The Anime Club is a mystery to most North Atlanta students. And why wouldn’t it be? Characters like Edward Elric, Kakashi Hatake and Light Yagami are lost on most people.

The club might not be the best known on account of its comparatively small size. The number of attendees at its weekly meetings, which are held on Fridays in Room 7163, ranges from 12 to 15 students.

Meetings are free-flowing and expansive by design. After a student signs in, there is little in the way of formalized structure. Anime Club members talk, draw, hangout and watch new animes. During these meetings Deon Gaynor, the Club’s faculty sponsor, monitors the group. “The club is diverse with kids of every race, grade, economic standing and gender,” she said.

Where the group lacks numbers, it has no shortage of spirit. Anime members are distinguishable by their happy attitudes and for their enthusiasm toward their subject of interest. Anime is a genre of animation that originated in Japan and first appeared there in advertisements in the early-20th century. The style later spread to cartoons during the 1960s. The term anime comes from an abbreviated version of the Japanese word for animation.

Club members are noteworthy for their enthusiasm for anime and also for their social natures. “I joined because I wanted to meet new people and find out what other animes exist,” said Megan Patterson, a sophomore.

Jonathan Osazee, the group’s founder, started the club during the 2012-2013 school year. His motive was to start a club that gave enthusiasts an opportunity to share their appreciation for the art form. “I started the club because I really liked anime and couldn’t find time to hang out with my friends anymore,” said Osazee, now a senior in the IB program.

The club was immediately embraced by other enthusiasts. “I joined because I enjoy reading, watching, playing and drawing anime,” said sophomore Kelsey Kilby, sophomore. “Some animes are really fun while others give you heartache, while others make you sick to your stomach from all the gore,” Kilby noted.

The Anime Club has gone through various changes since its early days and it has contended with the instabilities associated with having a series of sponsors. Fangxia Zhou, the Chinese teacher who was the original sponsor, could not continue with her sponsorship because the commitment interfered with other clubs she sponsored.

The Anime Club is an inviting band of students who will extend a warm welcome to any student who might be interested in anime. On Fridays in Room 7163 any student will find an exceptionally animated (pun intended) group. Anime may be an art form lost on most people, but the students of the Anime Club have created a community of people who truly care about each other and about anime.