Comiket 89 is now underway at Tokyo Big Sight from December 29-31. Check out our photo montage of the best cosplays from Tuesday’s opening day!
Comiket (Page 6)
Have you ever watched an anime and thought, “Mmm, that food looks delicious?” Then this is exactly the cookbook you are looking for.
Comiket 88 is over now, sadly enough, but the Internet is still awash in the afterglow of dojinshi and cosplay. Of course, everyone is already looking forward to the next event this winter, from cosplayers to artists to taxi drivers.
Yes, you read that right, it seems that fans and artists aren’t the only ones who love Comiket! Apparently the massive event draws taxi drivers from all over Tokyo because it’s the best place to make money, according to one tweet that captured a ton of attention in Japan last weekend.
Just how big is Comiket, the dojinshi (independently produced comics) event held twice a year in Tokyo? Over the three days of the event, some 35,000 creative groups and roughly 600,000 fans are expected to attend. In terms of size, Comiket isn’t so much an anime convention as it is a temporary city that roles through the Big Sight conference center.
Comiket is such a large-scale gathering that it changes the whole atmosphere of the neighborhood on the weekend it’s held, and with this summer’s iteration right around the corner, the local train station and convenience store are looking a lot more otaku-centric, as these photos show.
A hashtag has been trending on Twitter in Japan recently that roughly translates as “the Comiket tips no one ever teaches you”. While a lot of the suggestions are tongue-in-cheek, there are actually some extremely useful tidbits hidden in there. People often say that Comiket is a battlefield, and it really is; thousands of otaku jostle for the chance to get their hands on limited-edition merch before it sells out, and if you’re not being crushed half to death like you’re on a rush hour train, you’re struggling to stay on your feet in the hours-long queues (here’s a bonus tip – portable folding chairs come in handy here).
Summer Comiket truly is hell on earth, so Winter is recommended for newbies, but if you really insist on going this summer, we’ve got this handy guide to help you out.
Whether you call it Comic Market, Comiket, or Comike, the twice-a-year event is the largest gathering of creators and fans of dojinshi, Japanese self-published comics. Each iteration of Comiket draws hundreds of thousands of otaku to its venue at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center.
Something else that’s known by more than one name is the Trans-Pacific Partnership. A proposed trade agreement between a dozen nations, including Japan and the U.S., the legislation is more commonly referred to by the acronym TPP in the Japanese media.
As negotiations between the U.S. and Japan continue, some anime and manga fans are worrying that the Trans-Pacific Partnership/TPP could be disastrous for Comic Market/Comiket/Comike, but just how justified are these fears?
One of the best things about Comiket, or any kind of convention really, is just wandering around checking out what everyone else is wearing. In Japan especially, you can expect to see a high level of polish and detail when it comes to the outfits dedicated cosplayers wear for the benefit of everyone else’s aesthetic appreciation. But, as in life, it seems like those cosplayers who are naturally blessed with beauty tend to be the ones drawing everyone’s eye. Just ask this incredibly cute young lady, who was one of the unofficial stars of Comiket 87.
Thousands of otaku stagger home yenless and struggling under the weight of the doujinshi, illustration books, games and other goods they’ve snapped up in a frenzied three days of pushing, shoving, and waiting in endless lines. Yep, Comiket 87 is over for now, until the whole ordeal begins again next summer.
Most people agree that the event is more arduous than fun, and the volunteer staff are in the unenviable position of keeping things under control, trying to keep the hordes moving, and looking anyone who collapses from the excitement of it all.
Below we have a collection of inspiring quotes from these heroic men and women. Some of them are simply priceless.
We had a great time at Comiket this weekend and saw enough to fill a few photo books! Of course, it’s impossible to talk about everything, but one of the more eye-catching things we noticed were the cosplay photography rules. There’s a good chance you remember this little tweet from this past summer, showing a cosplayer surrounded and photographed at low angles. And probably not for better lighting…
Well, it turns out, that kind of photography probably isn’t within Comiket rules!
It’s the end of December and that can mean only one thing: Comiket is in full swing! Today was only the first day, but the cosplay (and the crowds) were utterly amazing. With about half a million people expected to visit over the three-day event at Tokyo Big Sight, you should hardly be surprised that people from all over Japan–and some from around the world–flock to the doujinshi spectacular.
