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Japanese schools' extra-curricular activities are centered on "club activities" organized by the students themselves. Each club will generally be assigned its own room or other facilities, will have an advisor (who doesn't always appear on screen), and will have a powerful president (kaicho) who'll be a significant character. For series that revolve around a specific club, the club's president frequently replaces the Student Council president in importance.

The three most commonly portrayed clubs are the student council, the school newspaper, and the Kendo team. For the student council, see Absurdly Powerful Student Council and Student Council President. For the newspaper, see School Newspaper Newshound. For the Kendo team, see Kendo Team Captain. Other clubs range from normal sport clubs (baseball, soccer, swimming etc.) over cultural clubs (art, tea ceremony, music etc.) and a mixed bunch (library, computer, home economy etc.) to the more unusual (railways, astronomy, occult research etc.). And then there are the clubs no sane school or student council would accept in reality, be it more or less shadowy fan clubs for popular students or just "the place where we hang out, when we are not doing something completely crazy." On a Meta level, there are dozens of anime every year about various school clubs from typical to absurd. An exhaustive list is impossible.

The members themselves will always be those the story needs and not the unsorted bunch you would have to deal with in reality. It's more mixed with the advisor, who can be anything from lazy over frustrated or enthusiastic to outright crazy. That is of course if the advisor is around. In fact quite a few clubs hardly see their advisor or don't even seem to have one at all.

It's rare for a student to be a member of more than one club — School Clubs Are Serious Business in Japan, as they are seen as training for the companies students will eventually join when they enter the adult world. Since company loyalty and longevity are highly prized in the Japanese workforce, it's considered downright rude to devote time to more than one club, or worse, quit one club for another; as a result, you'll rarely see any Extracurricular Enthusiasts in Japanese works. The Ordinary High-School Student who isn't a member of any club is said to be a member of the "Go Home Club". (Usagi and Yaten do this in Sailor Moon when she gets to High School and he becomes a New Transfer Student, as does Watanuki from ×××HOLiC. Kagura from Azumanga Daioh accuses the rest of the girls of this.) If there's a female character member of an all-male sports club, such as the baseball or soccer clubs, she's portrayed as the Cute Sports Club Manager.

Some schools require clubs to have a minimum number of members. A common theme is, therefore, the Club Stub which will do anything to get more members to prevent getting disbanded. And by anything we mean anything from The Power of Friendship to brutal force.

Enemies of the club vary depending on the story and club. Sport clubs will obvious have to face clubs from other schools and may be cheered on by the other students. Clubs can however also be enemies of each other and there tends to be fighting whenever the creator doesn't have a better idea for a story. The school and the student council will require that the club actually do something which fits the club and will be after them if they do something not allowed. And should there be no enemies from outside, the members themselve often provide a good basis for infighting.

Sometimes the club is not actually an official club but just an informal group of students with a shared interest; these are called "circles", "societies" or "associations" in real life, but fiction doesn't always make the distinction.

This is the lowest-ranking Authority Trope. For the next step up, see Absurdly Powerful Student Council.


Other less common clubs include:

