Don't know a single thing about Comiket, Dojinshi and/or Cosplay?
Kinda know but not that much?
 

Then, before reading my scintillating (?) report, you might want to check out Simona's Comic Market for Dummies, where you can get all the info you need on the aforementioned three subjects.
 

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen...
 

Comiket, short for Comic Market, has come a long way from its beginning, when a relatively small group of like-minded otaku exchanged their creations, to the six-digit number attendance and five-digit attending circles monster money-making machine it is now.
 

General Info
 
Born in 1975, it's getting bigger and bigger as you read this. Last year it was hectic enough, this year it really topped it off, making visiting it the «thing that should not be done by humans» n.1 in my «inhuman things» hit parade. Having said that, it's always fun to hang out with my Italian cosplayer friends (yes, they basically come all the way here just for that every year. And shopping, of course), saying hello to my favorite authors and shopping around, even though circulation inside Big Sight got really unbearable. Thank dog I was with my fujoshi friend Kaoru, who came from Nara just to hang out there together, and Alessandra, my Italian publisher's Editorial Coordinator who has no particular interest in dojinshi but wanted to do the Comiket experience (well, she is a professional otaku too, after all) so queueing was far less painful.
 

[forgive me for squinting at the wrong time]

from the left: Elena 'Senpai' @ Macross Frontier, Serena 'Vampy' @ Black Lagoon, Kaoru-chan and Yours Truly (in truth, I was Liza Hawkeye off duty, but nobody noticed :p).

 

Attendance
 
Attendance numbers are always unofficial because being a free event there is no certain way to count the guests, but they are fairly accurate in my books (we are in Japan, after all); this year the total was 560,000 people, 10,000 up from last year, divided in three days, respectively 180,000 the first two, the parody days, and 200,000 the last day, original works (and porn! Yaoi included) day, and 35,000 attending circles.
 

Circles
 
In the pre-digital past, circles were born to split printing costs, so there were many anthologies around, and one circle counted several people, while nowadays one-person circles are the norm. (Of course there are many two or more person circles as well). Having said that, 11-12,000 average circles a day is still a hell of a lot of people.
 

Human Traffic
 
The guys pavilions area, the whole of the East Wing, is really like Shinjuku station in its worse rush hour, while when we finally manage to get to the Promised Land, a.k.a. girls' (much smaller) West Wing... heaven!! You can actually breathe and move! Yayyy! It was one of the very few times I sincerely thought I was happy to be born a girly.

 
Queues
 
Having said that, if you're after one of the big stars who publish for professional magazines as well (Yun Koga was there in person this year), forget it. You really need to be there since 5 in the morning (yes, people do that) to rush in as doors open @ 10 am to get what you need and also have more time to queue for your next target, because the queues are HUMONGOUS. It is REALLY upsetting to endure such an ordeal to end up giving up your main targets because it just doesn't make sense to queue hours and hours for one author when the place stays open only from 10am to 5pm (Cosplay ends at 4pm to give layers the time to change), you don't get to see anything.
 

Survival
 
The secret for surviving the latest version of Dante's Inferno called Comic Market is only one: good planning.
Thankfully, the catalogue CD-ROM allows you to search, select and even color-code your favorite circles and also to print out a map of each pavilion with every circle marked in its color and listed on the side. Otherwise you'll only get lost and probably carried away by the masses of people who actually know exactly where they are going, and the take no prisoners on the way. XD
 

The Rush
 
They told me that when they open the door at 10 o'clock the rush is something out of a scary movie. The vendors can actually hear the stomping getting nearer and nearer breaking the morning silence like a proper horror flick. Brrrr. I need to try to infiltrate in there and film it one of these days. If you want to get in without queueing for miles (at least one - I am not joking) getting there by 11 am is not a bad idea. Be careful though: the first day is generally a nightmare anyway.
 

Cosplay
 
This year, like last year, the cosplay was divided in two sites, #1 in the garden below and #2 on terrace on top, the traditional place. Personally, I like the garden better because it's green and roundy and it's easier to circulate, and also more importantly THERE IS A LOT OF SHADE!! The terrace is Desert Hell. This year's cosplay level in #2 was AFWUL. A lot of guys dressed BADLY as girls (WHY?!!!) and really ugly, cheap stuff put together perfunctorily. I had to pass by on my way to the business pavilion but I walked REALLY fast, I tell you.
 

