Naniwa at MangaCast continues his account of ComiKet, the world’s biggest comics show, with 300,000 attendees who are there to buy fan made comics. First comes the girl’s day:
Follow me again, as I stumble through Odaiba’s Big Site looking for manga and crafts in all the right places. I am glad I survived the lines but I almost did not make it through the huge PoT BL section. All the cosplayers were so cute (glad none of them were men… just like the manga… zing)!!!
And then, and then…comes Day 3, the day of the boys, a day that makes even San Diego sound like a well ventilated, low stress affair:
If you want to experience the worst of ComiKet show up on the last day – DAY 3. Today might be called guys day, but it really is otaku day. This is a stinky, sweaty, painful long drawn out full-on otaku war where the participants stand in line push each other roll over things with their luggage and never, never say sumimasen! That’s sorry for you newbies. Today is the gal game, dating sim, TYPE-MOON, Leaf-Key and original shonen-seinen day. It is also the day for original video games (you know where that’s going) and to call out the hardcore ladies the JUNE day!
I got to hang out with a fellow ComiKet pro-attendee for dinner and after comparing notes we both agreed Day 3 is not for the rookies. You need a couple of shows to get through that. That is particularly crucial if you go to the East Halls. The lines are outrageous. The heat is unbearable. The smell is deadly. Today is like the worst nightmare a Genshiken character could ever have at a comic con. Breaking/spraining a wrist might be a great way to escape this otaku hell.
We’ve attached a picture of ComiKet we found on this webpage. Click for a larger version and prepare to be astounded.
Wait we’re so astounded we stole another picture. Remember, this is ALL AMATEUR, DOUJINSHI ARTISTS.
Wow! It’s good to read a recent report on Comiket. I went to Comiket in the summer of 1997 (even had a table with my hostess Yuuko Koyama) and also winter of 2000. Both times I had lots of fun and found it totally amazing. At that time it was especially astounding to see that it was 50/50 or maybe even 60% girls and 40 % guys. Day 3 had the most guys there. Now many more girls are in attendance at US Comicons so it’s not as astounding, but at the time I was wowed! Still, as you pointed out this is a convention of self-published small press creators and fans. Not professionals! Also, most of the comics are parody comics. There is a small original section (which is where our booth was in 1997), but for the most part this is a show of amateur parody comics (and a huge chunk of it is gay romance or porn)! When I went, I was told children under 14 were not allowed in fact. I remember being surprised by the many amateur gay romance comics about popular Japanese sports stars, musicians, and actors. Video game parody comics were also very popular. It’s a whole other culture that’s for sure! Imagine if San Diego was WAY bigger, most of the cartoonists are girls, and the comics are all mainly adult parody comics ie; about the Star Wars characters or the Yankees getting it on with each other. Yeah, surreal. Also, the cosplaying is a major part of it and they have a rule against photographing cosplayers on the convention floor (a rule that SDCC should probably put into effect considering all the photo-op related floor traffic jams I got stuck in this year), there is a rooftop area where people can take photographs and the costumes are amazing! At least that’s how it was last time I went. Can’t wait to go back one day!
A collection of thoughts:
All those people buying books and not a giant wall o’ crap to be seen. *sniff*
It’s not just me that thinks the venue makes it look like crafts day at the prison, though?
Toren Smith has told me many entertaining stories of ComiKet. Such as the artist who elected not to raise his doujin prices because making change would actually slow down transactions and cause him to make less money. Or the circle (group that makes comics together) that carried out their earnings by the garbage bagful.
Comicket is like Day Traders on the NYSE floor, but with comics.
Sugiero que esta pag. web se haga en idioma español,no olviden los miles de millones de ispanoparlantes que no hablamos ingles. me interesa mucho recibir informacion y formas de poder publicar mis trabajos. Le envio mis saludos y los felicito por la excelente pag. web. P.D.-LUIS HARO DOMINGUEZ-ZORRILLA939- PANDO-CANELONES CP.91000-URUGUAY