Bangalore Anime Club: Guns Optional

On any given Sunday of any given month if you head over to Jaaga (in Shanti Nagar) you are likely to find your regular creative types sipping away at their lattes cheerfully discussing Nietzsche’s body of work and George Harrison’s ex-wife in the same breath. They’re not an uncommon sight, dotting the campuses with their Bill Hicks for president posters, their cynical worldview and yet idealist notions. For India the uncommon sighting takes place a few floors above. Booming laughter, wild guitar strings and passionate arguments will welcome you into the Bangalore Anime Club (obviously BAC for short).

Started on the second Sunday of February in 2006 by a handful of anime lovers, it began with the ideas of “spreading the anime love around town”, “gather more like minded people” and “why not do something more than just sitting around and watching anime”. An admirable set of objectives that has gathered them over 1200 members on Facebook, not to mention the really dedicated members who show up for the meets. There are at least 15 of those and close to 50 on a regular day. Some of the earlier members have gotten married, some of the younger ones are making it into high school.