Genshiken

Comedy / Slice of Life

It's the start of a new year for the Genshiken crew, and that means recruiting new members. Always a dreaded task, The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture manages to get Chika Ogiue pushed onto them from the Manga Club. With her introduction of "I'm Ogiue and I hate otaku", this year certainly will be anything but boring. (Source: Anime News Network)

Comedy / Drama

It’s spring of freshman year, and Kanji Sasahara has a difficult dilemma. Should he declare his love for manga and anime fandom by joining an otaku club, like he has always wanted to? Is he prepared to deal with the social stigma attached to being an otaku? Meanwhile, Saki Kasakabe has her own otaku conundrum. How can she turn her boyfriend, anime fanboy Makoto, into a normal guy? Kanji follow his heart as does Saki. When both Kanji and Makoto join Genshiken: The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Saki chases Makoto through the various activities of the club from cosplaying and comic conventions, to video gaming and anime model figures. Saki finds otaku to be more than she imagined, but not necessarily in a good way. (Source: Kodansha USA)

Comedy / Romance

Chihiro Enomoto is a freshman that just got to a new school called Rikkyoin High School. He lost his parents in a traffic accidents when he was 10. Since then, he has been living only with his elder sister Shinobu. He is good at cooking and cleaning, and does all the housekeeping jobs. He fell in love with Tokino (orange hair) at the first sight when he met her in the school library on the first day of school. Another girl named Ritsuko (the big yellow helmet), childhood friend of Chihiro and the chair of student council, falls in the love with the boy instantly after this long-awaited reunion. But she is not the only one who is in love with him. This is the story about a one-year campaign among the candidates for the next students government leaders, who are also chosen by the lot (kujibiki), in order to gain the position. (Source: Anime News Network)

Comedy / Drama

Satou’s life – or what’s left of it – is a paranoid mess of conspiracy theories and social anxieties. He’s terrified of the outside world; his apartment is overflowing with the remnants of cheap take-out food; and his retinas have been permanently scarred by a steady diet of internet porn. But maybe it’s not all his fault. After all, the nefarious N-H-K is out there, and they’re determined to turn society’s fringe-dwellers into a brainwashed lot of jobless, hopeless, futureless recluses. Enter Misaki – a mysterious girl-next-door type who is Satou’s last chance to beat down his inner demons and venture out into the light of day. She’s ready to help him overcome his crippling phobias, but Satou would rather cower in his existential foxhole and pretend to work on the demo for his virtual sex game. He’s afraid to face the world. She’s strangely desperate to fix a total stranger. Maybe together they can be normal. (Source: Funimation)

Comedy / Drama

Somewhat based on the real story of how Gainax was founded, Otaku no Video addresses all aspects of an otaku lifestyle. Ken Kubo is a young man living an average life until he is dragged into a group of otaku. Slowly, he becomes more like them until he decides to abandon his former life to become king of otaku —the otaking! Mixed in are live-action interviews with real otaku, addressing every aspect of hardcore otaku life. Not only are anime and manga fans included, but also sci-fi fans, military fans, and other groups of Japanese geeks.

Comedy / Drama

Once upon a time, five girls made an animated film and it was so much fun that they pledged to get jobs in animation so that someday they could make another film together. Now, two years later, Aoi, Shizuka, Ema, Misa and Midori have learned the truth about the anime industry: it's not always fun, it's anything but easy, and having talent isn't always enough to open the right doors. Which is why Aoi's overwhelmed by her job as a production assistant, Shizuka's waiting on tables between auditions, Midori's currently scriptless, Misa's switched to C.G., and Ema's working long hours as a key animator. Is it what they imagined? No. But are they ready to give up? Not just yet! Sometimes, when things happen in animation, they can happen in the most wonderful ways! (Source: Sentai Filmworks)

Comedy / Romance

Having slept through all four of her alarms, the energetic Narumi Momose finds herself running late for her first day of work at a new office. As she races to catch her train, she makes a promise to herself that none of her coworkers will find out about her dark secret: that she is an otaku and a fujoshi. Her plan goes instantly awry, though, when she runs into Hirotaka Nifuji, an old friend from middle school. Although she tries to keep her secret by inviting him out for drinks after work, her cover is blown when he casually asks her whether or not she will be attending the upcoming Summer Comiket. Luckily for her, the only witnesses—Hanako Koyanagi and Tarou Kabakura—are otaku as well. Later that night, the pair go out for drinks so that they can catch up after all the years apart. After Narumi complains about her previous boyfriend breaking up with her because he refused to date a fujoshi, Hirotaka suggests that she try dating a fellow otaku, specifically himself. He makes a solemn promise to always be there for her, to support her, and to help her farm for rare drops in Monster Hunter. Blown away by the proposal, Narumi agrees immediately. Thus the two otaku start dating, and their adorably awkward romance begins. (Source: MAL Rewrite)

