And so ends another year of CUAMS. Most of the normal IRC crowd will still be there over the summer, discussing next year's schedule and so on. If you have any opinions on what should be shown, or if you're starting at Cambridge in October and thinking of joining us, feel free to hop onto our channel (instructions here) and have a chat with us. Otherwise, have a good summer, and hope to see everyone next year for some more anime.

The end of the Easter term approaches and, determined as we are not to be beaten on sheer activity by any other Cambridge society, we still have around 8 hours of anime to show. On Thursday 11th June, from 7pm to 10pm, we're watching what we have left of Astro Fighter Sunred. If you haven't been to Sunday meetings and seen the earlier episodes, don't worry about it - it's a really easy show to pick up, and episodic for the most part. On Sunday 14th June, from 4pm to 9pm, we'll be finishing off Kaiji with a marathon of the final arc (note the later end time).

There's also a garden party being planned for May Week. If you're interested, send Martin an e-mail with your availability, and we'll see if we can find a time and date that suits everyone.

Welcome back to Cambridge with what's looking like the busiest Easter Term CUAMS has ever seen. As if the normal meetings weren't enough, we'll be following them up with bonus series that will run all the way through the exam period for whenever you need a break, a Kaiji mini-marathon planned for some time in the Mayweek period, and at least one formal dinner being planned.

A quick note for the start of term: the meeting on Thursday the 30th of April will be held in Keynes Hall, King's, from 7:15pm-10:15pm - note the minor differences from the norm, and bear in mind that we can't cater in Keynes Hall. This is just a one off, though, so service will resume as normal from the following week.

If you've read the e-mail this week, you will currently be under the impression that the meeting in Keynes Hall this week starts at the normal time of 7pm. Unfortunately, this is a mistake on our part - the booking on Keynes Hall actually runs from 7:00pm to 10:00pm and so, taking into account the time required for setting up, it is unlikely that we will be able to start showing anything until 7:15pm, finishing at 10:15pm.

To confirm, tonight's meeting will take place in Keynes Hall from 7:15pm, NOT 7pm.

The AGM this year was another shining example of democracy, with the usual single applicant for each position getting 100% of the votes. The treasurer and webmaster spots changed hands, but all the others remained the same, with Xanth's presidency continuing for what could well be another whole year (although he claims not).

The beginnings of how next year's schedule might look can also now be found on the wiki (the password for which is in the footer of all the e-mails you get from CUAMS). This is, however, very likely to change based on the Spring 09 series.

And apparently we need to use more images in the news items, so enjoy the nice picture from Bamboo Blade on the right.

Those of you who attended last night's meeting will already be aware of the problems we've had with our booking in the Munby Room. Due to an enormous error on the part King's we are in fact not booked into the Munby Room at all as we had been told, but are instead booked into the Chetwynd Room as we had previously asked for. To repeat, Thursday meetings will take place in the Chetwynd Room as usual this term.

As we only discovered that we were booked in the Chetwynd Room after being kicked out of the Munby Room, I'm aware that about half a dozen people went home before the meeting was resumed in the Chetwynd Room. As we did resume and complete the night's schedule there, these people have now fell behind, for which we apologise, but we will be continuing as normal from next week. It is our top priority to get the people who fell behind to catch up before next Thursday, so if you're one of the people who went home early please get in contact with us so that we can sort it out.

As we approach the end of Michaelmas and several of our series are likewise ending, we have a few changes to the norm. First off, this Thursday's meeting will be at the usual time of 7pm, but will instead be in the Erasmus Room, Queens'. Click here for a map with directions to the room, but if you're still not sure you won't get lost, there will be a party waiting at the plodge (just off Silver Street) to take people to the room at 7pm.

