What is anime?
We define anime to be a form of animation popularized and largely prevalent in Japan. It is hard, with the variety of anime TV and video series, shorts, and movies that exist, to describe exactly what anime is other than what it is traditionally viewed as: a cell-shaded, often exaggerated, portrayal of a usually-fictional reality. We encourage our members and you, the visitor to this website, to define anime in your own way, and provide the following links to assist you: Wikipedia's Article on Anime, and Caroline Seawright's helpful definition.
Please note: the word 'anime' is like the word 'cinematography'. It does not define what subject matter the series, short, or movie contains, but merely the means with which it is expressed. Saying 'anime is all children's cartoons' is like saying 'TV is all reality shows' and saying 'anime is sexually-explicit' is like saying 'movies are porn'. None of those sentences encapsulate the entirety of the medium.
What is CTRL-A?
CTRL-A is the University of Waterloo's Club That Really Likes Anime based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. We're a student-run club under the Federation of Students. We were formed by students David de Jong and Brett Hoeffler in 1992 to "promote interest in animation, predominately of Japanese origin and to serve those members of the University community with this and related interests." (From the club constitution)
So what does CTRL-A do, exactly?
Our primary attractions are the four, two-day, theatre-quality anime shows we put on each term. We show anywhere from one to four episodes of each of around fifteen different series and one Special/Movie. We also have a variety of social gatherings which usually involve food and discussion; seminars where knowledgeable folks teach us the ins and outs of various things like miniatures, video games, drawing, crafts, or knitting; and contests where you can win cool things like wall scrolls, anime DVDs, figurines, keychains, plushy thingies, ...
And since we're a club, anything enough people want to do generally gets thrown on the agenda, like marathon shows or convention groups.
So why don't you show <A Particular Anime>?
That could be because of any of a number of reasons. Top of the list is that we might have already shown it recently in a past term. If you think an anime is great, chances are we did too, and have already shown it. The easiest way to figure out if we've shown a series or not is to talk to someone who's been here for a while either by e-mailing them, or by hitting the Club Forum and asking. (Be sure to check the Series Request Thread before you ask, because you might be repeating someone's question already). Another way is to search our Club History, though it might not be as definitive as it should be.
The next most likely is that the title hasn't been released in North America yet. For the club, it is the easiest to show series that have already been released out here, so we generally give precedence in that way. That is not to say that we haven't shown titles straight from Japan! We've shown all or part of Yakiate!! Japan, Monster, Honey & Clover, Azumanga Daioh, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, My Neighbour Totoro, Jungle wa Itsumo Hare Nochi Guu: DELUXE, and countless others thanks to the efforts of our in-house Subtitling Team. However, we generally limit these to three series per term, and we figure out which three to pursue the term before we show them (to give adequate time).
After these two, the next most likely is that we've considered the title already, and it just doesn't jive with how CTRL-A works. This can be because of content, series length (we generally favour series with lengths of 26 episodes or less), or someone having seen it before and not liking it as much as you do. If it's the latter case, feel free to bring it up at a meeting or on the Club Forum if you really think we screwed up on that one. We're a democracy, cast your vote however you please :)
So why don't you show fansubs?
Well, to take a broader stance than just fansubs, the unauthorized showing in public of any copyrighted work (which is anything that has been created) is copyright infringement under the Berne Convention (see Article 14 in specific), on which the Canadian, American, and Japanese governments are signatory under (since 1928, 1989, and 1889, respectively). Copyright infringement is illegal (correct, it isn't theft. It is still illegal, though). The only way to make it not infringement is to obtain permission from the copyright owner or an authorized representative. Which we do as a matter of policy.
So. If we obtained permission from the copyright owners, we could show fansubs. Unfortunately, getting permission for such things is likely to be impossible since fansubs are illegal copies of tv broadcasts. Since we do our own in-house subtitling on legally-purchased copies, we have, on occasion, been able to show series such as Azumanga Daioh, Yakitate!! Japan, and Honey & Clover straight from Japan.
