It's not Looney Tunes on a Saturday morning.

It's Japanese animation -- anime -- on a Tuesday night.

About 20 middle- and high-school students gathered in the basement of Barberton Public Library to watch and discuss anime  (pronounced annie may), known for its obsessive fans, stylized, colorful artwork and big-eyed characters.

''I'm obsessed with anime. It's cute. It's colorful and it's got a lot of action,'' said Micaela Menc, 16, a home-schooled student from Barberton, who was wearing a Japanese metal band T-shirt.
 

The library's Anime Club, which meets on the third Tuesday of each month, is among those that have popped up in recent years in libraries and schools across the country.
 

The Barberton teenagers say it's a place to meet kindred souls. At times, the anime DVD playing on a big screen was merely a backdrop to the excited conversations about anime and manga -- Japanese comic books or print cartoons.
 

Shrieks erupted Tuesday night when Maria Osivnik, 19, showed up with a stuffed orange cat. Her fellow anime ''otaku'' (fans) gathered round.
 

''Kyo Sohma!'' said some of the teens, referring to the anime character that turns into an orange tabby when he is hugged.
 

Osivnik, echoing others in the group, said she's drawn to the sophisticated story lines. One of her favorite plot lines deals with ''the balance of total passivity and war,'' she said.
 

Her earnestness contrasted with the costume she was wearing. Atop her head was an anime-inspired cat ear headband. A cat tail dangled from her backside.
 

''I like it for the particular Japanese point of view,'' said Osivnik, a Barberton resident who is a senior at a Life Skills charter school in Akron. ''The Japanese have an odder point of view.''
 

Kevin Phelps said anime is not your typical Saturday morning fare. "Some anime shows off people's feelings. It's usually really serious.''
 

Anime ''tends to be more creative'' than other cartoons, said the 15-year old Barberton High School freshman.
 

Nicole Monroe, 16, a junior at Barberton High said the gatherings are a great way to learn about ''spoilers,'' tidbits about anime that hasn't yet made its way to the U.S.
 

Nicole, a self-described ''social butterfly,'' said the group is a social outlet.