One might speculate that an anime club on campus would be nothing more but sitting in a room watching anime. That’s a part of it, of course. But the Otaku Anime Club aims to be more than that. With over 40 people attending each meeting, there’s bound to be a game, movie or friend for everybody.

Creative writing and pedagogy grad student Michelle Rozga, who also acts as the club leader, has been with the group for more than three years. Rozga considers it to be a great social outlet, as well as allowing her at least one night a week to unwind and just have fun.

Rozga said she became involved with the club when she was encouraged by a friend and then began attending regularly afterwards.

“It’s the social environment,” Rozga said. “There are a lot of like-minded people.”

Aside from just watching films, the Otaku Anime Club has a social hour that usually begins an hour before the group’s official starting time. This time is taken to engage in all activities from video games to tarot card readings to simple socializing.

“It’s primarily a social club. We do not take ourselves too seriously in any way, shape or form . It’s a good way to set foot in the world of anime,” Rozga said, adding that anyone looking to join need only to show up at the meeting.

Joe Gonzales, junior secondary education English major, has just started his second year in the club and is there purely for his love of anime and the other people attending.

“I just love this club from the bottom of my heart, and I love the people here,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said what he loves most about anime is the fantastic, out-of-this-world storylines the films contain that make a person unable to turn away.

“You just kind of stare like a deer in headlights mesmerized and then when it’s all over you can talk about it.”
Gonzales went on to add that even if someone is not a big fan of anime there’s still just so much going on.

“You can network and get with people that are in your major,” Gonzales said. “There’s also games and food. It’s geared toward anime people but at the same time it’s open for everyone.”

What draws junior Amanda O’Farrill, who is double majoring in zoology and ecology, to Otaku is the type of stories anime is able to tell and the style used to do so.

“A lot of the stories out there are so varied, yet they all kind of follow the same flow,” O’Farrill said. “The animation style is different. It’s simple, but yet not.”

The biggest consensus around Otaku is that regardless of one’s preference when it comes to anime, it’s always a good time, with some people even going so far as attending in costume.

“One of the guys dressed up as a furry . It’s good fun, you meet a lot of cool people,” O’Farrill said. “You can enjoy yourself and whether (you) like it or not, (you) can come here and watch some episodes and say, ‘Hey, I like this’ or, ‘Hey, not for me.'”

The Otaku Anime Club meets every Sunday in JXJ 211 at 8 p.m. with a social hour starting at 6:30 p.m.