Intex Osaka, January 12th 2025
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It's a new year, and that means new comic events! As with the previous Kansai Comitia, the budget's a bit tight for this one (though I was able to get a refund off the dentist the day before*). I have a new job now, but the first "full" pay packet doesn't come until January 15th. Luckily, this is one of the myriad differently-named-and-numbered-but-otherwise-indistinguishable Comic City events, so it was mostly doujinshi of series I've never heard of, and everybody closed their stalls up and went home a full hour and a half before the event was supposed to end. Sooo the haul was pretty modest, anyway.
Only that much. Ya know, a little 'un... These things usually start at 10:30 or 11:00, so I aimed to get there at 10:20. I actually got there at 12:10 or so. Erm, near enough, right? Even as I came out of the station there was already a steady stream of women coming back in, carrying bulging canvas tote bags. Also I went to the bog in the station when I arrived. The ladies had a qeue back out the door, but I strolled right into the gent's. Fudanshi privilege, eh?
Always with the leaving really early at Comic City events. Is this some 日本人 cunt's joke that 外人 cunts don't get? Last time I was at an intex event, there were bridges over several road crossings that hadn't been finished. This time they were finished, but nobody was using them, for some reason. Anyway, spotting that they were actually open, I took to the air and no longer had to wait for traffic lights! Something to remember for next time, eh?
With such confidence-inspiring workmanship, too! I reached Intex, took the obligatory picture of the banner over the entrance (most of the comic cons I attend here don't bother to put one up, including some other Comic City events) and paid me
Remember when I said the last con I went to that used every hall of Intex was "HUGE"! Well it turns out, actually, these cons are EVEN HUGERER. I beleive I also said Hall 6 is the "smallest". Well, it turns out, the part of hall 6 I saw was the smallest. Actually hall 6 is FOUR halls! Two of them are upstairs! Finding the stairs was a laugh and a half. Very confusingly-laid-out arrows directed people into hall 3 (which was the indoor cosplay shootin' area - hey, it is January!), then kind of "round the side" of it, and up some escalators. There was no way to get upstairs in hall 6 in the downstairs of hall 6! (well, there is, but it wasn't open at this event.)
Once I got up there, it was time to fine me some Cloud x Vinny action! ...only there was only one non-porn Final Fantasy book in the whole place. Oh well, I had a wander, picking up some odds 'n ends that looked hot, even if they were from things I've never heard of. Hey look, I even found some yiff!
Pictured: Furfaggery But it was the more, erm, normal stuff I was after. Stuff like an anime apparently based on Ancient Egypt. No idea, but the BL fanbooks are hot, so I grabbed a couple of them. Honestly I spent most of my time in about half of hall 6D, which was like the "generic other" section, and probably the least-visited, with other people heading for the "Grand Line" section for One Piece, and the other "Mini cons" for popular anime and games, which make up the greater whole.
Pictured: common-or-(uphill)-garden faggery. That's what I'm after! Having gone up one side, I came down the other. One thing I always look out for at cons is the one shy (usually-a-)girl with a plain table and a single copy-bon. That's been me, and I know what it's like! Anyway I saw one with this full-colour cosplay photobook for just ¥300, so I had to grab that. Somebody else had two four-page (aka just one sheet folded over) copy-bons that were free, so I got them, too.
As I'm still terrible at Japanese, and despair of ever improving, I don't usually get text-only books, unless they have cool covers or are being put out by that one shy girl. I came across this old guy with a 100-odd page squarebound thing he was calling an "anime textbook", and it was freeee! So of course I got one of them. Not like I have a dire shortage of shelf space, anyway. Wait.
Towards the end of touring this hall, I found some hot "gay" porn comics, part of a wierd genre of Japanese BL where the bottom's muscles look like tits, and he's always blushing and surrounded by flowers and pink. Often a cross dresser, too. Anyway, the guy who'd drawn this one was wearing a dressing gown with women's underwear visible underneath. You aren't fooling anybody, mate, you're straight as fuck. Shame, he had a nice bod. After getting back downstairs (which involved a detour through hall 6C, which seemed to be the cosplayers' luggage / regular clothes stash area), I found a hint as to why everybody packs up early. Such a huge can can't be exhibited by Osakans alone, so loads of the others come in from other cities on chartered buses, which leave really early, so they have to clear up to catch them. Somebody ought to have words with the companies. While "Doujinshi" was invented to mean self-published comics and books, it's also given rise to "Doujinsoft", which are self-published videogames, and what might as well be called "Doujinstuff", people's home-made merch of anime. It seemed like at least one and a half halls were occupied by this. Lots of jewlry, tote bags and mini-standees featuring characters from things I'd never heard of. Anyway, one of these halls had stands manned by various printing companies, one of them had even bought an entire press with them! I guess it's the sort of thing Ka-Blam use, like a giant van-sized laser printer. They had it all opened up so you could see the litres and litres of inks, and thhe paper path. There were also metallic "finishes" that could be put over the page, or even only over certain colours!
