Comiket
For those who dont know, Comiket is the largest comic event held in the world - you will understand why by looking at the following photos.
The term "Comiket" derives from "Comic" + "Market". The "comics" are actually "Doujinshi" - explanation on Doujinshi in the previous coverage.
last time I went to the enterprise booths first and ended up with nothing. This time I went straight for the circles and was able to get *some* of what I wanted ^^;
"Circles" is the term used to refer to the groups selling Doujinshi.
The second circle I went for was Pink Chu Chu. While the press pass gets you straight in, the pass doesn't work on circle queues ^^;
The queues for goods are so long that they spill outside and snake back n forth. What happens is that a block of the queue will be selected to move forward while the rest stay where they are. People moving forward have to put their arm into the air while rubbing their stomach and stomping their left foot.
The queue for Pink Chu Chu was so long that they had a sign to indicate where the middle of the queue was - you usually see these only at the end of the queue.
You will find that the most popular circles are located against the wall. This is probably so that the large amount of people queuing up can do so outside without causing panic on the inside. The queue I was in must have had over a thousand people.
This guy is very well prepped - a battle map with a list of the goodies that he wants. I've seen maps with lines all over them indicating how the person should move around the halls in the shortest possible time.
I ended up waiting an hour for my goodies.
When you are at the event, you will see these signs being held up to indicate where people should line up.
Most people just stand there waiting while some read manga or play on their NDS - didnt see anybody whip out a PSP. They must be playing Doki Doki Majo Shinpan.
You get to look at a load of moe characters on these bags that many people carry around - your head kind of turns and follows the illustration on the bag as you wonder "where did he get that!"
A Pink Chu Chu illustration at the end of the queue asking you to wait until the guy in front has moved on before you approach the till. More on Pink Chu Chu later.
I have never seen so many people at Big Sight before.
One of the reasons why Comiket held in Winter has less people is because the last day is the 31st - many Japanese leave Tokyo to spend the new year with their family.
People everywhere. You need to queue to use the elevators, queue while walking, queue to take a leek, queue to buy a drink.
If you like being surrounded by other sweaty (and in some cases smelly) human folk then you will love comiket. I was bounced left right and center @.@
The whole of Big Sight was used - compare that to Wonfes where only a few halls in the east are used.
"Hitodarake" means "a load of people."
Hitodarake!
Sometimes you may hear the term "hito hito hito!" or "people people people!" - and its usually written or spoken 3 times in a row.
This was what it looked like in the halls - hito hito hito!
Time to go home. A chime rings at 4PM and a few thousand people start to clap at once - its like a scene that you see in a film (kind of).
The next time I'll be back at Big Sight will be in December for the WHF and Comiket - the Plamo Radicon Show and Tokyo Game Show will be held at Makuhari Messe.
The guy in front of me had something to say...
Folks who queued up hours to get in can queue more on the way home - the station was packed.
The queue outside the station snaked back n forth a few times.
At least there is Yoko and her large eyes to look at while waiting to get to the platform.
Dont expect to walk on any esclators on the day of a comiket.
The mechachu girls in their new ero anime - more from the enterprise booths soon.
Nearly forgot to mention that I was joking about the stomach rubbing and foot stamping.
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Related:- [*] Comiket 72 - all comike 72 posts are pooled here. [*] Comiket 72 Gallery - all thumbnails are here.
