Spring is beginning to sprung, and that means it's time for another Yonkoma Komachi! The day before saw beautiful weather, not a cloud in the sky and surprisingly warm. So, of course, on the day it, er...
Pictured: The usual Konohana hall weather.
Yep, here we go again... with knacked umbrella in hand a broken backpack that doesn't zip up (waiting for Bluetti to release their one in Japan)((A-bit-later-in-2025note: They did! For ¥70,000...)), I headed over to the Konohana Hall in Nishikujo. You know, the place where Yonkoma Komachi and Game Antique are always held. Oddly there was no banners outside... well, as well as rainy it was a bit windy. Maybe they didn't want them to blow away? The lobby was full of upper-middle-aged women. Well real otaku fandom started in the early 80's, and nerdery in Japan is more unisex. There were annoying noisy kids running up and down the stairs, well, kids like comics too...aaand when I got to the third floor, no comic con! Just a desk for some sort of late Valentine's event, or maybe just some big family's party. It was very pink, whatever it was.
I actually checked the website, and only then found Yonkoma Komachi 25 was being held in some "Business Innovation center", or whatever. A hasty maps later, and I was back on the train heading for Bentencho, and a connection with the green subway line. After a bit of a walk down a damp and foggy street, I finally found the actual venue!
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That one
It being Sunday, there wasn't much business being innovated, so there was no wait for the lifts, woohoo. I paid the entry fee, getting the convention catalogue and an amusing bespoke clear file for the event.
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Oh yaeh! I found the banners, too.
A guy at the desk where I went in had cola, so suddenly I fancied cola. Well they're only on an "I'm only human" level boycott. I came back out and back down to the lobby, no vending machines. I hopped six to the nearest junction, vending machines but no cola. I hopped ten to a neighbouring building, yes vending machines, but still no cola! Made do with rooibos bottle tea instead, erm...
Well, the cap's still red...
(Later I found out there are vending machines in the lobby of the Business Innovation Wotsit, they're just behind a partition). I went back up to the con and began to wander. It's not very big, only about 3 rows, and a little side area. There was also a table o' free flyers I nabbed a few off. Then it was time to buy stuff! Some of the guys at tables were also cross dressing. One tall one with purple hair looked very cwute.
I also saw somebody had a load of photo books where he was taking one of them big dolls (the ones that are 30-50cm tall) on adventures. I wanted to buy one but almost forgot. I found this book about apprentice witches. I got number 3 at Comitia, so got number 2 here. I might have number 1 kicking around somewhere... or they've just sold out of it.
I also found a food comic with a girl with a Union Jack jacket, so of course I got that. She's called Karen, and somebody even sent in a fanart! It's about ramen vs... something else.
I bought a few more comics, and checked out the wall of originals, where you could take a ready-drawn yonkoma and add your own dialogue. I did one myself last year, I wish I'd took a pic of it. There were also tiny stickers, so people could vote for the comic they liked the best. Time was getting on, so I went down to the lobby for a sit down, and to write up a few notes, so I could remember what to put in this report later. Then I remembered I'd forgotten to get that book about a doll. Oh well.
My view at that moment.
Then I remembered I'd left my umbrella upstairs, so I had to go back up there anyway. It must be 星destined星! So, I went up and got it, as well as buying the doll book.
'appy?
The con was over by then, so I sensibly went home to work on stuff for my jo-lol, no, I had a lenghty wander through central Osaka. The rain had stopped and the sun was coming through the clouds and fog a bit.
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I ended up walking down the longest shotengai, near Umeda, and checking out it's bookshops. Disturbingly the best one might have closed down :(, though as it was Sunday, maybe it was just closed for the day. I got so much hentai there over the years. Also the shop that had loads of cool paperbacks like Hornblower and Perry Mason didn't have any. Oh wait, that's because I bought them all. I ate some KFC, went home, and worked on class pland until so-late-it's-early.
Haul time!
Oishiiku Naare
I bought the third book in this series at Kansai Comitia 72 in January. Now I go book 2, still need 1. The style reminds me of Jenika Ioffreda's Vampire Freestyle, a mainstay of the UK small press (or at least, it was when I was there!). Anyway, here it seems like the trainee witches are trying to use magic to cook.
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Six Wheeler
Four characters, named North, East, South and West. "South" looks vaguely like Aeris out of Final Fantasy 7, though I think this is an original book. Yonkoma Komachi does allow fanbooks, but it's mostly original. Anyway it's a collection of one-page gag strips, not always yonkoma. Some are very wordy!
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How Do You Like Love Lab?
A copy-bon bound with tape. Includes various yonkoma, or maybe sometimes hachikoma, strips. They have a very "scratchy" style, using acres of lines and hatching to darken the scenes. These girls seem to be moving house throughout the book. Lots of the strips revolve around moving and setting up household things anyway.
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Naninani Madekitsu Itekinasai
An anthology, apparently by a circle named Sideros. It has some cute chibi-style strips, some cosplay photos of the characters, various pinups, and a lengthy text story.
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Yonkoma Fairytales
Very very cute style, and also in full colour. Honestly I got it because of of the girls inside has long blueish-green pigtails, so I thought might be a vocaloid fanbook, but it isn't.
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Nekomusuko Nyuumon
"Wide yonkoma", which go right across the page, and very good artwork. The style is cute. "Nyuumon" in a book title usually means "introduction to", but it can also mean "become a student (or pupil, disciple) of". You can remember this by thinking of a Jamaican fellow student asking "You new, mon?". So now you've got some vocabulary down.
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Kaede to Yuzuno! Untei O.To.Gi!
A fanbook of something apparently to do with a gymnastics club at a school. It's a lesbian scene with Sonichu-tier artwork. Full colour, too... not that that helps it very much.
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Ramen vs Kujou Karen
The (nice) Karen comic! Bought mostly because of what she looks like, of course. Doesn't seem to be entirely about ramen. They also got sent a fanart! "Kujo" is the same kanji as in Nishikujo, where Yonkoa Komachi is usually held! The actual name is a type of onion frm the Kansai region.
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Hi-Uni
And finally, the doll book! A guy with one of them big dolls (in the 50cm tall range) sets up various dioramas for pictures. He had loads of these, but I only got one.
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Haul reviewed while riding the entire length of the Keihan main line, just because.