Doujin Work ( ドージンワーク ) is the anime adaptation of Hiroyuki’s manga by the same title. The show aired on Chiba TV in Japan from July through September of 2007 and ran for a total of twelve episodes. The manga itself was serialized in Manga Time Kirara Carat in November of 2004 and was later serialized in two other magazines by the same parent company.

The series follows the adventures (and sometimes misadventures ) of Osana Najimi, a young girl who stumbles into the doujin world. Doujin, is short for doujinshi, which are, in a nutshell, fan made comics and original works. That quick definition hardly does them justice however.

One day while riding the train home with her friend Tsuyuri, Najimi volunteers to assist Tsuyuri in the “perverted activity” that she was up “all night by herself doing”. Najimi isn’t sure what to expect, although she and the eavesdroppers on the train think they have a good idea. In reality Tsuyuri is a doujin artist and is the sole member of her doujinshi circle, Panty Revolution. She primarily writes rape manga and is the creator of Burumako ( ブルマ子 ) which translates to “Bloomer Girl”. Not truly sure what to expect Najimi agrees to help Tsuyuri and ends up attending a convention where she is promptly introduced to the world of doujinshi. There she meets up with an old childhood friend by the name of Justice, who is also a very popular artist who sells his doujin really cheap.

Upon realizing how much Tsuyuri, Justice, and other artists make Najimi decides to become a doujinshi artist as well. Despite her love of drawing and art, Najimi soon learns that it’s not so easy to produce a doujin that is not only well-received but will actually sell. With the assistance of friends, who are also doujin artists, Najimi soon realizes dounjinshi writing is more than inking a few characters and lines and printing them out.

I have not yet had the chance to see the series in its entirety, but from what I have seen already I am definately liking it. Doujin Work is a series that is not only humorous, but manages to do a good job of conveying the emotions and feelings of the characters involved without turning into a drama-infested soap.

Because this series focuses on the doujinshi culture you can expect a great deal of insight into the creating and publishing of doujinshi. If you have any favorite artists and circles you will definately gain a new insight and appreciation for the effort that goes into them. The show is not afraid to poke fun of itself either and is reminiscent of Genshiken.

Last 5 issues of FAnime Friday:

• Issue #17, October 26, 2007: Bamboo Blade
• Issue #16, October 19, 2007: Reacting to Lengthy Delays
• Issue #15, October 12, 2007: New Series to Look Out For
• Issue #14, October 5, 2007: Perfect Girl Evolution
• Issue #13, September 28, 2007: Venus Versus Virus

Read the rest of the FAnime Friday issues on the FAnime Friday page! ^_^