Local Anime Nite makes getting together a little more animated

It’s Manime Night in the dark back lounge in Bikkuri Sushi on East Colonial Drive in Orlando. That means all the cartoons we watch tonight will be focused on … manly things. First up is “Crying Freeman,” about a top assassin who cries as he kills people. “Question,” says someone in the audience, “does he keep his eyes open while crying?”

“Of course,” says host Kent Ward. “That’s how you know he’s a man.” The crowd of about 30 laughs.

This is Anime Nite Orlando, a monthly gathering for fans and aficionados of Japanese animation.

Ward, 34, admits that “manime” — the hypermasculine stuff — includes some of his favorites in the genre. “I grew up on action movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, so seeing the anime representation of that is always fun to me,” he says.

The South Florida native started the fan club Propeller Anime in 2006, which hosts several anime-related events COMMENTARY throughout the year around town. One such event, the mini-convention Anime Day with vendors, screenings and panels, takes place Saturday at the Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive (noon-5 p.m., $5, orlando.animeday.net).

Anime Nite grew out of a request from students when he was a teacher at Full Sail University near Winter Park. The night bounced around a bit before coming to its current home at Bikkuri six years ago.

Currently working as a software engineer, Ward has no shortage of reasons he likes hosting these viewings as a public event. For one thing, a curated selection means giving people an opportunity to see things they might otherwise have missed.

Another reason is the setup. “Most people don’t have a 120-something inch screen and a great sound system in their homes like the one Bikkuri has,” says Ward. “You also can’t order food from across the hall that’s all fresh sushi and noodle bowls in your home.”

I have to admit that scoring two beers and a bottle of sake for under $10 was a good enough reason for me, and getting raffle tickets every time I bought something was icing on the cake, or, more appropriately, the wasabi on the sushi.

But the most important aspect of Anime Nite, according to Ward, is to bring people together. “In the 12 years we’ve been doing [Propeller Anime], hundreds of friendships have been created,” he says.

The next Anime Night, themed “Music Anime,” will be Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.