Comiket

Comiket is Japan's biggest doujin market, held twice a year at a giant convention center in the most upscale part of Tokyo. On the big day, tens of thousands of people, myself included, will wake up at the crack of dawn to catch the first train, sprinting between connections to secure as early a place in line as possible. When they arrive at the venue, they'll sit in line for hours in either the blazing heat or frigid cold until the event begins, at which time they'll flood into the halls and make a beeline for their favorite creators' tables.

Seasoned Comiket veterans will have already looked up which creators are located where so they can map out as efficient a route as possible. Creators who misjudge their popularity can sell out of their product quite quickly, so it's important to make the rounds with as much haste as you can muster. Alternatively, some of the most popular creators (especially ones who work in the industry and are putting out fan content of their own work) can end up with lines several hours long, so the speed with which you get to them can make or break your entire day. Many creators will sell out by the early afternoon, so you have no time to waste. Weaving through the enormous crowds becomes an art form, as is judging when you can afford to break for lunch.

Once I make the rounds and get everything I came for, I like to see the sights and look for new stuff to be interested in. Or, failing that, I'll go hang around the tables of some of my favorite creators, specifically the game developers in West 1, since those tables are never busy enough to have lines I might distract them from. Several of them recognize me on sight at this point, and one circle (which turns out is actually a club at a college) about lost their minds when I whipped out my "fan club membership card" that they had given me at a previous Comiket.

Despite and yet partly because of how hectic the event can get, there's an indescribable air of unity and camaraderie to it that's wholly unlike anything I've ever experienced. Though we attendees are all warriors doing solitary battle, we share a common passion and purpose that brings us together. Additionally, though they feel very distant and nebulous to foreigners, doujinshi artists and doujin game devs are ultimately just some guy sitting behind a table. It feels almost intimate to directly exchange money with them for their passion project that they poured countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears into making. They are most certainly way in the red with this stuff, but that doesn't matter. They made these booklets, games, or what have you because they had something they wanted, needed to express. Whether that's simple love for a character or an outlook on life, their passion always shines through in their work, and I can't get enough of it.

On this page, I'll catalog the creators that I particularly enjoy and make a beeline to every time I go. When Comiket actually happens, I'll make blog posts about the specific loot I get and link to those here. This is not going to be an exhaustive list, and I'll probably be updating it irregularly.

Doujinshi (derivative)

• Mr. John Doe - Writes fanfiction for Gotoubun in which the correct girl wins. He has a fantastic understanding of her character and what makes her so great, and he also puts a unique spin on familiar events from the series in his work.
• Type K - Some good FGO lewds, often starring Melusine and Sakurafaces. Always a treat to read.
• Monaka Udon - Really kinky, convoluted, BDSM-ass lewds of whatever character he feels like doing horrible things to that day. Used to do Touhou characters, then Kancolle characters, and now it's just whatever. Kimetsu girls, Oshi no Ko girls, Dark Magician Girl, you name it. All his stuff is in full color, and he's really good at shading and lighting.

Doujinshi (original)

• Aquadrop - Puts out a breathtakingly-drawn original story about two siblings' depraved yet touching relationship. It's beautiful, almost sacrosanct, to the point that you feel kinda bad for voyeuristically peeking in on them. Mere days after Comiket 105, the artist, Mikami Mika, had an exhibition in Akiba where you could admire framed art of hers, buy merch, and even watch her draw in real time and get her autograph.
• Sabaku no Kitsune - Puts out artbooks of his OCs: the Egyptian gods Bastet and Anubis in human form. One of the somehow precious few who actually understands the appeal of the particular outfit he chose for them.
• Zenkaku 14-ji - Does an original story about a manga artist what got kidnapped and confined by a yandere fangirl who often wears a mask. He seems to be shaking the concept up a bit lately, though its initial popularity was enough to get him a three-volume LN series.
• rurudot - Another guy with OCs: dainty, ephemeral, supernatural girls who are The Big Gay for each other, though notably, his work isn't explicit. Got himself a light novel series that's still ongoing.

Doujin games

• GALEX SOFT - Puts out seishun VNs with sci-fi elements. Notably, their first work, a game with a very White Album 2 feel, was also the first thing I ever bought at Comiket. One of their recent games was recently announced for an official English release.
• F.T.W. - Puts out haunting, dark yuri VNs. Always a treat to read.
• Luciolize - Puts out short VNs about abusive, yet seemingly happy, yuri couples. Not quite my thing, but this guy's existence fascinates me, and his work is nothing like you'd ever see from a big corporation.
• Kuro Irodoru Yomiji - Puts out yuri thriller VNs. Most of his work has been released (poorly) in English. Often runs his booth together with the lady who voices the protagonist of his current series. Both of them are really chill, and it's always fun to talk to them.
• Tansukai - Puts out a series of mystery VNs, usually starring Schoolgirl Detective Minako and her friends. Their games and the mysteries in them run the whole spectrum from awful to decent, but the series is quite charming.
• MCC Higashi Nihon - The college club I mentioned above. Their games are mostly about whatever, but my favorite among them is a vaguely yuribaity duology about a loner girl and the cheery, peppy, possibly autistic girl she has an odd but close friendship with. The former is a personality archetype usually shunned and seen as a "problem" in most otaku media, but this circle refused to treat her that way, celebrating the characters' personalities and differences instead of trying to reconcile them.