[Background]
The Original Fire Comic Club is the only students’ association at PKU founded by fans of comics and animations. “The Original Fire” stems from the idea of “a spark of the original fire can start a prairie fire.”First initiated by some comic book lovers, the club has become an established association after 15 years of development. The Original Fire Comic Club now is a comprehensive comic fans club with a variety of activities in the areas of comics, animations, video games, cosplay, and fan arts.
[The Original Fire Comic Club]
The Original Fire Comic Club was founded in October 28th, 1998, aiming to offer opportunities for comic fans to interact and have fun with one another. Within ten years, The Original Fire has become a well-established club and won its place amongst the “Top Ten Outstanding Associations” due to its excellent organization culture as well as its distinctive and interesting activities.
In 2007, the Original Fire went through a series of changes, allowing it to mature into a better organization. At present, the Original Fire has different departments catering to different Comic sub-fields.
Cosplay culture is a special one in which comic fans dressing up and imitating characters in cartoons. In the Cosplay department, members can chose to dress the costumes of the character they love. They prepare the costume, accessories and make-up themselves. Students attend outdoor photo shoots, cosplay shows, and cosplay stage plays, and they enjoy every bit of it.
In the Hands-On Department, the club organizes the members together to create cartoons or comics. This provides chances for beginners to learn from other students who have abundant experience. Furthermore, there are also animation screenings and baseball trainings held regularly for those who are interested in the Japanese culture.
In the Communication department, the Original Fire gives lectures related to comics regularly. Famous artists from Japan are invited to deliver lectures, in which they share drawing skills, personal experiences and their understanding or unique ideas on comics and animations. The Original Fire also cooperates with Meiji University as well as the Department of Japanese, PKU, inviting professional creators to attend the Comic High-end Lectures. These lectures are also very popular among students.
The Anniversary Party conducted by the Original Fire is one of the most famous and popular activities on campus each year. It is a tradition that all the members or alumnus work together through the preparation process. Not only do they get a great chance to keep in touch and share ideas, they also learn valuable lessons of teamwork.
Members also have the opportunity to improve themselves and pick up new skills in the association. For instance, the publicity and advertising materials are all designed by club members and students also have the chance to learn Japanese if they decide to continue their education in Japan in the future.
According to Dai Meng, a sophomore from the School of Journalism and Communication and the director of the cosplay department, said that the Original Fire is a big family full of love. The rehearsal of cosplay shows, for example, often went past midnight. The students are willing to sacrifice countless hours for the final show, which only lasts for ten to thirty minutes. “We do it out of our interest,” she said, “we enjoy ourselves a lot in the association, and we are all happy to contribute. That’s because of love.” The relations between the members are also harmonious and friendly .As Dai put it, “The seniors are just like our elder siblings; they may be strict with us at times but they are also very friendly and helpful, giving us patient guidance whenever we need.” At the end of the interview, Dai said, “We may have occasional differences in opinion, but every time we come together, it really feels great because we have a common goal to strive for.”
Written By: Zhang Kexin
