Louisville student dresses up as Ash Ketchum from “Pokemon.”
By Simon Isham–
“My science is hurting!” moans last year’s Anime Club President Christopher McClain, as Vice President John Doyle attempts to explain the infrastructure of the “Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game” or VRMMORPG “for short”—I challenge you to come up with a longer acronym—that features in “Sword Art Online”, to the newbies.
This interaction is not typical at a meeting of the University of Louisville’s Cardinal Anime Club, which meets from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Tuesday in Vogt Hall. Members range in interest from those who enthusiastically dress in cosplay just for a meeting to those who just play World of Warcraft throughout the entire proceedings. Discussion is at a high enough level that the most fervent of connoisseurs will not be disappointed but not quite so lofty that complete beginners will feel excluded. Like with any club, the only attributes you’ll need are an interest and a willingness to learn.
Due to the fact that the club boasts over 30 members, it has great potential as a resource for finding buddies to attend an anime convention. Their current focus is on Sugoicon in Cincinnati, which runs over the Nov. 16-18 weekend. McClain has taken the liberty of becoming the liaison and registrar for the club’s representation at the conference and is working on rooming arrangements. Admission for the full three-day weekend is $35 pre-registration plus a lodging fee, which McClain promises he will finalize shortly.
After hearing the news and announcements, which typically last for half an hour, the club takes a vote about which anime to watch for the remaining two hours. Their new policy is to watch five single episodes from different series, two original video animations (OVAs) or one two-hour movie. The club does not watch any anime that have lasted for more than 100 episodes and reminds members that it is not a Japanese pop-culture club, therefore barring live-action movies based on anime from the club’s canon. Anime that have been played in previous years include Hellsing, Guilty Crown, Persona 4 and Eureka 7A0. All are watched with original Japanese voice-acting and English subtitles.
One of the major upcoming events that the Anime Club holds every year for members is the Halloween Party, the theme of which will be Pokemon/creepypasta. For non net-denizens, the meme dubbed “creepypasta” refers to short stories intended to deliberately scare or unnerve the reader—much like the works of Poe, but much more plentiful and much less well-written. For entry, participants are asked to bring a snack to share with everyone but are reminded that meetings are often inundated with chips. As the party will be in celebration of the trick-or-treating season, dressing up as your favorite anime character is not only allowed but also encouraged. For more information on this event or others hosted by the club, President Jason Lee recommends joining the club’s Facebook group.
