By Laura Klotzkin, staff writer
Over the winter semester, the Daemen University animation department took a group of 28 people to Japan. Chaperoned by Mike Jones, associate professor of animation, and Ashley Tinkey, assistant professor of animation, the trip was to allow animation students to learn about Japanese animation, culture, and history.
“Japan’s culture is integrated with a lot when it comes to animation, especially hand-drawn animation,” junior animation major Lily Beyer said.
Japan is widely considered to have one of the most influential animation industries. During their stay in the cities of Kyoto and Tokyo, the students visited various important animation cultural and historical areas. They visited locations such as the Studio Ghibli museum, the Suginami Animation Museum, and Tokyo Disneyland.
“I loved visiting the anime museum. Although the museum seems small, it was incredible getting to see all this history I was previously unaware of,” sophomore animation major Clare Ring said. “I also got to animate while I was there, and that is always fun for me.”
The students visited several other places, including shrines, temples, other museums, and shopping districts. Even over the school break, everybody kept drawing while they were there. Students discussed taking time out of their days to practice life drawing by sketching the awe-inspiring temples and architecture in Tokyo and Kyoto.
“We spent every day with sketchbooks as well,” Beyer said, “and often sat to draw architecture that we saw.”
After attempting to make this trip in 2020 and not succeeding due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this Japan trip is the first one the animation department has taken. Students who attended the trip included mostly sophomore and junior animation majors, as well as one senior and some alumni who weren’t able to go in 2020.
“There was quite a bit of general preparation for the trip. This included basic things like getting my passport, gathering funds from my job, and learning very basic Japanese,” Ring said. “I also wanted to familiarize myself with anime, Japanese animation, and the places we would be visiting during our time there.”
“The initial cost of the trip may not seem like much to some people, but once you consider the cost of things that aren’t included, it adds up,” said Carmela Marchese, a sophomore animation major.
Much of the credit for organizing the trip goes to the animation department head, Mike Jones. Jones spent 11 months planning the trip, and coordinating everything and working past the language barrier was a challenge.
“I planned the daily itinerary, booked the flight, the hotels, the transportation, etc.,” Jones said.
“Professor Tinkey also played a large role in helping make sure this trip happened, always helping Jones before and during the trip,” sophomore animation major Jordan Ertyl said.
Overall, the trip was a great success, according to attendees.
“The trip could be very stressful at times, but that is simply the experience of traveling in a new country,” Ring said. “Overall, it was beautiful and super informative.”
Students got to experience a wide range of Japanese culture, from animation history to excellent Japanese food to riding a 200-mph bullet train.
“I think everyone had a wonderful time,” Jones said. “I hope it left lasting memories for the students.”