EvCC students took advantage of a  tour of the Nishiyama garden, Japanese tea tastings, a cosplay parade and more at this past weekend’s Japanese Anime and Manga Arts Festival.

The festival was in the Jackson Center, Gray Wolf Hall and the Nippon Business Institute which is located near Wetmore Ave.

From 2:00-3:30 p.m. on Friday, Zack Davisson hosted a Manga Translation 101 – Lecture. Davisson has written “Yurei: The Japanese Ghost” and a comic called “Narrow Road”.

Davisson says “I’ve been translating manga for some years now, including the award-winning ‘Showa: A History of Japan’ and the famous folklore comic ‘Kitaro’.”

Zack Davisson says he got serious about translating manga when he visited Japan. “In Japan I also discovered all of these great artists who weren’t translated because they didn’t fit the American image of anime/manga.” So he made it his goal to bring these artists to English culture.

When asked what inspires him to come to JAMAF this year at EvCC, he says “The enthusiasm of everyone involved. Meeting Heather Uhl, Mayumi Smith, Keith Takechi, and all of the student volunteers was inspiring.”

On Friday from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. the Japanese Club advisor Heather Uhl investigated folklore themes from the film “Spirited Away”. Uhl says students attend JAMAF so they can “experience global perspectives through an ancient art form that touches all aspects of Japanese culture.”

EvCC’s Japanese Club has risen as leaders and advocates over the years and this is impressive to Uhl. She says that a lot of the club members have social anxieties and so “The fact that they would work through these barriers shows their passion as student leaders and their commitment to Japanese Club’s mission: to promote international good.”

The Japanese Club’s mission shined at the festival. Uhl says they offered this “so (people) could experience global perspectives through an ancient art form that touches all aspects of Japanese culture.”