Utaku club brings anime to Utah State
When most people think of anime, they stereotype it as the old Pokemon cartoons, overly-amplified facial expressions and big-breasted women. But anyone who has ever been involved with anime understands that it is much more.
The USU anime club, currently known as USU Utaku offers a unique experience to anyone interested, said vice president Clelia Rivera, a junior studying public relations. She said the members have found the art style and plot lines enthralling and many have dabbled in another culture’s form of literature and entertainment and come back wanting more.
Club president Hsin-Fang Wang, a junior studying English, said USU Utaku was formed this fall as a more appropriate place to experience the anime aspect of the Japanese culture, rather than the Japanese Club that had already been established. After the Japanese Club disbanded last semester, USU Utaku took its place as the hub of Japanese culture at Utah State.
“Rather than just appreciation of anime and manga, we want to be more productive. As such, we will also focus on ‘cosplay,’ that is, costume role-play,” he said.
Wang also said that the club wants to make costumes based off of anime and manga illustrations and focus on the social aspect of anime as well. Members will use costumes they create in their own comic/anime convention and attend other anime conventions. Wang plans for members to sell costumes to other avid fans in order to create revenue for the club, as well as provide commission to those who create the costumes.
The club meets every Thursday from 6-8 p.m. to enjoy favorite episodes of anime TV series, but instead of just watching them, Wang said the club discusses “beyond the basic geeky levels and get(s) more in-depth with it in terms of art, plot and the often-present in manga and anime subjects of taboo.”
Instead of just gawking at the girls from the anime, the members go deeper and search for the different elements that make up the show. At one meeting, Wang taught the differences in the style of language from the Japanese dialogue and the English subtitles after watching an episode of “Gundam Wing.”
Even though all 10 members in attendance were extremely knowledgeable about the TV shows, “noobs” need not worry, Rivera said. The environment is a welcoming and educational one that speaks of warmth, knowledge and all-around love of anime. Although the anime is taken seriously, it is still a light-hearted environment where they are as quick to laugh as they are to analyze.
Don’t be scared, we are all nice people,” Rivera said. She said anyone that is interested should come and have fun with them. So, even if one’s knowledge of anime is only as far as “Spirited Away,” or “Yu Gi Oh,” the club still has appeal.
The club plans on doing a Pokemon Hunt this spring. The Pokemon Hunt will include people dressed up as Pokemon characters while “Trainers,” participants, try to catch them, similar to the Humans vs. Zombies game held on campus last semester. Even if you don’t participate in the hunt, it will be just as fun to watch
Humans vs. Zombies organizer Bryce Colby said the Pokemon Hunt “sounds like a way cool idea, and I am excited that other people are trying to make college more fun. Sometimes I think people take college too seriously.”
Along with this event, they are also planning other activities such as a cosplay fashion show, an anime/comic convention and more programs that are still in the works.
As of now, the USU Utaku Anime Club is free to join to anyone interested in anime, manga, cosplay and pretty much any aspect of the anime culture. Rivera said she hopes to create an environment where anime and manga fans from all over the valley can come enjoy anime and have fun. If anyone would like to know more, they can visit the club’s Facebook page under the title Utaku USU, as well as their blog at utakun.blogspot.com.
– alexander.h.van_oene@aggiemail.usu.edu