MIT’s Manga and Anime Club held their highly anticipated Shonen Fest over a span of three days, from 11th March to 13th March, with several workshops and competitions. The Anime Meme Making Competition was held well before the fest on 4th March and received hilarious and creative submissions from anime lovers all around MIT. On 11th March, Day-1 of the fest was held, which successfully kicked off with the Origami Workshop and Pokemon Unite Battle.

[Credits: MAC Manipal]

Day 1

Origami Workshop

The workshop commenced with a short introduction to origami. This fun craft allows one to transform a simple piece of paper into many intricate designs, from paper cranes to flowers. This workshop featured two unique origami pieces as well an additional three Cat’s Cradle designs.

The club’s talented Aarya Menon led the workshop, showcasing her self-taught origami skills. She walked the attendees through the process of making a cherry blossom and a kunai, which is a standard gardening tool in Japan. Cat’s Cradle, a fun game played with wool or string, allows the player to create various patterns with a few skilful hand movements. The Witch’s Broom, a Hammock, and the Eiffel Tower were the three designs that the workshop included.

Pokemon Unite Battle

In the spirit of online events, a Pokemon Unite Battle was the perfect choice for this fest. Being a strategic team game and featuring the ever-popular Pokemon franchise, this event drew in a crowd. In teams of 4, the participants took part in various battles. One victorious team emerged, putting up a fierce fight till the end. A prize of 400 Rupees was awarded to the winning team.

Day 2

Cosplay Workshop

The Cosplay Workshop, hosted by Patricia Mathew, was a 2-hour long event dedicated solely to the cause of helping people understand the intricacies and functioning of the cosplay artform. Starting with explaining the working of cosplays and the community that various enthusiasts have formed, she went on to explain a few of her own works and invited questions from the participants. The event went on to gain speed as the host received more questions from the participants, who were keen to find out about the working of cosplays on a personal level as well as within the cosplay community.

Patricia Mathew during the Cosplay Workshop. [Credits: MAC Manipal]

Drawbattle

Drawbattle was an event hosted by the organisers of the Shonen Fest. It was a tournament of Pictionary wherein teammates would have to indicate an Anime or Manga to their teammates via drawings only. The event steamed up as the matches were drawn close, and each and every player was working with an undying spirit. At last, the tournament came to an end with a very close finale match. “Waiting for my prize and the next Shonen Fest!”, exclaimed the captain of the winning team.

Players during a game of Drawbattle. [Credits: MAC Manipal]

Day 3

Anime Sharing

The kick-starter for the offline event at the very least was a colloquy for anime lovers and those who are oblivious to the deeply-rooted anime palette alike. The event genuinely abided by the philosophy that you can never have enough when it comes to watching anime. Participants could submit their data storing devices at the booth and tell the foreperson their niche interests, favourite genres, shows watched in the past etc. and receive a handpicked curated list of shows customised to their likings.

The catalogue was exhaustive and had everything ranging from eye-grabbing popular titles to woefully underappreciated cinema. There was no limit placed on the number of shows/movies that you could possibly ask for.

Art & Merch Studio

Art and Merch Studio is an event promoting The Manga and Anime club’s very own inner Arthouse and its stupendously talented artisans. Visitors got to transverse through a collection of artworks made by the club’s Arts and Graphics team members. If anything happens to capture your interest, you can pay a very reasonable amount and take it home in varying paper quality. Needless to say, the event, in particular, was a hit amongst anime fanatics who walked into the mecca of top-quality anime merch for shows such as Psycho-Pass, Death Note, Assassination Classroom, Naruto, Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, and many more.

Artworks presented by the artists of the Manga and Anime Club. [Credits: MAC Manipal]

Anime Movie Screening

The day’s final show and the entire festival were capped off by a screening of two cult classics at the MV Seminar Hall. The first film, Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, was screened from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, followed by Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, which was shown from 5:30 to 7:30 PM. Both films triumphantly struck a chord with the audiences in very different ways. The zeal, adrenaline, laughter, and, at times, numbness were palpable and could be felt running through the theatre hall.

Featured Image Credits: MAC Manipal