When you can accurately name 30 different Japanese cartoons off the top of your head, that’s how you know you’ve ani-made it. Addison Stratton, sophomore, is a member of the anime club. She is passionate about the enthralling imagery and storytelling that is unique to anime and the platform of entertainment has a great presence in her day-to-day life.

Anime is a genre of Japanese cartoons that is characterized by its stylized graphics and creative plots. Though originating from overseas, it has held a presence in the west for many years with widely recognized titles such as Pokemon, Naruto, and Sailor Moon.

Stratton’s draw to anime is reminiscent of her relationship with her mother. Much of what she learns from her mother such as kindness, respect, and self-care is reinforced in the themes of animes that she watches, making her feel more connected to the genre as a whole.

“My mom has had a good influence on me,” said Stratton. “She taught me to develop good habits and not do bad things and to make good choices”

The Anime Club was an obvious choice to be Stratton’s preferred haunt. They meet every Monday after school to start the week off on a positive note. Club meetings consist of discussions as well as group anime viewings. Stratton particularly enjoys the atmosphere of their activities.

In order to make the viewing experience of anime more satisfying, Stratton is interested in learning Japanese.

“It would be nice to break the [language] barrier to be able to watch without subs or dubs,” said Stratton, ‘subs’ being a shortened term for subtitles and ‘dubs’ referring to voiceovers done in English. When watching with subtitles, the viewer’s attention must be split between watching the animation and reading the dialogue. Many anime fans watch with subtitles anyway due to preferring the integrity of the original Japanese voice actors and dialogue. Learning how to speak the language would eliminate this annoyance.

Stratton isn’t the only one of her friends that enjoys anime. Elaine Brustkern and Piper Schoon, sophomores, say that anime is usually their main topic of conversation whenever Stratton is around since they are all passionate about the subject. However, their friendship is not solely built off of their shared interests.

“I think she’s a great person,” said Schoon. “She doesn’t fit in with everyone, but she does fit in with people like me, which I like. She’s helped me realize I should be more myself and not who people want me to be.”

“Her friendship makes me feel not alone with some of my interests and with our friendship, I am able to express things with her that I may not express with other friends because they are not interested in the things Addie and I are interested in,” said Brustkern. “It’s something that makes our friendship unique.”