げんしけん: 二代目Chapter 103 Manga Review
Genshiken Nidaime chapter 103 Manga Review

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Madarame takes a swig of something to help with his being drunk and wonders how he ended up at Keiko’s apartment when Keiko emerges from the shower in exercise attire. Keiko decides to talk, mentioning this is the second time Madarame has seen her without makeup, the first time being the trip they took to the cabin in the woods at Karuizawa. Since Madarame doesn’t actually remember how she looked then, Keiko remarks on how Madarame kept looking at Saki the whole time. He doesn’t want to talk about Saki, but she continues, saying that Saki told Keiko that she was part of Madarame’s harem. Madarame knew this, but both he and Keiko agreed that it was a silly notion.

That being said, Keiko doesn’t want to lose to a man, especially Hato. Madarame is confused, so she point to how she behaved at the hostess club, combined with her inviting him into her apartment in the middle of the night, then immediately taking a shower. Madarame still isn’t getting it, but when she questions this, Madarame does get it, but can’t believe it since he’s an unemployed, virgin otaku who’s done nothing to warrant having this harem situation, and as such, he’s scared.

Keiko points out how Madarame fell for Saki despite not having a chance, but Keiko found this cute. Indeed, she tells Madarame that she finds him to be cute. Since Keiko has a thing for losers, and Madarame is there, she encourages him to go for it and unzips her top, revealing she’s not wearing a bra. She’s amused that Madarame hadn’t already noticed this, but she says that her intent from the start was to seduce Madarame. She gives him permission to feel her breasts directly under her shirt for as long as he wants. Madarame slowly moves to do this as Keiko decides she’ll let out a moan when he does so and make sure that she doesn’t lose to Hato.

Just as Madarame is about to touch her, Keiko’s phone rings and Madarame jerks his hand back. Reluctantly, Keiko takes the call, and when it is done, she informs Madarame that  her boyfriend is coming over, a guy she met at the hostess club. Madarame is shocked by this, asking her if she’s cheating on her boyfriend, which she concedes she is. With that, Madarame flees and catches the first subway train home.

Thoughts/Review:

Poor Madarame — so close, but so far.

I really have to hand it to Kio-sensei on this chapter. I think he really, REALLY captured the mood, including the excitement and anticipation, of a virgin otaku who’s getting a chance to be with a woman, and of the girl who’s decided that she’s going to be his first. I actually found myself getting quite sucked into this moment, wondering if I was wrong in my belief that there was no way that Kio-sensei would have Keiko and Madarame actually do anything sexually.

I’ve long maintained that a guy like Madarame is going to need a girl to pretty much lead him by the hand when it comes to coupling. Angela knew this, but she was always too aggressive, which turned Madarame off. Keiko, on the other hand, is an expert at handling men thanks to her job as a hostess club girl. She starts by giving Madarame the signs, but Madarame is in that special class of guy who’s either not going to see the signs from a girl telling him he can proceed, or if he does see the signs, he’s not going to believe it, suspecting a trap or that there’s no way a girl would give him a signal that she wants him.

Since Keiko really did want to couple with Madarame, I liked how she was patient with him while at the same time, stoking the fires of the mood to get Madarame to take a risk. When Madarame admitted to being scared of the harem situation and the fact that Keiko would be interested in him, she continued to slowly work him. She doesn’t expose herself, but she unzips her top to help entice him. She continues her seduction of Madarame by softly stroking his ego, telling him she found him cute, that she has a thing for losers, and that she wanted to couple with Madarame from the moment she invited him to her apartment. And it worked, or would have had her phone not rung.  I’ve no doubt that she could have coaxed Madarame into going all the way with her.

Although Madarame ran away in terror after learning that Keiko had a boyfriend and he was coming over, in my mind, I can see him getting home and finding himself on fire as he thinks back to what might have been and fantasizes a very different outcome where Keiko’s phone doesn’t ring, forcing Madarame to have to “meditate” repeatedly until he’s shooting dust. I can actually see his near encounter with Keiko as potentially putting him on the path to a real girl vs. the 2D anime babes and traps he’s been into to date.

That in mind, I’m starting to think more and more that maybe Kio-sensei really is working on a way to get Madarame hooked up with Saki. Before that can happen, Madarame has to change somewhat, and if he does start having a desire to be with a real woman vs. a 2D anime babe, then I think we’ll have him on track to a future encounter with Saki, whereby she has broken up with Kousaka.  Considering this is the pairing that Kio-sensei always wanted, and the one he has in Spotted Flower, he can now make that happen in Genshiken Nidaime in a way that couldn’t happen in the original Genshiken.

Finally, there is one person I feel more sorry for than Madarame — Keiko’s boyfriend. Seriously, she would have cheated on him without a moment’s consideration just to carry out a whim/fantasy with Madarame.

In the end, we have a good chapter that has a seductive, erotic air to it, showing the scary power that women have.