This is a list of volumes and chapters of the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series ''

Genshiken is a Japanese manga series by Shimoku Kio about a college club for ''otaku'' (extremely obsessed fans of various media) and the lifestyle its members pursue. The title is a shortening of the club's official name, , or "The Society for ...

'', by Kio Shimoku. The series is published in Japan by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

and in English for the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n market by

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cross-publishing rela ...

. In Japan, the series was serialized from April 2002 to May 2006 in ''

Afternoon Afternoon is the time after solar noon. It is the time when the sun is descending from its peak in the sky to somewhat before its terminus at the horizon in the west. In human life, it occupies roughly the latter half of the standard work and s ...

'' magazine, and reprinted in nine collected volumes released between December 2002 and December 2006. The English version, translated by

David Ury David Brian Ury (born September 30, 1973) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, YouTuber, and Japanese translation specialist. Early life and education Ury was born and raised in Sonoma, California. He graduated from Sonoma Valley High Sch ...

, was released between April 2005 and November 2007. ''Genshiken'' follows the everyday lives of a college club for

otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

, Shiiou University's , or just "''Genshiken''" for short. The story begins in Spring 2002 with the character Kanji Sasahara's discovery of the club as a freshman, and progresses until his graduation in March 2006. This timeframe is roughly contemporaneous with the comic's original serialization. Story dates are established periodically by background evidence in the manga, such as calendars, as well as through cyclical events such as school fairs, graduations, and the Summer and Winter "Comic Festival" (Comifes), which precisely mirrors the real-life

Comic Market , more commonly known as or , is a semiannual ''doujinshi'' convention in Tokyo, Japan. A grassroots market focused on the sale of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, Comiket is a not-for-profit fan convention administered by the volunteer-run ...

. These dates provide a contextual basis not only for the characters' progression through college, but also the particular era which the characters inhabit, whose iteration of otaku culture the ''Genshiken'' manga is a commentary upon. In much the same way, the anime adaptation is considerably more vague about when the series takes place, allowing it to reference more recent developments in the subculture that had not yet taken place at the time of the manga's original publication. The collected

volumes Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The defi ...

generally have six chapters each. Additionally, each volume contains between-chapter interludes with regards to an otaku-specific topic. This can range from the characters discussing the best moments in the

Kujibiki Unbalance is a three-episode original video animation spin-off of ''Genshiken'' series, as well as a series of three light novels by ''Genshiken'' anime collaborator Michiko Yokote. Within the world of ''Genshiken'', however, ''Kujibiki Unbalance'' ...

anime (a

show within a show A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes c ...

for the series) in volume four, Tanaka's construction of a

figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif *Noise figure, in telecommunication *Dance figure, an elementary dance pattern ...

from scratch in volume six, or reviewing character designs for the newer ''

'' adaptation in volume eight. Although these side-bits do not often pertain directly to the plot of the volume, they provide additional commentary on particular elements of

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

as well as the characters themselves, while further establishing a sense of reality for the world the characters inhabit. __TOC__

List of volumes

Notes

References

{{Genshiken