Meet the hottest anime, manga, and mobile and video game characters in Japan right now!

Comic Market 105 was held at Tokyo Big Sight on 29-30 December, and according to the preparatory committee, this was the largest iteration ever, with approximately 14,500 stalls on site due to a major expansion following a complete review of the layout.

Our reporter Tasuku Egawa was on the scene to check out the corporate booths and cosplay areas, and the fun started the minute he stepped up to the ticket gates at Kokusai-tenjijo Station, where he was met by a load of ads for Yostar’s Blue Archive.

Beyond the gates, characters Yuuka, Noa, and Koyuki could be seen above the doors to the station, wearing pyjamas from the “Secret Midnight Party” event currently being held within the app.

▼ Many visitors stopped here to take photos.

Blue Archive’s presence at the station reflects its popularity, as it boasts the highest number of related exhibits at the event. The blood-donation buses had returned to the event as well, after being absent from Summer Comiket as a safety measure to protect crowds from the intense heat.

▼ Participants who donate blood here can get anime-related merchandise in return.

Upon entering the venue, Tasuku made a beeline for the vending machines stocked with drinks in exclusive, limited-edition packaging. The design on these drinks changes with every Comiket and they’re highly sought after, so it’s always best to grab one early before they sell out.

Drink in hand, it was now time to visit the booths, many of which featured a number of well-known cosplayers and special event settings.

▼ The Goddess of Victory: Nikke booth, with its recreation of the hot springs from the game world, attracted a huge amount of people.

The Gakuen Idolmaster booth was also popular, with its enormous monitor and free novelty items attracting attention.

▼ BrownDust2 was exhibiting at Comiket for the very first time.

The Yostar booth was fully focused on its new work, Stella Sora, giving us a tantalising peek into its world before the official release.

Another notable booth was the one dedicated to Taimanin, which caught the eye with surprisingly less-than-fancy art on its giant signboard.

Moving outside to the cosplay area, the sun shone as bright as the cosplayers who had gathered there, and they kindly shared their social media handles while posing for photographers who passed by.

▼ Beatrice from Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World | Cosplayer: @udon_chan8

▼ Iochi Mari (Idol) from Blue Archive | Cosplayer: @psyduck_yy

▼ Yuni from Goddess of Victory: Nikke | Cosplayer: @hoshinaharu

▼ Guillotine: Winter Slayer from Goddess of Victory: Nikke | Cosplayer: @suya0113

▼ The Gatakiriba from Kamen Rider OOO, whose members preferred to remain anonymous.

▼ “Ebi Mome” (“Shrimp Rub”) is @TakaYuki_626‘s clever recreation of the shrimp-massaging meme that swept the Internet last year, and its little moving legs made it a hit with all the passersby.

Moving back inside the complex, we discovered some more cosplays that made us smile with their creativity.

▼ Here, for example, we have Myaku-Myaku, the mascot for the upcoming Expo 2025 in Osaka, and the Diglett Pon de Ring, a limited-edition doughnut from Mister Donut.

▼ What joins these two together is the flack they’ve received for their looks, with Myaku-Myaku being described as “creepy cute“…

▼ …and Diglett being poorly made at some Mister Donut branches.

▼ Proving age is no barrier to cosplay, we have Dozle Zabi (@torg54152163), Degwin Sodo Zabi (@KAIEN37) and Conscon from Mobile Suit Gundam.

▼ This group (@kanroji, @africangamecart and @2244_Nagata) deserves an award for coming up with the clever idea to cosplay as a Gakuen Idolmaster skill card.

▼ And rounding out the best cosplays from Day One, we have @korosuke002 cosplaying as Zundadon, a character that shot to fame on Twitter last month…

▼ …Guren: Black Shadow from Goddess of Victory: Nikke | Cosplayer: @NxoxAs_Ark…

▼ …and Takumi Tsujimoto from Tokyo Swindlers (@1050_1015).

Day One of Winter Comiket turned out to be a very fun affair, thanks to the efforts of everyone involved, and Day Two was equally impressive so stay tuned for the next photo collection coming soon!

Photos © SoraNews24
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