Harunobu Madarame

Harunobu Madarame is the most hardcore otaku of the Genshiken members. He carries his obsessions to an almost dangerous degree, and will spend nearly all of his money on dōjinshi, which leaves little money for food or other living expenses. He becomes acting President of the club after being appointed by the First President. In his senior year, he passes down his leadership to Kanji Sasahara as he looks for a job.

Because of his unusual name, Keiko Sasahara addresses him as "Watanabe," much to his chagrin. After a while, he loses interest in correcting her and the name sticks.

Appearance

Madarame is described as tall with broad shoulders, but his body type is quite frail looking. This is confirmed when he breaks his bones - typically his distal radial bone in his forearm - multiple times. He has slight mid length black hair (or dark brown in the anime). He has shallow eyes and also has trademark prominent fangs usually sticking out of his mouth.

Madarame normally dresses in cheap clothes typical for an otaku. However, encouraged by Saki to be more fashionable, he buys a nice jacket and suit. This surprises everyone in the club and actually impresses Saki, and has since become his "battle wear" for shopping in Akihabara.

Personality

Madarame is a proud and unrepentant otaku to the core. He specializes mostly in anime/manga trivia and dating sims, including porn games. When anime and manga discussions come up, he generally likes to quiz people and point out any inconsistencies he sees.

Madarame is usually a coward when facing adversity. When Sasahara was waved in to take a stance against a guy harassing his sister, Madarame was by his side but darted out of the way quickly to avoid being associated. However, he did take a bold stance against Saki when reprimanding her for causing the club's suspension (though underneath, he was so nervous his heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest).

Plot

Genshiken

Madarame is one of the first Genshiken members introduced upon Sasahara's arrival, along with Tanaka and Kugiyama. At Comifest, he hurt his hand to the point of it being numb and swelling, but he still didn't want to leave. Although he's Saki Kasukabe's main antagonist, he gradually falls in love with her in secret. Madarame never has the courage to confess his feelings during the 3 years because he is sure that his feelings have no chance of getting reciprocated. By the end of the first generation, Madarame and Saki have become good friends.

Genshiken Nidaime

Madarame is now an employed salaryman at a sewage treatment plant not too far from campus. His original reason for keeping the job is to stay close to the Genshiken room and hopefully run into Saki again, though he's had no success in doing so.