As you may be aware, the Covid-19 pandemic has put a stop to most, if not all, in-person events that societies want to run. The Warwick Anime & Manga Society (WAMS) is no exception - however, we have made plans to ensure that our events run as smoothly as possible, and that you will still get the most out of being a member.
Events we are running
Firstly, our main event has been split into 2 separate sessions - a main series showing every Tuesday, then an exec choice showing every Thursday. These sessions will both start at 7pm, and will be streamed on our brand new, high quality streaming tool. In addition, we will be running a film showing, a Members’ Choice event, or another special event on Saturdays.
The Main Series event consists of watching 3 episodes of that term’s “main series”, which is picked in Week 1 (more details below). After all showings, we would encourage you to come to our Discord server (link below), where you can chat with other members, and take part in online games like Jackbox or Skribbl.io.
In Week 1, the Main Series format is slightly different; we show the first episode of 4 different shows (with a break in the middle), then members will vote on which one they want to continue watching throughout the term.
The Exec Choice event will be shown on Thursday; each week, a different exec member suggests 3 shows that they would like to showcase, and we vote on those based on the descriptions and the openings. We will be watching the first 2 episodes of the top two choices. You don’t have to stick around for both choices, so feel free to come and go as you please - there will be online games after these showings as well.
Members’ Choice will be run on Saturdays. This is a new concept where members of the society have the opportunity to suggest shows they would like to show to everyone else, and we vote on the selection on the night. We will show the first 2 episodes of the top two choices. A Google Form for your suggestions can be found here (maximum of 3 submissions per person).
Saturdays are when our Movie Nights will also run, where we will watch one or two specially chosen films from 7pm onwards. We may also run special events on Saturdays, though a complete schedule has not been created thus far (we’ll keep you up to date on our Discord server, our Facebook group, our website, and the weekly emails).
To access our streaming tool, follow these steps:
- Join our Discord server at https://animesoc.co.uk/discord (Sign up for a free account if you don’t have one already)
- Follow the instructions in the #streaming-info channel (left hand side of the screen) to access the stream
If you are struggling to access the stream, we have a more in-depth, step-by-step guide on how to access our stream. You can find it here.
If you need any more help, contact one of the exec team.
Events we can’t run
Unfortunately, there are some events where an online version doesn’t give the same experience, and therefore we have cancelled these for the foreseeable future. These events include our Karaoke sessions, which are really enjoyable, even if you aren’t good at singing; our meal and Manga/LN socials, where you can meet with members and chat about the stuff you enjoy, and our All Nighter events, which we would run from 8 ‘til 8 on a Saturday and just vote on stuff to watch all night as the name suggests. Additionally, we usually run a trip to MCM, though that has been cancelled this year. Hopefully, if the pandemic clears up soon, we will be able to resume these events, but they will not be running for term 1.
The Society Library is also currently unavailable for borrowing. However, this may change in the near future and thus, we will keep you updated on any future developments through our weekly announcements
Ongoing projects
We have also started a couple of ongoing projects that we encourage you to take part in if you are interested. There will be the WAMS Mascot Competition, where members can submit their ideas for a society mascot, which we currently lack (details here); the WAMS Draws project, where we are aiming to redraw the first Sword Art Online opening in MS Paint (or any drawing software of your choice) - don’t worry about your artistic abilities, as the range is what will make the project fun (details here); and a Welcome Week Drawing competition, where freshers can submit any self-made anime/manga related/styled artwork produced during Welcome Week (details here).
Benefits of Membership for the 2020-2021 academic year
Buying membership will give you these perks:
- Have a change to get a anime of your choice shown at a Member’s Choice Night
- Get discounts at Warwick Student Cinema for any anime movie shown
- Able to borrow items from the library which has over 250 different series (once the library is available)
- Have the member role on our Discord server, along with a blue name
- Full access to our Website - membership enables you to make an account on the website
- Have access to our weekly email newsletters
Membership can be purchased on our SU page here
If you have any suggestions or feedback on how to make our events better, feel free to use our anonymous feedback form. Your feedback is much appreciated, especially during the current pandemic. The form can be accessed here