The Tokyopop Recons are a series of in-store events held in book and comic shops around the country by Tokyopop, the UK's leading manga publisher.

A packed calendar sees the Recons visit every corner of the UK, and precise event details vary between location.  Many shops hold extra activities and competitions to coincide with the Recons, and as such they sometimes charge a nominal entry fee.  You can usually use your ticket as a voucher to get an equivalent discount from your manga purchases on the night.  On other occasions though entry is free.

The Recons take place in the evening, after normal shop opening hours.  Tickets must be picked up from the host shop in advance, even the free tickets, and often entry to competitions must be made in advance.  Ask in the host shop before the event for details.

"Come along to our TOKYOPOP manga recon night!  Including Manga quiz art competition and Nintendo Wii!  If you are into Cosplay come dressed as your favourite character!"

The Tokyopop Recons are a great way to meet other anime and manga fans in your local area, and also a great way to pick up manga you're missing or to cosplay outside of a convention or expo.  The actual Recon usually sees a Tokyopop rep tell you about their upcoming manga titles, host a quiz and often cosplay and art competitions too.  Each entrant gets a ticket for a prize draw at the end of the evening, often with great prizes on offer such as anime DVDs, soundtracks and bundles of manga.  Host shops usually have massive manga restocks for the night, usually of all manga - not just Tokyopop.  They also usually supply snacks and drinks for attendees, sometimes bring Nintendo game pods and often offer special one off deals on manga purchases.
 

   To be honest the Recons can be a bit hit or miss, depending on how many people turn up or your age compared to that of the rest of the attendees.  It can be a bit of a Russian Roulette, and in some cases you can turn up and find yourself surrounded by people several years younger than you, or on others they might all be older.  Attendance can vary from about five people to over three hundred too!  Most of the time it's a decent mix of ages though, and most people are friendly and accepting.  You'll be surprised how manga anime fans there are in your local area and talking to them can help you learn about fan groups or other events you may want to

attend.  They also provide a good opportunity to test out a cosplay in advance of a major event and generally have a laugh with like-minded people.

At the end of the day the Recons are usually well worth going to, and even if one turns out to be a bit of a damp squib it only last a couple of hours and you can at least pick up some manga!

Unfortunately we don't have an other articles on Tokyopop Recons at present.  For further information on a specific event, please check in the relevant shop in advance of the event date.  Please note that entries for art or character design competitions generally have to be submitted in advance, so make sure you check in plenty of time to avoid missing any submission deadline.

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