Genshiken is one of the best otaku-centered slice-of-life anime I have ever seen. Being released in 2004, it has references from that era, from the club members watching anime from a small CRT television, to Sasahara, one of the main characters, not owning a personal computer, and even references to the still then fresh Iraq War in the form of posters on the walls of the club building. Being a dated anime, Genshiken still does translate well to today. The general mood and adventures that Genshiken takes us episode by episode could happen in 2004 or in 2019—the only way we can tell it is 2004 is by the animation quality (and because the anime is in 4:3).

While the first episode gives the illusion that Sasahara, who joins Genshiken in that episode, will be the main character, he is not the sole focus of any episode after that. The club members as a whole are the main characters, and all of the episodes revolve around Genshiken and the activities revolving around it (going to Comicfest (Comiket), building a plastic model, etc.) If anything is the main character, it is the club itself.

The characters that makeup Genshiken are: Sasahara, who is a standard otaku, who is not the main character, but operates as the ‘self-insert’ character; Kousaka, who is the only handsome member of Genshiken, but is very dedicated to being an otaku. He’s also very good at fighting games and never loses his cool; Kasukabe, who only goes to meetings because she is interested in Kousaka. She does not like anything otaku-related but learns to deal with it, especially after she starts dating Kousaka; Madarame, who is the most enthusiastic about being an otaku, and the most hardcore otaku of the group. He operates as the leader of Genshiken, both unofficially, and then officially later on in the season; Ohno, the other girl in Genshiken and the cosplayer of the group. Unlike Kasukabe, Ohno is actually an otaku, although her interests vary greatly from others in the group; Tanaka, who is into cosplaying and plastic models. He makes multiple costumes for both Ohno and Kasukabe throughout the series; Kugayama, who is never really fleshed out in the anime, his notable feature is that he has trouble speaking up due to his stuttering problem.

There are many side characters that the main cast interact with often, like the first president of the club, who has been the president for longer than anyone in the club can remember; Sasahara’s little sister, who occasionally visits Sasahara, mainly for money and to try to swoop Kousaka; and Haraguchi, who no one likes but has to tolerate, as apparently, he has connections in the manga world.

Genshiken is worth the watch. All of the characters interactions make the show great. Each episode is different than the last, which different characters taking the lead of being the ‘main character’ of that particular episode. Some of the main over-arching themes of the anime are Kasukabe’s interactions with the other members, the club’s interactions with the Student Council, and the club’s yearly visit to Comicfest. To say that Genshiken is a show ‘about nothing’ would be a lie, but there are not many things plot-related that stretch more than a singular episode. If you want to watch a slice-of-life related to a university Otaku Club, I would recommend Genshiken.