What is Anime? What is Manga?
Chances are if you are reading this you already have some idea of what anime is, but just in case you truly do not, at its heart it is another word for cartoons. Anime refers to cartoons from Japan specifically, although artists in other countries have definitely adopted key elements of traditional anime which have also led to being able to enjoy various aspects of anime through the lens of a culture or language other than Japanese.
Also just in case, mangas are comic books and/or graphic novels of Japanese origin. This does give them several distinct qualities, one of which is that relative to the way western civilization tends to read a book, these books are designed to be read in the reverse order. In other words, if you did not know better, it would seem that the person reading a manga was reading it backwards.
The media center at Highland has a significant section dedicated to mangas and a former club president who was also a media center aide for multiple years was a contributing force in that regard.
What does the club do?
On the surface it might seem that we simply just watch cartoons. Make no mistake...we watch cartoons. I personally believe that taking a break from the constant hassles of the school week to focus on visually stunning and emotionally captivating animation is not just invigorating to the creativity, but can help to provide what all fantasy-based outlets are meant to provide: An escape from the never-ending onslaught of harsh reality combined with hope, encouragement, and insights for things being better.
The club's focus on anime has an additional benefit. Japanese culture is not exactly the same as our own. Differing cultural norms, values, and traditions have caused anime to be what it is. Also, however, despite cultural differences animes are created by human persons for human persons. There is something valuable to be gained in the mixture of what is so very different with what is so very much in common with our own culture. It is part of the purpose of this club to broaden our social horizons by exploring this art form.
In years where club interest is high, the opportunity for additional activities exists as well. This can sometimes just include something as simple as providing the opportunity to try some exotic snack or candy, to opportunities for students to share their own artwork, storylines, and headcanon theories with fans. I also own various board and card games based on animes which could be played to further explore a setting. Another possibility could even including having a day where we enjoy some basically authentic ramen. For those of you unfamiliar with traditional ramen, the typical ramen that people microwave is not it any more than boxed mac & cheese is authentic Italian cuisine.
Regardless of the depth of student interest in additional activities, I can promise you cartoons.
What Do You Watch?
Since we typically watch our anime during lunch (which is during the school day) on school property, we abide district policy for content shown in high school, which means we watch animes which are rated PG or TV-PG or lower. We have definitely had meetings where we discussed our favorite characters and moments and such for animes we might otherwise not watch here, although those discussions are also kept within district parameters.
We typically watch at least one movie from Studio Ghibli each year, and usually try to find either an appropriately rated series and an additional movie.
How Do I Join?
You just show up on Wednesdays, during lunch, to room B-64.
We also have a Google Classroom for the club, which is where discussions on which animes to watch and what additional activities to pursue will be discussed. If you would be interested, the code for the classroom is ytgq6ag and you should be able to add it using your student account.