The Japanese Film and Animation Society of the Illinois Institute of Technology is a student organization dedicated to promoting the modern Japanese visual story-telling art forms of anime and manga of all genres and styles as media for entertainment, cultural awareness and artistic appreciation.

It is a community of anime and manga fans who have a shared interest in these media. It is a forum for the discussion, validation and communal reinforcement of these interests.

It is a network of individuals who share information on the anime and manga industries, conventions and events, and share resources on where and how to procure materials related to the media of anime and manga.

It is an environment that fosters the dissemination of knowledge and opinions on these media, and encourages members to discover their own talents in the areas of manga/anime/comics drawing and crafting, anime music video production and other avenues of expression.

What JFAS Does

The Japanese Film and Animation Society organizes various events that pertain to the interest in anime and manga, such as:

Weekly Meeting/Screening

Every Friday afternoon we meet up in the campus center for a couple of hours. We usualy start with 10-20 minutes of administrative stuff: upcoming events, convention planning, etc. Then with the remaining hour and a half, we usually have time to show three episodes, mostly of member submission.

Anime Night

The infamous Anime Night. This is where we get together one lovely bright Saturday a little before Noon, set up camp and proceed to stay there for 24 hours or more (our current record is 32 hours). Why do we do this? Because it’s the ultimate anime marathon. An overnight non-stop festival of anime-watching, featuring anime and manga of all types (both from member contributions as well as our own JFAS library). Held about thrice a semester, this is our biggest and most popular event. Sandwiches, chips/dips, candy, and soda are provided. Come with a blanket.

About Anime

AH-NEE-MEHHH

Anime, at its most basic level of description, is a characteristically Japanese style of animated film-making. There is something about anime that you’ll know when you see it. Some would call it cartoons, but that term does not come close to doing justice to the world of anime.

Anime is not a genre. It is not solely meant for children, though some of it is. It is a medium. Within it, one finds genres of an immense variety. Some genres mainstream Western audiences are familiar with, such as sci-fi, romance and action, and some that could only have come from Japanese culture, such as magic girl, mecha, samurai and shounen anime.

Plots aside, the artwork of anime looks nothing like that of Western cartoons either. Sharp shadowing, dramatic effects and speed lines are only some of the differences between the two media. Anime artists and designers are renowned for their creativity and are prove to be very innovative in designing characters, hairstyles, clothing, vehicles, mecha and entire universes.

There are various schools of anime. Some use bright colors and fancy cheerful settings. Some use a more darker approach. Some are more abstract and some are more realistic. JFAS aspires to be a community where anime lovers of all tastes and interests, from novice-level to otaku-level, can revel in their belonging to this dedicated niche.

About Manga

MAHN-GAH

Manga are Japanese-style comic books. Literally translated, manga means “irresponsible pictures”. Though roughly equivalent to the American comic book, manga hold more importance in Japanese culture than comics do in American culture. Manga is much respected as an art form and its audience is not limited to children. Young men and women, and even older people, can be found reading manga.

Manga magazines that have many series running in them are called “anthology magazines”. There are also one-shot comics, and various four-panel manga (like newspaper comics). The more successful manga series can run for many years and may even be translated to languages other than Japanese.

The style of manga is very distinctive. Emphasis is often placed on line over form, and the storytelling and panel placement differ from those in western comics. Stories and characters are rarely set in stone, and story arcs in a series can be completely unrelated to one another.