life line by line

Beach episode BANZAI!
ComicFest episode BANZAI!
Kanako, Saki, and Keiko BANZAI!
Animation…. GAO~!

three out of four isn’t bad, right?

The Beach side story of Genshiken 10 consist of the crew going to beach, though somewhat un-willingly. Truly Saki and Kousaka are the only ones that wanted to go while everyone else tagged along, including Keiko! What follows is pure beach comedy gold as the guys don’t really want to play on the beach and instead, discuss the upcoming comic fest. Kanako is actually pretty shy at the beach and clings to Saki until forcefully told to let go (so cute!). And Keiko… well she’s there because of Kousaka. Too bad Saki won’t let her get within 10 ft of them and uses her Gator of Inflatable Justice(TM) many many times ^_^ While all that Saki-Keiko fun is happening, some of the Genshiken crew decide to take a small dip into the sea. Some more literally than others (Kanako… her cuteness just keeps going up and up!). Eventually the two groups meet and head to get some drinks, accidentally running into one of Keiko’s ex-boyfriends. Kousaka being the cool guy he is defends her without really even trying, making Keiko fall for him more while the others just watch (or in the case of Madarame, run away). They meet up with Kanako and Tanaka who built one heck of a Lupin III Castle… ending the beach story with the crew discussing which version of Lupin they like the best.

So inbetweener where Keiko realizes if she can become an otaku, she might have a chance to get closer to Kousaka. Her method? Good old “onii-chan” though he’s obviously suspicious of her sudden interest. A bit later on, when Keiko mentions she can’t wait to go to ComiFest, Saki tries to stop her by making it CLEAR they all go to buy ero-manga! Even going so far as to make the crew show her the various ones laying around the club room, Keiko is a tad… surprised. Ohno then shows her ero-manga for girls… which does something two fold. Brings in another fan to the world of yaoi manga and shows just how ‘evil’ Kanako can be ^_^;;

Now the crew is waiting at ComiFest, including Keiko and Saki. Really nothing out of the norm happens with the Genshiken club but it’s Keiko and Saki that steal the show as they discuss the “benefits” of being or dating an otaku. Pretty deep stuff as it comes to an climax as Keiko (thanks in part to Saki) learns the one lesson to dating an otaku: work around his perversions and use blackmail when needed (poor Sasahara). I should also note it’s interesting Saki quotes Madarame for once, telling Keiko that she can’t force herself to become one… it just happens. Also helps Saki speaks from experience too ^_~ Anyway, Keiko short-lived attempt to being an otaku ends and all is well… except Saki and Keiko get along better…. and Sasahara will probably be blackmailed in the future by his sister. Okay, so everything is semi-back to normal. Better than nothing right?

Barring the crappy animation, Genshiken 10 totally rocked in my opinion. I think mostly because it made good fun of otakus and centered around the lovely ladies Saki and Keiko, that I laughed and enjoyed watching thoroughly. Saki and Keiko make an awesome comedic team and it’s really too bad we don’t see any more of Keiko in the anime series after this (same in the manga if I remember correctly). I also thoroughly enjoyed Ohno in the background as she provided a lot of hilarious scenes (even if she didn’t say much or anything). My favorites have to be her little quirky sounds at the beach and her facial expressions on the train ride back home. Funny, period.