Ode to an Anime Company
The name, “Geneon” has always left a sour taste in my mouth. Beside for the fact that you can never say it correctly (it’s “Jen-neon”, not “Gay-neon”), I’ve also had many issues with dealing with them personally. When I ran an anime club, I had good relations with every one of the major US companies. That is, everyone but Geneon. Not only were they impossible to get in contact with, but they would never return your phone calls or emails. Even when I talked to a Geneon rep at Anime Boston last year, I got the guy’s business card, and even he didn’t return my emails! So when the members of my club asked why we couldn’t screen series from Geneon, I had to tell them, “Because Geneon sucks.”
But no matter how bad their costumer service is, there’s one thing that I must give them credit for-
They sure as hell know how to chose a series! (^_^)
A Geneon rep recently posted on the Internet some hints regarding their yet-to-be-announced licenses. Among these “difficult hints” were the name of the magazine both series were published in, and the names of the manga-ka for each series. Needless to say, these hints made it very clear that the series were “Ichigo Mashimaro” and “Kamichu!” which just so happen to be the two best series to have come out in the past year.
I’ve written a detailed review of Kamichu! over the summer, and my opinion of the show has not changed one bit. In a world where the many deities of the Shinto religion cohabitate with humans, a cute middle school girl wakes up one day to discover that she has become a goddess herself. Unsure of what kind of powers she actually possess, she relies on the help of her friends and other gods to discover her true potential.
This series is filled with the same kind of magic and excitement that comes with a Miyazaki film, and the lovable heroine made this series a must watch for anyone looking for deeper meaning in anime. It was lost in fansubs due to many episodes being released only on DVD, so that makes it especially great that it was picked up by Geneon. You can bet this blogger will be counting down the days until this gem is released to the American audience.
The 2nd series announced, “Ichigo Mashimaro” was something I’ve started getting into a couple of weeks ago. This is a fantastic comedy about the lives of 5 “cuter then words” girls. This show does not really have a plot… think of it as a Japanese schoolgirl version of “Seinfeld”. You stick the girls together in a room, and comedic genius ensues. There are times when I thought, “this show is so Japanese, but also very American at the same time.” Which leaves me to wonder if this show was made with the American audience in mind. When the show was originally aired in Japan, Geneon USA was listed in the shows credits, which lead many to believe that Geneon already had dibs on this show. But given this unique style of comedy, I’m going to look further into what other kind of involvement did the US branch have in the making of this series.
And by the way, if anyone else has ever come up with the “Seinfeld” analogy before me, please let me know. 
