Anime has become a common interest and rallying point for students of all stripes.
The Anime Club at Cabrini was founded for students who have less than mainstream interests in order to have a safe space in which they can share them.
Anime in the mainstream consciousness in society at large has grown from the niche that was present in the 1990s into a more well known and socially acceptable interest. However, there is still a great deal of ignorance in terms of content and the types of people who enjoy anime.
It has been around both officially and unofficially for about a decade. The current leadership consists of graphic design majors, but all are welcome to attend the club’s meetings and events.
“To have it(the club) around for people who like anime,” Mark Phillips, anime club’s president, said. This is the main aim of having an anime club on campus in the first place.”
Phillips values the idea of casting a broad net in order to service the various interests of the members. His favorite anime is the Shonen Jump series “Yu Yu Hakisho.”
A goal for Phillips this year is to increase awareness of the club’s overall presence.
“Last year it was there but no one ever promoted it,” he said.
In order to accomplish this goal, the club has put out posters around campus approved by SEaL and hosting events like a Super Smash Brothers tournament.
The club’s meetings tend to last for around two hours. The first hour consists of watching two or three episodes of various anime series. Then the second hour is playing video games on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.
Both parts of the meeting encourage diversity and unity. The anime watched on Oct. 18 was “Baccano” and “FLCL.” “Baccano” is a quite bloody series set during the Great Depression and aboard the train The Flying Pussyfoot where the gambits of several groups of characters all collide. “FLCL,” is about a 12-year-old boy Naota whose mundane life is disrupted when he is hit with a guitar by a mysterious woman riding a Vespa and spawns a robot from his forehead.
The reaction by the members in attendance to both series was quite positive and they showed interest in watching more episodes of both series later.
“Strong visual storytelling,” said Roberto Kyehn, the vice president, of anime club is what attracted him and keeps him interested in the medium. Further on, he said the use of bold color pallets and the often-intense art style with the sharp line that draws and holds his attention.
The meeting on Friday Oct. 18 was Jessie Flex’s first-time attending club.
“I’ve been an anime fan since the fourth grade, but didn’t have time until now,” Flex, a chemistry major, said. He grew up on two well-known Shonen Jump series “Naruto” and “Dragon Ball Z” and they are his favorite anime series.
“Anime club is a place for nerds to be nerds,” Mani Parker, freshman graphic design major, said. “It feels nice to be praised for it.” Parker grew up watching Dragon Ball Z and playing the video games with her uncle. She intends to cosplay as Itachi Uchia for Halloween.
“The club is more than just for anime fans,” Sarah Donovan, chief graphic designer for anime club, said. “There was a proposal to call it geek club because of the various interests of the members.” Donovan stated that last year a Dungeons and Dragons campaign and Super Smash Brothers tournament came out from the meetings last semester.
During the second half of the meeting, the club played video games. The first game was “Injustice 2,” a fighting game featuring a cast of DC characters. After a while, they switched games and played “Super Smash Brothers Ultimate,” a party game which pits various Nintendo characters against each other.