We headed down on Sunday afternoon and captured a few photos of our favorite cosplayers. And by “a few” we mean “a metric crapton.”
Twice a year otaku from all over Japan, and even the world, make the sacred pilgrimage to Tokyo Big Sight for Comic Market, better known as Comiket. Every year as I stand in the boiling heat or the freezing cold I ask myself ‘Why am I doing this?’, and yet there I am again the same time next year. It’s an almost masochistic experience, but the pleasure and limited-edition merch gained always outweighs the pain. Read on for photos and commentary from Summer Comiket 86.
It’s that time of the year again! Comiket, the world’s largest dōjinshi fair that’s held twice per year, is currently in full swing again at Tokyo Big Sight on Odaiba, the artificial island located in Tokyo Bay. Manga fans from around the world are lining up in droves and enduring hour-long waits in the hot sun just to get into the exhibition rooms that are jam-packed with merchandise.
Naturally, a comic festival as big as Comiket draws a ton of cosplayers, and while there are some truly impressive costumes out there, there are some other, shall we say, more unusual sights to be seen. Take the above picture, for example–what on earth is happening here??
With Japan’s reputation as a country serious about train travel, train stations are a ubiquitous sight across Japan where they serve as gateways to the country’s extensive rail network. And these gateways have their own little quirks that give each station its own unique personality. From one station’s catchy “here comes the train” theme tune to an insane rush of comic book geeks running through ticket gates, click below for five quirky looks at train stations across Japan!
Okay, so there isn’t an official event called “The Running of the Nerds” in Japan, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, but what else would you call this biannual spectacle of Japanese otaku frantically clamoring off a crowded train, sprinting up the platform stairs, rocketing past the turnstiles, and…patiently waiting in line for five hours? Read More
The 2013 Summer round of Comic Market (Comiket) began on 10 August, drawing flocks of anime, manga, and cosplay fans from Japan and abroad. The three-day event draws around half a million attendees on average.
For one resident of Odaiba where the event is held, this time of year is an absolute nightmare as he claims an abnormal smell emanates from the convention every time. The following is an translated open letter from the office worker in his 30s, who we’ll refer to as Mr. A.
Microsoft Japan is getting serious about their anthropomorphic operating systems.
Until recently, these characters, also known as OS-tans, were nothing more than unofficial fan-made creations. However, as we saw last month with the popularity of the Windows 8 DSP edition, Microsoft has begun to embrace their anime mascots, perhaps realizing their marketing potential among the otaku, or nerd, demographic. And now, for the first time ever, Microsoft will be delving into the belly of the beast and running a booth at Japan’s largest comic book convention, Comic Market.
While manga is ubiquitous in Japan — just ride the subway in any major city and you’ll see people from all walks of life flipping through a comic book — many Japanese people are surprised to hear how popular manga has become overseas. After all, aren’t Westerners only interested in macho superheroes or short comic strips?
Perhaps that was the case in America before, but in recent years many major bookstores have begun to reserve more space near the front of the store for Japanese comics and in some European countries like France and Germany manga occupies a large portion of overall comic sales.
But why?
Earlier this month, we sent one of our Japanese reporters to Comic Market (or “Comiket“), the world’s largest self-published comic book fair and otaku mecca, to interview real live foreigners and ask them why they like Japanese manga so much.
Many foreigners view Japan as some marvelous dreamland of technology and culture; a place where crazy is the norm and embracing fantasy in everyday life is acceptable.
But to Japanese people, Japan is just that place you were born. Everyone and everything is routine, and it’s often difficult to see why the rest of the world get’s so worked up about “Japanese culture.”
Earlier this month, we sent one of our Japanese reporters to Comic Market (or “Comiket“), the world’s largest self-published comic book fair and otaku mecca, to interview real live foreigners and ask them what it is they really think about this country.
The Japanese branch of global hactivist group Anonymous has announced they will be holding their second Anonymous Cleaning Service event at Comic Market 82, which started today at 10am Japan time.
Those wishing to participate should ready their Guy Fawkes masks and head to the Yagurabashi pedestrian bridge in front of Tokyo Big Site by 3pm. Participants should also be prepared to take home whatever trash they collect and dispose of it themselves (there are no trash cans on the street in Japan).
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