genshiken, hows this all work out

[kenshin-dono]

Didnt see a genshiken thread so i guess i'll ask here

ok so i was gonna pick up genshiken on DVD since theres a media blaster sale going on at rightstuff but im HIGHLY confused on how this series episodes go. Ive looked at the wiki and the ADB and its confusing as hell. Hopefully someone can clear it up. Heres what ive learned so far.

the first series was Genshiken season 1, 1-12.

then.. there was what, an OAV that was 3 epps? i hear there was an OAV and something called Kujibiki Unbalance that was 3 epp OAV as well. They seem to be different things

here on bakabt it has Genshiken season 1  as 15 episodes so i guess that includes the 3 epp oav? whats the difference between the OAV and the 3 Kujibiki unbalance OAVs?

Genshiken season 2 is just listed as 12 episodes so that ones pretty straight forward

So what im trying to figure out is what those other 3 episodes in season one are. Are they the OAV Or are they the Kujibiki Unbalance OAV

can anyone explain the order here and what/where Kujibiki unbalanced fits in? If i had to guess id think it went genshikin 1-12> Genshiken 2006 OAV 3 epps> Genshiken 2 1-12. The problem is figuring out where the Kujibiki unbalance OAV and series fit in there.

If i was just downloading it it wouldn't be that big a deal since id grab everything and figure it out later, but im trying to buy this and the OAV and the Kujibiki unbalance OAV are confusing me since the american releases seem to only mention the Kujibiki unbalanced OAV. i dont think the American DVD release includes the oav

heres the amercian DVD
http://www.rightstuf.com/cgi-bin/catalogmgr/cmkzpLFMuM3-VtSlDa/browse/item/72456/4/0/0

it says "Contains all 12 episodes of Genshiken plus 3 episodes of Kubijiki Unbalance."... so is that the OAV followup that they count as 13, 14, 15, or just the Kujibiki thing?

Hell, was the second season released in the states at all?  All i see is Genshiken and Kujibiki unbalanced.. nothing about season 2 or the OAV

a search shows just this stuff
http://www.rightstuf.com/cgi-bin/catalogmgr/LPisW5XHInRNby98sa/browse/search/5/4/0/0/results/desc/asc/50/1

genshiken 1 with the unbalance stuff, no mention of an OAV at all anywhere, no season 2 i can see, and a Kujibiki unbalanced series

hopefully someone can clear this up. Id like to support this series but if they skipped the OAV entirely and dont even have season 2 i may just d.load it and forget it

[zherok]

In Genshiken, Kujibiki Unbalance exists as metafiction, an "anime within the anime," used as an example of a stereotypical and mostly un-noteworthy series that the characters within Genshiken watch and comment about. The anime version of Kujibiki Unbalance isn't a part of Genshiken. You can skip it entirely and miss nothing.

My personal opinion is that Kujibiki Unbalance is crap and you're better off without it. If you really had to see every part of the whole thing, I'd suggest Kujibiki Unbalance and it's OVAs then Genshiken season 1 then 2. Knowing details about Kujibiki Unbalance wouldn't in any way really spoil your viewing of Genshiken.

[kenshin-dono]

so unbalanced is something totally different and separate then. Why the hell does the american release come with 3 episodes of it instead of the OAV?

so does the American release just not have the OAV's at all? and what about season 2.

[zherok]

I'm pretty sure the 3 episodes are the OVAs. The Kujibiki Unbalance series is separate.

And I have no idea about the American release, my copy is from here.

[kenshin-dono]

nope, pretty sure its not the oavs

like i said the link is here
http://www.rightstuf.com/cgi-bin/catalogmgr/cmkzpLFMuM3-VtSlDa/browse/item/72456/4/0/0

says Contains all 12 episodes of Genshiken plus 3 episodes of Kubijiki Unbalance.

which makes no sense, i dont see the OAV avalible anywhere

[lStealtherl]

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=rel&aid=1783

So that box contains first season + 3 OVAs Kujibiki Unbalance. The most likely reason why they are bundled together is that Kujibiki Unbalanced was released after Genshiken, before the Genshiken OVAs. As for further American releases I don't know.

[Zalis116]

The Genshiken OVAs (eps 13-15) were included as bonuses with the R1 release of the 2006 Kujibiki Unbalance TV series, much like the Kujibiki Unbalance OVAs were included with Genshiken TV Season 1. You can find the boxed set here, or the cheaper version here. I believe the Japanese DVD release did the same thing and included the Genshiken OVAs with the Kujiun TV DVDs. Genshiken 2 just recently started its R1 release.

[Waxxdemon]

so unbalanced is something totally different and separate then. Why the hell does the american release come with 3 episodes of it instead of the OAV?

so does the American release just not have the OAV's at all? and what about season 2.

Here is how it worked...(pretty much what Zalis116 said but a little more detailed)

The first Genshiken series, had a running gag about an anime called Kujibiki Unbalance, so with the DVD release there were 3 gag episodes of the Kujibiki "series" that pretty much just made fun of common anime tropes.

The for reasons I can't fathom, the studio actually made an anime called  Kujibiki Unbalance which ran in between Genshiken season 1 and Genshiken season 2. However, this KujiUn is almost completely unrelated to the 3 episode OVA with totally different character designs and story... However when this was released on DVD it came with 3 episodes of Genshiken OVA, that follow directly from when Season 1 ended. Then you have Season 2 of Genshiken..  So to follow the Manga story arc, the OVA episodes are right between the two seasons..

The original KujiUn OVA are somewhat entertaining if you follow the running gag from the Season 1 series...  I didn't care for the KujiUn series myself, but the Genshiken OVA episodes are great (from the KUjiUN DVD's). And are pretty essential to the continuity between Genshiken season 1 and 2 (plot development and character introductions).  Oddly enough the running KujiUN gag is in season 2 of Genshiken also... but all of a sudden the are watching stuff from the actual KujiUn series now...  Its all sorta strange.

[kenshin-dono]

tnx guys. *sigh* looks like the only way to get the 3 oavs is to buy the crappy unbalance series, which i have no intention of doing. F it, if they wanna release it in such a stupid way i wont bother buying it, i'll just d.load the thing.

tnx for sorting it all out