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    Anime & Manga 
  • All of the three main characters of Ai-Mai-Mi are nominally members of the Manga Club. In practice Ai is the only one who actually draws manga; the other two mostly just goof around, except when Ai forces them to help.
  • In All Rounder Meguru, Momoko enrolling the Fighters' Brew gym is prompted by her school disbanding the Judo club in which she was a member. Other characters are mentioned as current or past club members, including Yudai (judo in his old junior high) and Meguru himself (art club, but only because club membership is mandatory in his high school).
  • Anime-Gataris is about an anime club, who are initally opposed by the Absurdly Powerful Student Council and Student Council President.
  • In Asobi Asobase, the three members of the "Pastimers Club" try to get recognised as an official club to get access to the associated perks, but the student council president rejects their proposal, pointing out that 1) they don't have enough members and 2) "having fun" does not qualify as a club activity. Chisato, one of the teachers, gets essentially tricked into being their club advisor - she doesn't realise at first that the "club" is just the three of them, and assumes that the name "Pastimers Club" means they're researching people who engage in various pastimes, rather than just doing it themselves.
  • Asteroid in Love is about the combined Earth Sciences Club, formed by the merger of Geology and Astronomy clubs, due to neither having enough members on their own. Part of the plot comes from both clubs having to reconcile their entirely different goals and agendas.
  • In Battle Spirits Shonen Toppa Bashin, Bashin joins the Battle Spirits club once he starts middle school. While searching for the legendary club, he and his friends end up being recruited by various other clubs who would like them to join, though they reject them all.
  • Cherryton Academy in Beastars has a number of these. There's the drama club where several main characters (Louis, Legosi, Juno) are all part of, where Louis is the President and there's a stork advisor, the Newspaper Club, and the Gardening Club, though in the latter's case it's just Haru taking care of all of their plants because she's the only member.
  • The main characters of Brynhildr in the Darkness are all part of the astronomy club. This is mainly to hide the fact that the girls actually live in the observatory.
  • Cardcaptor Sakura:
    • Sakura herself is part of her elementary school's cheerleading club, along with her friends Chiharu and Naoko. Meanwhile, Sakura's best friend Tomoyo is a member of the school chorus and at least two episodes are about her having trouble while either practicing her songs or getting ready for singing competitions.
    • An episode of the anime has Sakura hanging around a girl from the track club, Rei, who has unadvertedly come in the possession of a Clow Card.
    • Yukito isn't in any club, but he sometimes hangs out with his friends in sports teams to help them out. One of these is the archery club, which hints at his identity as Yue. In the meantime, Nakuru is seen outperforming the whole basketball club but she doesn't join in, and in the anime Touya helps out the Drama Club at the request of its top actress, Youko.
  • In Cardfight!! Vanguard: Link Joker, Aichi tries to start a "Cardfight Club", though the student council is dead-set against it.
  • Case Closed:
    • Ran Mouri's the captain of the karate club, just to demonstrate how strong she is. Kazumi Tsukamoto (she's the one in the keyhole for volume 45) is the former captain of the karate club but is still a member.
    • Makoto Kyogoku is the captain of his school's karate club, rivaling Ran's school in national competitions; this was how he recognized both Ran and her friend Sonoko when the two girls went to his hometown for vacation.
    • Shinichi used to be a member of the soccer club in junior high and apparently in his first highschool year, but left when he prioritized his Amateur Sleuth activities. Years late, the Cute Sports Club Manager of said club (Asami Uchida) reappears and invites Sonoko and Ran to her birthday party... but she almost dies, so Conan must investigate.
    • Heiji Hattori not only is a member of the kendo team, but doubles as the Kendo Team Captain.
  • The eponymous club of Chronicles of the Going Home Club parodies the concept by literally calling itself the Go-Home Club.
  • Chu-Bra is about a middle school girl Nayu Hajama who starts an underwear club since she is a serious fan of lingerie. This proves controversial since most of the boys in school draw the obvious conclusion while the head of the drama club simply dislikes both Hajama and her club. They do make friends with the manga club but the school still does not approve of the club for obvious reasons.
  • In Code Geass, there are many clubs at Ashford Academy (a Britannian school in Japan that often seems more like a Japanese one in how it's run), which compete to find Arthur the cat, who made off with Zero's helmet, in the hopes of getting extra funding. At the end of that episode, Lelouch convinces Milly to let Suzaku into the Student Council, since students must join a club, and as a mere Honorary Britannian, he will have trouble fitting in.
    • Shirley, one of Lelouch's closest friends, is a Passionate Sports Girl and the star of Ashford Academy's swimming team.
  • Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is centred around school clubs, with the main characters belonging to one of those "do nothing" clubs, known as the Earth Defense Club. The series also features an Absurdly Powerful Student Council and a school Press Society.
