Genshiken/Characters

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Kanji Sasahara

The protagonist of the series (as much as a slice-of-life series can have a protagonist). A shy freshman when introduced, he gradually grows to accept his interests in the club. He becomes chairman of the club at the beginning of his junior year, then hands it off to Ohno the next year.

• Covert Pervert: At the beginning. It fades off as he opens up to his otaku side more and more.
  • The episode where he acquires a computer to play eroges is a turning point for this.
• Extreme Doormat: He lampshades this.
• Lovable Coward: He'll often back down from challenges (like picking up a vendor form right after the first Comifes ended), but he's an entirely sympathetic character.
• Nice Guy: Too much sometimes.
• Out of Focus: In Nidaime, even though he is the current president's boyfriend.
• Shrinking Violet: He's a bizarre male equivalent at the beginning of the series.

Makoto Kousaka

The first member of the Genshiken whom Sasahara meets. An oblivious guy who remains smiling practically all the time. Great looks, easy to talk, and a very nice attitude. It's actually hard to believe this guy is a die-hard fan of anime and videogames, specially eroges, to Saki's much chagrin.

• The Ace: A more down to earth example than most, he is athletic, good looking, and taught himself how to program in a month.
• Bishonen
• Brutal Honesty
• Captain Oblivious
• Cloudcuckoolander
• That One Player
• Perpetual Expression
• Pollyanna: Commented on by Sasahara, who finds it useful to have someone who remains cheerful even in crises.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: He crossplays for a sale at the con and one of the before-story images has him in a maid outfit.

Harunobu Madarame

A sophomore when the series begins, Madarame is a Hot-Blooded Otaku. Has an unrequited crush on Kasukabe, who draws him out of his otaku shell. He remains Hot-Blooded though.

• Adorkable
• Bacon Addiction: In an Omake he reveals his favorite type of sushi is bacon sushi, mostly because it is cheap (50 yen for a plate of two).
• Cute Little Fangs
• Hey, It's That Voice!: See his VA below. When Madarame speaks, you'd expect Adult Link or Viral to be in costume. As well as his namesake, Ikkaku Madarame.
  • One pro-made-fan strip (from the back of the collections, in-universe, the club members think he should be played by Shigeru Chiba: probably best known for Megane from Urusei Yatsura, and Shigeo Shiba of Patlabor (two other hot-blooded geeks, one with an unrequited crush to boot).
• Hidden Depths: A good chunk of the manga deals with his change of attitude and personality. Just contrast beginning!Madarame and end!Madarame (he cooks, and quite well too).
• Hot-Blooded: During the beginning and middle of the manga, much less so towards the end and during Nidaime. He comments himself in Nidaime that he seems to have lost some of the fire and passion he had when he was in college.
• Moe: Lampshaded by one guest comic in the manga.
  • Kouta Hirano called him the most moe character in Genshiken.
• My Name Is Not Durwood: Keiko keeps calling him "Watanabe" in Nidaime.
• Nerd Glasses: Lapses into Scary Shiny Glasses on occasion.
• Nobuyuki Hiyama
• Proud to Be a Geek
• Serious Business: He will spend food money on manga. This behavior is admired by the others.
  • What really impresses his peers: he NEVER looks at price before he decides to buy a doujinshi.
• Uke: So far, every Yaoi Fan that comes across him can't stop seeing him as one.

Saki Kasukabe

A freshman when the series begins, she forms a Beta Couple with Kousaka from the first chapter. Always-suffering Dungeonmaster's Girlfriend who acts as the voice of reason for the Genshiken.

• Berserk Button: She really hates it when someone calls her an otaku. She also hates Kuchiki, but is likely not alone in that regard.
  • Making her cosplay does this to a lesser degree.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Dungeonmaster's Girlfriend
• I Have This Friend
• The Fashionista
• Nerd Nanny
• The Nicknamer: She calls Sasahara "Sasa-yan", and Kugayama "Kuga-pii".
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Her relationship with the club as a whole is entirely bipolar by the middle of the series.

Kanako Ohno

Joins the series pretty early. Has a love of cosplay and takes over the club near the end of the series.

• Beware the Nice Ones
• Buxom Is Better
• Cosplay Otaku Girl and Yaoi Fangirl (especially fond of Bara)
• Gag Boobs
• Rapunzel Hair: Useful for her cosplay.
• Shrinking Violet: She's extremely shy except when cosplaying. Or when you trigger her otaku side.

