The members of the Anime club seem like one big family. There is certainly a lot of love, and a lot of creativity, among this group of Manual students.
The Anime club was formed two years ago in 2010 as a place where students could come together and discuss and watch anime. Since then, its turned into more of a social club, though all of the members are still really big anime fans.
A very dedicated anime fan is known as an otaku. Otakus not only watch anime and read manga, but they also attend anime conventions, do cosplay of the characters, and own merchandise surrounding anime franchises. Cosplay is when people dress and act like the characters from different series. Cosplays are shown at conventions, where participants meet other cosplayers, pose for pictures, and discuss the series.
The club’s president, Brevyn Fleming (11) has created a number of her own costumes to participate in conventions in the area, including Chisaii Con in Shepherdsville, and others in Cincinatti. “My favorite cosplay I’ve ever done was Panty from Panty and Stocking. And once I hand-sowed an entire floor length dress in one week for a One Piece cosplay.” said Fleming. Her entire cosplay list can be found on her Tumblr page, Colonelemu.
Fleming and Vice President Christina Sutter shared with us the list of rules for attending a convention:
-Do not glomp (run/jump hug) cosplayers
-Do not scream
– Ask permission before taking pictures
-Do not take props from people
-Do not hit people (especially with your props!)
-Do not touch people without permission
-Do not sexually harass other cosplayers
-Do not stalk
-Do not insult other people’s cosplays
-Be polite
-Do not rave in a binder or a corset!
-Don’t throw things
-Don’t harass homestucks
“Homestucks” refers to people who cosplay as characters from the wildly popular web comic Homestuck, which features a very large cast of characters. Abby Stowers (11), who also designed the club’s many fliers around the school, draws fanart of Homestuck as well as other animes and mangas. Her artwork can be seen online on her Deviantart page, NemuriMoya.
If you are interested in attending an anime convention, there are many coming up in the area, including the Sukoshi Con in Louisville on July 19-21, as well as OMGcon in Paducah, Ky from June 14-16th. For a full list of anime conventions throughout the country, please visit here. The anime club meets on Tuesdays after school in the Library from 2:30 to 3:30.