  • In Dear Brother some of the Seiran High School girls are in clubs whether or not they're part of the Sorority. Kaoru is the star of the baskeball team, Tomoko is a member of the cooking club, and Fukiko says she is not just the Student Council President but also a part of both the flower arrangement and the horse riding clubs. (And we do see her in activities related to them.) Rei isn't officially in any group but she's seen helping the girls from the Drama Club in the anime and used to be in the basketball team, and Nanako wanted to join the cooking club but being pulled in the Sorority ruined these plans.
  • The Digidestined of Digimon Adventure 02 have referred to their group as the "Computer Club". It's basically a cover for their afterschool trips to the Digital World, using one of the school computers to get there. An early episode shows that there is a teacher who acts as the club's advisor - but he doesn't know the first thing about using computers and is a nonentity for the rest of the series. (His story purpose was to send Taichi away for an episode by forcing him to run interference.)
    • It's only tangentially mentioned in passing in the English dub, but the original Japanese version makes it very clear Koushirou was Miyako's respected senior when they were both in the same elementary school club the year prior. A certain drama CD also mentions that the trend continued when Miyako entered middle school, as she'd joined the middle school computer club (with Koushirou as captain/president).
    • Several Digidestined have their own club activities. Daisuke, Ken, Taichi and Sora are in their schools' soccer clubs, though Sora later switches to the tennis club.
  • Do It Yourself!! is about the "DIY Club" of Gatagata Girls' High School, a group of like-minded girls interested in everything hand-crafted like furniture, glass art and architecture. They're also incredibly short on numbers at the beginning of the show and need five members total in order to stay active.
  • The Paranormal Investigation Club in Dusk Maiden of Amnesia. It has no faculty advisor, it meets in an abandoned storeroom, and its founder and president is a ghost who's trying to find out how she died.
  • Ebiten has the boy Noya Itsuki joining the girls' otaku club, mistaking it for the Astronomy Club due to a spelling mistake. Even when they put together pieces of a doujinshi instead of showing him star maps he doesn't realise it.
  • In GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class the art club form an extra set of protagonists beside of the main five.
  • Shiiou University's Society for the Study of the Modern Visual Culture in Genshiken. The members are all Otaku who love anime, manga and video games, and the club is mainly an excuse for them to hang out and indulge in their hobbies. In a subversion, the original Club President is a seemingly powerless nonentity who barely attends. Mysteriously, he seems nearly omniscient at times; it's implied that this is because he has hidden cameras throughout the school for his nebulous research project. He never confirms or denies this, but just hinting at it is enough to blackmail Saki into joining the club.
  • In Girls und Panzer, the tankery team is treated as both a school club and an elective (the latter is why Midoriko "Sodoko" Sono of the morals committe tries to enforce school rules there). Many of its members come from other clubs, including the disbanded volleyball team, and the auto club (which repairs the team's tanks, before crewing the Porsche Tiger).
  • Gundam Expanded Universe:
  • Hanayamata has a yosakoi dancing club, which protagonist Naru joins in hopes of finding a purpose in her mundane life.
  • The Movie Study Club in Hayate the Combat Butler, aka "YourTube". They don't actually study movies, instead filming funny short films featuring students and staff. This being a Gag Series, and its three main members Those Three Girls, they get plenty of material.
  • All members of the "Go Home Club" in His and Her Circumstances are forcibly conscripted to participate in a play for the school culture festival.
  • Hitohira focuses on two rival clubs, the Drama Club and the Drama Research Society. As in Genshiken, it seems schools are uncomfortable with overlap, and the two must compete to stay official.
  • Imaizumin-chi wa Douyara Gal no Tamariba ni Natteru Rashii: ~DEEP~: Imaizumi, Reina, Ruri, and Yukina attend the "Idol Research Department" club. The main purpose of which is to discuss their living-together situation.
  • Most of the cast in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War are shown to members of various clubs or sports teams, and budget meetings are incredibly stressful for Shirogane since most of the club presidents are children of very influential people (one of them is a Yakuza Princess and another is actual royalty). The elegant Kaguya is part of the archery club, while the goofy Chika is in the tabletop gaming club, generally viewed as the "problem children" of the school — considering they wanted to stage a real-life version of Player Unknowns Battlegrounds for the culture festival, it's not hard to see why.
  • The various clubs from Kill la Kill serve as the minions of the Student Council President Satsuki Kiryuin. They range from the common such as the Tennis Club, to the absurd such as the Tightrope Walking Club. This is more or less Justified as the 'Two-Star' Club Presidents have greater wealth and status than One-Star or No-Star students, plus the more absurd examples are due to members of the more standard clubs breaking off to form their own clubs just so they can challenge Ryuko.