Chika Ogiue

Joins about midway through the series, swiftly becoming the character most often in the spotlight. Unlike most of the Genshiken, she is very hesitant about being an otaku, mostly by some trauma that occurred during her middle school.

• Character Development
• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: While she is initially self-loathing and cynical, her eyes don't reflect light. When later she begins to open her heart to other people, her eyes begin to shine.
• Ms. Imagination
• Nerd Glasses: She switched to contacts when she went to college, but she uses her old glasses as a disguise sometimes.
• Tohoku Regional Accent: Though she hides it by speaking Tokyo dialect, it slips out under stress.
• Tsundere: Used in the description, at that!
• When She Smiles: In the new manga. It's when she receives the call that her manga's going to be running in Afternoon.
• Yaoi Fangirl: Oh yes.

Soichiro Tanaka

Tanaka is perhaps the most skilled member of the Genshiken. He can design Cosplay outfits with ease (he is even able to tell someone's measurements by just looking at them in a bathing suit) and he is also an excellent model maker. He's arguably the most down-to-earth member of the group.

• Cosplay Otaku Guy: Before Ohno joined, he wore his own costumes more often, and he's still dedicated to cosplay afterwards.
• Eyes Always Shut: And his English VA in Season 2 is the new voice of Brock!
• Nice Guy
• Serious Business: He takes Cosplay and Gundam models very seriously.

Mitsunori Kugayama

Kugayama is a member of the Genshiken with aspirations of becoming a manga artist. However, he's poorly motivated and very asocial, which makes him a difficult person to deal with. After graduating, his appearances with the club become more infrequent.

• Brilliant but Lazy: Kugayama is a skilled artist, but rarely finishes anything he starts.
• Demoted to Extra: After he gets a job.
• Gentle Giant
• Gonk
• Speech Impediment: Stutters.
• Stout Strength: He shows it off in the novel.

Manabu Kuchiki

Joins the series about midway. Butt Monkey who's even more Proud to Be a Geek than Madarame. His actions are partially the reason why the Genshiken is so small, especially near the end of the series.

• Butt Monkey
• Dirty Old Man: A young version.
• Creepy Crossdresser
• Determinator (He spent an entire day shopping for doujins without food or water.)
• Proud to Be a Geek: And extremely shameless about it.

Genshiken Nidaime

With the continuation, and the graduation of most of the old cast, several new members were introduced in chapter 56, all mostly female.

Susanna Hopkins

Better known as Sue. Promoted to main cast in the continuation, but actually became a member near the end of the original manga. A friend of Ohno from america who visited once for ComiFes and grew attached to Ogiue. Now an exchange student. Speaks almost entirely in anime quotes.

• Ascended Extra
• Cosplay Otaku Girl: Walks around campus in cosplay and willingly acts as Ohno's dress-up doll.
• Foreign Exchange Student: She is technically neither an exchange nor a transfer student, just a freshman who came from America, but nevertheless is a similar source of confusion and comical situations, with her limited knowledge of Japanese language (majority of her lines being quotes from manga and anime), eccentrically extrovert (although good-hearted) personality, creepy child-like face and exotic looks (long blond hair and blue eyes). And, of course, being an Occidental Otaku.
• Occidental Otaku
• Older Than They Look
• Phenotype Stereotype
• Radio Mouth
• Shipper on Deck: Ships Hato X Madarame
• Vague Age
• Yaoi Fangirl

Hato Kenjirou

Cross-dressing yaoi fan who is the very picture of a shy, demure, fashionable girl. Even though she is a he.

• Camp Straight, though veering towards If It's You It's Okay territory with Madarame.
• Shipper on Deck: He seems to support Madarame X Saki, even though he knows there is little chance of it actually happening.
  • And his inner girl ships him with Madarame.
• Shrinking Violet: Hinata-level shy when in-character; he barely speaks up.
• Split Personality: Apparently his female Yaoi Fangirl persona hovers over his shoulder, 'helpfully' supplying Shipping suggestions and pointing out good situations.
  • In the nude.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Since the mid-60 chapters, he's pretty much become the main character…
• Stupid Sexy Flanders: In one scene Madarame has a need to tell himself: "He is a guy. A guy."
• Wholesome Crossdresser: He makes a better girl than some girls (because he puts the effort in).
• Yaoi Fan: Sue calls him a fundanshi (rotten boy).

