“Animania” has hit Iowa State.

While the growing trend of Japanese animation has made its way across the country, its presence has also been felt on the ISU campus.

The Anime Club and the Iowa State Anime Appreciation Club are both active anime clubs at Iowa State. While both of the clubs have an obvious admiration for Japanese animation, they emphasize different aspects of anime.

“I became interested in anime from Sailor Moon in the seventh grade. It’s a little girls’ show about super heroes, and it got me into drawing [anime],” said Gaoder Vue, president of the Anime Club and freshman in pre-law.

The Anime Club consists of more than 45 members and meets in 1252 Howe Hall several times a week. On Fridays, members watch episodes of anime television series from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

On Sundays, club members watch anime movies from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The group also holds drawing sessions on Mondays from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m in 1220 Howe Hall.

“The drawing classes teach the basics so that people can continue to learn on their own,” Vue said. “We hope to eventually have a contest for an Anime Club T-shirt design.”

The other campus anime club — the Iowa State Anime Appreciation Club — consists of about 25 members and meets from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays in Agronomy 2050.

“We watch anime that isn’t copyrighted in the U.S., and we talk about ideas, but we don’t dedicate any of our time to drawing anime,” said Bryon Nicholson, freshman in chemistry and treasurer of the Iowa State Anime Appreciation Club.

“Anime as a whole is hard to describe. It’s like a movie. It can be an action, a drama or even a comedy. It’s not all for little kids either — the range [of entertainment] is huge.”

Even though anime is popular among many, some are still not sure what it is all about.

“I’ve only seen one anime film,” said Jess McCauley, junior in English. “It was really unique, and had a great story line. Seeing it definitely made me want to check [anime] out more.”

Several events featuring anime are being offered to the community this week.

The anime movie “Cowboy Bebop” will be shown 4 to 6 p.m. Friday for Helser Pride Week in the Helser courtyard.

The Ames Public Library will also be showing episodes of anime television series and movies Saturday from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.

“Anime has really skyrocketed since it came to the United States,” Nicholson said. “It’s popping into our daily lives, and I think people will be curious if they see more of it.”