Of the many clubs offered at Lewis-Palmer High School, the Anime Club was added to the mix nine years ago. Students who were fans of the newly emerging anime culture came to Ken LeSage, social studies teacher, and created an anime club. Though the love for anime is rising in the world, the attendance of Lewis-Palmer’s anime club is dropping.

Anime is a term for Japanese cartoons. If the anime club’s numbers are not restored, the members would miss experiencing the Japanese culture. Also, members would not be able to develop friendships with those who share the same interests.

Lauren Pleus, 12, the current anime club leader, has been in charge of Anime Club for the last two years. This year she is graduating, along with a couple other members; therefore, the club will be turned over to the club’s vice president, Levi Bunkers, 10.

“You need at least two members, I think, by school rules and we have sixteen. Honestly, the numbers have dropped way more than they’ve increased and it’s sad,” Pleus said.

Eighteen of the members graduated two years ago, and the numbers have not recovered since then. LeSage’s resignation in 2015 as club sponsor did not help in the declining numbers. Without a sponsor, a club cannot exist, and thus Lewis-Palmer no longer had an anime club.

After asking four different teachers to be the club’s sponsor, the club’s future looked dreary. There were fifteen members anxiously waiting until they found a teacher willing to sponsor them.

Carrie Hendrix, journalism adviser at Lewis-Palmer, had agreed to sponsor the 2015-2016 Anime Club, but she has not clarified that she will continue her sponsorship past this school year. This would leave the members to search for another sponsor.

Morgan Helenkamp, 10, is a member of the Anime Club, and she enjoys the art, style, stories and Japanese customs of Anime. Helenkamp says she would be sad to see the club end.

“I really like Anime and I like hanging out with a lot of friends that like Anime, too. There are a lot of people who don’t like Anime. It’s kinda hard to have a connection with friends who don’t like it and talking with members outside of the club is pretty hard because we don’t have a lot of classes together,” Helenkamp said.
As membership is faltering and possible sponsors are running short, the celebrations of Japanese food, friends, and customs may be seeing its last days as a school club. Anime Club meets every Wednesday and is looking to welcome new members.