So showing fansubs is illegal (as is distributing them, and possibly creating them). You might be thinking "Who cares? We're a student club!" In short, the University cares about what the clubs that they sanctioned to exist are doing and whether or not it is legal. They have to, since they'd be liable. Taking the club off campus would just make the hall we would end up renting for shows liable, and even more interested in the legality of our events.
Also, many members believe that with the industry as booming as it is now, there is a large quantity of quality anime that we can show. People keep clamouring for us to show some classics (Trigun, Eva) but we've not done that because there's just so much good, new stuff on the market. Same sorta argument for fansubs.
Even if it was legal and we ran out of other stuff to show, the best fansubs projected onto a large screen would still have compression artifacts, decoding issues, and other things that would make them less appealing to a large audience compared to a DVD.
Have further thoughts? Take them to Club Forum where a discussion should already be in progress.
Anything you show I can watch at home, so why should I bother going to shows?
Because you already got suckered into buying a membership?
Kidding aside, your premise is wrong. There are several things we show that you can't find (easily or at all) for home viewing. But taking your presumption as truth, there are several reasons to come to shows: they're social, we've got a bigger screen than you do, you have the advantage of the membership picking out titles for you, and you will actually watch anime.
They're social
If you're an anime fan, chances are you don't get out (and talk anime) much. Sure, you might have a supporting group of friends, and talk might turn to anime, but there is no other event (that we know of) whose primary purpose is to get people talking about anime. Except ours. We provide the receptive atmosphere for people to voice their opinions, and we do that without even thinking about it.
If you're an anime fan, chances are you don't get out (and talk anime) much. Sure, you might have a supporting group of friends, and talk might turn to anime, but there is no other event (that we know of) whose primary purpose is to get people talking about anime. Except ours. We provide the receptive atmosphere for people to voice their opinions, and we do that without even thinking about it.
We've got a bigger screen than you do
Unless you own the Galaxy or Empire, we've got a bigger screen than you do, and better equipment for showing stuff on it. We spent five figures getting a great digital projector, and we scoured the UW campus for the best locations to hold our shows. The result of our search: AL116. Recently refurbished with padded seats, designed for optimal audio and video presentation, and with a screen as tall as two of you and 16/9 times as wide.
Unless you own the Galaxy or Empire, we've got a bigger screen than you do, and better equipment for showing stuff on it. We spent five figures getting a great digital projector, and we scoured the UW campus for the best locations to hold our shows. The result of our search: AL116. Recently refurbished with padded seats, designed for optimal audio and video presentation, and with a screen as tall as two of you and 16/9 times as wide.
The membership picks out titles for you
If you were to watch anime at home, you'd have to do research on what kind of anime you'd like, what series and movies of that kind are any good, and then you'd have to find them. In CTRL-A, the executive and members do that for you (and with you). We have on staff people who have watched more anime that, in raw hours, is longer than how old you are. They know good from crap, they have a finger on the pulse of the industry, and they know where to get the hardest-to-find things (like Stapelfahrer Klaus). This could be a double-edged sword in which you sit down and get shown things you'd rather not see, but as a member, you have the right to vote down stuff you hate and vote in stuff you like. (Not to mention complaining bitterly about it)
If you were to watch anime at home, you'd have to do research on what kind of anime you'd like, what series and movies of that kind are any good, and then you'd have to find them. In CTRL-A, the executive and members do that for you (and with you). We have on staff people who have watched more anime that, in raw hours, is longer than how old you are. They know good from crap, they have a finger on the pulse of the industry, and they know where to get the hardest-to-find things (like Stapelfahrer Klaus). This could be a double-edged sword in which you sit down and get shown things you'd rather not see, but as a member, you have the right to vote down stuff you hate and vote in stuff you like. (Not to mention complaining bitterly about it)
You will actually watch anime
It's surprising that every person who has brought up this argument has yet to go through with it. They say they can watch it themselves, but they rarely do. It's often hard to commit to watching an entire series without some kind of impetus. CTRL-A provides this impetus, along with everything stated above. And we didn't even get into the issue of how sad it sounds when you tell people that you watched anime alone all weekend.
