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Anime & Manga Swap Meet To Be Held In New York City July 15, 2007

Anime/Manga Fans to Meet and Trade Their Collections in Social Atmosphere

NEW YORK, NY, June 5, 2007 – In the afternoon of Sunday, July 15, 2007, American fans of anime and manga will converge in a restaurant beside the Empire State Building in Manhattan to trade their collections of mangas and anime and meet other enthusiasts of their hobby.

Dubbed the "Metro Mangaswap," the event will be held at the lower floor of the Maui Tacos restaurant, located at 330 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, across 33rd Street from famed Manhattan landmark the Empire State Building. It will run from Noon until 6:00 PM.

"The Metro Mangaswap is intended both for good old-fashioned trading and as a social event," said event organizer Ralph Young of sponsoring anime club Metro Anime. "A decade ago, when manga and anime were relatively scarce, anime trading was much more social than it is today. The internet and explosion of a domestic distribution market, while a necessary part of popularizing the media, depersonalized the process a great deal. Where once it was pretty much a necessity to network with other fans to gain access to your favorite titles, these days people can and do become fans without ever meeting or communicating with each other. We hope to re-assert some of the interpersonal aspects of anime fandom."

Participants will pay a flat $2.00 entry fee for the event, and provide portions of their collections to be labeled with the source's name and displayed for potential trades. Only manga and anime are eligible for trading, although these are loosely defined for purposes of the event. Any graphic-print media from Asia (including Chinese or Korean manhua) may be included, in the original language or in translated form; as well as original English-language media in the traditional Japanese "tankobon" compact compilation-volume style. Anime can include DVD, VHS, or even older Laser Disc formats, although only original, commercially released media will be acceptable.

Each trade will be negotiated individually between buyer and seller, although the sponsors encourage participants to engage in bartering individual items in addition to selling for cash. The items put up for trade will not be labeled with fixed prices, and participants will come to mutually acceptable terms on their own. Participants may stay for all or part of the event, but will be responsible for collecting their untraded goods before leaving; abandoned goods will be confiscated by the sponsors at the end of the day. Adult-oriented materials will be traded in a cordoned-off area.

The sponsors of the Metro Mangaswap are the members of Metro Anime, New York City's own independent anime club. In continuous operation since 1995, Metro Anime hosts monthly anime screenings, an email listserver, and a variety of social events geared to manga/anime fans in the New York City metropolitan area. Distinguished alumni of Metro Anime include Becky Cloonan, creator of TokyoPop's East Coast Rising graphic novel and artist on Vertigo's American Virgin comic book; Terry Chu, former president of the Otakon mega-convention; and Mariela Ortiz, DVD coordinator for ADV Films and voice actress in the English language versions of titles including Aquarian Age, D.N.Angel, and Azumanga Daioh.

METRO MANGASWAP

Maui Tacos, 330 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10001

July 15, 2007, Noon – 6PM

Admission: $2.00

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