For the past decade, the University’s Japanese Animation and Culture Society, JACS, has brought together students interested in anime.

Anime, the Japanese pronunciation of “animation,” denotes a type of cartoon show originating in Japan. The style developed throughout the latter half of the 20th century as an animated version of Japanese comics called manga.

JACS president and petroleum engineering junior Patrick Blume said the organization’s Wednesday evening meetings are frequented by about 25 dedicated members who gather to appreciate anime and socialize.

The group’s First Officer Kit Simonson, creative writing senior, said the attendees are all surprisingly normal.

“At first you’re like, oh wow, there’s going to be a lot of basement dwellers here and then it’s like, nevermind,” he said.

JACS member Stephen Walker, civil engineering junior, said curiosity and his interest in anime persuaded him to try out a meeting. After that, he joined the organization.

“I was surprised how much I could talk about it and not come off…” Walker paused.

“Super nerdy,” Simonson said, laughing as he finished Walker’s sentence for him.

Blume said the group’s meetings consist of watching and discussing episodes of a variety of anime shows that members suggest and vote on. The shows range in genre from comedy to romance.

“I think one misconception is that it’s a very narrow field. It has basically every field you would see in American cartoons,” Simonson said.

He said part of the value of comedy anime is the light it sheds on Japanese culture. Basic elements of these shows are often rooted in quirks of the society.

“It definitely offers a window into Japanese culture,” Simonson said.

“But just as a disclaimer,” Blume cautioned, “just because you watch anime doesn’t mean you know everything about Japanese culture.”

Simonson said not everyone in Japan watches anime, though Darius Spieth, art history professor and faculty advisor for JACS, described manga comics that inspire anime as “absolutely pervasive in Japan.” He noted their availability at most supermarkets, gas stations and newsstands.

Spieth believes there is artistic value in anime and manga because of their origins in Japanese popular culture. He said it is a misconception that things inspired by pop culture are inferior because they are just different reflections of a society.

“At all times, you will see a lot of influence going back and forth between those two levels,” he said, referring to a distinction many people make between “high art” and art that draws on elements of pop culture.

Spieth does not make the same distinction.

“The high culture, the art of museums, has always been influenced by popular culture,” he said.

Anime manages to entertain beyond its Japanese audience. For example, Blume and Simonson cite the success of Pokemon in the United States as proof that anime is capable of entertaining a global audience.

Anime shows with more serious themes incorporate inspiring stories that can be appreciated worldwide, too.

Simonson illustrated this by describing a show about a man who receives a picture of a beautiful woman while living on the moon and then goes back to Earth to find her. This underscores a belief shared by many cultures: that doing what you believe in is important, Simonson said.

He also said several recent anime shows deal with issues like unemployment and bullying in schools. Anime has generated social commentary that applies primarily to Japanese viewers, but others can relate to it as well,

he said.

“It’s stuff like that that has gone under radar and you want to share it,” Simonson said, pointing to the fact that JACS searches for obscure anime shows that reveal unique angles to common crises in today’s global age.

JACS members agreed that being able to connect with others on campus with the same interests is perhaps the most important part of their group.

“There’s value in finding real people locally who like similar stuff– even Japanese cartoons,” Simonson said.