From August 11 to 13, thousands of fans line up in the heat of summer before the doors of Tokyo Big Sight for the Summer Comiket or Natsucomi. Many camp overnight in preparation to get the latest copy of doujinshi from the big-name tables or to buy the limited-edition items that are only available at the event. Even though it is a three-day event the items, doujinshi, and overall theme changes every day. Friday is for video games, Saturday is for anime, and Sunday is for original works. My friend told me Saturday is the busiest of the three and I should attend that day to see the cosplayers. Personally, I should have gone on Friday too, but you know lesson learned. Still I was excited to attend my first Comiket and I was looking forward to what I would see.
Walking out of the station there was anime swag being given out and the convenience store was doing a collaboration with Yuri on Ice. There were cardboard cut outs of the characters in the uniform and so many people were taking photos of it, but not with it. As we continued our track to the venue you can see people returning with bags full of stuff. Once we arrived at the site, there was a booth at the entrance selling a catalogue. For 2000 yen it will contain all the information about every booth at the event. My friend told me that we would most likely see the big booths with sold out signs. By the time we walked in, they led me to an example of a sold-out table.
Comiket is spread out between the east and west halls, which is a long track to either side. The west halls are where companies set up booths to sell official goods. While the east halls are for the fan made stuff like doujinshi. There is a service that is provided, which I found very convenient, where people who buy so many items can have them shipped from the convention. I forgot to ask if they did international shipping, but either way if you do not want to carry all your goods you can just have it shipped to you. There was also Comiket goods available at the shop near one of the entrances with “Comiket 92” on it.
Outside and around the venue were different cosplay areas. I found out that you cannot be in your cosplay beyond the venue’s perimeter. If you want to cosplay you have to rent a dressing room and change at the site. The changing areas are gender separated and they have places for you to store your luggage in what they call “cloak room.” The funniest cosplay I saw there were two robots dressed up as anime characters. That really made my day. Seeing the various cosplayers made me appreciate all the effort they put into getting ready, making their outfit, and posing for photos under the sun.
After exploring most of the area, I bought my first doujinshi, which was a comedy of Kuroko no Basuke. It was cute and entertaining to read. Also found the International Desk, which was near the “Red Ball” meeting point. Now it is impossible to see every table at Comiket in one day. My advice is to focus on the series you like the most and find it. The event ended at 4pm, but if you want to miss the rush of people returning then you can either leave before that time or wait until the crowds dissipate. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and would attend again. Luckily there is another one in winter and I look forward to attending that one too.
