Newbie Questions
- What is kentANIMEted?
- What is Anime?
- Aren't cartoons for children?
- What does kentANIMEted do?
- How much will it cost me?
- I don't know any Japanese, how can I understand
- This sounds awesome, where do I sign up?
Returning Members Questions
- Are there any changes to Thursday nights?
- Are there any changes to the Loans Library?
- What will you be showing this year?
What is kentANIMEted?
KentANIMEted (also commonly known as AnimeSoc) is the University of Kent's Anime society. We're one of the University's biggest societies, and we're getting bigger every year!
What is Anime?
Put simply, Japanese animation. Don't be fooled, we're not talking about "cartoons". The difference between Western and Japanese animation is that while Western animation is almost always aimed at children, Japanese animation is aimed at a wide variety of age groups. Of course, you do get Anime aimed at small children, but it's also true that there are lots of series aimed at teenagers and adults.
You can find Anime about practically anything you can imagine - sport, love, life, space, robots... and any combination of the above! Whatever you're interested in, there's a series for you. Don't be put off by the idea that we watch animation - come along to one of our showings and see for yourself!
Aren't cartoons for children?
Cartoons - possibly. Anime? The question above already stated they're different. That said, it depends on the series. All series are aimed at a specific audience, and it's obvious that shows like Pokémon are aimed at a younger age group. The vast majority of what we show is aimed at 18-25 year-olds (such is our audience). We show series from a wide variety of genres, including comedy, emotional drama, action and the occasional film that's good to watch because it's so pretty....There's something for everyone.
Just come along to our Intro night, where we'll show a bit of everything, and you'll be able to see for yourself if Anime is your thing - it won't cost you anything and you might end up liking it!
What does kentANIMEted do?
Our main weekly event is the Thursday Night Showing™. This takes place every Thursday Night (no surprise there), at 7pm, in Rutherford Lecture Theatre 1. Make sure you're seated by 7:30pm when the anime starts. If you need help finding the lecture theatre, take the first right as soon as you walk into Rutherford College and look out for the signs. We'll try and make sure we put a sign on the door that you need to go through to get in.
Thursday Night Showings™ are normally split into two halves of about an hour and a half each, with a half hour break in the middle. The first half normally involves 4 episodes from a series we show from start to finish over several weeks, and the second half consists of just the first 4 episodes from a series or perhaps a film to give you a taste of variety. We reserve the right to chop and change this at any time. All of these showings are completely free to attend for anyone, whether or not they're a member. We rarely know what we're planning to show more than a few weeks in advance (at best), so let us know if you have any requests, and keep an eye on our web site for details.
We also run a special "Intro Night" to show new members what it's all about. Here we show the first episodes from a wide variety of series, giving a good idea of what to expect from the rest of the year. It's a great time to find out what genres of anime you like. As with all of our showings, it's free for anyone to attend.
We also organise quizzes and let you know about national anime conventions, the latter of which is normally announced by one of our long standing members standing at the front and telling everyone about it.
Finally, we operate an extensive Loans Library consisting of several hundred items from the society's own collection and contributions from our members. Members may borrow several items each week for return the following week. This particular privilege is reserved just for our members. For more information, take a look at our library page.
How much will it cost me?
Membership costs just £3 per year for students (a little more for non-students). This is given straight to Kent Union, who then use it to fund our budget for buying new anime over the year.
All of our weekly showings (including the Intro Night) are free. To use our extensive Loans Library, you'll have to officially join the society. As a new member, you'll be able to take out up to 4 items a week. If you contribute to our library, we'll raise your weekly limit!
Just to remind you once again: all of our showings are free, and it costs just £3 a year to become a member and use our Loans Library!
I don't know any Japanese, how can I understand anything?
No problem at all! Most of the Anime we show is in Japanese, but with English subtitles. We do sometimes show Anime dubbed in English, but we tend to avoid this unless we know the dubbing is better than the average standard we've come to expect (which is quite low). If you've never seen subtitled films before, it might seem a bit strange at first, but don't worry - you'll soon get used to it!
Plus, you'll find you might start picking up the odd word or two Japanese. All of our returning members will be able to tell you the meaning of the word 'baka', for instance...