Famous anime, manga and game characters spring to life for C104.

The hottest event for doujinshi (self-published manga) creators and fans every summer is Comic Market, or Comiket, the world’s largest doujinshi convention. This summer’s iteration, known as C104, was held at Tokyo Big Sight on 11-12 August, and despite threats of a typhoon and potential thunderstorms, attendees were blessed with clear skies on both days.

130,000 visitors from a total of 64 countries and regions were in attendance over the two-day event, proving that this was a very international affair. It was also a very hot affair, not only in terms of temperature, with highs hitting 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 degrees Fahrenheit) but in terms of the booths and cosplays, which exceeded all our expectations.

Before getting into the actual details of the cosplays, though, let’s start with a look at Kokusai-tenjijo Station, where most of the attendees arrived for the event.

It’s become customary for the station to be decked out in tie-up posters and stickers related to the event, and that was the case again here, with characters from Yostar’s Blue Archive, or “Buruaka” as it’s commonly known, on hand to greet visitors.

Another treat for attendees is the free handouts in front of the station, which tend to be available for those arriving around 9:30 a.m.-10 a.m. This year, Holo from Japanese-light-novel-turned-anime-series Spice and Wolf was the star character, keeping fans cool as an actual fan.

One thing that was absent from the proceedings was the blood donation van, which is usually stationed at the back of the waiting line, but it was nowhere to be seen.

While the blood donation drive may not have been on site, the Comic Market 104 Blood Donation Support Event is being held from 11 August to 30 September at blood donation rooms nationwide, where a 400-millilitre (13.5-ounce) donation of blood will get you a special three-poster set featuring characters from Ameku Takao’s Detective Karte, Make A Girl, and Cardfight!! Vanguard Divinez Season 2.

After lining up in the heat, entering the air-conditioned complex was a relief, and the booths were just as cool as the air, so let’s take a tour of the best of them below!

▼ Taimanin

▼ The Type-Moon booth was set up like an exhibition space, with visitors getting to view art related to Fate/Grand Order.

▼ Entrance

▼ Exit

▼ It was a surprise to see department store chain Marui at the event.

Unlike other booths, there were no bikini-clad women or chiselled men here — only a handsome horse.

As it turns out, this booth was a collaboration between Marui and Yogibo Versailles Resort Farm, a racehorse ranch in Hidaka-cho, Hokkaido.

The ranch’s most famous horse is retired stallion Tanino Gimlet, who wasn’t able to attend Comiket but made his presence felt on the merchandise…and the giant stand set up in his honour.

▼ Iriam is a Vtuber app company, and out of all the company booths at this event, it seemed to receiving the most support from visitors.

The reason for that was because it was the coolest of the lot, with a cold air generator and numerous fans inside.

It made for a very cool walk, and at the exit you could even get a free bottle of water, which was a nice gesture of kindness for attendees.

▼ Thank you, Iriam!

Now that we’re fully hydrated, it’s time to explore the thirst traps at some of the other booths.

▼ Hello, HoYoverse.

▼ The official cosplayers here give us a taste of Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.

▼ The Terbis booth introduced visitors to Terbis, a mobile app game scheduled to be released by South Korean developer Webzen.

▼ The Muv-Luv and Rumbling Hearts booth attracted crowds with its recreation of the hospital setup with Haruka in a coma.

▼ The Identity V booth was set up like a stage, with cosplayers bringing characters to life as a rock band.

The lighting here was particularly great, suggesting they’d designed it to look good in photos, and the booth was popular with young women.

▼ There was a huge queue for novelty items that were being distributed at the Love Live! booth.

▼ And the Blue Archive booth was another main attraction.

Momo Friends, cute characters popular in the in-game world, held everyone’s attention as they raced on screen, creating the excitement of a race at the racetrack.

▼ There was incentive to stick around in between races, as that’s when the official cosplayers appeared.

▼ Azur Lane was another hit, with its characters in swimsuits.

Summer Comiket 2024 certainly was a big one, with loads of visitors, booths and cosplays on display. We hope you enjoyed our tour of the event, and don’t forget to mark your calendars for Winter Comiket, which is due to be held on 29 and 30 December. We’ll see you there!

Photos © SoraNews24
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