Genshiken 2 (DVD)
The quirky stories about relationships continue in Genshiken 2, an anime that follows a group of university students who are members of The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture (shortened to 'genshiken' in Japanese).
Genshiken was originally a manga by Kio Shimoku that ran from 2002 to 2006 in a monthly anthology magazine called Afternoon. There were 50 chapters which were later compiled in a nine-volume graphic novel set. An English version of the manga is available by Del Rey Manga.
The Genshiken is considered an outcast among the university's societies. In the first series, the club is in constant danger of being closed down by the Student Union.
But as it becomes more popular, the story focuses less on the struggle for existence and more on what's going on internally.
The members of Genshiken are typical otakus, enjoying video games, cosplay, manga, and gunpla, building scale models of mechs from the anime Gundam.
The story still centres around Sasahara Kanji who has become less shy and looks at his developing relationship with a new club member.
But the stories in the second series focus more on life after graduation and the difficulties of finding work in a field you're interested in.
This is a theme that most final-year students and college graduates from Japan and around the world will identify with.
In real life, the lucky few get their dream job, but the majority have to settle for whatever they can get.
The second series is now out on DVD
