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I always used to type up my comic con experiences for this website, and as it needs a kick up the arse, I'll do it again! I was making haul videos for Youtube, but they took too long to edit and, as the Kansai Comitia 67 one is yet to even be recorded, let alone edited, let's just chuck the idea entirely and come back to text, eh? So then, there's three Kansai Comitias each year. One in January, which is in Kyoto (oops, actually. No. 69 is in Osaka in January!), the "big" (not that much bigger) one in Osaka in May, then one back in Kyoto in October. Maybe other editions have been in other places in the past, I'm not sure. Number 68 was an October Kyoto one, so I had to wake up early to get over there. How early? 4 in the morning! Wait, Kyoto isn't that far! Nope, but France is, and of course I had to watch the Rugby. Springboks 16, England 15. At least we made them work for it, eh?
Some Kyoto, yeste-er-that day So then I slept til 7:00, and snoozed the alarm til 7:50, THEN it was con time! I went on the Kintetsu line, which actually took me across to Nara prefecture, then changed to what was technically a Kyoto subway train, to go up into the city itself. I've always wondered what it's like when a subway train is taken out onto a countryside track and really let loose. The answer is "bumpy". I got to Takeda, which is the "nearest" (not really) station to Kyoto Pulse Plaza, where the con is held. There are buses to the plaza, but I just walked it (as do many). If anyone reading this and fancying going wants to stick to the comforts of JR, there's also a free con bus from JR Kyoto station.
The walk. Almost there! First stop was the convention catalogue, called "Kansai Tears Magazine". This is your ticket to the event. Until recently it was sold in advance at shops like Melonbooks (a comic shop that's heavy on the doujins... and almost solidly porn), but not on the past couple of occasions. Now you have to get it at the gate, so there's no more in-advance browsing of the circles to visit (each with a sample illustration) beforehand. That's a bit weird. Then again the few cons after Covid-19 had a tear-out "contact form" for if cases cropped up among attendees. I can imagine pigshit-thick gaijin thinking that bit alone was the "ticket", leaving the rest at home, and kicking off about how "nobody told" them, when refused entry. Doubtless crying racism too. So now we all have to suffer for their stupidity.
Only just noticed the cover of Tears is a painting of the venue! Anyway, with that out of the way it was time to bask in the comics magic! About 700 tables of fun (actually only about half sell comics)! I suddenly realised I hadn't got out more money at 7-11 on the way, so had "only" about ¥7-8000 on hand as coins (I'd abused the change machines in arcades over the previous week). After a false start at the wrong end of the hall (where all the illustration books are), I had a slow browse up and down half the hall. I was on the lookout for a circle who had made the most adowwaboww ero-yuri (that's "lesbian porn" to you and me), but they weren't there. Any chance of OriComi 10, girls?
Cute. And I know it has at least one sequel! I was passing one table when I got handed an A4 flyer in both Japanese and English, for something about a tomato character. For some reason it reminded me of the British SP comic Jambo. Anyway for the rest of the con I was trying to re-find it, but couldn't. Did they pack up super-early or something? Having patrolled up and down the comics half of the hall, I worked my way back, this time buying stuff that looked cool or cute. One was called something something BL本, or "BL Book", so obviously I had to get that. I got the occasionally-heard "this guy-jin doesn't know what he's buying" giggle from the girls behind the table, always a winner. It lets me know there's good stuff in it!
Sounds cute! I need to find it! Nearby I found this one with a cover that looked like a black cat. Turned out to be a nice anthology called Fantasia with some great art... and some that's just okay, but this is a small press event, after all. This is actually volume 81 of Fantasia! Talk about dedication, this circle are putting out a damn-near regular publication!. Wonder if they take guest artists? I could serialise an adventure or two in there. Once I know Japanese, anyway. One step at a time, eh?
The back has a cover gallery, they're all variations on this theme. I passed a table that looked like it had a comic called 月XXX, or, roughly translated, "A Month of Porn". I later bought it, and it's actually called 目メメメ, which roughly translates to "Eye Eye Eye Eye". It's absolutely hilarious, and you don't even need to read Japanese to understand most of it. The guy selling it looked cute too. Unfortunately you can't take pics in the venue! I actually bought another book from him too that I'd forgottten about. The other one is also better-produced. Doujin artists do "proper" books with their best art and good printing, but also what are known as "copy-bon", which they quickly scribble and produce on a photocopier or home laser printer. Eye Eye Eye Eye is actually a copy-bon, but a good one!
