Comiket 94 (Summer Edition)

Fall in! Nightrider speaking!

This year’s summer edition of THE world-famous Comiket 94 or C94 for short (the ninety-fourth time that Comiket occurred) almost broke their single day attendance record.

Compared to the lunacy that is the San Diego Comic-Con International held in July, Comiket dwarfs that lunacy completely. According to Quartz, SDCC is in 7th place overall in the world. Yes, SDCC is number one in North America on paper when it comes to official attendance, but other mega conventions like the New York Comic Con and Gamescon are starting to dwarf SDCC as well.

Comiket has many unique features that set itself apart from conventions like SDCC, NYCC, and Gamescon. For starters, the cosplay is another category in itself; many anime fans go all out to perfectly replicate their subjects of interest to the last little detail! Second, the location of Comiket can accommodate more than two hundred thousand attendees. This means more fun, booths and many artists showing their artistic prowess.

Most importantly, Comiket has the one thing that SDCC lacks in: ORGANIZATION. From what I saw online, their line policies prevent confusion and disturbances in the exhibit halls. Since the term “exclusives” doesn’t exist here, Comiket attendees can walk through the halls without pressure while taking the time to enjoy all the diverse manga surrounding them. As for the lines, there is only one that surprised me: the line to get in. I saw that the line could be huge, but it was handled with finesse! There is a strict policy that prohibits camping out the night before due to privacy issues. This policy protects attendees from suffering the hot summer while protecting their privacy. SDCC should take a look at how the line(s) were managed to ease the frustrated Comic-Con attendee from going berserk for camping out at the Hall H line.

So that’s it for Comiket 94! Comiket 95 will premiere on the last three days of 2018 (December 29 – 31). I can only wait to see what it has in store.