On 27th February, 2016 Pokémon turned 20, and it seemed only apt that the Manga and Anime Club(MAC) pay its rightful tribute to the franchise of card games, movies and an era of our childhood. The Shonen fest, conducted on 27th and 28th February, organized by the MAC brought all the zealous Manga and Anime fanatics under one roof. With anime posters, T shirts, Manga calendars and crafted arts on display, it was a feast to the eye and the heart of a Manga and Anime enthusiast. The fest had several exciting events planned meticulously for the participants, spanning over both days. From movie screenings to games, there was absolutely nothing they left out to satisfy the insatiable zeal of a Manga and Anime enthusiast.
The fest had the following events:
- The Pokémon quiz:
Split into two rounds each respectively for the two days, the event witnessed a huge turnout of Pokémon fanatics and the fans of the anime, testing their knowledge of the huge number of Pokémon and their abilities.
Day 1-The first round was a quiz based on the individual knowledge of the participants on various Pokémon. The people who got through the first round qualified for round 2.
Day 2-The second round had the Pokémon trainers who cleared the first round battling their Pokémon through the online game known as “Pokémon showdown”. The trainers that came on top were named as the challengers. Their task now was to battle the Elite Four who were the members of The MAC themselves. The challengers who accomplished the feat of defeating all of the Elite Four were made to battle the Pokémon master of the club. The first Pokémon trainer to defeat the master in battle was the trainer Dheemahi, who was awarded two posters exclusively made by the club. The second challenger that was able to complete the challenge was awarded 1 poster.
2. The Mystery Files:
This team event had participants pairing up and wasn’t solely for the anime maniacs but rather for the ‘wannabe detectives’ who like to crack difficult puzzles and crimes with a SHERLOCK-like instinct of deduction.
Day 1- Each team comprising two participants had to work together and solve various brain-teasing puzzles, mysteries and bizarre crime scenarios. People who were able to make it to the second round spent Day-2 breaking their heads over more crime solving questions.
Day 2- Round two of the mystery files was a trivia round, just a little more advanced than round one. All the teams which had completed Round 1 on the first day were to attend the stage 1 and only those who were able to find the required answers to the puzzles made it to the stage 2, the final challenge of the mystery files. This final stage was a mystery hunt which was based on the last question of stage 1. The teammates had to coordinate with themselves and find a room in which a club official had been assigned to give them the code and to declare the first team that comes to the member as the winners.
3. The Anime Quiz:
The quiz conducted on Day two of the fest tested the knowledge of anime maniacs on the top ten Shonen anime like Naruto, Dragon Ball Z and more. This event was conducted simultaneously with Pokémon showdown. It was a paper and pen quiz.
4. Gaming :
The games were projected on the big screens to give the anime fans a better gaming experience. The games were based on anime like Dragon ball Z, NBA with the faces of the characters from the anime Kuroko’s Basketball and more. It was served on a first come first basis.
5. Movie screenings:
The weekend got a little more interesting for the anime freaks with three movies getting screened on a span of two days. On Day one, “FMAB: The sacred star of Milos” was screened in the evening. On Day two,” Gintama – be forever yoruzoya” and “The girl who leapt through time” were screened.
When asked about the future plans of the club, here’s what the President had to say:
“The MAC is a new formed club and is in its nascent stage. One of the club’s main aim is to get all the Manga and Anime fans together. It’s about bringing people with the same passion together and working on it, in addition to work on the expansion of the anime and manga fandom which is colossal in Japan, The Motherland of the otaku culture. There a lot of creative ideas the club has come up with. For example, an Anime database local website exclusive for the students living in MIT Hostels. With this website the students don’t have to go through the pain of downloading the anime, having a low WI-FI speed. The students have to upload a database of the anime they have with themselves. After this stage they can simply look up the website and find other people having the anime they want. The club has planned the production of a one-shot manga, solely made by the club members.”
With Photo booths of famous shonen anime characters, tattoo booths and sketch Manga calendars, the event encompassed various aspects of the Otaku culture. Quoted as “the fastest growing club in Manipal” the club was extremely successful in bringing all the people who cherished anime and Manga and desired to expand the Anime Fandom in Manipal and on a large scale, India.
-Shravani Vyakarnam and Sudhanshu Kadre for MTTN
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