- Art: 8
- Story: 9
- Ogilove Rating: 10
Super Condensed Plot Summary: We discover the secrets of Ogiue’s past and she gets a lot closer to Sasahara. We also learn more about the manga club and that Ogi-chan likes elephants.
I remember reading about some of these chapters when they first came out. It was particularly fun to contemplate what the details of the Sasa-Ogi climax would be. We soon found out–she gets that new shimmer in her eyes! Now we finally have the second-to-last volume in English and it’s all here: the infamous flashback, the moonlit confession, the yaoi education and a date at the zoo. The story has really turned to romance (but isn’t that what every fanboy/girl wants anyway?)
So this is really the best volume in the series for ogilove factor. In chapter 44 we see the pivotal moment from Ogi’s past and we feel for her like we feel for the heroine of a shoujo manga (there’s always those moments of isolation/humiliation for shoujo manga heroines, like Momo’s bad treatment in Peach Girl, or the ostracization of poor Yukino in KareKano). Chapter 45 and 46 brings the two otaku-lovers together and brings the Ogiue cuteness level to its height. But the real climax comes with chapter 47–while a pretty strange situation when you get down to it, this gives me a much much more real feeling than in some over-the-top fantasy like Densha Otoko. I saw the movie version of that last month, but I’d rather see a relationship between two people with similar interests and true understanding, than a story that’s more like a fairy tale. Of course, Train Man is lot more of an extreme anti-social type than Ogiue or good-natured Sasahara. He lives only online at first–I couldn’t see him joining a group like the Genshiken, so he probably does need a more angelic and perfect figure to bring him around. Ogiue just needs someone who can accept her for who she is, and then she can do a lot of the rest, like connect with the manga club girls. Her psychological characterization is actually pretty sophisticated. Genshiken shows a world where fellow otaku can find romance and have a social circle, while being true to themselves and their interests.
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I’ll have to pick it up (Genshiken is one of about three manga that I follow), though I’ve been feeling a certain loss of enthusiasm for the series with recent volumes. The characters that I like keep on disappearing, while the obnoxious ones (Kuchii…) are stubbornly persistent. It’s too much like real life ^_^
Volume 08 was really unpredictable for the events that happens. It’s a really good volume to the whole manga series. My opinion is that this volume is probably the best one out of the 8 volumes I’ve read so far. I’m look forward to reading volume 09.
It’s too bad that its ending soon. I like the fact that the focus is more on character development and a realistic romance.