It's 5:00am on a Sunday morning and the sun has just begun to peek out from over the horizon. Scattered raindrops fall from the overcast sky to dampen the heads of more than ten thousand young people lined up outside of Tokyo Big Sight. As the clouds take on a rosy glow, thousands more pour out from the train station to attend the most impressive event in the world for Japanese comics and animation lovers, Comike.
Comike, or Comic Market, is a massive gathering of budding comic artists who produce their own fanzines or "doujinshi" (and recently animation and CD-ROMS) about not only their favorite manga and anime series, but also about any other subjects that interest them, such as games, movies and idols. Held twice a year in summer and winter, this time's Comike was the 54th and spanned the 3 days of 8/14, 8/15, and 8/16, with a total attendance of close to half a million people.
I had long wanted to attend this monstrosity, so when a friend offered a ride I was more than happy to tag along. Unfortunately, to secure a parking space we had to arrive no later than 3am! (The lot opens at 4am, and the Comike security vigilantly disperses all lines of people before 5am.) In hindsight, we overdid things a little by getting there at 2am, but we did manage to get into the convention area ten minutes after Comike officially started at 10am.
How can I describe the experience? It was overwhelming madness, as tens of thousands of people jostled to attack the most popular doujinshi circles. Disregarding the east wing, which housed official company booths, fan productions occupied all 6 halls in the west wing. Lines for the most popular circles snaked all the way across the room, and everywhere you turned all you could see was a sea of humanity that left you giddy. Sunday featured mostly male-oriented (read, ecchi) works in anime and girl-get games. Favorites such as EVANGELION, SLAYERS, and TOKIMEKI MEMORIAL were out in full force. Without the Comike Catalog I was quite lost, even though that morning I had committed to memory the locations of the more interesting tables. Still, thanks to the fact that I had no desire to go near the risqué items, I was able to navigate my way in relative peace. Although I had not planned to buy anything, at the end of the day I found myself cradling a handful of doujinshi, just like everyone else.
I was very surprised and happy to find Shiina Hekiru doujinshi from various circles, but my biggest prize of the day had to be VAMPIRE MIYU. Beautiful art and heartrending stories make this series of Miyu doujinshi by Fujikake Aoi a must-have for any fan. There is even a contact address in the US!
Of course, no Comike report would be complete without mention of the cosplayers who dress up as their favorite characters. Because the last year has failed to provide any major anime hits, the number of cosplayers was lower than usual, but it certainly did not seem so when I finally elbowed my way over to the east wing. Thousands of them were parading under the blistering noon sun for eager cameramen, novice and professional. There were plenty of Asukas and Reis, and also a fair number of Morrigans from DARKSTALKERS. KING OF FIGHTERS too had its share of fans, gender being no barrier. Recent anime such as TRIGUN, SILENT MÖBIUS, CARD CAPTOR SAKURA and LODOSS TV were quite dominant as well. What I found incredible was the sheer complexity of the costumes; many of the them were works of genius. I was particularly stunned by a Fei-Yen (from Sega's CYBER TROOPERS VIRTUAL ON) that on close inspection was made up of cardboard and polystyrene. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera with me at the time and when I tried to find the cosplayer later he seemed to have disappeared.
This summer's Comike had gotten off to a rather bad start when an unknown party had called in a bomb threat. Comike staff managed to locate a smoke device, but the actual event was in jeopardy of being closed down. In the end the go-ahead was issued amidst stifling security and thankfully nothing happened. None of the attendees seemed deterred by the menace and if anything Comike 54 was more successful than its organizers had imagined. As for me, I'm looking forward to Winter Comike; I've been hooked by the doujinshi bug.