It's surprising that every person who has brought up this argument has yet to go through with it. They say they can watch it themselves, but they rarely do. It's often hard to commit to watching an entire series without some kind of impetus. CTRL-A provides this impetus, along with everything stated above. And we didn't even get into the issue of how sad it sounds when you tell people that you watched anime alone all weekend.
Are the shows in English or Japanese?
The shows are shown in original Japanese with English subtitles unless otherwise mentioned, or if the majority of the people at the show wants to show it in English (because they like the English voices better, as was the case with "Howl's Moving Castle"; or because we're experimenting, as was the case with "Nerima Daikon Bros."). Can I be a member? What do I get if I am a member?
You may certainly be a member! Our constitution says that anyone can be a member of the club, even if you don't live anywhere near us and have nothing to do with the University! Our current per-term membership fee is $8 CAD unless you are a first-year student at UW, in which case it is $7. We currently do not handle multi-term memberships, though we might later.
As for what you get, you get a spiffy Membership Card, bulk deals at our local obscure movie rental place, Generation X, discounts from our 'we can order in anything' comic shoppe, Carry On Comics and Books, admission to our Anime Shows and social events, the privelage of voting at meetings, the entitlement to run for and hold an executive position (with some constraints), and the ability to participate in whatever special events we have planned this term (contests, seminars, marathon showings, etc.) and possibly some other stuff that I've forgotten.
Where can I buy this membership?
You can get your membership in many ways. If it's at the beginning of the term, you can come out to Club Days in the SLC, find our booth, and get your membership there. If you've missed that, you can just come to one of our shows, and the membership desk will sign you up!
Can I be an Exec? Even if I don't know anything about being an exec?
The short answer to this question is: Yes, so long as you're a member. The Federation of Students limits the number of non-UW undergraduate students that can be Executive Officers, but we rarely run across this problem. Anyone who's a member can run for any of the positions available, and any member can vote to have an additional position made available. Isn't this a great system? :)
As for any lack of experience, this is a world with a viscous cycle: you can't get a job without experience and you can't get experience without a job. Except for CTRL-A. If you'd like to be Publicity Officer/Activities Coordinator/President/What-have-you, and have suitable amounts of free time, enthusiasm, and ideas: go for it! We always have some old salts kicking around (Hey, Matt!) willing to help you learn the ropes.
Example: I (Chris H-C) started out as Subbing Coordinator, knowing very little Japanese and absolutely nothing about Subtitling, but still managed to get everything done on time. Then I was VP for a while, and now (S06) I'm prez! All with practically zero experience! I'm not going to say that I've been doing the best job, and I've certainly made mistakes (I'll not list them here in case someone is actually reading these), but I've done okay.
Can I help with anything? I don't necessarily know how anything works, but I'd like to help.
You most certainly can! We take people with experience from 0 to 40 terms of service (Hi, Karl!) and put them to work putting up posters, subtitling, setting up or taking down stuff for shows. If you're concerned about getting in the way, just ask someone who looks like they know what they're doing if there's something you can help with. Likely, they'll find you something and will be only to happy to let you know how to do it properly. We like people who ask much more than people who just loiter inside or outside the theatre.
If you're helping with shows, however, beware the cable nazis. Cables must be wrapped properly before being put into bins or else their lifetimes get halved (or worse). Please don't wrap these carelessly. We're trying to get cable ties and appropriate storing mechanisms for our cables, but we've only got the Blue Bin for now.
I have a question that isn't answered here.
Or: Your explanation confused/doesn't satisfy me.
Or: Your explanation confused/doesn't satisfy me.
Well, if you want more information than what is on this page, one way to go about it is to see if your question falls in any categories on the . We elect people both to do what they're supposed to do and to answer questions about it.
But before you do that, check out the Club Forum to see if your question has been asked (and answered) before. If it hasn't, also consider posting it there. It's something we host on our page because we hope people use it, after all :)
<- Previous page: Show Schedule | Next page: Exec Positions ->