  • The Light Music Club from K-On!note . Yui was noted by Nodoka as having engaged in no after school group at all until high school, and when she did join the titular group, Nodoka initially assumed it was as a manager.
    • In the beginning of the second season, the girls visit other clubs at the school in order to get ideas on how to attract new members. This includes the Judo Club, Go Club, Tea Ceremony Club, and Occult Club.
  • Laid-Back Camp has the Outdoor Activities Club ("Outclub" for short), which is essentially the Camping Club. According to its founders Chiaki and Aoi, they started it because the Hiking Club was too intense for them; that said, Outclub operates out of a small storage closet in the club building because it doesn't have enough members to justify getting a normal club room.
  • In Magic of Stella's Hoshi-no-Tsuji is even laxer than the average Japanese school when it comes to club formation, in that the advisor is not even needed. Thus the SNS club, whose mission is doujin game development, can actually exist. Another school club that comes up is the Illustration club.
  • The Magic Users' Club in Magic User's Club. Rivals with Alpha Bitch Mizuha's manga club, and having her try to shut down the club is a Running Gag.
  • In Magical Sempai, Assistant joins the eponymous Sempai in her magical club because clubs are mandatory at their school. Unfortunately, since the club doesn't have enough members, he ends up having to join the Chemistry Club, while Sempai joins a few other clubs in order to recruit more members.
  • Miki is part of the girls' tennis team in Marmalade Boy. Ginta is a member of the boys's tennis team, and his cousin Tsutomu is also a member of his school's own. Naturally this seeps in their rivalry, and Hilarity Ensues. Meanwhile, Meiko is a member of the literature club and Satoshi's classmate Furutachi is the leader of the broadcasting club.
    • Arimi is a membress of the track team in her and Tsutomu's school.
  • In Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun, Sakura is in the art club, Kashima and Hori are in the drama club (with Hori being the president), Seo is in the choir, and Wakamatsu is in the boys' basketball club. The titular Nozaki isn't in a club, but that's because he already has a job as a manga artist. He did, however, used to be a basketball player before he quit to protect his precious drawing hand from injury.
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi:
  • No Matter How I Look at It, It's You Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular!: Tomoko tries to make friends by starting her own club, since she's familiar with anime and manga series that only use clubs as a way to hang out. She has an Imagine Spot where she has a calm afternoon just hanging out in her new club. However, when she sends in the application to make a new hangout club, it gets rejected for not having any real purpose.
  • Pretty Cure never forgets about clubs.
    • Futari wa Pretty Cure had Nagisa and Honoka as the stars of the lacrosse team and science club respectively, and in Max Heart they were both promoted to leadership of the clubs. Members of both clubs were recurring characters, and Nagisa's teammates Rina and Shiho were regulars.
      • Additionally, Honoka was technically a member of several other clubs as well, although she was rarely able to attend meetings because of time constraints.
    • In Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash★Star, Saki is the softball team's pitcher, and Mai eventually joins the art club after dithering about it for a while.
    • All the main heroines in HeartCatch Pretty Cure! are members of the fashion club (with Erika as the Club President), though they had some trouble getting it started due to a lack of members. In addition, Tsubomi is also a member of the gardening club, and then there's the Student Council President...
    • In Smile PreCure!, all five heroines are in different clubs. Miyuki is in the cheerleading team, Akane is in the volleyball club, Yayoi is in the art club, Nao is in the soccer club, and Reika is in the kyuudo club and is in the student council.
    • In Suite Pretty Cure ♪, Kanade is in the sweets club, while Hibiki helps many sports clubs out, including the judo club and soccer club.
    • Yes! Pretty Cure 5 had episodes focusing on Rin and Karen which showed off an assortment of the school's clubs. Rin is as a founding member of the futsal team, and Komachi is a member of the library committee. Find that combination in another anime. Also deserving of special mention is Nozomi, who joined a number of different clubs and brought disaster upon all of them—Rin won't shut up about how she was kicked out of the drama club for a combination of massive incompetence and mass destruction.
  • All of the teams in The Prince of Tennis are actually clubs, and their captains are basically the club president.
  • In Revolutionary Girl Utena, the members of the Council often double as members of the local sports clubs: Touga, Juri and Miki are on the fencing team (with Juri being the captain), and Saionji is the Kendo Team Captain. Utena hangs out around some other clubs (namely, basketball and the track team) but is no official membress of any of them.
  • In an early chapter of Ring ni Kakero, Ryuuji starts attending junior high and immediately goes check on the boxing club. The sempais, however, are a bunch of jerk asses and beat up not only Ryuuji, but the delinquent kids that Ryuuji antagonized at the start of the chapter. This gets Ryuuji fired up, and he beats all of them up.
