2. WHAT’S AN OTAKU?
• The word otaku actually originated
in Japan as a derogatory term
describing someone who was too
obsessed with something.
• Nowadays, otaku is synonymous
with “nerd” in America, and, let’s be
honest, nerds are awesome.

3. SO, WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE DOING HERE?
• In Otaku Club, we aim to educate
you more on the culture of Japan.
• We cover several topics, such as
Japanese
food, education, fashion, video
games, ninjas and samurai, and
music, which is what we will be
going over today.

4. AND THE PEOPLE TEACHING ME ARE…?
• The Otaku Club officers. I am your
senior/leading officer for this year.
I’m not the only one, though. We
have other officers from previous
years as well.
• We do consider and usually accept
new officers every year, so keep
that in mind (I will discuss officer
sign-ups later).

5. SOME BASIC RULES…
• We are still on school property; ergo, school rules still
apply.
• When an officer is presenting, please stay quiet and pay
attention. This also applies while an anime is being
shown.
• Please, no cussing. Some people find that offensive. You
don’t want to offend people.
• If you have to leave the meeting early, go right ahead. You
don’t have to ask an officer if you can go, but if you know
ahead of time that you’re leaving early, please sit near the
door so that you aren’t walking in front of people during a
presentation or anime showing.

6. IS THAT IT? WE JUST LISTEN TO LECTURES?
• Not quite. We will also be hosting several
events throughout the year.
• In the past, we have done movie nights, video
game days, and even gone to a restaurant.
• This year, we plan on maybe having a movie
night every month and introducing you to other
Japanese related events going on in the
surrounding areas (which I will discuss later).
• We also have a party at the end of each
semester, so look forward to that.

7. WHAT IF I DON’T LIKE SOMETHING ABOUT THE
CLUB? WHAT IF I HAVE A QUESTION?
• This year, we obtained a lockbox for, not only the club funds, but for
you to deposit suggestions or questions you have for the club.
• The lockbox will be open before and after the meeting.
• Any suggestions you have for improving the club are welcome. You
could suggest things such as a new anime you found and liked, a cool
idea to incorporate into the club activities, or even objective criticism
for the officers.
• Questions you ask could include general questions about the club, a
question about an aspect of Japanese culture, or even personal
questions for the officers concerning their preferences on certain things
like anime, manga, food, etc.
• Remember, we will read ALL of the suggestions/questions deposited
into the lockbox, so any question you have will be answered.

8. HOW DO I BECOME A MEMBER/OFFICER?
• As you leave today, we will have membership forms as well as officer
forms for you to pick up.
• Membership forms and a $5 membership fee are required. The fee pays
for any extra things we get for outside activities, and it’s for the whole
year. Turn the forms in by the next general meeting (two weeks from
today).
• Officer forms are optional, of course, but you must fill out the
membership form in addition to that.
• Anyone can apply to be an officer. In fact, we especially need a
freshman ambassador so that we can stay connected to the Milburn
Campus. With that in mind, don’t worry about not having enough
experience. All of our officers have been there at one point or another.
• If you do apply to be an officer, please report to the next officer’s
meeting this upcoming Wednesday so you can be evaluated for
placement.

9. QUESTIONS?

10. ANNOUNCEMENTS
• We want you to draw a design for this year’s Otaku Club t-shirt.
• The designs should include Japanese related things. Some guidelines:
• Don’t write a random word (like “water”) in Japanese as your design. In
fact, only use Japanese if you speak Japanese and know for sure that any
spelling or grammar is correct.
• You can have characters on the design, but they have to be your own
original characters.
• Try to keep only two colors in your design (it makes the shirts cheaper).
• Once designs have been turned in (by the pending due date), the entire
club will vote on what design they want.
• Only one design will be selected.

11. LAST YEAR’S DESIGNS

12. LAST YEAR’S DESIGNS

13. ANNOUNCEMENTS (CONT.)
• Pre-registration for Anime St. Louis will start in September. Please refer
to the below link for dates and pricings of tickets.
• http://animestl.net/registrations/astl-2014-pre-reg/
• The annual Japanese Festival, held at the Missouri Botanical
Gardens, will occur this Labor Day weekend from August 31st to
September 2nd. If you would like more information, please refer to the
below link.
• http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/things-to-do/events/signature-
events/japanese-festival.aspx
• If you would like to connect with us online, we have a Facebook page
and a Blogger page. Both pages run under the name OTHS Otaku Club.
• https://www.facebook.com/otakuclub.oths
• http://othsotakuclub.blogspot.com/