Ohayo Gozaimasu!
Welcome to the Belleville Public Library (BPL) Anime and Manga Club where you can gather and share your love for these cultural phenomena.
- What’s your favorite Manga or Anime?
- Compare heroes, villains and artists.
- Dissect the plot of Tokyo Ghoul, Attack on Titan, the Naruto lineage, Princess 9, and others.
- Share Cosplay ideas and resources!
Crafts and Activities:
- Cell Painting: Learn how traditional animation cells were made along with the fundamentals of the animation process.
- Design your own Manga Characters and stories
- Quizzes, Discussions, Debates and Challenges.
- Trash talk your friend’s favorite character but be prepared… its a two way street.
Learn about Anime and Manga history:
- Legends of the artform: Miyazaki, Tezuka, Masumane and more.
Ages 14 and up. (10 and up with parental premission.)
Thursdays 3:00pm – 5:00pm. Starting September 16, 2021
BPL TeenCenter
221 Washington Ave, Belleville, NJ.
Calendar
Current and upcoming dates for the program.
Check back here for individual programs and events.
Note to parents:
Manga and Anime are broad art forms not entirely intended for children. Themes can range between deeply intellectual and thought provoking pieces, giant robot action adventures, work place comedies, cute Hello Kitty type educational kid programs, right on out to “dear god what am I watching?” / Don’t worry we won’t looking at those here.
There are also vast cultural differences that you may want to take into consideration. Before giving permission to your child to join this group I suggest taking some time to familiarize yourself with the Anime and Manga genres first.
To help you make your decision I am including this link from the the retail site “The Right Stuff: Parent’s Guide to Anime” to help you make your decision. This is a blog entry from a commercial site but there are useful tips, ratings and filters that may help you determine if a particular anime is appropriate for your child. More importantly it provides a nice concise overview of the scope of content in this medium.
Links:
- Belleville Anime and Manga Club Flyer (pdf)
Our current flyer for July – August 2021 session. - The Japan Society – NYC
Find out more about the Japanese Culture and people through the Japan Society of New York City. In addition to online Manga art and writing courses, you will find information about Japanese language, food, art, martial arts, history and contemporary society. If you plan to travel to the land of Anime and Manga you can learn more about it here. - New York Public Library’s Beginner’s Guide to Manga
Details on the different types of Manga available, styles and reading recommendations for those new to the art form or if you just want to brush up a bit. This is good for fans of all ages but also serves as a basic guide for parents who want to know what their kids may be reading. - Shonen Jump Magazine
Many of the most popular manga, and subsequently their anime adaptations, got their start here. The Weekly Shonen Jump magazine was an omnibus of different manga titles, released as chapters, targeting teenage boys in Japan. Many of todays (and yesterdays) most famous titles got their start here including Bleach, One Piece and Naruto. There is an English language version maintained by Viz publications which features many of these titles online and in print. - Silent Manga Audition Community
The Silent Manga Audition Community collects submissions of manga from all around the world. The idea is to emphasize the conveying your story through visuals rather than through dialog. The site has some really great video tutorials and articles about writing and drawing manga. This link will take you directly to the Manga Classroom section where you can find the video tutorials and articles.