The WORST episodes of Genshiken

Every episode of Genshiken ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Genshiken!

Follow college freshman Kanji Sasahara and his fellow members of the college club he joins, The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, as he goes shopping for doujinshi, attends conventions and slowly but surely makes his way down the road to fandom.

Last Updated: 11/9/2024Network: Tokyo MXStatus: Ended
The New Chairman's Ambition
star
8.11
148 votes

#1 - The New Chairman's Ambition

Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/10/2007

Things are looking up for Sasahara as the Genshiken secures a spot among the dōjinshi vendors at the next Comifes, but the devil is in the details as they quickly need to figure out the finer points of actually making one. An unexpected relief comes when Ogiue actually volunteers her services (if in limited quantities), but will the new President have what it takes to stand up to the other obstacles in their way?

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Meetings are Disastrous
star
8.31
151 votes

#2 - Meetings are Disastrous

Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/2007

It's nearing the end of July, and with the deadline for finishing their dōjinshi looming, all the club has to show are the two pages drawn by Ogiue. With Kugayama's continued lack of material pushing the deadline (and Sasahara's patience) to the limit, it looks like they'll have to put aside their differences (and their sleep cycles) to get things done on time.

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One Hot Summer's Day
star
8.51
150 votes

#3 - One Hot Summer's Day

Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/2007

The day of Genshiken's participation in Comifes has arrived, and they are finally set to take their place as a vendor. But despite (or because of) Haraguchi's "blessing," sales are initially slow. Ohno's arrival (in cosplay, naturally) seems to change their luck for the better, but things really get underway with a surprise appearance. How Kasukabe will react to it, however, is another matter entirely.

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Problems and Merits of Local Culture Promotion
star
8.52
102 votes

#4 - Problems and Merits of Local Culture Promotion

Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/2004

Genshiken goes on a club trip to Comifes, a large comic convention; Madarame seriously injures his hand, but pretends to be fine in the name of fandom until the pain becomes too great to bear.

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Countermeasures for Issues that Arise during the Reorganization of a Group
star
8.73
99 votes

#5 - Countermeasures for Issues that Arise during the Reorganization of a Group

Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/26/2004

The club is depressed due to their punishment of community service. Sasahara becomes the new President and proposes that the society attend Comifes as a circle.

Directors: Takashi Ikehata
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Are You Two Going Out?
star
8.73
147 votes

#6 - Are You Two Going Out?

Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/2007

Ohno likes Tanaka, Tanaka likes Ohno. Both however are too shy and lacking confidence to make a first move. With the rest of Genshiken in a state of concern and confusion over their relationship, Ohno confides in Kasukabe her anxieties and Kasukabe suggests a possible approach that may give both of them the courage to confide their affections.

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Madarame, the Incumbent Sex Slave
star
8.79
91 votes

#7 - Madarame, the Incumbent Sex Slave

Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/7/2007

Ogiue catches Sasahara and Madarame in an unintentionally-compromising position, setting her fujoshi imagination alight with various slash pairings between her fellow club members. She may have just found the inspiration to make a dōjinshi for next summer's Comifes, but her sketch of Sasahara gives Saki other ideas.

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Cos-ken
star
8.83
89 votes

#8 - Cos-ken

Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/2007

It's the beginning of the school year, and Ohno is planning out her first year as the president of the Genshiken. How will the club change under her cosplay management? Also, Ogiue learns that she's accepted to Comifes and tries to work up the courage needed for her debut. But will the newest iteration of the club sink or swim, and will Kuchiki be Ohno's nemesis, or her unlikely savior?

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It's Always Raining During Job Hunts
star
8.85
89 votes

#9 - It's Always Raining During Job Hunts

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/2007

Sasahara's job search is not going as well as he'd hoped; at every turn, his negative portrayal of himself and uncertainty over his own beliefs make companies balk at hiring him. Meanwhile, Kousaka's absence is starting to get to Saki, while Ogiue struggles to draft her Comifes dōjinshi without any interference from Ohno's fetishes. But could Kuchiki be on to something about Sasahara and Ogiue?

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Problematic Hobby
star
8.86
91 votes

#10 - Problematic Hobby

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/14/2007

Genshiken is making preparations to go to the upcoming Winter Comifes as a group, but when the other members invite Ogiue along, she adamantly refuses. That doesn't stop her from appearing anyway in the guise of her high school persona to buy all the latest yaoi dōjinshi, but things get complicated as she (literally) runs into the rest of the club.

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Graduation Syndrome
star
8.87
90 votes

#11 - Graduation Syndrome

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/14/2007

Graduation time is finally upon Tanaka, Kugayama, and Madarame, and with it come emotional reflections on the past three years for the club. The presidential torch is passed on, and a Kujibiki Unbalance OVA finally gives closure to the first season, but what about Madarame's job hunt? And for that matter, what will become of the Genshiken under President Ohno?

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Real Hardcore
star
8.89
89 votes

#12 - Real Hardcore

Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/19/2007

As Comifes starts, Sasahara help Ogiue set up her doujinshi booth. Angela cosplays with Ohno in the costumes Tanaka made for them, while Sue wonders around the convention. Sue eventually obtains one of Ogiue's doujinshi books, and ask her to sign it, claiming it is "real hardcore." At a bathhouse, Ohno wonders why her plan to make Sasahara and Oguie a couple is failing. After Comifes is over, Sue and Angela leave to go back to the United States, with Ohno shipping the massive amounts of doujinshi to them later.