The following Thursday, the 4th of December, sees our first mini-marathon of Kaiji, which will be held in Keynes Hall, King's from 7:15pm-10:45pm. Keynes Hall is the room beyond the Chetwynd Room that we usually use for meetings, so you should have no trouble getting there. Chances are high that there will be other people using the Chetwynd Room at the time, so don't be surprised if you see other people and just quietly make your way through. Please note the later ending time, and that it is entirely possible that we will overrun; and that we unfortunately cannot bring food or drink into the hall, so please make sure you've eaten before you arrive.

Also, rather appropriate to the gambling theme of Kaiji, we will be holding a raffle on the night of the mini-marathon. Full details are to follow, but a good selection of anime DVDs will be up for grabs, and anyone who's paid up with us can enter. If you haven't already signed up with us this year, then now's the time to catch up ahead of the raffle.

And so here we are, at the dawn of another year. A warm "hello" and "welcome back" to our new and old members respectively.

The website is now for the most part up to date, full of what little information you need to get by in CUAMS. More importantly, I should reconfirm here that the squash is being held tomorrow, Thursday the 16th of October, from 6:45pm-10:15pm in the Chetwynd Room, King's. We've had this information for some time, but had never been confirmed in the news here. In addition, main meetings will start proper from the week after, on Thursdays from the 23rd of October, from 7pm-10pm in the Chetwynd Room, King's, and Sunday meetings will be held on Sundays from the 26th of October, from 4pm-7pm in R Common Room, Sidney Sussex.

Now we can get on with actually watching anime. Good.

With the new year just around the corner, we've just about hammered out the rest of the schedule. Keep an eye out for changes, but expect most of it to stay the same. Of course, this is no reason for you to stop making your case if you think that something really should be there but isn't, or is but shouldn't be, as this will inevitably be argued right down to the wire either way.

In addition, we can also confirm that we now have a stall at the upcoming freshers' fair at Kelsey Kerridge on the 7th and 8th of October. You'll be able to find us at stall A19. I can't seem to find a map this year, but expect this to be in one of the corners of the main hall.

The movies for our upcoming squash have now effectively been confirmed. In what will be our first meeting of the year, we will be showing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Sword Of The Stranger, which are easily the two best anime movies of the year (in our opinions, at least). The rest of the schedule is still in discussion; check our wiki or join us on IRC to get the latest news.

That wraps up another year here at CUAMS. We hope you enjoyed what we had to offer this year, and will join us again next year (unless you're graduating and leaving, in which case good luck and farewell). We unsurprisingly won't be holding any events over the summer and will generally be dead until the new academic year rolls by in October. You'll still find a bunch of us on IRC most of the time over the break, so feel free to join us if you want.

We usually ease up on meetings in Easter term as not to get in the way of exams and studying, but this year we have enough content to cheekily run on for weeks after we'd normally end. Sundays are running late due to the respective shows being slightly longer than the status quo. As this would see Thursdays drying out weeks earlier we are instead offering two bonus Thursday meetings directly following the current schedule.

Over the two meetings (to be held on the 15th and 22nd of May), we will be watching the entirety of the 12 episode series Mononoke. As this stands alone from the rest of what we've shown this year you won't miss out on anything you've started if you find yourself too busy with preparing for exams. On the other hand, if you do have the time but don't come to our regular meetings you're more than welcome to make the most of these meetings.

Note that whilst Mononoke is by far the strongest contender for this slot it has not yet been set in stone. If you have an opinion to voice on the matter, please e-mail us or, preferably, check on IRC or the wiki.

In other news, we've been unable to secure the Chetwynd Room for two meetings this term, so please be aware that the meetings on the 1st and 8th of May will be held in the Sidney Sussex R Common Room. For those not already familiar with the room from Sunday meetings, note that directions are listed here.

Our AGM has come and gone, and was as uneventful as always with each vacated seat on the committee being filled with the one person trying to fill it. We hope the effects of the changeover are as unnoticeable as the changeover itself, as we hope to continue running as efficiently as possible.

Xanth claims that this will definitely be his last year as president, but this is now the third year that he's claimed this, so we're just one year closer to an OAP running the society.