Business
 
Actually, the business pavilion is virtually unreachable now. To access it, you have to come out of the West wing (doing inenarrable roundabout turns to actually even get outside) and go up the outside staircase, all queueing for 20-30 minutes in a sea of people in the scorching sun (see picture) then cross the infamous Cosplay Square #2 and FINALLY get to the back of the bloody building after what feels like a million years. I wonder how much business the business pavilion actually manages to do, since you have to go through at least three advanced levels of D&D to get there (sorry for the ancient quote).

Kaoru-chan and Sebastiano @ Business Pavillion. He is a professional model (half-Taiwanese half-Italian) and gets paid to cosplay and distribute flyers in front of Ichijinsha's booth. Luckyyyyy!!!

 
Overseas visitors
 
Thankfully, Cosplay Square #1 kept the level high and entertaining as usual. This year I had the impression that there were less foreign cosplayers, but due to the "mania" (really small niche) nature of the event (as opposed to the gigantic scope it has reached) only a very restricted elite makes it all the way here. Generally the foreign cosplay level is very high (well you don't travel millions of miles to do a shabby cosplay, do you? XD).
 

 

Motivation
 
Actually the main reason why I endure this grueling trial every year is, aside from getting my paws on special dojinshi material that goes on sale only @ Comiket (by very famous authors, the likes of Yonezoh Nekota, for instance) and obviously failing because the queues get around the bloody building (which I tell you is really BIG!!), is of course to meet my gods and goddesses.
 

Equality
 
The most amazing thing about dojinshi events, and especially Comiket, the Emperor of them all, is the total equality you feel; even the most famous author is just another fan sitting there selling his or her homemade piece of manga cake, and the boundary between creator and end user is really really thin, virtually non-existent. A lot of fans bring presents, sweets and food to their deities, and queue to talk to them in awe, but all the authors at Comiket, no matter how eminent, speak to everybody with a smile, like they would do with a friend.

 
Love
 
There is no sign of the stiffness and mannerism that Japanese business practices involve, and also, being a direct link between author and fans with no middlemen whatsoever, you are sure that your hard-earned cash goes all into the pocket of your immortal beloved. So it is a big money-making machine, but the point is not doing business, the point is "sharing". Enjoying sharing your interest with like-minded people. Basically, the core component of the Comic Market and the whole of the dojinshi world is the same that makes the world go round: not money, but love.
 
 

Bianca a.k.a. Genjo Sanzo @ Saiyuki,Simona a.k.a. Gin Ichimaru @ Bleach and Elena a.k.a. Kanda @ D.Gray-man on the terrace @ Natsucomi [Summer Comiket] 2007

And my personal final balance was...
 
Minus
 
This year I failed to get Yonezoh Nekota's Comiket set (she has got a lot of new dojinshi out and a few juicy "goods" - postcards and vinyl folder - plus a special booklet) and Kou Yoneda's new stuff + some I missed last time (I guess I'll buy them from the authorized online stores) and I also didn't get to say hello because people were queueing even to talk to Nekota and Kou didn't make it because she was unwell. Also, I didn't manage to meet my sizzling love Mika Sadahiro, who hasn't showed up at any event this year because she's too busy working (well it's not a bad thing, really… but I yearn for her XD).
 
Plus
 
I did manage to finally:
 
* meet my adored Hibakichi
* say hello to Tsukasa Matsuzaki and Takeshi Matsu and buy their new dojinshi
* see that cute sexy #19 (Tsukumo Gou) again, who gave me his new issue for free (lucky!!)
* introduce Alessandra to Shirow Miwa (creator of Ultra Jump's Dogs, which recently became an anime. I am the manga's Italian version translator.) who gave us his new dojinshi for free as well (my lucky day, indeed!)
* ask my VERY favorite manga goddess: «Is Kusama Sensei here?» without realizing it was HER (erm... last year she was wearing a hat and donning spectacles!! I swear she looked like another person (T_T)) but getting a free postcard as a gift anyway
* bump into my friend Keitaro Arima (Moon Phase) who was roaming around and gave me his «super-rare» Macross Frontier (I think) parody booklet as a present
* meet his friend Manda Ringo (finally! What a genius of a woman) who gave me her «Child Raising Diary» dojinshi as a gift (really... don't hate me too much (T_T))
* chat up Naoko Ohtake and tell her about her introduction in the Lab then buying her new dojinshi (she gave me two postcards but they were free for all! I swear!!)
* meet also Monaka Natsuo and tell her she will be introduced in the lab too, in the near future, then bought her new issue
* ...and finally get Shin Mizukami's (notorious military BL) latest dojinshi.

 

Cosplay photos by Serena Colpo, venue etc. by Kaoru Ohnishi.