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Otaku from USA
star
8.89
89 votes

#13 - Otaku from USA

Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/12/2007

As Ogiue continues her preparations for Comifes, now a few days away, friends of Ohno's from the US show up unexpectedly to come to convention as well. While the foreign otaku ways of Angela and Sue shake up the (somewhat) peaceful clubroom, perhaps Angela is the "sensible" one when it comes to understanding the feelings of others.

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What Lies Ahead
star
8.92
91 votes

#14 - What Lies Ahead

Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/26/2007

Failing continually at his job interviews, Sasahara begins to lose sight of what he's working towards. He finds himself settling to apply for any available opening, and ends up on the brink of giving up altogether. It takes some harsh words and tough love from the rest of Genshiken to convince him to try one more time. And for that matter, how are the other members making out?

Directors: Kinji Yoshimoto
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The Sublimating Effects of the Dissimulation Brought on Through Makeup and Costume on Mental Obstacles
star
8.99
103 votes

#15 - The Sublimating Effects of the Dissimulation Brought on Through Makeup and Costume on Mental Obstacles

Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/2004

Ohno is introduced as she joins Genshiken, while Genshiken takes part in a university club fair and Kasukabe's ex-boyfriend pays her a visit.

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The Theory of the Existence of Malice Within Urban Crimes
star
9.07
99 votes

#16 - The Theory of the Existence of Malice Within Urban Crimes

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/19/2004

Kasukabe decides the club room needs a cleanup, but an accident causes Genshiken to be banned from the university fair. As an apology, Kasukabe takes Ohno's place in the fair's cosplay contest.

Directors: Takashi Ikehata
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Study of the Modern Visually Oriented Culture
star
9.28
76 votes

#17 - Study of the Modern Visually Oriented Culture

Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/10/2004

An introduction episode explaining how Kohsaka, Kasukabe and Sasahara got involved with Genshiken; after some uncertainty, Sasahara decides to fully participate in the club.

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Comparative Classification of the Modern Youth through Consumption and Entertainment
star
9.30
77 votes

#18 - Comparative Classification of the Modern Youth through Consumption and Entertainment

Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/17/2004

Genshiken takes Sasahara to Akihabara for dōjinshi shopping while Kohsaka and Kasukabe go to Harajuku for clothes; Kasukabe discovers Kohsaka's hentai collection and gets an introduction on the subject from the others.

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Daydream Believer
star
9.38
39 votes

#19 - Daydream Believer

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/21/2013

After becoming a member of society, he noticed that he was moving away from the otaku culture, and stopped by Genshiken for the first time in a while. As she talked to Sasahara's younger sister Keiko, remembering the people at that time, her topic became Saki's story. She knows that her feelings for Saki, which she should have hidden, may be known to her other members, and she may be known to Saki himself ...

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Leisure Time Expenditures on Fetishism Considered as an Economic Result
star
9.44
68 votes

#20 - Leisure Time Expenditures on Fetishism Considered as an Economic Result

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/12/2004

The club, along with Keiko, pays a visit to the beach, much to the dismay of some of the members; Keiko decides to compete for Kohsaka's feelings and tries to become an otaku.

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Limits of Rejection and Reception as Observed in Autonomous Behaviour
star
9.47
73 votes

#21 - Limits of Rejection and Reception as Observed in Autonomous Behaviour

Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/7/2004

Due to Genshiken's lack of "activities" as defined by the school, the club is threatened with closure; salvation comes from an unlikely source as Kasukabe intervenes personally.

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Concerning the Existence and Non-Existence of Explanatory Duties Under Specially Confined Circumstances
star
9.48
69 votes

#22 - Concerning the Existence and Non-Existence of Explanatory Duties Under Specially Confined Circumstances

Season 1 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/2004

Madarame is stuck in the club room with Kasukabe and tries to strike up a conversation, running through different scenarios in his head which parody the visual novel format.

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Comparative Research in Production Models and Processes
star
9.48
71 votes

#23 - Comparative Research in Production Models and Processes

Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/2004

Ohno and Sasahara start a plamo project and get the whole club involved, while Kasukabe learns an important lesson.

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Love and Work and Cheesecake
star
9.49
35 votes

#24 - Love and Work and Cheesecake

Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 9/22/2013

Each feeling that starts to move in response to the matter of spots and Saki. Meanwhile, Ohno, who hasn't been able to find a job at all, has begun to repeat a year. Ohno, who had anxiety and thought about making cosplay a job, confesses to Tanaka that he will release his own cosplay ROM. He brings up the story of the future through the common affair of the two people, cosplay. On the other hand, there were spots walking alone in Akihabara on weekdays.

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Aspects of Behavioral Selection in Interpersonal Relationships
star
9.49
72 votes

#25 - Aspects of Behavioral Selection in Interpersonal Relationships

Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/21/2004

Two freshmen take an interest in Genshiken and join them for a night out on the town. Kasukabe, however, has no intention of making them feel welcome.

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