COMIKET 106 | Day Two Report
120,000. That’s how many people came to Comiket 106 on Day One. And being a Sunday, Day Two will probably have a lot more than that. With that in the back of my mind, I returned to Tokyo Big Sight for another day of perusing fan-made manga, watching cosplayers show their stuff, and maybe find a surprise or two. As I walked through the area before the doors opened, that excitement I felt from the Comiket con-goers yesterday seemed to be a lot more amplified.
As mentioned, no two Comiket days are the same. Day Two put together a whole list of genres and series that didn’t gel on paper. In the East Hall were original works, military series, and even stuff about trains. The West Hall focused on VTubers, while South Hall was all about the Shonen and Shojo series. It made me wonder if Comiket would have a much different crowd than yesterday, seeing as the works were a whole lot more different.
Photograph provided by Comic Market Preparation Meeting
I decided that the route I did on Day One — East, West, South — would be the best way to experience Day Two. After chatting it up with a few press members from Spain and Singapore, I headed East, where original works took a big chunk of the spotlight. It also was a prime reminder that if a certain fetish exists, someone’s made a doujin about it! At last, I realized why so many people brought suitcases to Comiket, and maybe why I should’ve done the same!
It was in the East Hall where I ran into a bunch of artists that I’ve followed for a while. One artist was Kuro Akagi, whom I had interviewed back in 2018 for her Aspe-chan web manga. On top of her cosplay works, she was selling two of her own original doujins, of which I bought to keep on supporting her works. I also spotted a few familiar artworks I’ve seen on Twitter and BlueSky, and — as I did with Akagi — showed my support with some cash.
Photograph provided by Comic Market Preparation Meeting
Doujins weren’t the only thing in East Hall, as it played host to various other forms of mediums. The wildest and most unique hobbies were on display, from the more geek-oriented to even the biggest gearheads. Want to know how to properly tune an engine for a Ford Mustang? How about getting that right angle for a nature shot? Do you like food and want to know how to make it? Rocks?! Yes, they catered to everything.
Perhaps the most surprising area was for the military section. They had what you’d expect when it comes to guns and tanks, but there were other aspects that kind of left me in awe of these writers’ passions. Walkie-talkie etiquette, the history of helmets, maintaining barbed wire, and even things like radar and sonar training were all on hand for people to check out. While I don’t know if there are folks out there that are as passionate about navy flags or tank shell cleaning, one can’t help but admire the amount of love these folks placed into their works.
I suddenly found myself smack-dab in the middle of the Touhou Project section. And here, anything and everything Touhou was on display. Fan-made video games, songs, doujins, and plushies were all on sale for lovers of the Touhou series. And because the franchise is fan-powered, you could say that everything (and nothing) here could be considered “canon”. Sometimes that’s a good thing, whereas other times…erm, maybe I shouldn’t mention it here.
After taking a deep breath, I headed towards the West Hall. I was fully prepared for the death march like yesterday, and could only imagine just how crowded it would be on Day Two. However, I was very surprised to see that I could walk through most of the area, and while it was still hot, it was a lot more tolerable. With that being said, there were plenty of VTuber fans in demand for their doujins.
Pic drawn by Casino
The very first thing I did when arriving at West Hall was seek out my favorite artist: Casino. Known for his Hololive fan works, the Taiwan-based artist was onsite to showcase his latest art book and prints. To meet him in person was incredible, as he showed a lot of humbleness for the work he’s created. After buying four of his books, I was left shocked when he wound up autographing all four of them. Needless to say, Casino was the highlight of my Comiket 106 experience.
Afterwards, I took the opportunity to roam through the rest of the VTuber section. On top of fan works from existing VTubers, people representing real indie ones were there to showcase their clients’ merchandise. From prints and doujins to even music CDs, these VTuber hopefuls brought everything to Comiket in the hopes of raising their status. While it’s a tough road to find glory in the VTuber realm these days, one can only wish them good luck in the hopes that they find their fandom.
Photograph provided by Comic Market Preparation Meeting
While the VTuber area was decently filled, the cosplay section was a completely different story. It was a complete standstill, as people flocked to meet cosplayers from all over the world. There was one point where I didn’t move from a single spot for ten minutes, which led to giving up on exploring the cosplay section of West Hall. (Note to Comiket: maybe make a third day just devoted to cosplay.)
Getting to South Hall was easier said than done. I found myself getting lost on a couple of occasions, to the point where I somehow went to the East Hall again by mistake! But after a good long lunch, I gave it another go, and somehow managed to find South Hall. It took making a detour through the cosplay area on the South Hall’s roof to get there, which had thousands of cameramen pointing their devices at hundreds of people dressed as their favorite characters.
Photograph provided by Comic Market Preparation Meeting
It’s odd that South Hall was labeled for the Shonen/Shojo genre, as I really didn’t see much of either in the doujin department. Instead, I felt the area was another offshoot of East Hall, where it was a mixture of many different genres rather than the two they were labeled as. While there were many great artists on display here, the lack of anything under that shonen/shojo label was a slight disappointment.
With that, Comiket 106 came to an end. On Day Two, 130,000 people converged onto Tokyo Big Sight, bringing the full weekend total to 250,000! The staff did an amazing job both days of keeping with the crowd control, even if some places felt nearly impossible to get through. It always felt safe roaming around the expo halls, and getting places and finding help was fairly easy to do.
Photograph provided by Comic Market Preparation Meeting
If you have never been to a single convention before, then I would highly suggest doing something smaller than Comiket for your first try. This event is certainly vast, and the amount of content and people at Tokyo Big Sight could be overwhelming to some. On top of that, going solo can be a challenge, as attempting to cover everything on either day is very difficult. However, if you can handle the big crowds and are itching to see more fan-based content, then Comiket has your number.
The question now is, can I handle Comiket 107, which happens in December? Well…maybe my sleep-deprived self shouldn’t answer that. Just thinking about the next Comiket exhausts me!
Special thanks to the staff of Comic Market 106 for making this event a rousing success!
