‘It’s like a dream’: Artists and fans connect over the love of comic books at Japan’s biannual Comiket

Richard Chen, 24, a website and application developer living in Paris, remembers the exact episode of the animated television series “Dragon Ball Z” that made him want to be an artist. 

He was 4 years old, and it was a fight between the characters Goku and Cell. After that, he said, he was hooked on Japanese anime and manga, and he was always drawing himself, emulating their style. 

Late last year, Chen was able to meet some of the artists behind the art form at Tokyo’s Comiket, the world’s largest comic festival, where he also peddled his own work.   

 “I got to talk with artists that I admire a lot for a few years now, and it’s like a dream to be able to talk to them face-to-face and not only through social media,” he said. 

Twice a year, more than 300,000 comic enthusiasts from around the world travel to Tokyo to support their favorite artists who market their self-published books, known as dojinshi. While most of the artists are Japanese, some foreigners like Chen are able to get table space through a lottery. 

In the end, Chen, a.k.a. Fude, sold half of the stock that he had on hand — a sizable volume devoted to virtual YouTuber Amane Kanata, a popular figure in Japan — which he said he was especially proud of since he’s only been drawing seriously since 2018, and it was his first Comiket.

“In the past, I had a low-esteem of myself,” he said. “So, I thought that I wouldn’t make it [at the festival] like the artists that I respect. So, yeah, I’m really happy.”

For both established and emerging artists, Comiket, which began in 1975, is an opportunity for plenty of exposure and networking — with well over a quarter of a million people still coming to the festival even after the pandemic slashed its numbers in half. The summer Comiket is scheduled for mid-August. 

Professor Patrick Galbraith of Senshu University in Tokyo said that Comiket displays the changing trends in Japanese comics, which has led to big breaks for several popular artists, including Takahashi Rumiko.

Her widespread success started in 1978 with her series, “Urusei Yatsura,” which was one of the first to go under the popular “magical girl” genre of comics.

“She created something that was much more pop, much more sort of cute, that kind of thing,” he said, adding that she tried out some of her characters and story ideas at Comiket. 

Takahashi went on to make several popular manga series, including “Ranma ½” and “Inuyasha,” which sold well over 100 million copies in Japan alone, and are now household names worldwide. 

They were also translated into English and turned into TV series broadcast in the US on the Cartoon Network for many years.

Galbraith said that Comiket is one of the ultimate places for freedom of expression. There’s everything from storylines about teens enjoying a quiet life to fighters who combat bad guys with their nose hair. 

“It’s a really open market, and anything goes. I think the only limitations are you can’t copy someone else’s work, like directly copy, photocopy, or trace” others’ work, or break any obscenity laws, he said. 

The comics are also accessible — most books can be had with a quick 500 yen coin, or just over $3, and an arigato, Japanese for “thank you.”  

Though, some fans show up just to share their appreciation for an artist. 

Cosplayer June Lovejoy, from the US, who was dressed up as Alastor from the American animated series, “Hazbin Hotel,” said that some of her fans brought her gifts. 

“They don’t buy anything, and they just give you presents and walk away. Someone just showed up and said, ‘I bought this at Costco for you,’ and it’s a giant plush of a monster eating Reese’s. But he didn’t buy anything. He just said, here you go, and he left,” Lovejoy said.

She and others said that it’s all part of the joy, serendipity and success that is Comiket.