  • The Yokai Gakuen High from Rosario + Vampire has a school club obligation because the yokai students have to learn about human culture, so they can conform in the human world. The main characters are in the Newspaper Club, lead by Ginei Morioka. Since they are involved in many fights and don't want the other students to know about those conflicts, they leave the fights out in their newspaper. Also, nobody else tries to investigate the main characters. However, the other students still hear about some rumors that the Newspaper Club is involved in some fights, so it's one of the most feared school clubs. But it's also one of the most famous and most popular clubs, since most of the members are just beautiful.
    • Since it's a school for monsters, there are also dangerous clubs, like the swimming club, but besides the Hagure Yokai Gang (also known as the Antithesis) the most dangerous and most feared one is the School Security Commitee, led by Kuyou. The School Security Commitee is actually the school version of the mafia. But after the leader is defeated by Tsukune, very little is heard about it anymore besides a blink and you'll miss it scene where they arrest one of the main cast's enemies.
    • Before the main characters entered the school, the Newspaper Club President, Sun Otonashi, was one of the strongest students in the school's history, even Kuyou and Kyria feared her. Ginei joined the club because of her. But after Sun graduated from school, the Newspaper Club was taken down by the School Security Commitee.
    • The supporting character, Haiji Miyamoto, is the Karate Club President. Because the Newspaper Club defeated the Karate Club's membership (Haiji having a weaknesses for lolis), all potentional new members of the Newspaper Club ran away at that year.
  • Minako from Sailor Moon used to be in the volley team in junior high, but left when it started conflicting with her activities as Sailor V. She's seen training once in a while in the old anime, and eventually returns to the club in Sailor Stars.
    • In Sailor Stars Seiya is in the American football team, Ami is in the computer club, Taiki is in the literature club, and Makoto gets offers from several sports clubs (though she wants to go to the cooking club). One-time character Sonoko is the captain of the girls's softball team, too. Yaten and Usagi, as said above, are quite adamantly members of the Go Home club.
  • Saki has the mahjong clubs competing in the tournament. They range from large clubs with stiff competition for spots on the regular team to small groups of friends who make it surprisingly far in the tournament. As most of of the club presidents of the mahjong clubs are considered the leaders of their respective teams, Tsuruga Academy's Yumi stands out as the only team leader who isn't the club president. She always gets mistaken as the club president because she's more composed and organized than the actual club president, Satomi.
  • In Shinshunki Miman Okotowari, the gymnastics club turns out to be pretty important to the plot since Asuka decides to join it so she can pursue her dream to become a PE teacher and impress her Disappeared Dad, the never-seen chairman of the school, enough so he will come to meet her. Therefore, she spends a good part of chapter 3 trying to get in it, nevermind the objections of the Alpha Bitch/Student Council President/team captain Youko Kamiya.
  • In the Strawberry 100%, Junpei is a student and aspiring movie director. He tries to join the film club but learns it has been disbanded. He revives the club thanks to Aya, Satsuki (two of his love interest), and his high school friends as members and make amatorial movies.
  • Sundome revolves around the Roman Club, which is all about seeking paranormal events...and is dedicated to preserving its members' virginity for as long as possible.
  • In A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow, much of the story is about the Aquarium Club. Part of the reason why Konatsu joins the club is because she's required to be part of one as a result of the school's small size, and it's partly because she's becoming friends with Koyuki Honami, the club president.
  • In The Vision of Escaflowne, female lead Hitomi Kanzaki is a member of the track team and has a crush on the star of the club, Susumu Amano.
  • In W Juliet the main characters Ito and Makoto meet when the later is joining the Drama Club. The club and its members often play a role (no pun intended) in the series afterwards.
  • The World God Only Knows, being essentially a comedic deconstruction of Dating Sim tropes, has several of the capture targets being club members: Ayumi (track running club), Shiori (library), Kusonoki (girls' karate club), Tsukiyo (astronomy club) and Minami (swimming club). The light music club ends up playing a part in the story later on.
  • In Yo-kai Watch Jam - Yo-kai Academy Y: Close Encounters of the N Kind, Koma, Jinpei, and their friends are a part of the youkai-related "YSP Club" at their school. The club solves mysteries.
  • Yubisaki Milk Tea has a small collection with several friends of the main character, Yoshinori Ikeda, in different clubs in high school. Wataru is in the boys soccer club, Nogi is the captain of the girls basketball team and Kodama is in the art club. Meanwhile Hidari Morii joins a newfound girls soccer team in her middle school. Yoshinori himself played soccer in middle school but dropped it when he got into crossdressing.
    Nogi: Which club are you in?
    Yuki (Yoshinori): The Go Home Club.
    Nogi: Ha. The Go Home Club...! The worst kind of student... One who isn't in any club.
  • YuruYuri starts with three, later four girls who form their own amusement club in the room of the disbanded tea ceremony club.

