This month’s Kio Shimoku tweets are a real treat, as he’s been posting a bunch of old Genshiken art without any text, including at least one piece that’s never been released widely see above)! Genshiken was also trending on Japanese Twitter thanks to being spotlighted on a TV show!
On Duck King’s birthday, Kio mentions that he used to play Duck King. He could do Duck King’s command throws from jumping or out of a block, but never from standing.
In response to a Kim Kaphwan player, Kio refers to Kim as a “demon.” Another commenter replies with “Obenjo Baby!” (Toilet Baby)—a mishearing of one of Kim’s attacks. Kio jokingly says he never could figure out what Kim was saying, so he’ll accept this interpretation
Kio bought a Playstation 5 and Elden Ring despite a lack of free time. He also wants to try SEKIRO.
A long-time fan asks him to please not die without releasing any new works because he was playing nothing but Elden Ring. Kio says he’ll be careful. (Others in the thread do not mind encouraging him to play more.)
These three books just happened to arrive in the mail at the same time.
Yasuhiko Yoshikazu: My Back Pages – Cucuruz Doan’s Island
The IdeXabDun fan anthology, covering Ideon, Xabungle, and Dunbine.
M.S. Gundam Fan Club: Char’s Counterattack
Kio accidentally misplaced some parts for a model kit. Manga artist Ikuhana Niiro and Kio talk about how this sort of thing makes them grateful for the quality of Gundam kits.
Kio showing the parts he’s built. When asked if this is a garage kit, he says that it’s technically an action figure kit Kaiyodo used to sell, but it’s functionally a garage kit.
Kio found the missing neck parts from earlier: Turns out he accidentally threw them into the trash!
Kio built one of the kits from the box in this older tweet: Knight of Gold from The Five Star Stories. It turns out one of the parts that went missing earlier is actually for this.
Kio learns that Genshiken is going to be on the TV show Sukkiri the next week, on the segment “Hot Comic.” He’s excited about this, and naturally receives a bunch of congratulations from fans (too many to list in this post).
I will make an exception for this one person who says they love Ogiue and Sue. Kio responds “OgiSue! ……Or Sue/Ogi?”
Kio has been so busy with Spotted Flower and other things since the end of last year that he hasn’t had time to work on his ero manga project. Even though it’s the same amount of work that he had when doing a monthly series, it somehow feels unsustainable these days.
Speaking of, Spotted Flower Volume 6 will be on sale in Japan on March 31st!
Kio describes his ero manga as basically being a very ero manga–ey ero manga focused on the essentials.
Kio posts this old drawing of Madarame and Jin, to which someone responds that they wish they could see both Genshiken and Hashikko Ensemble continue. Kio thanks them, and says he’ll continue to work hard on Spotted Flower.
Kio attended Wonder Festival for the first time in a long time.
Another older drawing, but this time someone shows Kio that they have the hot-spring bathing Ohno bust that came free with an issue of Monthly Afternoon. Kio calls it a fine product.
Kio gives the disclaimer that Sue and the blonde who’s just like Sue in Spotted Flower are technically different characters, kinda sorta maybe.
An Ohno fan says they loved Ohno so much, they ended up with a girl like her, and that Kio is responsible for this “severe” crime. Kio jokingly says that’s unforgivable.
Repeat Saki drawing.
Someone started making a garage kit based on that Ohno drawing!
Genshiken on Sukkiri at 9:25!
A fan mentions that he used to be embarrassed to say the word eroge before Genshiken. Kio replies that they actually checked if there was any issue using it for the anime, and the response was “none at all.”
Kio finished watching Sukkiri. He jokingly equates hearing all the old lines he wrote 20 years ago to humiliation fetish play, and says he’s happy to see it regarded as a story not merely about otaku but about human beings.
Kio feels the depiction of otaku in media has changed since then.
Director Mizuhima Tsutomu (Girls und Panzer, Shirobako) mentions working as staff on the first Genshiken anime and the Kujibiki Unbalance stuff in there. He also worked on the Kujibiki Unbalance light novel as part of the group called “Yokote Michiko and Her Pleasant Companions.” (Yokote Michiko is a writer who’s worked on Genshiken.)
Kio thanks Director Mizushima, but is a bit confused, as Mizushima directed Genshiken Nidaime.
Singer Atsumi Saori talks about how if it weren’t for Genshiken, she wouldn’t have wrote the ending theme for it, “Biidama.” She’s grateful to the series for that reason.
Kio thanks her back, and talks about how he likes the fact that the song contains both happiness and sadness.
