Anime Club thrives on devotion to art form

With the ferocious fighting demons of shows like "InuYasha" and the futuristic gunfights of the sci-fi "Cowboy Bebop," the IU Anime Club appeals to the fiercely loyal fan following of the Eastern-style animation.\n"The club has been around for ages, since about '92 or '93 if I remember correctly," said President Josh Bonner. "But it didn't become an official University club until this year." \nMeetings are held in informal settings and usually involve group viewings of movies or TV programs, including the widely popular "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex" series. The showings typically last for a full six hours from 6 p.m. to midnight Sunday evenings. \n"Basically, the club is a group of people who enjoy watching subtitled Japanese animation, and we have weekly meetings mainly to watch shows that we're interested in and talk with each other," Bonner said. \nThe schedules are loose and flexible, made at the beginning of the semester, and allow plenty of time for marathons of the subtitled Japanese cartoons. The relaxed atmosphere of anime and social interaction provides students with a means of spending time with like-minded people. \n"Every show we watch comes from a member's personal collection, so we don't need to collect dues or maintain any kind of budget, which makes things a lot simpler for us," said Bonner. \nGroup members' libraries contain DVDs and VHS tapes, some that are not commercially available in the United States. Picnics and trips to movie theaters round out the club's typical school-year itinerary.\nSuccess stories like these -- drawing a number of people with similar interests and actually becoming a University--recognized student organization -- may prompt many to follow the lead of Bonner and his peers. Though money was not a concern for the Anime Club, it is usually the biggest obstacle that prevents new clubs from coming to fruition. \nIU Student Association Director of Student Aid Jay Miller said groups usually request funds for their events on a yearly basis. \n"Most student organizations operate on a yearly budget based on their annual or semester dues," Miller said. "We do have limited funds to help groups with administrative costs for the year; however, a very limited number of groups apply for this money."\nEven after nearly 13 years, the casually run, laid-back organization has proven longevity is not to be an issue. Still going strong into 2005, the Anime Club's most recent event was a showing of "Valentine's Day Massacre," in which members of the club watched an entire horror series in one evening meeting. \nMeetings are at 6 p.m. every Saturday night in Lindley Hall 102.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Bryan Lufkin at blufkin@indiana.edu.