the entire Genshiken manga).

To conclude: "Genshiken - Official Book" is definitely not a must buy for people who read the manga, or for those who are looking for academic information on the Otaku sub-culture. I would only recommend it to perfectionists who already bought all the other manga books in the series and would feel terribly bad if they don't buy this book and completely complete their Genshiken collection.