Have you heard of Geek Pride Day? It is an unofficial celebration that originally started in Spain, and through the power of the internet has spread worldwide and become a popular way to give thanks for nerdy hobbies and interests! In English, the words ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’ can have very different meanings, but in Japanese they are both often translated as ‘otaku’. There are many kinds of geek as well, like movie geek, math geek, game geek, tech geek, etc. In Japan, the most famous kind of geek is definitely the anime geek!
Comiket, An Anime Geek Paradise
When you talk about events tailored for anime geeks in Japan, you absolutely have to mention the Comic Market fair, or ‘Comiket’! Comiket is held twice a year in the Tokyo International Exhibition center in Ariake, Tokyo. This long-running, volunteer-led event has grown over time to become the world’s biggest fan convention.
The Otaku Fun Continues with ‘Air Comiket’
Comiket98, the next Comiket convention that was due to be held in early May, was unfortunately cancelled due to the current coronavirus pandemic. However, geek and otaku spirit is not quashed so easily! Comiket98 was supposed to be held from May 2~5, 2020, with May 1 as the ‘preparation day’. As a result of the cancellation, the organizers of Comiket held a virtual ‘Air Comiket’ event from the official Comiket Twitter account (@comiketofficial) to replace the physical Comiket98 event that was meant to have been held at that same time. Comiket creators who wanted their creations to gain more attention would tweet out the hashtag ‘#エアコミケ’ during this period, and in turn be promoted by the convention team! The dedicated Air Comiket account (@comiket_air) will also continue to retweet fun and interesting tweets from fans!
Haven’t applied for Comiket 98? No problem. With all of these new ways to have fun with other fans, it’s okay even if you haven’t participated in Comiket previously. Many goods being sold under the エアコミケ (Air Comiket) label are purchasable now on many online stores, and you can see many of them via the link below:
Comiket98 Goods for Sale
Even though the physical Comiket98 convention might not have forward, many goods from it have still been made available for purchase on sites like Yahoo! JAPAN Auction and Mercari. You can see examples of what items are available in the gallery below:
There Are Many Ways to Order Otaku Goods!
Have you heard of the Japanese shopping site, Booth? Many exclusive Comiket goods are also available on Booth, Stores like Mercari or Yahoo! JAPAN Auction can be ordered from through proxy shopping services without much trouble, but for sites like Booth, the method is slightly different. You can install the Add to Buyee browser plugin, which works together with a Buyee user account to add items to your Buyee cart from stores like Booth that are normally impossible to order from outside of Japan! You can use the links below to browse Comiket goods on Buyee, and for more info on the Add to Buyee plugin to see if it is worth installing for you!
A Long History of Comiket Merch!
Comiket has a long history of selling exclusive merchandise from Japanese indie creators that you can’t get anywhere else. If you have developed an interest in building a collection of goods from past Comikets to celebrate this year’s Geek Pride Day, there are many online stores where you can still purchase them, even from outside Japan! Click on the link below for more information.
