Shimoku Kio is the creator of the beloved otaku comedy Genshiken and its sequel, Genshiken: Second Generation , which have seen incredible success in both Japan and America. The series follows a college anime club in Japan, and has been adapted into two popular anime, the second of which releases today on Bluray from NISA. We had the opportunity to ask him about the series, and have included some questions submitted by his fans.



ANN: How much of your own life is reflected in the characters of Genshiken ?



SHIMOKU KIO : I think there is a lot of influence from my past experiences and personality. Although it wasn't exactly the same, I used to be part of a similar club back in college. I think the troubled emotions and feelings of inferiority that the characters show come from my own feelings. Some characters in the show aren't like that, and I have a hard time incorporating those characters into the story. For example, Makoto Kosaka and I have almost nothing in common, so I have no idea what he's thinking.



Genshiken began as a series with a nearly all-male cast. Genshiken Nidaime follows a nearly all-female cast. What have been the challenges of switching from writing from the perspectives of men to the perspectives of women?

This was difficult because I couldn't imagine what kind of conversations female college students normally have. Some of the questions I had were, “Would they only talk about otaku stuff?” and “What else would they talk about?” After all, I ended up having them talk about BL (Boys’ Love) all the time. I don't know a lot about BL , but at least it's something I kind of get.



Has the writing process become easier with your growing success, or do you feel increased pressure to turn out more great content?

I think I've begun to get the hang of the process: forming an idea, structuring the story, making a draft, and finalizing the script. I'm definitely starting to understand what I have to do, and how to establish each of those processes. However, I'm not sure if that's necessarily a good thing.



There hasn't been a time lately when I've had to try really hard to come up with a crazy idea. It might also mean that I'm getting used to the pressure...but again, I'm not sure if that's a good thing.

Madarame has especially grown as a character over the years, going from awkward 2D fanboy to a man about town with his own harem! Is this a reflection of Madarame's unexpected popularity among female fans, or something else?

The character's popularity was never the reason. It just happened naturally as I wrote the story. There were already some characters who were interested in Madarame to begin with, so being dumped by Saki must have triggered everything.



The American characters, Sue and Angela, are very proud otaku . Meanwhile the Japanese characters seem much more embarrassed about their love for anime. Does this reflect your experience with the reception of the otaku lifestyle in both countries?

I've not experienced it first hand, but I've read and heard about it, and the rest is just based on how I imagine things to be considering the cultural aspects.

How is your fame different in the west than in the east? Did you expect your western fans to pick up your more obscure anime references?

I'm not completely aware of the response from the fans in the west, but I'm surprised to hear that they picked up on the anime references. I wonder how much anime and manga they watch and read. I'm not the type of person who wants to know the readers’ reactions. I'm worried that by knowing, my writing style will become biased to suit those people's preferences.



Ohno cosplays some very modern anime and game characters. What do you think about the current state of anime today? In your opinion, is the industry improving?

I'm not in the animation industry, so my opinion will be as one viewer, but I think that video technology has definitely made progress.



High quality animations make me feel really good just by watching them roll on the screen.

On the other hand, though, the state of production with its lack of scheduling and resources hasn't changed much. I feel like there are only a handful of animation studios that are able to complete a TV series from its first to last season while maintaining the same level of quality throughout.



It's fairly common for only the first and last episode to be of high quality...

From the fans:



What is the relation between your other manga " Spotted Flower " and Genshiken ?

Hm? There isn't one.



...And that is my official statement.



The title name was just a playful idea that I came up with after creating the concept of the couple and noticing them feeling very familiar to me. I'm honestly not sure what to do with the big reaction that it ended up getting from the fans afterwards.



Even from the planning stage, there was no intention of making the two titles related in any way. The idea never even came up during discussion with my editor either.

When it comes to Ogiue, one of the more notable visual changes is how her eyes are drawn. As this quality is unique to Ogiue in Genshiken , why did you decide to express her mental and emotional growth in this manner? Additionally, is it something you planned to do from the start, or was it something you developed as you worked on the manga?



It was accidental and naturally developed.



To put emphasis on her unfriendly look and distant nature, I designed her eyes without the highlight. After her mental transition, those characteristics changed and the initial design for her eyes simply didn't work anymore.