As much as smooth running makes for a light load for managing the society, it doesn't leave for much in the way of news for here. There's not much to be said here — with Lent 2008 upon us we'll be starting up again, our first meetings being on Sunday the 20th and Thursday the 24th of January. Take note that Thursdays will now be running from 7pm-10pm, and not 6:30pm-9:30pm as they have done: this is to make things easier for those of who come to meetings from dinner in college.

Also, Lent brings us to our AGM, this year to be held during the meeting on Thursday the 21st of February. Nominations are open, and we're very much looking for new people to take over from at least some of the old vanguard, so all nominations are welcomed and encouraged. If you're unsure of what you'd be in for, please talk to any of us at a meeting, via e-mail or by IRC.

Many apologies for not having the date of the squash sorted in time for the freshers' fair, but we can now confirm that the squash will be held between 7:30pm and 10:30pm on Thursday the 11th in Keynes Hall, King's. Keynes Hall is just through the far end of the Chetwynd Room, so hopefully no one should have too much difficulty finding us on the night. Although we are set to start showing 5cm/s at 7:30pm we will in fact be in the room setting up the projector from 7pm, so feel free to show up early if you want to see us curse at electronics or just fancy a chat.

Alongside our movies we'll be holding a raffle for people to win a range of prizes including a range of anime DVDs. Entry for the squash is free and without obligation, but as incredibly cunning as we are, a greater range of prizes will be available for those who sign up on the night.

Our website may have been dormant for some time, but we've been making preparations for the new year all the same. You'll find that we're still a little rough around the edges, but you'll find that the site is now up to date on at least all of the vitals.

Due to an unfortunate twist of fate, we will not be confirming the date of our squash until shortly after the fair starts tomorrow. For those of you uncertain of when the squash and main meetings will be, fear not, as the website will be updated shortly after these facts come to light, and an e-mail will be sent to the mailing list confirming it. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, but hope that the speed at which this is rectified should minimise any disruption.

And with that bureaucratic nonsense out of the way, on with the anime. The squash this year will feature 5cm/s and Paprika, and the content for main meetings and Sunday meetings, whilst not yet completely confirmed, can be found on their respective pages.

With the Freshers' Fair on the horizon, we can confirm that we have now been allocated a stall. As usual, this is being held in Kelsey Kerridge, and this year will run from 1pm until 7pm on Tuesday the 2nd of October, and from 10am through 4pm on Wednesday the 3rd of October. CUAMS's stall will be D13 in the main hall, where we hope to be putting in a more striking appearance than normal.

We're back for Easter term and, for the first time in what feels like ages, main meetings won't be changing to a new random day this term. This means that our first meeting of term will be tomorrow, Thursday the 26th, in the usual place at the usual time. Although we'll be meeting less this term to avoid complications with exams, everything looks set to run fluidly to the end of the academic year.

The main news of term is that we're finally intending to change the name of the society to the Cambridge University Anime and Manga Society (CUAMS) to represent our activities more accurately. We've already organised most of the necessities for the change, and hope to have officially renamed before the end of term. As it requires a change in the constitution, we require an EGM for this to pass, and so our final main meeting of term (Thursday the 10th of May) will have a quick vote on the matter during a break to deal with this. We're honestly just doing this for the sake of formalities, so if you actually have a problem with the change please contact us ahead of time to voice your concerns.

The name change marks the first of several changes we're hoping to implement between this year and next to improve our services notably. As such, we're particularly interested in your opinions of what you think we do well, and what you think we could do with improving. Committee members are always happy to talk at meetings, but there's still always e-mail if you'd prefer.

Another year, another AGM. Continuing our run of never having a position contested, the committee for this year looks somewhat familiar to last year, with some fresh faces rounding it off to help lighten the load. Here's hoping to another year punctuated with as much anime and as few problems as possible.

