Doujin is Not Just Porn

By
Hara Gyatei
-
Cover for a blog article titled
Cover for a blog article titled "Doujinshi is Not Just Porn"

Doujin is much more than just porn

Comic Market (Comiket) 100 was held on August 13 ~ 14th.
Comic Market (Comiket) 100 was held on August 13 ~ 14th.

The word 同人 (doujin) in the West is commonly associated as adult-themed fan fiction of existing Intellectual Properties. You’ve probably seen many doujins of your favorite anime characters in very R18 situations they never showed in the anime. But the original Japanese word doesn’t refer only to such explicit publications. In this blog, we’ll go through what doujinshi actually means and give you examples of various non-adult doujinshi from Comiket 100.

What DOES doujin actually mean anyway?

Doujin simply means “indie” or “self-published” in Japanese, and does not have a specific link to adult-themed content. Any material that has been self-published can be labeled as doujin. 

Doujinshi is specifically used for self-published comics, zines, or books, as the shi in doujinshi refers to paper. Doujin games are self-published games. Doujin music is self-published music. The list goes on in that manner. Amateur-filmed porn in Japan is, you guessed it, doujin AV (adult video)!

Examples of non-adult-themed doujin work from Comiket 100

Some people may get the impression that people who draw fanart doujinshi are not directly related to the IP they’re parodying. However such isn’t the case. 

Homura Ren is an animator working on major titles like My Hero Academia (fifth season) and for Comiket 100, Homura brought their self-published books containing their fanarts (which includes some sketches and fanarts of My Hero Academia characters). 

This particular person below works as an anime producer, and for Comiket 100, they published a new book that reported on how studios created anime during the pandemic and the effects of COVID-19 on anime production.

Another professional in the anime industry, Kazuya Masumoto (anime producer and CEO of Studio Trigger) put out several books on working in anime production. He was virtually present via tablet at the event.

Manga artist and anime director Kenshiro Morii put out a simple zine created by his young son at his booth that was sold for only 100 yen (approximately 75 US cents). And all of the copies sold out!

Doujin works outside of the anime and manga industry.

This leather artist set up their booth to showcase a number of their incredibly detailed leather craft pieces.

This author wrote and published multiple books specifically about billboards put out by dental clinics.

This author brought their photo collection books containing various mailboxes in Japan.

Doujinshi by politicians!?

Even a politician can participate in Comiket. Minoru Ogino is not only a doujin author but a VTuber and a local politician who is a member of the Ota City Assembly in Tokyo. Ogino is a strong advocate for game, manga, and anime.

For Comiket 100, he brought two doujin books about life as a local assembly politician.

I’m sure you can tell now that doujin is not just about adult-themed books. There are many others out there who publish non-adult works and it is important to understand that doujin culture is for everybody!

Other:

Did you know that Irodori Comics has an all-ages doujinshi label called Irodori Aqua?

There’s no Comic Market overseas, but if you want to support your favorite doujinshi artists, we’re in the middle of publishing many C100 titles! Some have already released and some are currently being localized.

Keep an eye on our “C100 Collection“!

If you enjoyed this article, you can support us by buying our officially localized English Doujinshi on our Irodori Comics Store! Works are uncensored and DRM-Free for you to keep!

Furthermore, when you buy works on our website, up to 60% of the selling price goes directly to the artists as royalties! Since the Japanese Yen is at historical lows, USD royalties go a long way for our artists.

Read more news articles here.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR