Members of anime club aren't two-dimensional

If, when you think of an anime fan, you think of a person sitting in his parents' basement, playing anime games and watching anime shows all day, your vision couldn't be further from the truth, say "otakus," or anime fans.

• Photos

Nikasha Dicks/Staff

Cosplay, or costume play, is one of the things the Maruken anime Club members do. Cosplaying anime characters are (back, from left) Victoria Bush, 17; Denise Hood, 21; Morgan Malcolm, 15; Jennifer Armistead, 23; (front) Caitlin Smith, 16; Brianna Workman, 13; and Sonja Shirley, 23.

"We're actually your everyday kind of people. We have jobs, we are students, we enjoy sports, we have other things we do in our life," said Sonja Shirley, the captain of the Makuren Anime Club. "Anime just happens to be something we enjoy."

Anime is a Japanese style of motion-picture animation, and it grew out of manga, a Japanese comic style of art.

Ms. Shirley and Callie Hawk, the vice captain, formed the club about a year and a half ago. There are about 40 club members ages 13 to 30. They named the club Makuren, which means magnolia, as a way to signify the club is in Augusta.

"One of the goals of our club is to get people together and have fun," Ms. Hawk said. "Anime is often something that people enjoy by themselves, but by coming together like this it gives people a forum to talk about anime and form friendships."

The club meets every two weeks to talk about upcoming conventions and the latest in anime such as new figurines, books, shows and movies.

Club members also participate in "cosplay" -- costume play -- in which members dress up as anime characters.

"It's like Halloween for the other days of the year. If on Halloween you had a costume, you were cosplaying. It's that simple, and just as much fun," Ms. Hawk said.

Because anime covers a broad range of genres, people who think they don't like the art probably would enjoy it if they gave it a chance, Ms. Hawk said.

"Some people look at it and think that it's just cartoons and very childlike; however, just like movies have a variety of genres, so does anime," she said. "You can have anime geared toward children, like Pokemon, or more in-depth, like Death Note.

"Then there are some with historical references, sportslike, mystery or drama. So, really, there's an anime out there for everyone."

For many members, anime is a positive alternative to negative activities, Ms. Shirley said.

"We could be out doing things that we shouldn't be and the younger members could be up to some mischief, but we're not. We are sharing something we all enjoy and staying out of trouble," she said. "So, when people ask me why anime, I say why not? It's my anti-drug."

Reach Nikasha Dicks at (706) 823-3336 or nikasha.dicks@augustachronicle.com.