COMIKET 106 | Day One Report
If you’ve been reading manga or watching anime for a long time, then you know of Comiket (short for “Comic Market”). For decades, fans of anime and manga have gathered here to celebrate their love for the medium in the most delightful of ways. But perhaps the thing Comiket is best known for is the foray of fan works that are distributed throughout the two-day event. Some play it safe when it comes to its content, whereas other times, well, there’s a big reason for those R-18 labels on the covers!
Before even entering Tokyo Big Sight, the excitement was in the air for Comiket 106. Tens of thousands of anime fans waited inside and outside for the event to begin. Gathering in the press area, I noticed that I was one of the very, very few foreign people there to cover Comiket. (In fact, you can count on one hand how many non-Japanese press members were in attendance.) Reading through the booklet, I got a good idea of what to expect from the first day of Comiket 106.
One thing people should know is that throughout the two days, there are different vendors, artists, and other creators there. For the first day, there was a focus on mobile games, Uma Musume, Azur Lane, Love Live, Idolmaster, and various other works. Members of the press were given a roughly eight-minute grace period to walk the floors of the convention before the doors open for the public. Even before it officially started, there was a big level of anticipation coming from these dedicated artists.
I began my day in the East Hall, which held the most artists. It was surprising to see the amount of variety these artists were offering. Some had their fan fiction works and swimsuit fan drawings; whereas other times they really pushed the limits of that R-18 rating. (There’s a very good reason why this article has no pictures from the event in it, as it was impossible to find any angle that didn’t have something risqué to show.)
Finally, at 10:30 a.m., the opening bell chimed. As the dealers applauded the start of Comiket 106, the masses began to enter. Men, women, and just about every other gender in the books (sorry, can’t list them all here!) poured into the East Hall. It was at this moment that I finally saw just how massive Comiket can get, as staff motioned people around like a policeman at a busy four-way intersection. Even with all of my knowledge and preparation for the crowd, actually seeing it in person and being in the middle of it is so, so different!
Going back to what was on display, on top of the doujins, cosplayers were there to sell their latest photo books. There were a lot of books that covered such series as NIKKE and Zenless Zone Zero, both of which are current fan favorites that have plenty of beautiful characters these cosplayers can work with. Again, most of these photo books tend to keep things PG-13, whereas a couple I came across really went full OnlyFans with their spreads. Perhaps most surprising was the fact that most of the congoers were more interested in the 2D fan books than the real people. (Okay, maybe that’s not TOO surprising.)
However, one thing that really took me back were the folks selling fanzines. With the Internet becoming the place for fans to share their works and critiques, it was nice to see these old-school magazines still having a place in the entertainment sphere. Most of these fanzines focused on classic series like Gundam and Gatchaman, appropriate considering how long these franchises have been around. Still, it was cool to see that this old-style of fan appreciation is still around, even if it’s not as strong as what the Internet can bring forth.
It was after a brief sit-down when I decided to head on over to the West Hall. Here, I partook in what is the true Comiket experience. And by that, I mean I plopped myself in the middle of tens of thousands of people and just coasted with the crowd. Heed my advice: if you are not big into being squished into sushi-sized packs of people for hours on end, then you will absolutely have a bad time! (Thank God my anxiety has been nonexistent since moving here!)
West Hall catered to arguably the three biggest franchises currently for the doujin crowd. First, it was the Fate series, which had everything you could imagine. From fan books and fan light novels to a bountiful amount of yaoi & yuri manga, there was no stone left unturned when it came to who they wanted to cater to. A few cosplayers were also selling their own Fate photo books, with quite a few of them leaning towards the swimsuit theme.
Blue Archive was the second-biggest series on display. Again, the books, prints, and even fan light novels catered to just about every thirst in existence. One thing that surprised me was the amount of female doujin creators here, as they easily outnumbered the men that were selling their fan works. Although I didn’t know much about Blue Archive, I’ve seen enough fan art online to know why it’s popular, and what kind of people really enjoy it.
This leads me to the biggest area of them all: Uma Musume. Although I came across a few booths in the East Hall, West Hall was all about the horse girls. Because the characters are based off of real horses (who are owned by what I can describe as “very nice people”), no one dared to R-18 the likes of Special Week, Oguri Cap, and even Gold Ship. It led to the doujin creators to think more outside of the box, dealing with more wholesome manga stories, fan book art, tasteful cosplay, and even books about the real horses. (Shoutout to artist Ponzu Rui, who gave me a free Uma Musume art book after I had bought two.)
Once I got some food into my system, I headed towards the South Hall. I was greeted wonderfully by its air conditioning, something the West Hall was lacking. Also there to greet me was a whole lot more Blue Archive doujins, as it was in the South Hall where the male doujin creators roamed. It was also obvious that the cat girl and blonde fox girl characters of Blue Archive were the most popular, as they had full rows devoted to those two!
Love Live and Idolmaster were the other two series to take over the South Hall. Even though the cast and worlds of both franchises are female-dominated, it didn’t stop the fan books from putting these ladies into promiscuous situations. Of course, there was also plenty of yuri fan books on display, an undertone that’s par for the course for those who watch the Love Live series. Even though I’ve only watched the first series and movie finale of Love Live, it was nice seeing how big and popular this franchise continues to be, even after being around for a dozen years.
I ended the day with a visit to the Corporate Areas in South and West Halls. Despite its name, it was filled to the brim with official anime and manga booths. It brought to mind what I had experienced at AnimeJapan 2025 last March, although on a much smaller scale. Despite Comiket being a mostly fan-based convention, the bigger companies nevertheless still brought their game to the event.
South Hall gave some of its space to ufotable, as it promotes the new Demon Slayer movie. Publisher Manga Time Kirara delivered some love for Kin-Iro Mosaic, Bocchi the Rock!, and a few of its other titles. Lure Princess, a new fishing game with cute anime girls, gave out free buttons and water. Perhaps the most popular booth in the South Hall belonged to the mobile game Brown Dust II, where the characters showed off their swimwear to the sight of many happy fans. (Whoever designed the free fan they were giving out deserves a raise.)
Meanwhile, the big guns were hanging out in the West Hall. HoneyParade Games were showing off their latest mobile game, Dolphin Wave, as they sold collaborative merch that also featured some familiar faces from Senran Kagura. Kodansha offered a space for its manga artists to create special messages for their fans, while Kadokawa pushed Re:Zero and a few of its other titles to the masses. Eroge also had a moment in the sun, with studio 072 Project giving away items featuring their cute elf mascot girl.
With that, I had seen just about everything that the first day of Comiket 106 had to offer. It goes without saying that, even with it open for just five and a half hours each day, it absolutely takes a whole lot out of you. However, there’s no doubt that the passion from both artists and fans alike helps to keep the first day of Comiket 106 a success. Just what does the second and final day have in store for anime and manga fans? One can hope that it has its fair share of surprises for all to enjoy!