Rika Yoshitake

Energetic and shameless Yaoi Fangirl.

• Covert Pervert, minus the covert part.
• Genki Girl: Radiates cheer and good fun.
• Kawaiiko
• Meganekko
• Older Than They Look: Chapter 68 reveals that despite her youthful appearance and being shorter than most of the cast, she's really 20 years old.
• Otaku: Mad about Sengoku Basara and her favourite pairings. Interestingly, she also highlights the relatively new phenomenon of "what's fun is fun" otaku, contrasting the old "otaku is an identity" like Ogiue or Madarame.
• Shipper on Deck: Seems dedicated to creating events between the new members, like Yajima and Hato.
• Wall of Text

Risa Yoshitake

Rika's younger sister, she is into playing basketball and is a Shotacon.

• Attractive Bent Gender: Yajima certainly thinks so.
• Bifauxnen: Looks enough like a guy that she can easily fool others in thinking she really is a guy.
• Big Little Sister: She is Rika's younger sister, but is taller and looks older.
• Pettanko: Realistically sinewy and flat for an athlete.
• Shotacon: Has a thing for 2-D young boys.
• Younger Than They Look: She is Rika's younger sister but she looks like the older of the two.

Mirei Yajima

Sour and sardonic Yaoi Fangirl. Prone to pouring cold water on everyone's expectations.

• Expy: Looks like a wider, female Sasahara; could be seen as the Sasahara/Ogiue equivalent for this 'season'.
• Green-Eyed Monster: She is very jealous of Hato, mostly because Hato is not only more feminine than her, but also because Hato can also draw better than her and knows Judo.
• Grumpy Bear
• Straight Man: Right from the start, acts as the damper on Yoshitake's enthusiasm.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Yajima's big, stocky and plainly dressed; Yoshitake's petite, frilly and cute.

Recurring Characters

Haraguchi

The closest thing the Genshiken has to an antagonist. Haraguchi claims to be part of both the Genshiken and the Manga Club, but he has a habit of badmouthing both of them and getting on everybody's nerves due to his condescending attitude. However, he has a lot of connections with semi-professional manga artists.

• Jerkass: Even the rest of the Manga Club dislike his attitude.
• Sitcom Arch Nemesis
• Smug Snake

The First President

The First President of the Genshiken is a mysterious character who seems to have no presence what so ever, but at the same time seems to be omniscient of what goes on at the College. He hands the presidency to Madarame in the second volume of the manga.

• Black Eyes: He has solid black eyes.
• The Chessmaster: It's implied that he uses the Genshiken as subjects for his senior thesis. He may have hidden cameras in the club meeting room.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It is never explained whether his seeming omniscience and ability to sneak around is magic or mundane in nature.
• No Name Given
• Older Than They Look: He was the president of the Genshiken since 1987, and the series takes place in the mid-2000s. He looks like he could be in his mid to late 20s at the oldest.
• The Omniscient
• Stealth Hi Bye: It really freaks out the other club members (specifically the girls) when he does this.
  • It's often accompanied by a Scare Chord in the anime, just to hammer home the creepiness.

Keiko Sasahara

Sasahara's little sister, who doesn't share his interests. She is a gyaru. Falls hopelessly in love with Kousaka and joins the Genshiken on a whim, toward the end of the series.

• Annoying Younger Sibling
• Converted Fanboy: She becomes a fan of Yaoi after Ohno gives her some. She even mentions that she has played some of Kanji's video games he left at home.
• The Fashionista: Even worse than Kasukabe.

Yabusaki

Ogiue's rival from the manga club who was the person that drove her out of the club and into Genshiken.

• Jerkass: Or at least pretends to be one for a long time.
• Kansai Regional Accent
• Tsundere
• Yaoi Fangirl

Angela Burton

A friend of Ohno and Sue, who visits regularly for ComiFes. Cosplays and is rather flirtatious.

• Bi the Way
• Cosplay Otaku Girl
• Fetish: For glasses and hands. She is interested in Madarame because of these two, and she feels he deserves to be happy and have a girlfriend, but he just thinks she is teasing him.
• Ms. Fanservice
• Phenotype Stereotype

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