What Makes Comiket Great?

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Celebrating Comiket 100

The summer Comic Market (aka Comiket) is happening this weekend on August 13 and 14th at Tokyo Big Sight. This is just not any Comiket, but it is the 100th event!

Comic Market 100 Logo
The official logo for Comic Market 100

History of Comiket 

I’m sure many of our readers already know or at least have heard of Comiket in Japan. Irodori Comics publishes many of the original doujin works that are sold at Comiket. 

For those who only vaguely know about it, Comiket is a massive grassroots event for doujin (self-published) works that happens twice a year in Tokyo. It happens once during summer (Summer Comiket) and winter (Winter Comiket). 

The first ever Comiket was held in the winter of 1975. Back then, exhibitors had to submit handwritten forms to register for the event. In the first inaugural Comiket, there were approximately 700 visitors. By 2019, the estimated number of visitors blew up to 750,000, making it the largest fan convention in the world.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan, the event has been controlling the number of visitors in 2021 and 2022.

What makes the event appealing?

These factors below are just a few things that are appealing about Comiket and not the exhaustive list.

  • A strong sense of camaraderie amongst exhibitors and visitors (regardless of whether they know each other or not).

On the Japanese Twittersphere during the Comiket times, you can often see artists and visitors who have experienced Comiket giving advice and warnings to newcomers. You can see plenty of useful tips through the hashtag #誰も教えてくれないコミケの常識 (“#Common knowledge regarding Comiket that no one tells you about”).

  • High-quality and/or very unique cosplays.

Cosplayers all around Japan bring in their A-game for the event with high-quality and/or very unique cosplays. 

Amazing Cosplays

This person dressed up as Gundam for Comiket:

Here is a person cosplaying as a sushi restaurant self-serving green tea dispenser:

Some cosplays may not be “high-quality” in the sense that the cosplayers may choose to use very basic materials, but they can still stand out. This man dressed up as the light beam that shoots out of Zatch Bell’s mouth using basic materials:

Just like any other real-life event, there are experiences that you can only experience by being at Tokyo Big Sight with fellow fans of doujin and having a good ol’ jolly time. If you can’t participate in the event in person, don’t worry. There will be plenty of updates from attendees online, so you get to enjoy some of the Comiket vibes on social media! Keep your eyes peeled for the #C100 hashtag on Twitter!

Irodori Comics will be simul-publising some great works being sold Comiket 100! Make sure to check out the new releases!

Other:

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.

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