Comiket is the biggest most impressive gathering of Otaku there is. It last 3 days and happens twice a year. It's like an Anime convention, but it's mostly a super gigantic dealers room with an even bigger artist alley. There's also a space for cosplayer, but unfortunately it's way too small for the people there is.
You go to Comiket mainly to buy Doujinshi, Doujin albums, or Doujin goods. Which are comics, music or goods made by fans about their favourite Anime/game/Manga/other. There's actually also a bunch of original stuff. There's also the corporate booths which are a place to show upcoming games, goods, Anime or Manga, by the big companies. Here's how packed it can get:
Day 1 of Comiket is mostly Yaoi stuff, Day 2 is mostly Touhou, and I didn't go to day 3 but it's supposed to be mostly original stuff from what I was told.
The greatest thing about the Comiket is that the people you buy the art/music/games is directly the people who made it. It gives a special feeling, you know there's no middle man, you're encouraging them directly, and you can tell them how much you love their work... if you can speak Japanese. Of course there's a lot of people so you don't have much time to speak with them, but most will take the time. IRON-CHINO is especially fun to speak to, and he knows English, which makes it easier. Koko from Innocent Key was really nice too this year, she talked to me a lot, she's so small :O , and her cute voice from the albums, it's actually her real normal voice.... KAWAIIII. Miko from IOSYS usually is someone else you can speak to, but she was only there on day 3 so I didn't see her. Being able to talk directly with them really makes this kind of events special!
I wasted a little more money than I should have, but it was great.
Now like I said there's also cosplay at Comiket, so I took a bunch of pictures, you can see them here:
Comiket 83 Day 1 Cosplay
Comiket 83 Day 2 Cosplay
I don't know if it's easy to see on these pictures how much there's an awful lack of space for cosplay, but it was really cramped.
The people are usually very nice, and are there to be taken picture of, so you usually don't have to worry, but it's important to be polite anyway. It doesn't matter if you don't speak Japanese, you only need 2 words, "Onegaishimasu" just before starting to take pictures, and "Arigatou gosaimasu" when you're done. Even if there's a big group of people taking pictures of the same person, say it anyway.
One big change I noticed this time was that weapons were allowed, which is the first time I see at Comiket. I don't know however if that's just for the winter Comiket or if it's the new rules.
I guess I'll be able to see during summer Comiket!
That concludes my Comiket report, if you have any questions about Comiket, comment here and I'll answer to the best of my knowledge!