Manga creator Shikizawa Kaya describes Genshiken as if actual real people were chiseled and dug out for it. Spotted Flower uses an even sharper chisel, and results in something very thrilling. Kio responds with gratitude.
A fan didn’t realize that the name Genshiken Nidaime is in part a reference to the second club president. I.e. Madarame. Kio responds that this was one thing he considered when naming the series.
The official account for a Japanese plastic wrap company shows off their Kio Shimoku manga collection.
https://twitter.com/kioshimoku1/status/1625689070939824128
A Japanese model, Ikeda Miyuki (aka Michopa-san) said something along the lines of it being weird to experience works from an era before the concept of otaku had proliferated in the culture. Kio agrees.
A fan remembers the character Saki and the way she’d misplace the emphasis on the word “anime.” Kio recalls that as well.
Kio thanks a new fan, who discovered Genshiken thanks to their favorite VTuber talking passionately about it.
Kio thanks the host of “Hot Comic” on Sukkiri, actor Okayama Amane, as well as the staff for talking about Genshiken.
He then promotes Spotted Flower by calling it “What-if after-story, or maybe a spin-off, or maybe a parallel world—even the author isn’t sure.” He then shows the above drawing of Not-Sue and Not-Ogi and says “Characters like these show up.”
Kio is salvaging HD versions of old drawings from Genshiken.
Middle school Ogiue from Genshiken Volume 8’s title page.
The cover of Genshiken Volume 8. Also, it turns out that my Twitter mutual and fellow Ogiue fan Noori actually went to the spot referenced in the cover! Kio thinks that’s probably the place?
Another old piece of art from 20 years ago, this time of Ohno. Kio is not a fan of his old coloring skills.
Genshiken Volume 1 title page.
Kio attended a Choraliers chorus club mini-concert.
Genshiken Volume 1. “It all started here.”
When asked if this is also when Kubijiki Unbalance started, Kio replies that it was largely undecided at that point.
A reader talks about how he first saw Narita-san Shinso-ji temple through Kio’s work, and Kio recalls having drawn it.
Genshiken Volume 2 title page.
Kio responds with a “Nice!” to someone telling him that they grew up wanting a senpai like Madarame, and eventually found one after they started working.
Kio responds to the death of manga legend Matsumoto Leiji. “A great achievement…My prayers…”
A Genshiken drawing of Saki and Ohno on a bench from a calendar. It might have also been included with a supplemental CD.
Genshiken Volume 2 cover.
Ritsuko from Kujibiki Unbalance in a school swimsuit, from the back cover of Genshiken Volume 2. When shown a sealed figure of the same character, Kio points out that the figure in question is based on an illustration by Yagumo Kengou (who illustrated the light novels, and was later in charge of the designs for the anime).
A commenter mentions to Kio that the Midnight Blissed version of Hydron (Nool) from Capcom Fighting Evolution is clearly based on Ritsuko from Kujibiki Unbalance, and not only does Kio know that, but the artist who made those drawings has also made a Ritsuko doujinshi.
Kio responds happily to someone who made a real-life version of Ritsuko’s oversized helmet
Kio responds to someone posting an autographed drawing of Sue cosplaying as Ritsuko they received with shock that it’s been 10 years.
Genshiken Chapter 5 title image. It was actually gray in the collected volume. And as one commenter points out, they’re doing a Vagrant Story cosplay.
An early version of a drawing that’ll be in Spotted Flower Volume 6.
Title image from Genshiken Chapter 9. Kio notices that the colors seem different on Twitter compared to how they actually are, and one commenter replies that it might be because they need to be converted from CMYK to RGB for viewing on screens. Kio realizes this is the case and proceeds to repost many of the earlier illustrations.
The color-corrected RGB versions.
Kio bought a plastic model of Super Sasadango Machine, a wrestler from the comedy wrestling company DDT. He’s a parody of Super Strong Machine from New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
A beautiful, lovely, amazing, wonderful drawing of Ogiue for a 2011 New Year’s card used by the Afternoon Editorial Department.
I love this so much, I had to show my gratitude. I know he does it for everyone, but I’m glad to get his thank-you.
Kio responding to another person posting a signed Ogiue drawing. (Can you feel my envy?)
Kujibiki Unbalance art from the inside covers of Genshiken Volume 2. These have not been seen in color before.
Kio explaining about how the first anime had a special addition with the Kujibiki Unbalance OVAs, and this is what led to Director Mizushima helming the TV series.
The cover art of Genshiken Volume 3. Kio also replies to a commenter talking about how he thinks the quality of the old Genshiken trading figures is really high for how small they are.