Hilarious! Get it (in Jan) before it's gone! I saw a fairly popular table (it had 3-4 people hanging around, proper qeues for tables are a rarity at Kansai Comitia) selling a book called "WW2 Illustration". Loads of awesome, large images of Zeroes and Hellcats duking it out over pacific islands. And there's some useful art tips in the back, too! I bought two of them. I tried to ask the guy if he'd heard of Jose Maria Jorge, but of course he immediately jumped to thinking my name is "George Sensei", I'm from Argentina and that I work for a British company called Commando. It's not worth the effort correcting these sorts of people, let them beleive what they're going to beleive.
I got book 5 and 6, seemed like books 1-4 had sold out. Numerous other purchases later, including ones from people I'd bought books from before (they rarely number series, so who knows if I'm getting the newest books?) and the coins were running a bit short. I found a table with a bunch of sci-fi books with fantastic covers, including one called The Battle of Neptune that looked amazing. I told them I'd come back once I'd got some money. I had a sit down in the vending machine area, transferring books from shopping bag to backpack. I also had a peep in the catalogue and found an illustration that looked very Steve Galacci! I had to track that down, but it was buried in the illustration books section. I left the building, intending to make the fair trek back up the road to 7/11... but it turns out there's two other 7/11s and a Lawson right near the venue, so I went to one "round the back" of the Pulse Plaza in the expectation that that one's cash machine and change drawers would have been the least raided. Also found some Extra-Strong Halls! The ultimate nose-blockage destroyer, but very rare in Japan. When you see them, stock up!
Solar envy. There were are fair few gaijin at the event, more than I've seen at others. I went in my American Way shirt as a mild repellent. It is pretty subtle, though, many more and I'll have to go for the full Cyberfrog or Rippaverse (where's my books, cap man?) to make sure they leave me alone. I took the long way round to get back into the venue and saw a woman who would have made a great Truth, though I get the feeling she wouldn't have appreciated the suggestion. Cosplay isn't allowed at Comitia, anyway. With fresh money, I went back in and headed straight for the table with The Battle of Neptune... which had just sold out! I contented myself with one of their copy-bons. At least it seems like a copy-bon, it's full colour! The cover feels wierd, kind of silky and soft, I guess it's the thick layer of laser printer toner.
Great cover even on this cheap one. After that, it was time to head to the porn section! A lot of doujinshi conventions are mostly porn, but Comitia has only one tiny adult section. Though of course, "porn" is relative - normal "romance" comics can push right up to the limit, and BL shows damn near everything because gay sex doesn't count as "sex" under Japanese law, so while only buying 2-3 porn comics from the actual "アドルト" section, I still came away with plenty of fapbait regardless.
Furrydom expects... Last stop was the illustration books section, and I found the "Steve Gallaci" guy. Actually he only had the one book, a copy-bon, and this cat was the only completed illustration in there. The rest of it, aside from the cover, is just framework pose studies and other simple sketches. At least it was free! Hopefully by January he's put something proper together, it's going to be awesome! Anyway, I say "the illustration books section", it's more "the section for tables that mostly sell illustration books", as there were a few comics scattered around too. There was also this small but nice-looking illustrated story book! The writer actually spoke English pretty well, and was asking me about where I come from etc.
Cute By this time it was getting towards 3:00, when the convention closed, so I started on the walk back to the station. There's some cute art on the pillars over there, too. I went the same way I came, carrying on into central Kyoto. I wanted to go on the Nankai line, for nostalgia's sake (my first job in Japan was over there). And the occasional "pink express", which stops only within the boundaries of Kyoto and Osaka, and nowhere in the middle, was running! Shame I forgot that it gets super-crowded. AND they were running the blue train on that route. If you're ever getting a Nankai limited express and see a blue train coming, just wait for the next one, it won't have any free seats.
Station art. |
Gallery of other pics
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