Then again, probably not the next one. (I’ll need time to replenish my Japan Excursion Fund after Spring 2009’s bank-busting visit.) But if they’ve got one slated for the second half of November 2010 or thereabouts, I’m game.

I’ll readily admit to having the occasional Comiket itch. The mainstay of anime blogs, convention posts and otaku news sites the world over, Comiket is to a foreign-based doujinshi enthusiast what being an astronaut is to a seven-year-old mulling over prospective careers: powerfully appealing and (for the overwhelming majority) completely unattainable. Not being a doujinshi enthusiast, I’ve never felt the pull as strongly as some, but from the time I was first exposed to it in Genshiken I’ve occasionally entertained the fantasy of squeezing myself into Tokyo Big Sight and helping myself to the mountains of fan-made merchandise on offer. Of course, the passing fancy never made it into the real world: financial considerations aside (which in any case can be surmounted after several months of diligent paid labour), the sheer enormity of the event, the practical difficulties faced by attendees and the mature content favoured by many of the participating circles all served to dissuade me from queuing up for a ticket.

But the dormant embers of my desire to attend one of these events – if only for the experience of it and nothing more – were fanned back into life by a recent piece on Anime News Network about COMITIA 90. Leaner, meaner, and supposedly cleaner, COMITIA sounds like just the sort of doujin gathering Diego can happily attend.

Most encouraging of all was the following bit of information (from the same ANN article):

While this may sound like it keeps with the stereotype that all Japanese dōjinshi conventions are filled with porn, it is important to note that beyond the adult and game sections, the presence of adult material at Comitia was mostly limited. In fact, Comitia had a few groups that I’m accustomed to not seeing at events like these: families, walking around the show floor with children of all ages.

More evidence of the same, from Daniel Lau’s post on COMITIA 89:

Comiket is more about fandom than it is about comics. What I learnt was that in a convention that permits derivative work, the majority of output seems to be 1) fan favourite characters in compromising situations, 2) fan favourite characters being repeatedly compromised by other, same-gendered characters, or 3) anything + Fist of the North Star.

Regarding the first two, I’m no prude. I support, you know, any perversion you can name. But much of Comiket was like walking through an adult video store (which is honestly what was most worrying about there being so many kids there this year, but that’s another topic).

Comitia prides itself on being all about original comics. When you take out all the fanfiction, even going so far as to ban cosplay, the bar gets raised a little. Creators have to get a bit more serious or stay home (looks like nine halls full of circles stayed home). That’s not to say there wasn’t any erotic material at Comitia, but not surprisingly it shrunk to a minority. I guess it’s no fun when there’s no love in it.

With my next trip to Japan already in its early planning stages, COMITIA’s prospects of earning a spot on my itinerary look very promising indeed. The problem is finding enough information about it in English (since my Japanese isn’t quite good enough to decipher much of what’s on the official site). Comiket has been written about to within an inch of its life in the anime blogosphere, but COMITIA doesn’t enjoy the same breadth and depth of coverage. If you’ve got any helpful tips for a prospective first-timer, feel free to sound out in the comment box or by email (animeaffairs AT yahoo DOT com – cut out the spaces and so forth). I’d certainly appreciate the advice.

Cheerio.

Update (23 November 2009): Daniel Lau has very kindly responded to a query I posted on his blog. If you’re planning to attend COMITIA, check out the Comments section of his COMITIA 90 post for some great advice.

LINKS

The Anime News Network article that sparked my interest in COMITIA.

Daniel Lau’s post on COMITIA 89, and a fresh write-up on COMITIA 90.

The official site.

Depois de muito tempo sem nenhuma novidade sobre MousePad 3D aqui no blog resolvemos voltar ao assunto.

Esses 2 modelos de MousePad são produtos oficiais de Idolmaster e serão colocados à venda no próximo “Winter Comiket“.

Para ver outros modelos clique aqui.

Exultation ~Bakemonogatari E09

Tokyo International Manga Library

In a move to promote serious study of Japanese manga, a university in Tokyo plans to open a library with two million comic books, animation drawings, video games and other cartoon industry artifacts.

Tentatively named the Tokyo International Manga Library, it would open by early 2015 on the campus of the private Meiji University, and be available to researchers and fans from Japan and abroad.

Japanese university plans huge ‘manga’ library, AFP, Oct 22, 2009

Yoshihiro Yonezawa Collection

The idea to create the library emerged after the university received a collection of over 140,000 titles from the late manga critic Yoshihiro Yonezawa, who attended Meiji University and who helped build up Comiket, the biannual market for self-published comics, and the university started collecting items two years ago.
…
Kaichiro Morikawa, an associate professor in Meiji University’s School of Global Japanese Studies who has played a central part in the plans, emphasizes the scholarly value of manga.

“Manga are mirrors which reflect the lifestyles of the public after the war, and they are also precious in scholarly terms. There is a need to systematically preserve them,” he said.

Meiji University drawing up plans for international manga library, Mainichi, October 27, 2009,

Schrödinger Manga Museum : If you don’t vote, the museum could be built or not.

Similar plans for a national media arts center were shelved earlier this year by the Democratic Party of Japan.

See Also : Finally the National☆Center for Media☆Arts!, Japan’s opposition (DPJ) pledges to ban Manga & Anime Museum, Oh My God They Killed NCMA ! You Bastards!

YES! I kid you not. There is an OFFICAL Reimu, from Touhou coming out! Too bad it’ll be almost impossible to find her … SUCKS! Doesn’t it?

LOL! DRUNK(?) Reimu

WOW! She looks so AMAZING for a figma. I really need to get her! I’d love it if I could find her somewhere! I’m on a mad hunt right now for her, I’ve tried looking at CD Japan, but as expected she’s not there, NOPE. So where else could I possibly go? Hmmmm? It sucks that so many of the Touhou items PVC/Figma/Neondoroids are sold in dojin stores only, even though there OFFICAL Products, but it has ALOT to do with the creator ZUN , and telling producers this and that, not that there’s a problem with that … BUT SHE LOOKS AMAZING. Figmas are getting to look SO MUCH better! AHHHHH! I can’t buy it!!!! She’s so hard to find!!!! Toys logic is the only place that they hold the Touhou figures, but no Figma… SUCKS!

Heh! She looks cute, to bad I’ll never get her!

I like the pose, and those talismans.

More actions POSES. She’s looking really good, seems like one of the best figmas to me!

And now were back to cute,normal Reimu.

So it seems like one of the best fimgas I’ve seen in a while. And I really wish i could get my hands on her. But it’s sort of only sold in Japan so there goes my chances of getting it. But prehaps like the PVC made by Griffon Enterprises it’ll be in stock somewhere online soon.

Here’s Griffon ENTS’s PVC of Reimu ,really cute. But the only place I can find has a price of $114.00 on it EEEEK!

Alot of the Griffon ENTS PVCs look really good especially Aya, I wonder if I can find her somewhere else cheaper too.

WOOT! Aya looks Awesome!

And finally there was a Reimu Neondoroid announced some moths ago. She seems pretty cute, but she’s not to special to me really, sorry.

CUTE, but it doesn’t seem too worth me buying.

And it’s pretty hard to obtain any of the mentioned/Touhou figures in this post, sorry, it’s a kind of limited to Japan thing it seems. But someone told of somewhere to buy Reimu, so maybe I’ll get her.

 Pictures are from Neko Magic, which are from the goodsmile copany website…