Plus, Bocchi the Rock! creator’s newfound fame causes chaos at the venue.  

Every time a new year appears on the horizon, a league of cosplayers appears on the horizon too, over at the Tokyo Big Sight convention centre where Winter Comiket is traditionally held on the last few days of December.

Like last year, when the event returned after a two-year pandemic-induced hiatus, this year’s Winter Comiket was a scaled-back affair, held across two days from 30-31 December, and with a cap on visitors, who were required to purchase tickets in advance.

These safety precautions didn’t dampen Comiket 101, as this 101st iteration is officially known, as cosplayers came out in force to pay homage to some of the industry’s hottest characters. While Comiket — short for “Comic Market” — is famous for being Japan’s largest convention for doujinshi (self-published manga) and otaku culture, it’s often the cosplayers that steal the limelight, and that was definitely the case again this time around, so let’s take a look at some of the best cosplayers from Day One below!

▼ Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact | Cosplayer: @umnik0

▼ Hitori Goto from Bocchi the Rock! | Cosplayer: @mizuki_fuuka_

▼ Miorine Rembran from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury | Cosplayer: @takane_88

▼ Guel Jeturk from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury | Cosplayer: @chateauxmarugo

We’ve gotta say, cosplaying as a character from a camping scene where he simply sits and eats is a pretty genius way to avoid tiring yourself out at a big event like this one!

▼ Daitaku Helios from Uma Musume: Pretty Derby | Cosplayer: @hu_ton_

▼ Marco Polo from Azur Lane | Cosplayer: @rinyanpassan

▼ Keqing/Kokusei from Genshin Impact | Cosplayer: @NeK_neneko_

▼ Bloodhound from Apex Legends | Cosplayer: @gs_pochi

▼ The attention to detail here is insane!

▼ Catalyst from Apex Legends | Cosplayer: @sigma_1223

▼ Octane from Apex Legends | Cosplayer: @Maggot7274

▼ Maka Albarn from Soul Eater | Cosplayer: @Kaori_Gaia

▼ Rem from Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World | Cosplayer: @cos_asari_1028

▼ Megumin from KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World! | Cosplayer: @tan_raiko

▼ Kaoru Mitoma and the Video Assistant Referee | Cosplayers: @Dahutsana and @Biscos_74yen

This clever cosplay is a nod to the Germany vs. Japan match at the 2022 World Cup, when the ball appeared to be over the line to the naked eye, but the VAR ruled otherwise.

While most of the cosplayers were outside the venue, there was cosplay to be found inside as well, in amongst the big company booths that had been set up. Before we take a look at those, though, we have to mention an interesting development that occurred on the day with Aki Hamaji, the creator of Bocchi the Rock!

Bocchi the Rock! started off as a four-panel manga series in 2017 and was later adapted into a TV anime that ran from October to December 2022. The anime became a popular hit, catapulting the series and its creator to stardom, so much so that Hamaji, who had set up a booth at Comiket to sell doujinshi for the Blue Archive mobile game, had to be moved outside for safety reasons, due to the massive crowds that gathered around her booth.

▼ Hamaji tweeted about the move outdoors to her followers on Twitter.

Nobody had predicted that so many fans would be drawn to Hamaji’s booth, but the new outdoor setting was much better suited to accommodating lines of people interested in meeting and purchasing goods from the artist. Given Hamaji’s newfound popularity, a bigger booth might be needed for the next meetup, at Summer Comiket in August.

▼ Now let’s get back to the cosplay at the company booths…

Company booths shared some official cosplay costumes and props with the public, like the ones pictured below from the Yostar booth…

▼ …and these ones from Echocalypse – Scarlet God’s Testament.

That about wraps things up for our cosplay coverage from Day One at Winter Comiket, but before we leave, there’s just enough time to grab a drink from this special vending machine.

This limited-edition vending machine sold us a limited-edition tea, wrapped in artwork by doujinshi artist @panno_mimi.

According to the Comic Market Preparation Committee’s after-sales report, 90,000 visitors attended Day One of the event, which had 117 company booths and 10,000 doujinshi stalls. It was also the first time international tourists were able to attend Comiket in three years, after Japan finally opened up to foreign tourism in October.

It was a great day out for doujinshi creators, cosplayers, and attendees, and now we’re counting down the days until the next event rolls around on 12-13 August!

Photos © SoraNews24
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