I passed through some other halls on my way out, passing sections for JoJo, Demon Slayer, One Piece and Conan, plus myriad other things I didn't recognise. Felt tempted by a few books with hot characters, but only got one. More furries!
STRAIGHT FURRIES! I went over to the skyscraper to see if a boot sale was on, there had been, but they were clearing up, and I saw nothing of interest anyway. I had a brief wander in the ATC Centre, looking for good brush pens in the big Daiso there, but found nothing. I went to Cosmosquare Station, where a gigantic qeue had formed all the way along a promenade thing and back around. I was just about to take a photo of it, when it started moving. Luckily I made it onto the next train and came home, "testing out" a new (and faster!) route, as I did so. Perfect for my next Intex convention trip, which is next week! Also, I found out that, though all the "mini cons" (sometimes seperately numbered from the event they take place inside!) are references to whatever title they're dedicated to, if you look across the top of the map pages, you can see a list of the actual titles! That'll make it easier for next time! Final Fantasy, or ファイナルファンタシー, didn't have it's own section, though. It was just buried in "game". OK, let's check out the haul! Too lazy to properly / at all translate the names this time, so ya gets what ya gets. The Catalogue
At some conventions, like Comiket (the biggest of it's kind) and Comitia (the biggest one for original doujins), the catalogue is also the "ticket", but not at Comic City! You have to buy the ticket and then buy the catalogue seperately! But then again, that does mean the ticket alone is cheaper... Good luck finding the section for your favorite title in time, though!
Nichi Nichi Kore Kou Jitsu and Swellioom
Well, something swelled when I saw these, anyway. Me neither, apparently from a series called Enniad, which is based around ancient Egypt. Anyway these guys bang in a well-drawn manner. These were ¥500 each, she had a new one but it was ¥900.
Final Fantasy 7's Second something something
It's actually a bunch of gag strips. Not "yonkoma", though, they're over several pages. Sephiroth nearly hypnotises Cloud to squeeze Yuffie's butt! Also he hits Aeris with a squeaky toy hammer. Midnight Hospital
No idea what this is a fanbook of. The series might just be called "Midnight Hospital". 90's episodes of Casualty this ain't. Something Winter
Very cute art style, though the second thumbnail is as sexy as it gets. Dunno what series it's based on, but it's possibly a detective or spy show. Idol Declaration
Bought because the girl selling it was shy and being ignored. Also it was cheap! Usually a full colour photo book like this would be going for a sen or more. She only wanted 300!
Naked Faith
The one with straight furries. The girl, er, cat? Has gigantic knockers. No idea what series it's based on, but it appears to be post-apocalyptic. Maybe these are muties, call a judge! Animation Oniichan wa Oshimai
The guy said it was an "anime textbook", mostly text only, but it was free so I got it anyway. There's a few pics of anime girls with retro audio gear inside, too! Gift
Apparently based on a series called MP-100. It just looks like a slice of life thing. Actually I got it because I thought it was called "Bi Fit". Apparently you aren't allowed to re-sell doujinshi at secondhand bookshops. Nobody seems to have told, er, every secondhand bookshop. Actually, now that I think about it, doujins have vanished from Book-Off in the past few years... Chin-Chin Chanbara Buddy Spirits
Like a shonen battle manga, except they're agressively wanking. The Lesson Begins Before the Moon Sets
The furry one I found. Based on something called Zenless Zone Zero. Me neither. Anyway, it's hot.
Blue Research
This is a cool one, based on something called Buddy Mission Bond. There's not a lot of comics in it, it's mostly just illustrations of characters. But it looks good, anyway! Aaaand the others I didn't take individual pics of. The next Comic City in Osaka is Super Comic City 32, in May. Presumably Super Comic City 31 is elsewhere. Super Comic City 32 actually runs over three days! But the first two days are in Tokyo, and only day 3 is in Osaka. As with all things relating to the numbering of the numerous Comic City cons, all I can say is a hearty "...me neither".
Gallery
I was between medical insurances when I had a couple of emergency procedures (booked 2 days previously, to boot). But they told me if I kept the reciepts I could retrospectively apply the insurance and get 70% of the cost refunded. But go on, tell me again how wonderful the NHS is... |
