Anime Academy educates adults

Library reaches out to all ages with unconventional group

Jacob Kepler/VIEWLibrarian Mario Aguilar shelves some of the manga and graphic novels in the Clark County Library?s collection. The library hosts Anime Academy for Adults at 2 p.m. on the third Saturday of every month. Advertisement

Whoever said that cartoons are for kids never heard the words "anime" and "manga."

A wave of Japanime fever is rolling over cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Houston and even Las Vegas, as children and adults alike are being caught in its character-driven wake.

In an effort to reach out to adults with an interest in manga, a Japanese term for comics or print cartoons, or anime, referring to the Japanese style of animation, the Clark County Library District has started a new program, the Anime Academy for Adults.

Classes are held at 2 p.m. on the third Saturday of every month at the Clark County Library, 1401 E. Flamingo Road, and focus on anime, manga, magazines, fandom, convention news, art, Japanese culture and related library events.

"This is not your everyday book discussion group," said fan and club creator Julie Okabayashi. "It's sort of like a combination roundtable discussion and a lecture series paired with a mini-anime film fest. Each month, we showcase a different topic -- student life in Japan, mecha (mechanical objects), vampires and samurai (Japanese military nobility). We show anime TV with episodes and movies that fit that topic and then discuss what was shown.

"Some of the anime companies will be sending us new releases, and our group will have a chance to get a sneak peek of the shows and submit reviews directly to the anime companies," Okabayashi said.

There is no fee to join the club, and its only stipulation is that members be 18 or older.

"Because some of the featured material is rated for older teen or adult audiences, our age limit is 18 years and over," Okabayashi said. "And, a lot of the themes that we will be discussing are for mature audiences only."

Fans such as 35-year-old David Sutton of southeast Las Vegas are just as enthusiastic about the genre as any 13-year-old.

"I'm a purist," Sutton said. "I only watch anime that is in the original Japanese with English subtitles. You lose too much in translation. That's what I love about it. It's a pure art form."

According to Okabayashi, there are a lot of fans over the age of 18 who dress in costume and play their favorite anime characters, collect manga and record their favorite anime shows.

"I think there is something in our society that has placed a stigma on liking animation when you grow up," Okabayashi said. "But, it's just not like that in other parts of the world. In Japan, comics are very mainstream, and it's for that reason that you can find so many adults there who have an interest in manga. It's part of the culture. That is slowly happening here, too."

Okabayashi said she believed that the group's first meeting, held in June, was a great success.

"Most book discussion groups barely have enough to keep going in terms of membership," she said. "This was our first meeting, and we had 18 people. Some were fan boys who just wanted to talk about the art form; others were parents and grandparents who have kids in their lives who are obsessed with anime and manga. They wanted to learn more. And, that's why we're doing this. It's not just about animation. It's learning about another culture."

To find out more about the Anime Academy for Adults, visit the Clark County Library District's Web site at www.lvccld.org.