People seemed to enjoy my previous reflection on my time in anime club, even though it became more a stealth examination of the complicated emotions that come from wanting to belong to a group. I hope folks didn’t mind a little bit of a bait-and-switch. This time, though, I’d like to talk about something a little bit lighter, though I can’t promise that my musings won’t wander a little before the end.
I’ve attended an in-person anime club for quite a while now, but it wasn’t until recently that I learned that these sort of group organizations have kind of a bad rap. There are some YouTube personalities who’ve discussed this at length, and while I don’t doubt that they may have had some negative experiences (they’re hard to avoid when you put a large group of very different people together who are extremely passionate about something), personally I don’t share those feelings. My memories are more the sort that involve making friends, watching great anime, going to conventions in large groups, and generally just having a venue to immerse myself in what has become my primary hobby. Rather than contribute to the pile of “anime club horror stories” that exist on the internet, I’d prefer to write about some of the more positive, or at least truly interesting or thought-provoking things I’ve been able to experience as the member of an anime club that’s existed for multiple decades. I’ve been blessed to know many different people over the years, and have had the great privilege to watch various eras of anime fandom pass by, changing the ways in which we consume what we love.