Seen above, are Law and Lucy expressing who they are at Comiket 89, my second time attending the convention. I got part of the scoop after the break.
I went to Tokyo to spend part of my holiday there, Comiket was one of the main reasons I went. New years, Asakusa, and Akihabara being the others. I had a heck of a good time!
A quick breakdown of this convention. Comiket is a free-to-attend convention taking place twice every year, August and December. It takes place at Tokyo Big sight, located in Odaiba. This time around it took place on the last three days of 2015, December 29-31st. I attended the convention on Day 2. Comiket now has an attendance of 600,000+ people. 40 years ago in 1975 when it started, there were only 600 in attendance by comparison. There are about 35,000 various vendors at the con.
Cosplay is done only in designated areas. There's a small area in the front area of the convention center, there's a slightly bigger one one floor above, the biggest one behind the convention center, and a fourth at the seaside which is also fairly big. Only note, it is asked that cosplayers who want to cosplay, pay 800 Yen (about $8). Cosplayers are asked to arrive at the convention in regular clothes and get changed at the convention.
To take a photo of a cosplayer, one must line-up in line and wait their turn. They stand in the designated zones usually with a sign by their feet indicating their online handles time on twitter/FB. This is different from the North American style where cosplayers walk around and be asked to have their photo taken. Both are different, and I can see pros and cons in both. Maybe I'll do an article on that one day.
Although people who want to take pictures need to line up, you'll occasionally get a CMoP (Circle Mob Of Photographers.) It resembles very much much like a Colosseum in that photographer on the inside of the circle are sitting down to create a concave sort of shape. This mob may also be mistaken for a PSuJ (Photographer Summoning Jutsu).
I spent my 6 hours at the convention just walking around and taking photos. The convention is open from 10-4pm. A far cry from the 9am-10pm (and longer) conventions in North America. I did not go inside at any point this time around and stayed outside the entire time. I was debating whether to come back on day 3, but decided to skip out as I got my share of photos.
The convention is very well organized, and despite its size everything seems to flow smoothly. The lines are big, but not long, the courtesy (waiting, sitting in appropriate areas, etc...) is also fantastic, washrooms easy to access, plenty to room to walk in the dealer/artist halls to walk around in.
You can get to the convention by many means. You can bike there if you live close by, drive there, take a bus, or the most popular, take the subway. There are three subway stations by the convention, on two different lines. Despite the amount of people leaving the convention, the wait is minimal and the transportation convenient.
If you're planning to go to Tokyo in August or December and want to attend Comiket, I recommend checking it out. Even if you don't understand Japanese, you'll have a fun time walking about.
Full gallery is below, broken up into sections. I enjoyed the convention and met some people I had previous encounters with, and chatted with some new people, they're all friendly people!
Please feel free to leave any comments or thoughts, thanks for the read! : )
-Mike
Gallery 1/3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gallery 2/3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gallery 3/3 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------