Cal Animage Alpha

Cal-Animage Alpha ("CAA") is the flagship chapter of a loosely organized international conglomeration of anime clubs all of which share the name "Cal-Animage" (often, but not always, followed by the greek letter denoting their entrance and acceptance into the group). Originally just a group of friends (with a VCR) CAA met in any number of various rooms on the University of California, Berkeley campus; Cal-Animage was formally established by Mike Tatsugawa in January 1989. While the debate is still on as to "who is the oldest anime club," CAA has the distinction and claim to fame of once being "the largest anime club outside of Japan." In 1994 (the peak of the club's popularity), the club's membership topped out at 329. Many past officers both from CAA and other Cal-Animage Chapters have gone on to further spread anime. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) [was] headed by Mike Tatsugawa and runs the annual Anime Expo. Other previous officers have moved on into the anime industry, both domestic and abroad. One in particular has worked on both sides of the Pacific Ocean and has written the liner notes for the upcoming AnimEigo release of the Macross DVD. Other CAA members have gone on to create and work for leading anime streaming company, Crunchyroll. CAA also hosts an annual convention, Anime Destiny - more information can be found at calanimedestiny.com. While the event had rarely grown over 500 guests in the past, 2017 was a massive year for us and yielded nearly 1200 attendees; this year, we plan to be even larger, so far having the biggest number of guests, panels, and artists we've had yet. Come join us November 4th. In addition to our on-campus activities, we have a publication called Konshuu, published weekly by our tireless and talented writing and art staff. Check it out here: https://calanimagealpha.com/konshuu/