Anime Club
| Related terms: | Fan Club, List of Anime Clubs |
| See also: | anime, manga |
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An Anime Club is a group of people who get together to watch anime. Most of these exist outside of Japan, where anime was traditionally harder to obtain. Many are organized at the college or university level.
History
The first recorded anime club in the United States was the Cartoon/Fantasy Organization (C/FO) in May, 1977. Branches of the C/FO spread throughout the United States, and there was even one based near an Air Force base in Japan, the "Rising Sun" branch. The C/FO and its affiliated clubs dominated the anime fanbase through most of the 80s. The organization began to decay as groups left in the late 80s. In July 1989, it ended its role as a collection of fanclubs, with each chapter now independent.[1]
Activities
Anime clubs might sponsor any of these activities (or more):
- watching anime (usually subtitled, often fansubbed)
- reading manga (in Japanese, with online text translations, as scanlations, or professionally translated)
- watching anime music videos
- listening to J-Pop (Japanese pop music)
- maintaining a club library from which members can borrow material
- eating Japanese food as a group
- attending or volunteering at local anime conventions
- organizing outings for karaoke or to participate in Japanese cultural events
- cosplaying
- sponsoring fansubs (more during the VHS era than today)
- playing video games
- sharing fanart and fanfiction
Each club has its own preferred activities and traditions, though showing anime is nearly universal. Membership is mostly free in the United States and Canada; some clubs in the United Kingdom and Australia charge for membership or showings.
