Animarathon. A time for people to gather to celebrate the amazing art of anime.

The anime club of Northwest Ohio is hosting their first daylong anime festival, Animarathon.

ANO has three rooms in the Union booked for a fun-filled day of over 30 movies, an arcade room and a raffle with many prizes. “I tried to cover as many genres as I could. There is comedy, action, romance and just about any other sense that I could think of,” Joe Ferrone, president of the University club, said.

Animarathon is an opportunity for everyone to enjoy anime, because there will be something for everyone.

“Anime is just a lot of fun. Some of it is for kids, some of it is for adults but regardless of who it’s for there are plenty of wonderful stories and gorgeous animation for people to enjoy,” Angela Hanson, treasurer of the University club, said.

Feb. 1, 2002 was the clubs first advertised meeting. Over the course of the year the membership has grown to about 25-30 active members and many others.

“The event is to celebrate ANO’s one-year anniversary as a registered organization,” Ferrone said.

“My hope with this event is to get more people to experience anime and hopefully they’ll get the same joy of watching it as I do. I really hope a lot of people who may be unaware of anime come to check out this event,” Ferrone said.

Animarathon takes place March 1 in rooms 201, 206 and 308 of the Union from 10 a.m. to midnight. For the complete schedule visit ANO’s homepage http://animeohio.cjb.net

“It will be a great time and there is really something for any taste,” Ferrone said.