Hazukashikunaibukuro hope to make the train ride home from Japan’s biggest otaku art gathering a little less awkward.

Because of the pandemic, 2020 was the first year since Comiket’s initial 1975 iteration that Japan’s largest doujinshi (self-published manga) convention wasn’t held, and for a while it looked like 2021 was going to share that fate. There’s an otaku-pleasing buzzer beater coming this week, though, as Comiket 99 will be held on December 30 and 31, and it’s not just the excitement of an in-person event that has people happy.

Much of the merchandise sold at Comiket makes use of copyrighted characters, which companies in the anime industry routinely turn a blind eye to as long as the fan art is sold in limited local quantities. That usually precludes online sales, so Comiket returning will be the first chance in a long time for fans to get their hands on depictions of their favorite characters by their favorite doujin artists. However, the unofficial nature of doujin illustrations often results in the most coveted merch being of a decidedly risqué nature, and with most Comiket attendees leaving the venue by train, they face a difficult choice: possibly offend other passengers who don’t share their taste in scantily clad anime character artwork, or put permanent creases into their posters by folding them up and sticking them in their backpacks.

Neither one of those is an attractive option, but thankfully, there’s also a third choice.

Lashinbang, a nationwide chain of secondhand stores specializing in otaku-oriented figures, Blu-rays, and other items, will be at booth 251 at Comiket 99, and they’ll be handing out hazukashikunaibukuro. What are they? They’re large blue bags (the bukuro part) that conceal what’s inside so that you don’t have to be hazukashii, or “embarrassed.” Basically, these anti-embarrassment bags are large enough so that you can slip a poster inside without having to fold or roll it, then put your arm through the shoulder strap and carry your treasure home in pristine condition, all without having to subject anyone else to your aesthetic preferences, or for you yourself to having to be subject to anyone’s disapproving glares.

▼ The bag’s opaque nature looks like it’ll make a good match for transporting some of the huggy pillow covers and blankets Lashinbang itself will be selling at Comiket.

The bags will be given out for free (yep, free – you don’t even have to give them any of your blood) while supplies last, and anime voice actress Riko Kohara (BanG Dream’s Rokka, Senran Kagura’s Gekko) will also be making an appearance at Lashinbang’s booth. Really, the only drawback is that by carrying a bag on the train with “anti-embarrassment bag” written on it in giant Japanese script might have some people speculating as to what sort of scandalous items you have inside, but at least in that case, if they think of something really depraved you could argue that they’re the ones with the dirty minds.

Source: Lashinbang, IT Media
Images: Lashinbang
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