Comedy / Slice of Life

What’s the best way to eat dessert? Do twins really have a psychic connection? What kind of guys are into moe girls? These are the kinds of questions that float through the inquisitive mind of anime super-fan Konata Izumi. When she’s not lost in her favorite manga or logging hours in one of her online games, she’s debating the mysteries of the universe with the best friends a girl could ask for. (Source: Crunchyroll)

Comedy / Slice of Life

Konoha Akisato is an illustrator that loves beautiful girls and bishojo games. Her dream is to become a super-popular illustrator, so she is working hard at a bishojo game production company, but reality isn't that kind... With the golden age of social network games in full force, Konoha's company isn't doing well, and she works as a sub illustrator, spending her days painting the backs of random background characters. One day, the owner of a game shop gives her a classic bishojo game. With all her excitement over the golden age of bishojo games, she opens the package to "Dokyusei," and is enveloped by a bright light. Konoha then realizes that she just traveled back in time! She ends up in the year 1992! It's the dawn of the bishojo game era! Konoha ends up working at a company called Alcohol Soft. Will she be able to think about, draw, and create all the beautiful girls she’s ever wanted?! A story about a girl and her overwhelming love for beautiful girls—"Now, let's begin!" (Source: Crunchyroll)

Comedy / Mystery

Kyon, your typical high school student, has long given up his belief in the supernatural. However, upon meeting Haruhi Suzumiya, he quickly finds out that it is the supernatural that she is interested in; aliens, time travelers and espers among other things. When Haruhi laments about the lack of intriguing clubs around school, Kyon inspires Haruhi to form her own club. As a result, the SOS Brigade is formed, a club which specializes in all that is the supernatural. Much to his chagrin, Kyon, along with the silent bookworm, Yuki Nagato, the shy and timid Mikuru Asahina, and the perpetually smiling Itsuki Koizumi, are recruited as members. The story follows the crazy adventures that these four endure under their whimsical leader, Haruhi. The story is based on the light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa. Note: This entry is for the original 14-episode 2006 airing. The series was further expanded and reordered into a 28-episode series in 2009.

Comedy / Slice of Life

The "youthful bookstore comedy" revolves around the folks who work in a manga shop deep in a certain "Electric Town" neighborhood. ("Denki-Gai" or "Electric Town" is a popular name for shopping areas that specialize or used to specialize in electric and electronic items, like Tokyo's Akihabara.) The protagonist Umio works part-time at "BOOKS Umanohone" along with his senior at work (but not in age) Hiotan. As many dedicated manga fans visit the store, there is always something going on. (Source: Anime News Network)

Comedy / Drama

Destiny or delusion? It's a hilarious rollercoaster of laughter and confusion when Taishi, the ultimate otaku, drags his friend Kazuki into the swirling world of ambition, hatred, and love - the world of fan comics! Poor clueless Kazuki must sink or swim when he's dumped straight into the middle of a massive comic convention. Lost amidst hoards of buyers, sellers, and cosplayers, Kazuki is about to be baptized by fire, all in order to lead him toward his true calling: to take over the world through fan comics! Meanwhile, Kazuki's childhood friend Mizuki isn't about to let him be dragged from his normal life without a fight! But will she be able to stop the addictive draw of the new world that lies before Kazuki? Little by little, Kazuki is slipping down the path towards destiny - and Taishi is shoving him every step of the way! (Source: RightStuf)

Comedy / Ecchi

High schooler Wakana Gojou cares about one thing: making Hina dolls. With nobody to share his obsession, he has trouble finding friends—or even holding conversation. But after the school’s most popular girl, Marin Kitagawa, reveals a secret of her own, he discovers a new purpose for his sewing skills. Together, they’ll make her cosplay dreams come true! (Source: Funimation)

Comedy / Romance

Plain, timid and obsessed with jellyfish, Tsukimi is a far cry from her idea of a princess. Her tepid life as a jobless illustrator comes complete with roommates who harbor diehard hobbies that solidify their status as hopeless social rejects. These wallflowers run a tight, nun-like ship, but their no-men-allowed-not-no-one-not-no-how bubble is unwittingly burst after Tsukimi brings home a rescued sea jelly and a beauty queen... who's actually a guy. When the threat of losing their cozy convent inspires this glamour boy to turn the neurotic entourage into a portrait of success, will Tsukimi take her chance to bloom, or will she end up a hot mess? (Source: Funimation)

Comedy / Slice of Life

Honda-san is at war - with business, with out-of-print books, and with people who love manga! Who knew there were so many laughs to be found at the manga counter of a bookstore?! These are the day-to-day happenings that take place at a certain bookstore where the love of manga is abundant. (Source: Crunchyroll)