With several abrupt slaps on tables – administered by students carrying giant fans – the Mississippi State University Anime Club’s Oct. 4 meeting was called to order. It started off like many club gatherings, with the president of the group sharing news. Shortly after, however, a debate involving anime – or Japanese animation – and “World of Warcraft” ensued, followed by discussions concerning Japanese tendencies, currency and culture.During the roundtable discussion, Robin Williams and other actors were mentioned in relation to a live-action remake of an anime. Junior chemical engineering major Jessica Balle, the club’s vice president, quickly reminded the group: “We don’t talk about real people in this club!” After the preliminary discussions, the group viewed the first episode of the anime series “Hellsing,” a show about a vampire-hunting organization.
When the show ended, members discussed the continual use of the color red in the series, its conflict of Protestantism versus Catholicism and the sheer power of the series’ protagonist, Alucard.
“We have a lot of fun every week,” said industrial engineering graduate student Harry Lam, president of the MSU Anime Club.
The Anime Club is an offshoot of the MSU Japanese Club. Although the Japanese Club viewed anime occasionally, the group’s goal was to focus on Japanese language, culture and history in general.
Still, Lam said there were members of the club who wanted to watch more anime.
Balle said she posed a question about an anime section in the Japanese Club. The adviser of the club, Japanese class instructor Chitose Little, encouraged the anime fans to form a new group.
“We realized there’s a necessity for it,” Balle said.
The club formed in fall 2006 with Lam and Balle leading the way. At first, the club had 15 to 20 people attending the meetings consistently. Now, 20 to 30 people attend on a regular basis, Lam said.
Most outsiders wouldn’t initially understand the issues that may arise in the club. Unlike everyday watchers of American films and television, anime fans will address whether dubbed English dialogue tracks are superior to original Japanese language tracks with subtitles.
While the former allows one to watch anime and perform other activities simultaneously, the latter can overcome the possible shortcomings of English voice actors.
Although topics like these may be unfamiliar to the average student, the Anime Club seeks to include more than anime fans. Balle said the club is also open to those who would negatively critique anime.
“We want to appeal to everybody,” she said.
The anime market itself appears to appeal to more and more Americans.
A decade ago one might have had trouble finding anime in a store like Wal-Mart. Today, the store carries anime films and series.
“The industry has been very much more prominent,” Lam said. “Anime is even becoming more popular in Japan.”
Lam said as a result of the anime market growing in Japan, domestic companies now have more titles to license.
Another reason anime has become more popular is the “Adult Swim” programming on Cartoon Network. The artwork has improved with the new anime shows on “Adult Swim.”
This could explain why more Americans are watching anime, said sophomore international business major Laura Vaughn, the club’s event organizer.
Six or seven years ago, anime probably looked much weirder to the general public, Balle said.
The populace now looks at anime more favorably as it becomes accepted.
“Anime has definitely had an effect on pop culture in America in my opinion,” Lam said. “You’ll see merchandise appearing in toy stores.”
Despite the growth of the anime market, not everyone sees the appeal behind Japanese animation. “Some people get it. Some don’t,” said assistant communication professor Kevin Williams, whose interests include cartoons and superheroes. “Even I don’t understand the allure of it.”
Williams said anime is not like most American cartoons because it is generally targeted toward many demographics.
“Anime is not written for children,” he said.
The amount of plot devices in anime can be like reading a “chapter of a novel,” as opposed to the American variety, Balle said.
“The artwork, the storytelling, the character development – it’s definitely different from American cartoons,” Lam said.
“There’s not always a moral [in anime],” he added.
Balle started to enjoy anime at an early age, with the “Sailor Moon” series being her “gateway drug” to anime, she said.
Like Balle, Lam started off with “Sailor Moon” and another series called “Ronin Warriors.”
At the time, Lam didn’t know the shows were Japanese, but he knew he liked them.
“It was cooler to me than any other shows,” he said.
Visually, anime differs significantly from American animation. Anime characters are often drawn with big eyes, small mouths and strange hair. These features are not superfluous, however.
“The emotions of characters are portrayed through their eyes,” Lam said.
Opinions differ on how anime shows look when compared to American cartoons.
“The art style of it is more cartoonish, more exaggerated,” Williams said.
While anime can be an “escape from reality,” Vaughn said it showcases more beautiful and realistic animation than American cartoons.
Vaughn said people should give anime a chance before making generalizations.
If one likes romance, blood and gore or cute stuff, anime has it all, she said.