Starting Your Own High School Anime Club

It's no secret that anime has begun to cross over into the mainstream. A number of series-such as Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, and Full Metal Alchemist-have begun airing on national television stations, anime DVDs can be purchased or rented from nearly all major video retail outlets, and anime t-shirts, trading card games, and other merchandise can be found in prominence in plenty of high schools and colleges. But while anime is growing in popularity, it is still very much a niche market, and so it's understandable for fans to want a club, an actual community, where they can meet new fans and discover new series.

This can be achieved in a number of different ways. There are a number of fan communities on the Internet that cater to anime fans, either on individually maintained forums and message boards or on the plethora of social networking sites like LiveJournal and MySpace. But despite their wide accessibility, fans may hope for something outside the World Wide Web, a meeting place in or near their town. In that case, one might consider an independent meet-up group, which would allow for a wide variety of members and the blessed freedom of making one's own rules. Of course, this would mean that the officers would be responsible for everything, including finding a meeting space, finding the budget, and, most importantly, getting the word out in the community to attract your members. For those still of school age, however, who don't mind dealing with a little bureaucracy in exchange for a little more structure, one may consider starting up an on-campus anime club at their local high school.

Still, getting a club started takes a lot of determination and persistence. You're likely going to be dragged in front of your vice principal, then principal, then-depending on where you are-maybe even the entire school boardas you try to convince them that an anime club would be beneficial to the student body. This can be difficult, as an anime club doesn't visibly fit into any of the "accepted" forms of student organizations, as it isn't a sport, a charity group, or an academic group. If your school has cracked down on card games such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon, you might have an even harder road ahead of you, as that implies that anime already has a bad rap with administration. Still, there are a few things that you can do to make sure you have the best chance of achieving official club status.

1.) Make friends with authority figures - One thing you're definitely going to need is a sponsor, and you need to find one that's behind you all the way. Definitely look for someone who might be into anime themselves, but if you don't have any luck there, try finding someone who's at least open-minded and willing to help. Make sure they are reliable. One of the main obstacles we ran into in starting up our club was that our sponsors flip-flopped horribly on us-one dropped us completely half an hour before a meeting with the principal, and another had a sudden change of heart near the end of the process when she decided that all anime was packed with violence and sex. Getting the help of parents could also be key in earning approval. In general, any adult you can find to support the cause would be welcome.

2.) Build up student interest - You need to convince the school, above all else, that there is a genuine interest among the student body for this club. Starting a petition is probably the most visible way to do this, though there are other ways of going about this. When we were trying to start our club, our leader made it a point to have a few extra people come along to the meetings with the Principal, which provided a visible "face" for the organization. If you do this, though, make sure the people you bring along are reliable and dedicated, that take the meeting and the club at large seriously. Above all else, you want the people you take with you to represent anime fandom in a positive light.

3.) Have a clear outline of what you want your club to do - There are a number of things the average anime club can do. Are you just going to be screening anime? Will you be playing video/card games? Visiting local conventions? Hosting anime-themed workshops and inviting speakers? The more variety in the things you present, the more likely administrative officials are to take you seriously. Leaving room for charity work also may be something you want to consider. Our anime club participated in Relay for Life earlier this year, and actually was in the top five of student organizations for donation amounts. This helps make the club seem more respectable, and also makes the school look good as a result of your efforts.

4.) Change the name of the club, if you have to - This is a somewhat underhanded way of getting things done, but if your school's administration is especially difficult, it might be the only way to go. Calling it an "anime" club might cause a few eyes to roll-because really, what's so special about a club for cartoons? But calling it something like the "art" club or the "international studies" club at least makes it more visibly educational. The downside to this is that you won't necessarily be able to have anime as your sole focus. My partner's club from high school, for example, had an "art" club, which was divided by the officers into two parts: the actual art club, and their group, the anime club.

5.) Track down literature to present - I definitely would recommend A Parent's Guide to Anime to present to any of the administrative figures you meet with. While slightly outdated, the website provides a very large number of titles with a detailed review of the "objectionable content" in each. Be warned, you may be made to go by this list if your club is approved, which will cut down on what you'll be able to show drastically. Your school may be willing to let you show something above a PG-13 rating if you prepare permission slips for your members, but understand that you'll probably be cracked down on pretty harshly if there are any complaints from parents or teachers.

Starting a club in your local high school can definitely be difficult, but it's certainly a worthwhile effort if you're a dedicated fan. Just make sure that if you do succeed in getting the club approved, you keep working to maintain a good face for the organization. Try arranging fund-raisers and charity drives, and don't be disruptive during meetings. If the school system comes to see you as a legitimate, hard-working group, they might just be willing to help you out with a budget. It may seem like a lot of work compared to, say, an informal gathering among friends, but with a more structured club, you'll find yourself opened up to anime you'd never thought to watch before, and have the chance of meeting plenty of like-minded fans outside your circle of friends that share your tastes.