Society draws anime fans

Anime lover: Samantha Orange shares her love for anime with members of the Genshiken.UCT student society.

UCT is a university with many cultures, but Genshiken.UCT, a society for the appreciation of the animation art of anime, has taken it further by throwing the Japanese culture into the melting pot.

At Genshiken.UCT, students are taught about Japanese comics, watch films, listen to music and share information about anime on an internet forum, among other things - all for fun.

With its distinctive look, anime has been around for a good long time-over 70 years- springing from its comic-book roots of manga. Over the past decades it's also taken on cult status in the West, and series like Robotech, Samurai X and Naruto became major hits in the US, for example.

Samantha Orange, Genshiken organiser, says the association was started in 2007 but officially launched this year; its purpose, to educate people about anime.

"It's just different to anything we're used to in the West," she says of anime.

Genshiken.UCT boasts a diverse group of about 150 people, who meet regularly for activities. A group from the society is even planning to visit Japan.

"They would not have met if not for the association," Orange says.