“Kujibiki Unbalance”/”Genshiken” OVA
Pub
lisher: AnimeWorks (Media Blasters, USA)Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 12 Episodes x 24 minutes (Unbalance), 3 Episodes x 24 minutes (Genshiken OVA)
Production Date: 2006 - 2007
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes
Turning a incidental throwaway segment that forms part of a larger show into its own stand alone show rarely works out. In fact I can’t think of any which have worked. I remember the live action film “Space Travellers” having an OVA released which was made up mostly of the animated sections (an anime one of the characters was crazy about) made for the film (oddly the OVA made to the US, but not the film it came from, however there is a legit Hong Kong release of the movie which is subtitled). It was pretty dreadful. The original “Kujibiki Unbalance” OVAs that came with the video release of “Genshiken” were pretty darn forgettable. However with this remake TV series, somehow they’ve managed to make this show at least OK. It’s not the woeful piece of crap I was expecting.
While the show is sometimes comes with the subtitle “The Second Term”, it seems to have little to no relation to the OVA series that came with the video release of the original “Genshiken” TV series. The character designs, story and I think the voice cast are completely different. It’s all pretty shallow and there is only a threadbare plot until the last couple of episodes, but it still manages to entertain. Somewhat. It’s been a week or so since I’ve watched it, and I’ve forgotten most of the show. The TV series was coupled with three new “Genshiken” OVAs, which follow directly on from the TV series. Unfortunately if you hate “Unbalance” and you want to watch both seasons of “Genshiken”, you’re going to have to get this set (the marketers of this show are annoyingly sly). That’s because two new characters are introduced (one being very important to the second season’s plot) and Saki’s personality changes a bit. It was so long since I saw the original series, that it took an entire episode to get back into it. The three episodes presented here are a lot of fun and seem to build up to the one big punch line towards the end of the episode in almost all of them. The OVAs cover things like Madarame’s friendship with Saki and Ohno’s cosplay obsession and spitefulness (as well as more cosplay drama involving a new character). Overall though as a package (and as an average between the two shows), I’d give this a 6.5 out of 10. If it was “Genshiken” only, it’d rate a lot higher.
“Genshiken 2”
Publisher: Anime
Works (Media Blasters, USA)Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 12 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2007
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes
Following on directly from the OVA series that came with “Unbalance”, this second season has a lot of the same sort of situations plus a few new changes. First up we have the two new characters; “Kucchi”, an over the top otaku who doesn’t really add much to the show, and more importantly Ogiue, a new female member passed on by the manga club who’s an introvert and declares she hates otaku and isn’t an otaku herself (of course she’s an otaku, just a closet one). At the beginning of the series and throughout the series various members graduate and leave college (it’s a university really, I’m just using the American terminology used in the translation) to find work, but some always manage to gravitate back to the club room. For the first two thirds of its length, it’s an extremely enjoyable and very witty and funny show. Painfully so at times. There are a lot of situations here that are horribly true to life, and yes maybe I’ve experienced similar situations or know similar people to the ones portrayed here.
The last third changes gear a bit. We have the introduction of two female American otaku, and dare I suggest that these characterisations (putting aside the fact the voices are done by Japanese actors, albeit who can almost convince they are native English speakers - if you can suspend a little disbelief that is) are chillingly close to the mark. The show also gets quite serious with Sasahara job hunting and coming up empty handed, eventually giving up for a while. But I guess that’s the point of this show. It’s not a fantasy, it’s a kind of reality that people deal with (presented as a satire of course). It sort of mirrors to a large degree the higher education and employment situation in Japan. It’s totally alien to a lot of people outside Japan. I look at this and think this can’t be really healthy; the need to conform, the pressure to perform at high school etc. No wonder people flip out or take up hobbies which send them into an alternate fantasy land, especially in College where life is a bit more relaxed. Places like Akihabara make sense when you view Japanese society as a whole and not down the prism of its pop culture and public face.
Back to the show; All the good stuff is at the front end of the show. In particular I enjoyed the awkward sexual tension developing between Ohno and Tanaka and it’s hilarious conclusion, the club trying to produce a doujin with infighting and general procrastination until the last possible moment, and Saki’s nightmares about where her relationship with Kohsaka might end up. Though that’s not to say the last part is bad. In particular I enjoyed Sasahara’s burgeoning relationship and how he gets out of rut. I thought this seriousness did put a dampener on things as it’s really a bit of a light hearted show. It’s interesting that despite the fact Sasahara becomes the club’s president and he was a key figure in the original series, for the first two thirds of the show he’s in the background, much like Kohsaka (who is barely noticeable in this series). The show for the most part revolves around Saki, Ohno, Ogiue and Madarame. And that’s not bad at all. Michiko Yokote who did the scripts on about a third of the “Patlabor” TV and follow up New OVA series was the screenwriter. She certainly knows how to write for this bunch of characters. The reason why this show works so well is because of these characters. In the end, this season isn’t quite as good as the first, mainly due to the seriousness of the last arc, but I couldn’t see them ending any other way. 8 out of 10.
Remaining Backlog: 23 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).
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