    Fan Works 
  • One Year: Yu Narukami takes part in his high school's drama club and befriends two of the members, before dropping out after the school play to focus on exams.
  • ''Three-Point Shot':, Kaede and Shuichi's group of friends is unofficially known as the Fitness Club at a few points, since the killing game takes place inside a school.

    Literature 
  • In Another, some of Kouichi's classmates are in different clubs:
  • Beyond the Boundary has the Literature Club, which all four of the main characters are a member of. The club itself was actually formed in order to keep an eye on Akihito, who is a half-human, half-youmu who becomes incredibly dangerous when he goes berserk. The club advisor and vice president actually pitch in to contain him when he goes out of control in the fourth episode.
  • The main character of Elegant Yokai Apartment Life Yushi Inaba is part of the English language club at his school. His membership in this club is the source of a lot of the plots throughout the story, and most of the people Yushi interacts with outside of the apartment are in the club.
  • Part of the premise of Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainese Lieselotte involves the titular Endo and Kobayashi being in the Broadcasting Club of their school. Since the club handles most public announcements of the school, it has a visible presence at their school, and has more members than the what can be classified as a Club Stub— Episode 9 of the anime shows at least 9 members. Its is also noted to have a relaxed atmosphere, with the club room stuffed with things that has nothing to do with what they're supposed to be doing. What does it has to do with a premise? They are doing a MST/Let's Play of Kobayashi's favourite Romance Game as a kind of commentator practice, and an NPC unexpectedly can hear their commentary.
  • Fire Girl revolves around the members of the Exploration Club, a club dedicated to investigating the uncharted planet Imaginary Earth.
  • Haruhi Suzumiya: The Spreading Excitement all Over the World with Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade, or the "S.O.S. Brigade" (original Japanese: Sekai o ÅŒini Moriageru Tame no Suzumiya Haruhi no Dan), is a deconstruction of the trope as it is not an official school club — no advisor, no funds, and they meet in the literature club's room (The sole member of the literature club doesn't mind). The reason for the club's conception is because Haruhi can't find a club that suits her interests (mainly the supernatural) and decides to start her own club. Later on, they become much more "relevant" to the school by offering counseling and investigation services for troubled students (most of which are set up by Itsuki to keep Haruhi preoccupied.) There's also the S.O.S. Brigade's wannabe rivals, the Computer Club, and their histrionic president.
  • Hensuki: Are You Willing to Fall in Love with a Pervert, as Long as She's a Cutie?: Sayuki is the president of the Calligraphy Club, and Keiki joined more to keep the club afloat than out of interest in calligraphy. Yuika, Mao, and Mizuha join as well when they realize that Sayuki has an advantage in spending time with Kiryu due to being in the same club. The other members tend to use the club as a means to engage in their fetishes, though when their club is being inspected, they do perform some proper calligraphy by drawing characters related to their fetishes.
  • High School Dx D. The devil Rias is the president of the Occult Research Club, which is actually a front. The club's (closed) membership is entirely her Devil servants, and she uses club time to conduct meetings with her peerage. The student council is aware of this, but they're another pack of Devils doing the same thing.
  • The Yamayurikai in Maria Watches Over Us probably falls under the Absurdly Powerful Student Council, but it's notable that several characters do double duty with other clubs. Rei is the Kendo Team Captain and Yoshino joins the kendo club in her second year. Touko is also a member of the Drama Club and while not formally a member of the Yamayurikai at the time, her agreeing to help them with their play at the School Festival is a source of some conflict. The Photography Club also gets some coverage courtesy of Yumi's friend Tsutako.

