Among this majestic spectacle of nature, a mysterious red beast which preys on the otaku was discovered.

On 10 August, the 94th Comiket comic market for independent manga, anime, cosplay, and video games began. This is considered the pinnacle of events regarding Japanese hobbies and amasses such a large crowd of otaku they’ve been known to generate their own weather patterns.

The extreme heat of this summer’s Comiket has been of concern to organizers and city officials, especially when considering the segment of attendees dressed in giant robot costumes. Local businesses have stocked up on water and sports drinks to help, but the risk of heat stroke remains high.

Despite these dangers, the Comiket Opening Dash started smoothly. This is when the most eager of otaku take the first train in to the venue and run through the ticket gate towards the entrance.

▼ A vintage 2012 Comiket Opening Dash

Zoologists believe that these go-getting otaku will be the most likely to mate during this migration, or at least find the very best erotic content to simulate the mating process with.

This year’s Dash was fairly orderly. Otaku conservationists (station employees) can be seen throughout the station guiding these beautiful creatures into orderly pathways to avoid injuries and make sure they use the ticket gates properly.

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It wasn’t completely without incident, however. As we can see in the following video at the 30-second mark, one female specimen appears to have dropped something on her way through the gate and is trampled by competing otaku. Then, immediately after, another otaku failed to use the ticket gate properly after several attempts, causing a massive back-up.

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But overall, this was a relatively calm Comiket Opening Dash. It’s quite likely that the heat has slowed everyone down.

However, an unprecedented danger has befallen this mass movement of otaku. Much like with baby sea turtles on their journey from the egg to the sea, it appears that an unidentified predator has learned this pattern of behavior and descended upon them this year, disrupting the Comiket Opening Dash, when otaku are at their most vulnerable.

Much like a bear wading upstream to catch salmon, we can see this unidentified red beast running in the opposite direction, clearly with the intent of tackling an otaku. After crashing into one of the members of the otaku herd, the mystery person can then be seen running through the ticket gates, only to stand on the other side, mimicking the actions of the station employees and directing the crowd out of the station.

Luckily, since this biannual event also draws a large crowd of nature photographers, the attack was caught on multiple angles.

Little is known about this new threat, but its bright red markings and checkered pattern suggests an unusual character.

Perhaps the violet-capped visitor in vivid plumage wanted to achieve glory by being the first through the gates in the other direction to the masses. Or perhaps he simply wanted to be part of the festive occasion in some way. It’s possible that he probably wanted to achieve some sort of notoriety for his actions, but it’s interesting to note that he was totally ignored by the station staff the whole time he was there.

Maybe this is simply the course of nature. Otaku numbers have been continuously swelling and if left unchecked could have a damaging effect on the ecosystem. Perhaps by introducing predators the otaku population can be controlled before we get doujin content even creepier than an incestuous mother-daughter cookbook.

**UPDATE: The predator was later revealed to be a Japanese YouTuber who was subsequently riddled with negative comments for his violent behavior and forced to apologize. **

Source: Hachima Kiko
Top image: YouTube/Turikou TV Fishing ch. Japan style