Anime is short for animation. This style of Japanese animation follows a colorful plot line and has a whole club dedicated to it here on campus. Animercer is a society at Mercer dedicated to the purpose of watching and promoting anime.
Vice Priesedent Richard Hawkins said that in meetings the members “watch and discuss a series over the course of the year. It is a safe and civil environment to expose people to new series of a medium different than the one that most of us are exposed to in American culture.”
The club meetings are every Monday 7 p.m.-10 p.m. in Stetson’s room 251. New people are always welcomed to join the meetings. They can come in and talk and then sit around and watch the anime in a free, friendly atmosphere.
Generally, the club watches about five shows every semester, depending on the length of the showing of a specific movie or episode.
Micah Hankins, a member of the club said his favorite part of anime is “the various plots and ideas for the shows. The development of the storylines is complex, generally. I mean it’s three hours of watching T.V... what could be better?”
The club also organizes visits to local anime conventions. The two major ones right now are Anime Weekend in Atlanta (AWA) and MomoCon. Thirteen of the current members recently attended MomoCon in Atlanta. Micah Hankins said, “The Anime conventions are amazing.”
At these conventions one can dress up like characters, converse about favorite topics and purchase souvenirs. Conventions are open to anyone, but are rather expensive to attend, usually costing upwards of $100.
Hawkins said, “Conventions are a good place to get ideas about future things to do in the club. It is also great to see people who are actively involved in the anime industry, voice actors and people involved in directing and distributing the series.”
Although the clubs main focus is on conventions, just entering the room can take one to a whole diffrent culture. Anime is an art form that cannot be found anywhere else. It follows a plot line complete with eye popping graphics that are unlike anything in mainstream media today. So if you’ve got a few free hours on a Monday night, why not join something new and try out Animercer?
Organization Spotlight: Animercer