    Live Action TV 
  • The Kamen Rider Club is the unofficial version in Kamen Rider Fourze, their activities being "fight the Zodiarts". That is, until they get busted by one of the teachers mid-season, who proclaims that unauthorized clubs are not allowed - so he'll be their advisor.

    Video Games 
  • The Adventure of Hourai High School has plenty of these, ranging from normal sports clubs like tennis, baseball, karate, and the like, to weird ones like mad scientists' club and occult club. They function as the game's job system.
  • Player characters in Disgaea 3 can join after-school clubs for various benefits, including special abilities. Characters can only Magichange successfully with members of the same club. The President of each club gains stat bonuses based on the power of his subordinates and can use their spells when adjacent to them in battle. The only club initially available, the Going Homers, confers no special benefits but has the largest default size.
  • In Ensemble Stars!, students are required by school policy to be part of a club. There are also committees and the Student Council, which don't count as clubs, meaning students that are in them have to double up on their extracurriculars.
    • Karate Club: Kuro and Tetora.
    • Tea Club: Eichi, Ritsu, and Hajime.
    • Theater Club: Wataru, Hokuto, and Tomoya.
    • Light Music Club: Rei, Koga, Hinata, and Yuta.
    • Basketball Club: Chiaki, Subaru, Mao, and Midori.
    • Tennis Club: Nazuna, Izumi, Makoto, and Tori.
    • Ninja Association (the beginnings of a club): Shinobu.
    • Track Club: Madara, Arashi, Adonis, and Mitsuru.
    • Archery Club: Keito, Leo, Yuzuru, and Tsukasa.
    • Game Research Club: Natsume and Sora.
    • Marine Biology Club: Kanata, Kaoru, and Souma.
    • Handicrafts Club: Shu, Tsumugi, and Mika.
    • Broadcasting Committee: Nazuna, Makoto, and Shinobu.
    • Library Committee: Tsumugi.
    • Student Council: Eichi, Keito, Mao, and Tori.
  • Persona:
    • In Persona 3, SEES is technically a school club with Chairman Ikutsuki as its advisor, but the fact never proves to have any particular significance and several SEES members are members of official school clubs as well: Yukari is in the archery club, Akihiko is captain of the boxing team, and Mitsuru is Student Council President. The player character can join a number of official and unofficial clubs, including Student Council; these inevitably provide Social Links with the classmates involved. Unlike the fourth game, the choice of a club doesn't affect which Social Link the protagonist gets; for example, the female protagonist always gets Rio as her Chariot Social Link regardless of whether she chooses volleyball or tennis.
    • The same is true in Persona 4, in which the protagonist is allowed to join a sports team and a cultural club. Strength Social Link is held either by Kou (part of the basketball club) or Daisuke (part of the soccer club). Midway through either sports team social link, you meet Cute Sports Club Manager Ai, the Moon Social Link. The Sun social link can either be Yumi (drama club) or Ayane (Music club). If you talk with your party members in a dungeon while you're not busy trying to save someone, they may bring up your club, but only Chie seems to be part of a club.
  • Yandere Simulator has school clubs that bestow a unique benefit to the player as long as they are a member. She can only join (and reap the benefits of) one club at a time, and can't rejoin if she quits or is otherwise kicked out. She's also cut off from certain clubs if it's shut down because Yandere-chan killed too many members for it to function or if the leader of the club dies or disappears (which, considering the leaders of the Cooking, Drama, Occult, Sports Clubs and Student Council President are rivals, is a very real possibility). There's also one club she'll never be able to join no matter what-the Info Club, which consists solely of Info-chan. Benefits are as followed (subject to change):
    • Cooking: the ability to increase reputation by giving out treats, carry knives without anyone becoming suspicious, and steer the Cooking Club members away from potential victims by claiming they don't want free food.
    • Drama: access to gloves and masks to hide her identity, and ability to carry certain props without anyone becoming suspicious.
    • Occult: sanity depletes less quickly and people are slow to notice her acting suspiciously.
    • Art: people will mistake blood for paint if she wears a painter's smock.
    • Light Music: access to a cello case in which she can hide bodies or large weapons, and able to increase reputation by practicing with the band.
    • Martial Arts: the ability to win any fight against students and teachers, and the ability to practice the combat minigame used when fighting a delinquent.
    • Photography: easier to take photos of people, and her fellow club members (who are amateur detectives-slash-Scooby-Doo expies) won't suspect her of being a killer.
    • Science: access to a robot that cleans up liquid, including blood, and an acid vat that can be used to dissolve a corpse.
    • Sports: the ability to run faster, and carrying sports equipment without anyone becoming suspicious.
    • Gardening: easy access to the shed, the ability to carry gardening equipment without anyone becoming suspicious, able to bury bodies in the garden, and able to grow plants that can be used to poison someone.
    • Gaming: Only present in 20XX mode, a once-a-day boost to one stat of the player's choice.
    • Student Council (not implemented yet): the ability to ask favors of students without befriending them, the ability to be thirty minutes late to class without punishment, the ability to go anywhere except the boys' restroom without being considered a trespasser, a lowered guard, meaning students take longer to realize Yandere-chan is doing something questionable, and one unknown ability revolving around the Student Council President, Megami. However, the Student Council requires a lot of difficult requirements to join, and to stay in the council requires daily meetings and tasks five times a week, which cuts down on the time Yandere-chan has to eliminate a rival.
    • Delinquents: Not strictly a club, but will function the same. Only present in 20XX Mode. The ability to intimidate anyone at the cost of permanently lowered reputation.
    • Newspaper: Only present in 1980s Mode, able to write articles that restore Ryoba's reputation, School Atmosphere, or lower the rival's reputation.

