Cal Animage Alpha is the flagship chapter of a loosely organized international conglomeration of anime clubs all of which share the name "Cal Animage".

Originally just a group of friends CAA met in any number of various rooms on the Berkeley campus; Cal Animage was formally established by Mike Tatsugawa in January 1989.

While the debate is still on as to "who is the oldest anime club," CAA has the distinction and claim to fame of once being "the largest anime club outside of Japan."

Many past officers both from CAA and other Cal Animage chapters have gone on to further spread anime. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) was headed by Mike Tatsugawa and runs the annual Anime Expo. Other previous officers have moved on into the anime industry, both domestic and abroad.

With the release of domestic anime, CAA has slowed down quite a bit. Membership has been fairly constant around 100. The main focus of the biweekly Sunday showings has been towards those titles that would have little chance of being released in America, yet popular enough to hold an audience's attention.