Manga & Anime Explosion course at UC Irvine

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about how, within the past few years, anime and manga have been making their way into the world of US education, with the rise of many anime and manga-related college courses, whether it be in the field of Japanese/East Asian Cultures, Film Study, Art, Literature, or even Philosophy. Anime and manga are finally starting to get recognition as viable areas of study in many different fields. Now that I’m about to continue my education at a university, I was looking around for any anime/manga related courses I could find. I wasn’t having much luck until I unknowingly stumbled upon an anime/manga extension course that looks really promising…

Manga & Anime Explosion is a series of three 5-week extension courses at the University of California Irvine. The instructor is a well-seasoned screenwriter as well as an anime/manga fan. He pitched the series Battle Angel Alita to 20th Century Fox which now has James Cameron making a live-action version of it. He’s also currently working on new live-action adaptions of Densha Otoko and Berserk, and he has lots of connections with big anime, manga, and film companies such as Sony, Fox, Digital Manga, and Tokyopop. The Manga & Anime Explosion courses have had many mentions on Anime News Network, which you can read here.

The course is pretty much open to anyone, whether they’re an anime or manga fan or just a fan of general animation or film. If you want to actually draw your own manga, write scripts for your own anime series, plan out business ideas, or even become a voice actor, the instructor plans to tailor the course to whatever the students have an interest in. During the course, we’ll not only learn about the history of anime and manga and what makes them so successful, but also the best ways of making our own series and how to present it well if we should want to break into the industry. Guest speakers from anime, manga, and film companies will come to the class and we can even pitch our ideas to them (they may even give away free stuff!) We might also take field trips to the Digital Manga or Bandai studios here in CA. The course will also be holding a panel at Anime LA this coming January.

After attending the open house meeting of the course last night I’m more excited than ever to attend! Even though I’m not that interested in making my own anime/manga series, I still have some ideas I’d like to try and I also have a general interest in the industry, perhaps as a translator since I’m very passionate about learning Japanese =) Since I’m already taking four courses this fall quarter, having this extra extension course, plus my involvement with the UC Irvine anime club, will equal an extremely busy schedule! 0_o But I think it’s all well worth it, especially this extension course. Unfortunately, since it’s an extension course, it’s going to cost me extra money, plus money for extra textbooks, but I think I can work it out ^^,,, I know I probably won’t have an opportunity to take a course like this again. At least I’ll get some units out of it as well as the chance to make connections with big-name anime companies. Although I know I want to study and learn Japanese language and culture, I’m still pretty open as to what kind of job I want to get relating to that field so this course might help set me on the right track! =D Anyway, you can find more info about the first of the three courses and sign up here.