    Visual Novels 
  • The Modern Society Studies Club in 11eyes, founded by the already kind of crazy Yukiko. It makes a convenient cover for the club's activities in the Red Night.
  • Amnesia Later reveals that Ukyo was in quite a lot of school clubs because of his frequent moving and entering new schools, as well as an inability to say no. The list is pretty long and it seems like he's done pretty much every club Japanese schools had to offer — from the cooking and debate club to various sports clubs and drama. He also admits that his stature and long hair got him mistaken for a girl, so he often got recruited for the girls' sports clubs, like lacrosse.
  • Aoi Shiro has its protagonist, one route heroine and several members of the supporting cast as members of the Kendo team from a prestigious all girls school. In fact the plot starts by them arriving at the location for their annual training camp. It also impacts the plots of several routes as events common (at least in fiction) to these sort of trips influence various chance encounters and there is always an option to call the trip off early to avoid bad weather to get a Non-Standard Game Over.
  • CLANNAD has Nagisa working to reform the school's drama club, despite having no members and having pressure from the student council since the club itself barely have members, they have no advisor and are nearly as bad with organization and paperwork as Afterschool Tea Time and as such the student council has to consider it a non-entity. When the drama club works out the issues (mainly by sharing an advisor with an instrument club), they encounter no more external problems.
  • The Literature Club in Crescendo (JP), with Kaho as the club president. Miyu, however, is a member of the school orchestra instead.
  • Doki Doki Literature Club! is about, of course, a literature club in a Japanese high school, which the player character joins out of obligation to his childhood friend Sayori (who teases him that he'll be a NEET if he doesn't try to socialize more). The club only consists of four people, who spent their meetings writing poetry and flirting with the protagonist, but they plan to recite poetry at the school festival to get more members, though not everybody in the club wants it to become larger. The game never actually gets to the festival, however, due to club president Monika becoming aware that she's in a game and becoming a Reality Warper in order to keep the player interested in her above all other girls. It's implied that being the club president somehow gives the character awareness of the fourth wall. There's also a mention of an anime club, but we don't see it or any other clubs — or any other students, for that matter.
  • The archery club makes a brief appearance near the beginning of Fate/stay night, though Shirou quit when it stopped being a challenge/he stopped needing to practice. It's also something of a Chekhov's Gun with regards to Archer's identity.
  • Near the start of Gakuen Heaven Keita has to go around and visit every single club as a "mission" from the head of the School Council and a large number of the characters either captain their respective club or are a serious member of it. Clubs include: a club for the vast majority of sports (such as tennis (which Naruse captains), judo (which Niwa used to captain) and archery (which Shinomiya captains)), the art club (which Iwai captains) and the crafts club (which Kazuki is a part of).
  • In Gakuen Heaven nearly every character is a member of a different club. The main character is forced to visit every club so he can choose one to join.
  • In Higurashi: When They Cry, Mion Sonozaki is the Class/Club President. The school is so tiny that she can get away with being both.
  • Kamigami no Asobi is about a girl who has to attend a school with a harem of Bishōnen gods and teach them about "the human heart". Part of this involves making sure they all join clubs. Episodes 4 and 5 revolve around getting Hades and Takeru (a.k.a. Susano'o) to overcome their trust issues and join clubs. Loki and Thor pick the Going-Home club.
  • Katawa Shoujo:
    • Mutou and Hisao try setting up a Science Club during Emi's route. Emi herself is a member of the track team, alongside Miki.
    • Rin's a member of the Art Club, and Hisao joins in her route. To gain access to said route, Hisao must tell the art club advisor Nomiya that he intends to become a member when Nomiya shows up near the end of the First Act. (If you choose the other answer, you get the Bad Ending, since getting there involves avoiding all the other choices that would flag you for another girl's route, and the other choices that send you on a one-way path to the Bad Ending.)
    • Under Shizune and Misha's control, the Student Council suffers from Club Stub. Obviously, taking up Shizune's route means that Hisao is a member as well.
    • Lilly organises School Festival related activities in Act 1 for her class. Hanako and Kenji take part in them if Hanako's route is being aimed for.
    • Naomi and Natsumi are members of the school paper and Hanako joins them in Lilly's route
  • Kindred Spirits on the Roof has several student organizations that are relevant to the plot.
    • Miki Aihara is president of the beautification committee, and Seina Maki joins it to be with her.
    • The broadcasting club features long-time friends Umi Ichiki, Sasa Futano and Nena Miyama, two of whom are in love with each other. There are other members, but they aren't shown.
    • There is a math club featuring Kiri Tsurugimine as the sole member, and Tsukuyo Sonou as an advisor.
    • The track team's captain and vice-captain, Matsuri Amishima and Miyu Inamoto, are in a Secret Relationship, and the protagonist Yuna Toomi's Childhood Friend Hina is part of the club.
    • Aki Ariu is part of the disciplinary committee, which leads to her meeting the chronically tardy Youka Koba.
    • While Yuna is not currently involved in any clubs(save for volunteering to cook for the track team and other clubs at the school over the summer), and neither are her friends Fuji Ano and Youka, it turns out that she was in her middle school's cooking club, but quit after hearing her clubmates badmouthing her, with the experience traumatizing her and causing her to distance herself from others besides Hina.
  • Karin Sasamori from To Heart 2, also has a Mystery Club except that what she means by Mystery Club is similar to the SOS Brigade.
  • Tokimeki Memorial 1 has: Saki Nijino (baseball or soccer club's Cute Sports Club Manager), Nozomi Kiyokawa (swimming team), Ayako Katagiri (art club), Mio Kisaragi (Drama Club), Shiori Fujisaki (school orchestra), Yumi Saotome (basketball club), Miharu Tatebayashi (reading club), Yuina Himoo (science club) and Yukari Koshiki (tennis club). The fact that Mira Kagami doesn't belong to any club turns out to be very important in her route: she can't join them because of her harsh family situation, but hides this as a part of her facade.
  • In True Love Junai Monogatari, two of the love interests are in clubs: Chiemi (captain of the swimming team) and Miyuki (member of the art club)
  • In Season of the Sakura, the main character refuses to join any club because trying to excel at every sport and be the "school hero" at his old school alienated him from his classmates; as a result, he's sworn to never join any club until he can find someone better than him. The only thing he's not good at is swimming, due to childhood trauma-induced hydrophobia that makes him Freak Out when he gets in the pool.

    Web Comics 
  • Hetalia: Axis Powers: In the High School AU, Gakuen Hetalia, there are several clubs joined by the Nations as People. i.e., Estonia and Ukraine are in the choir (he's a piano player while she's a singer), England, Norway and Romania are in the Magic Club; Australia and Hungary attend the Swimming Team whereas France, China and Turkey are in the cooking club... and Switzerland is all "Go Home Club or else!"
  • Sleepless Domain:
    • The main character quickly becomes a member of the Magical Girl Power Training Club, a club for Magical Girls to train and become stronger. The club meets on most days after school in their school's weight room, both to exercise physically and to hone their magical powers. The captain of the club is the famous magical girl Heartful Punch, who ends up befriending said main character and inviting her to join.
    • Among other clubs mentioned are the Gardening Club (of which there's only one member), the Math Club, the Outer Science Club, the Art Club, the Soccer Club (no powers allowed), the Magi-Soccer Club (some powers allowed), and the Monster Studies Club (who would like to emphasize that they aren't a monster fan club). It's also noted, however, that club participation as a whole is rather low at Future's Promise, as most students are already preoccupied with Magical Girl duties.

Alternative Title(s): Club President

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