ANIME-NIA: New FPL club taps into a national teen trend
Posted on Sunday, July 9, 2006
TEEN ANIME CLUB When: 4-6 p.m. Monday, July 24, Aug. 14, Aug. 28 Where: Walker Meeting Room, Fayetteville Public Library, 401 W. Mountain St. • For details, call Jenine Lillian at 571-2222, ext.
4321. • Attendees are invited to bring original artwork and fan fictions to share.
Jenine Lillian had no idea the Teen Anime Club's meetings would turn out to be so, well, animated. A youth librarian at the Fayetteville Public Library, Lillian arrived from Seattle about five months ago with the game plan of seeing what the community needed and trying to provide it. So when Lydia Nelson, 15, approached her about hosting anime club meetings at the library, she jumped at the opportunity.
The club, which Nelson helped start at Ramay Junior High, needed a place to meet over the summer. Somehow the word spread, and the first meeting at FPL on June 12 attracted 22 teens from Fayetteville, Springdale, Greenland, West Fork and other area towns.
"To have more than 20 teens come to something is a huge success," Lillian said. "Before this, I thought eight was a really big number."
The second meeting drew 23, and Lillian expects it will only grow from there. Kids have been e-mailing and approaching her at the library and even at the grocery store to tell her how much they enjoy the club or how bummed they are to have to miss the next meeting.
"I've even had kids who are happy when their summer vacations get canceled so they can come," she said.
And it's not just kids in Northwest Arkansas who are anime-niacs. The genre is flying off video and bookstore shelves across the country, and libraries nationwide are hosting clubs. Sections have cropped up in Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble stores, and there are local shops as well, such as Realms Anime on Sixth Street.
Kids are even posting their own drawings and stories online at such sites as DeviantArt. com and FanFiction. net.
Anime, according to Wikipedia. org, is a short form of animation that, in English-speaking countries, refers specifically to animation originating in Japan. (In Japan, the term is used more broadly and does not designate a particular country. ) Distinct characteristics set it apart visually from other forms of animation such as Walt Disney films. Detailed backgrounds and stylized characters with large, expressive eyes are hallmarks.
Anime exists in most major fiction genres - action, adventure, children's stories, comedy, erotica, horror, romance and science fiction, to name a few - and is broadcast on TV, distributed via DVD and VHS and included in video games.
It is often created based on Japanese comics called manga, which are printed mainly in black and white except for the book covers and sometimes the first few images. Books open on the left side and are read back to front, unlike American graphic novels.
"That's the way kids can tell if you're knowledgeable or'in the club' - if you know how to open a manga novel," Lillian said.
FPL's club meetings are planned for the second and fourth Mondays of July and August. When students go back to school, Lillian will re-evaluate the schedule to accommodate as many of them as possible, she said.
A typical meeting includes snacks from Seoul Oriental Foods & Gifts; J-pop, or Japanese pop music; an episode of an anime series; drawings for prizes; and some mingle time when kids can get to know each other and recommend books and videos.
Teens also have an opportunity to share their art - drawings of their favorite characters from anime and manga series or their own creations - and fan fictions, which are original stories written using existing characters and settings.
"Their willingness to share with strangers is pretty impressive," Lillian said. "They know they won't have to explain their style or their characters' back stories. … They're aching to meet with others who know what they're talking about."
Nelson said it makes her nervous to stand behind the podium before a room full of strangers, but she makes herself do it anyway.
"I want to share my stuff with people," she said. "If I don't, then it won't be out there. I don't feel like I have another choice."
Her interest in anime was piqued in about third grade when she saw a "Sailor Moon"video, one of the first mainstream anime series in the United States. After moving to Fayetteville from Little Rock four years ago, Nelson became friends with Michael Skelton, who helped her start the Ramay club. The girls often draw together, buy each other manga and sometimes co-write fan fictions.
"[Anime ] is different from American comics," Nelson said. "It's so cute. The expressions are great, and Japanese comics can be really deep. They're sometimes about teen problems, and they're also magical with superheroes, saving the world and all that. They're so imaginative."
She owns about 30 manga novels and believes she has checked out everything FPL has to offer. Her current favorites are the Crescent Moon, Godchild, Gravitation, YuYu Hakusho ("Ghost Files" ) and Princess Ai series.
The library's manga collection, which is interspersed with American graphic novels, currently inhabits about one shelf in the teen section, but Lillian has plans to expand it. At the end of each club meeting, she goes through the online catalog with the kids to see if they know of anything that is missing or damaged and to consult them on new series they want FPL to acquire.
"It helps me stay on the ball, and they see that the library will listen and respond to their needs," Lillian said.
And the club doesn't just benefit the teens. It has become an important link between the library and an age group that tends to fall through the cracks, said Lolly Greenwood, FPL's manager of children's and youth services.
"The anime club laid itself in our lap - it was perfect timing, " she said. "We could provide the meeting place they needed, and they provide the captive audience we need. … Our dream is to reach out to unserved populations."
A survey conducted at the end of the first meeting revealed that several in attendance had never been to FPL or did not have a library card.
Future club events include a presentation July 24 by Cameron Pershall, who hosts J-pop radio show "Nonstop to Tokyo "on Friday nights on KXUA 88. 3 FM; and an alternative fashion show on Oct. 19 as part of Teen Read Week. Teens are invited to design clothing based on their favorite characters and parade down the catwalk to music provided by Pershall.
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