The cover of the first volume of Genshiken, as released by Del Rey Manga on April 26, 2005, in North America.
This is a list of volumes and chapters of the manga series Genshiken, by Kio Shimoku. The series is published in Japan by Kodansha and in English for the North American market by Del Rey Manga. In Japan, the series was serialized from April 2002 to May 2006 in Afternoon magazine, and reprinted in nine collected volumes released between December 2002 and December 2006. The English version, translated by David Ury, was released between April 2005 and November 2007.
Genshiken follows the everyday lives of a college club for otaku, Shiiou University's "Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture" (現代視覚文化研究会, Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyūkai), 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. 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 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 anime (a show within a show for the series) in volume four, Tanaka's construction of a figure from scratch in volume six, or reviewing character designs for the newer Kujibiki Unbalance 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 as well as the characters themselves, while further establishing a sense of reality for the world the characters inhabit.
13. "The Smell of Spring" (spring スメル, spring Sumeru)
14. "Inner Space" (インナースペース, Innāsupēsu)
15. "20,000 Miles to Heaven" (天国までの二万マイル, Tengoku made no Niman Mairu)
16. "Brothers and Sisters" (brothers and sisters)
17. "Life or Death" (死線, Shisen)
18. "The 512th This Week's 'Kujibiki Unbalance' was Awesome' Meeting Fire Away!" (第512回今週の『くじアン』面白かった会議ファイヤー!!, Dai Gohyakujūni-kai Konshū no 'Kujian' Omoshirokatta Kaigi Faiyā!!)
"The 8th How was This Week's 'Kuji-Un'? Meeting" (第８回「今週のアニメ『くじアン』どうよ?」会議, Dai Hakkai Konshū no Anime Kujian Dō yo? Kaigi)[h]
"The First "Why the Girls in the Manga Club Hate the Genshiken Girls" Meeting" (第１回現視研女子は漫研女子にどう嫌われてるのか会議, Dai Ikkai Genshiken Joshi wa Manken Joshi ni Dō Kirawareteru no ka Kaigi)
41. "There's No Such Thing As a Line That Never Ends" (やまない雨はなく、進まない行列もない, Yamanai Ame wa Naku, Susumanai Gyōretsu mo Nai)
42. "The Interview" (メンセツ, Mensetsu)
43. "Welcome Party" (ウェルカム・パーティー, Werukamu Pātī)
"Super-Sexy Bonus Manga!– Summer Just Isn't Steamy Enough" (超特別サービス描き下ろしおまけマンガ 「夏は湯気が少なくて困るなあ」の巻, Chō Tokubetsu Sābisu Kakioroshi Omake Manga Natsu wa Yuge ga Sukunakute Komaru nā no Maki)
78. "The Porno We Saw That Day" (あの日見たAVの題名を僕達はもう忘れた, Ano Hi Mita Ē Bui no Daimei o Bokutachi wa Mō Wasureta)
79. "Last Escape" (Last escape, Rasuto Esukēpu)
"The Time I Couldn't Stop Shaking While Helping My Classmate Wear Women's Clothes" (同級生の女装を手伝（中略）の震えが止まらない件, Dōkyūsei no Josō o Tetsuda (Chūryaku) no Furue ga Tomaranai Ken)
105. "Farewell, My Beloved V-Card" (さらば愛しきDT, Saraba Itoshiki Dī Tī)
106. "The Spring Warbler Has Yet to Warble" (春告げ鳥 未だ鳴かず, Harutsugedori Imada Nakazu)
107. "See the Tobu Line by Train" (東武線の車窓から, Tōbu Sen no Shasō kara)
108. "Return of Yajima" (リターン オブ ヤジマ, Ritān obu Yajima)
109. "If Those Are Proof You Can Do Anything, Are These Proof I Can't Do Anything?" (それが何でも出来る証拠なら これは何も出来ない証拠なの?, Sore ga Nandemo Dekiru Shōko Nara Kore wa Nanimo Dekinai Shōko na no?)
Bonus. "So We're Still Doing This, Huh" (このネタまだ引っ張るか, Kono Neta Mada Hipparu ka)
^Some time prior to the first chapter of the manga.
^While the club is to be eliminated "by the end of December," the planning board in the background on page 44 shows the days of the month falling on the same weekdays as November 2002.
^Comiket 63 was held from 28–30 December 2002. Since Ohno went to Comifes the day before with Tanaka, it cannot be the first day, but it is unclear whether it is the second or third day.
^Madarame's hand is still in a cast, so the "two months" of required healing time have not yet fully elapsed since the end of december.
^This two-page comic was originally featured in "Mini Afternoon", a sample booklet distributed to bookstores as part of Kodansha's "Afternoon KC Festival 2003" promotion.
^15–17 August, though it isn't entirely clear which day they go.
^The end of the chapter, at least, takes place on the third day of Comifes 65, the last Tuesday of December 2003.
^The chapter goes until Sasahara submits his application for Comifes 66 (which has to be prior to the deadline in mid-February). The narration states that the Comifes arc will resume five months later, which happens to be the end of June.
^It is a new academic year, and hence recruiting time for student organizations.
^Some time after Takayanagi's comment in chapter 24 that the Manga Society girls already hate the Genshiken girls.
^Not long after Ogiue joins, in the previous chapter.
^The dates are referenced at the beginning and end of the chapter; the date of the event itself matches the real-life dates of Comiket 66.
^The chapter begins some time before Comifes, and ends with the arrival of Angela and Sue several days prior.
^The second day of Comifes 68; Ogiue remarks that they'll be back "tomorrow" with Angela and Sue, which is referenced as the third day of the convention in the next chapter.
^The chapter begins on the third day of Comifes 68, and ends some time in September (as per Keiko's comment).
^Established from the date of Ogiue's SMS two days later.
^ abVolumes 8 and 9 of Genshiken contain a number of chapters not included in the original serialization; these were inserted into the numbering of the series and the numbers of subsequent chapters were adjusted to match.
^ abcdDid not appear in the original serialization.
^The flashback is "five years ago," in the Spring of Ogiue's third year of junior high school (i.e. 9th Grade in the US school system).
^Presumably just prior to Ogiue talking about her past with the other girls.
^Did not appear in the original serialization. However, the first six pages of this chapter were included in chapter 48 (chapter 53 in this volume); this accounts for the out-of-place "Next year..." narration box on page 8.
^Originally serialized as chapter 48, with the first six pages of chapter 50, "Alone with Susie".
