Spotted Flower



Taking a spin from Genshiken and its chronicle about the daily life of a group of Otaku and their different cultures, in 2009 Shimoko Kio brought Spotted Flower to serialization, it tells the story of a newlywed couple: a hard working husband that used to be a hardcore otaku and still carry some traits of it, and his pregnant wife that learned to put up with her spouse’s hobbies but nevertheless loving him for what he is and eagerly waiting for their child to be born.

One of the main charms of the series is that the Husband and the Wife are direct analogies of two Genshiken characters: Harunobu Madarame and Saki Kasukabe respectively, if not outright being them, due to subtle hints pointing out past events strikingly similar to those found in said series.

Spotted Flower is serialized in Rakuen Le Paradis, a Josei magazine from publisher Hakusensha, the series is published in a Four-monthly schedule, three short (6 to 8 pages) chapters per year.

This series provides examples of:

 * Adorkable: The Husband.
 * Continuity Nod: There are some topics during the Wife and Husband conversations that seems to conect with Genshiken events:
 * The Wife saying things like she and the Husband used to be part of a club for otakus, that she was caught in the middle of 2 of them, and that she doesn’t want to see her ex-boyfriend by meeting with the group again, strongly implies that they are Madarame and Kasukabe, with the ex being Kousaka.
 * The Husband owning some S&M porn in addition to his anime-only porn; Madarame used this to cover up his otaku preferences only for anime porn, adding some real porn to even things out in other people's eyes.
 * Cosplay Otaku Girl: The Wife, she learned to enjoy cosplaying as time went by; altought she can get angry when the Husband only happens to be in the mood when she's cosplaying, reasoning that the character she represents might be abover her in the Husband's mind.
 * Cute Little Fangs: The Husband, but it's kind of subdued, it isn't as apparent as Madarame's.
 * Expy: the Husband is one for Madarame and the Wife is one for Kasukabe, both from Genshiken.
 * Give Geeks a Chance: What the Wife did and likes to make the Husband remember that so he can be more confident in himself, despite being a hardore otaku, he got a girlfriend, had sex with her, they married, and now she's is expecting their child.
 * Nerd Nanny: What the Wife once was according to her, but now she knows all of her husband hobbies and learned to put up with them, she actively supports his lifestyle as long as he doesn't put that above her.
 * No Name Given: the Husband, the Wife and Grandma, no names for them.
 * Otaku: the Husband, although he's more casual than he used to be; also the Wife is pretty knowledgeable on the subject.
 * Ship Tease: The very existence of this work is this for Madarame x Kasukabe, if the couple aren't outright them, it still gives the idea of what their married life would be like.
 * Spiritual Successor: to Genshiken, if not a true Sequel itself.