One of the main outcomes of the AGM is that our finances over the last few years have been sufficiently good that we can afford to flesh out on the library. At this point we have somewhere in the region of £100 to spend on it, and are currently asking for requests. We have some idea of where some of the money should be spent, but please e-mail us if there is anything you'd particularly like to see in our library.

We've also started the process of selecting the schedule for next year. It's far from settled (it usually gets finalised late in summer), but we encourage interested members to get involved in the process and leave their opinions. The current state of the schedule is on our wiki (which is password locked to stop spam, so you'll have to either e-mail us or get in touch via IRC to get the details to access it), and most of the discussion related to it is expected to take place or otherwise end up there.

The final mystery show for our "Suicide Sundays" line up has been revealed to be Narutaru. Final changes have been made to the schedule to accomodate it, and it started showing last Sunday. This may seem like a sudden change, but the decision was made at Sunday meetings by the members present in order to change the pace. Anyone else interested will find that they haven't missed out on much yet, and should find it easy to catch up if they wish to.

Due to previously unforeseen complications, we are going to be unable to show Chevalier this term. Taking its place in the line up will be the epic story of Fantastic Children. We apologise for the short notice of this change, and anyone still interested in Chevalier should get in contact with a committee member.

Another term, and another change in dates. Main meetings will now be held on Thursdays, the first of which being on the 18th of January. The time and venue remain the same, but if you have any concern you can check the Schedule page for full information, or e-mail us for more details.

Our AGM this year will be held on the 22nd of February. As such, it's now time to begin our annual committee changeover, and this year we really need some new faces to help out. Nominations for positions may be sent in now, and more information can be found on the Committee page. If you have a specific position in mind or you just want to help out, we'd be happy to have you.

Unrelated to CUCAS, our local Waterstone's is hosting a manga-related event this Thursday from 6pm, tickets for which are £1 and can currently be bought in the store (for more information, either ask instore or contact the committee). As you may have noticed, this unfortunately clashes with our first meeting of term, but if you currently aren't attending our meetings you may wish to show up to this event instead.

Our regularly scheduled meetings are set to be broken twice this term. This Tuesday's (7th November) meeting will be held from 6:30pm-9:30pm in the Bowett Room, Queens', and next Tuesday's (14th November) will be held in the Chetwynd Room, but from 8:30pm-11:30pm.

Stalls have now been allocated for the Freshers' Fair, being held in Kelsey Kerridge on Tuesday the 3rd of October from 12pm to 7pm and on Wednesday the 4th of October from 10am to 5pm. CUCAS will be in the main hall at stall G17, looking forward to your visit.

Perhaps somewhat on the early side, but here is the [not really] new look for the website for the new academic year. Most of the changes are fairly minor and/or aesthetic, but most sections have now been brought up to date, so the next time someone gets around to updating the site (5 years from now) it won't be quite as hideously outdated as it could have been.

Note in particular the brand new additions to the site: finally our library is brought out into the world for people to borrow from, and the schedule explicitly listing all of our meetings and special events throughout the year (albeit currently lacking dates). CUCAS's constitution (as boring as it is) and a brief history of CUCAS should also be appearing on the site at some point in the near future.

CUCAS is once again set to make an appearance at the Freshers' Fair this October, although exact details of table placement aren't currently known, so expect another update soon.

The one thing that we can now tentatively confirm is that Steamboy will be shown at the squash, although its partner is still undecided.

Check out the Main Meetings and Sunday Meetings pages for the final draft of our schedule for 2006-2007. We're still bickering over what to show at the squash, but expect to have this resolved soon. We're also hoping to host a few bonus meetings at the start of term for members to catch up on series continuing from previous years (Full Metal Panic and School Rumble), with full details to follow after we confirm a room for main meetings this upcoming year.

Another year has come to a close, which can only mean that we'll have to prepare for next year at some point. Keep an eye out for updates over the summer as the details fill out, or witness the disorganisation first hand on IRC.

Oh, and Summer. Sure.