げんしけん: 二代目
Genshiken Nidaime Manga Chapter 65

Ohno, Angela, and the rest of Genshiken, sans Ogiue, are at the third day of ComiFes along with Tanaka and Kugayama. Madarame arrives last and is immediately beset upon by Angela, who has Ohno in tow. Angela takes Madarame’s hand and asks if he remembers the time in the clubroom when they read an anime magazine together. Madarame is in a panic and looking to Tanaka, Kugayama, and Kuchiki for support but gets none. Madarame says he can’t remember, which Angela finds a shame. So, she caresses his face and tells Madarame that she could return the favor of his kindness to her in a different way, to the shock of the others.

On the trip to Tokyo Big Sight, Angela sticks close to Madarame, which makes him uncomfortable. Hato notices this and knows it is because Madarame is still in love with Saki. However, as he ponders things, he takes off his female wig and decides to help the guys as a male. Ohno is disappointed that Hato won’t be cosplaying with them but agrees since Madarame is hung over. To this, Sue gives a thumbs-up signal.

While cosplaying with Genshiken, Ohno asks Angela about her sudden interest in Madarame. She says it was back when Madarame was kind to her in the clubroom, leading Ohno to ask why Angela didn’t pursue anything. Angela says that she didn’t because of Saki, but now that Saki is gone, Madarame was brokenhearted. As such, Angela decides it is time for Madarame to find someone new to love. Meanwhile, Yajima is not happy for Hato bailing on the cosplay even though she reluctantly agrees that Hato going as a man makes more sense.

Hato finds a resting Madarame, who thanks Hato for helping him buy doujinshi. Madarame reflects on how he used to attend all three days of ComiFes but now that he has a job, he can only attend the final day and finds the fire may have died. Hato asks about Angela, whom Madarame thinks is just teasing him. Even if she were serious, they’d only see each other at ComiFes. As far as Madarame is concerned, the 2D materials are good enough for him. Hato asks if Madarame had ever been in love with a 3D person, but Madarame denies it. Hato knows that’s a lie based on the pictures that Madarame has of Saki in cosplay. He tells Madarame that he thinks Madarame could easily have a normal relationship with a real girl.

Kugayama arrives, which spares Madarame further embarrassment. Madarame takes the opportunity to show Hato the corporate booths. As they walk to the corporate area, Madarame thinks about how the girl he likes is in love with someone else and that he’s perfect. When they arrive at the corporate area, they immediately find Kousaka in cosplay as a crossdressing male character in his company’s latest porno game.

Meanwhile, Angela plots her next move on Madarame.

Bwah!ha!ha!ha!ha! Madarame gets hit on by a girl. The world is coming to an end. ^_^

I do think that Angela likes Madarame, but how seriously, I don’t know. After all, she could be just into Japanese guys and Madarame is her type, so why not encourage him to have some 3D fun?  I can easily believe that Angela has some experience in sex and might just want a Japanese guy, much like some American guys that come to Japan really want to get themselves some Japanese chicks.

On the other hand, she might really like Madarame but Madarame raises a good point about them being in a long distance relationship, namely, when will they see each other outside of Angela’s ComiFes trips?  Well, where there’s a will, there’s a way, I suppose. Angela has to be from a somewhat affluent family to be able to afford to fly to Japan twice a year.  As such, she should be able to afford to come to Japan for a longer stretch, especially if she stays with Madarame (if they got into a relationship). Either way, I’m interested in seeing how things go.

The other factor here is Sue, which to be honest, I wouldn’t have considered except that it has been brought to my attention. Arimareiji (among others) has mentioned a possible Sue-Madarame hookup. As such, I actually looked for Sue in this chapter. She was often in the background looking rather annoyed with Angela.  So, it is possible that Sue is carrying a torch for Madarame.  As with Angela, it will be interesting to see where that goes.

By the way, has Sue ever looked cuter than this shot?  

Hato getting involved with Madarame’s situation by going after him to help him buy doujinshi was unexpected for me. However, it provided the perfect vehicle to further explore Madarame’s feelings about real girls and how he’s sensing the changes within himself now that he’s no longer a student.

Anyway, I admit that I got a chuckle out of seeing Kousaka cosplaying as a crossdressing character. Kio-sensei does appear to love the crossdressing, eh? After all, Kousaka did cosplay crossdressing before.  Now, Hato is always crossdressing. So, we have Genshiken’s two crossdressers meet. What will happen next? *lol*

This has been the most interesting ComiFes of any in my time with Genshiken. Can’t wait to see how this continues.