My new book

Amazon (US, Japan, UK, and Canada) have started accepting pre-orders for my new book, Otaku Japan Travel Guide.
This is of course the sequel to my "Tokyo Geek's Guide" and covers the whole of the country.

Otaku Press book review

Otaku Press ha hecho una reseña del nuevo libro Tokyo Geek's Guide.

http://www.otakupress.pe/2017/10/review-guia-de-viaje-japon-para-otakus-tokyo-geek-guide.html

Comiket Nostalgie

Comic Market - or Comiket, as this event is usually called - is the world’s biggest dojinshi (fanzine) fair and arguably Japan’s largest otaku gathering, visited by more than half a million people twice a year.

Here's a great video about the 28th edition (1985)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqtzepfEt-I where you can see how cosplayers looked back in the day.
You can find more information on dojinshi, Comiket, and other such events in the Odaiba chapter (p. 116-124) of the brand-new Tokyo Geek's Guide.
https://www.amazon.com/Tokyo-Geeks-Guide-Cosplay-Ultimate/dp/4805313854/ref=zg_bsnr_16797_4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=2REEK0JNGHT4XMZY98K4

COMITIA 121

COMITIA is coming again like clockwork at the end of August.
Here's the poster design for the upcoming edition.

COMITIA is one of the Big Three dojinshi events in Tokyo (it is featured on page 122 of my Tokyo Geek's Guide).

Though smaller than the Comic Market and Comic City, COMITIA has a wider geographical reach as it is held in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Niigata and Sapporo. In Tokyo it is held in February, May, August and November.

The other noteworthy peculiarity is that niji sosaku (manga parodies) are banned so only original productions can be sold—not only manga but CDs, accessories and other items as well. Following the same logic, even cosplaying is not allowed. On the other hand, professional artists can sell their works along with the amateur circles but only as individuals (i.e. company booths are not admitted). 

There's no admission ticket but you need to buy the catalogue (1,000 yen at the door). Among other things, the catalogue will show you where each artist's booth is located.

20 August (11:00–16:00) Tokyo Big Sight.

If you can read Japanese, their website is definitely worth a look.

http://www.comitia.co.jp/

Panzer IV 12

Fans of the ever popular Girls und Panzer saga will be happy to know that the 12th edition of the Panzer IV dojinshi fair will be held at Tokyo Big Sight on September 23 (Sat) 11:00-15:00.
As G und P's fans and military buffs known the Panzer IV was a German medium tank that became the backbone of the German Army during WWII and was the only German tank to stay in production for the entire duration of the conflict. It first appeared in the anime in Episode 1.
http://sdf-event2.sakura.ne.jp/pv/

Shooting gamers of the world unite!

Shooting games (or STGs, as they are known in Japan), have always taken pride of place in game centers and the hearts of dedicated gamers. Who doesn't remember Space Invaders, the game that in 1978 started it all.

Unfortunately in the last 20 years STGs have become increasingly difficult as developers, in order to please hardcore players, have forsaken the casual players.

Recent STGs can be so complicated that they only attract those dedicated players (someone would call them maniacs) who are ready to invest a lot of time and money to memorize their amazingly intricate patterns (the hardest levels in some games can feature thousands of bullets on the screen at one time).
One such case is the extremely popular Touhou Seirensen ~ Undefined Fantastic Object (see screen shot below). 

If you are not familiar with this game, you only need to check out its LUNATIC level on You Tube to see what I'm talking about. I would never even clear the first stage but the overall effect is quite mesmerizing.


These games, of course, have their own loyal dojinshi fans as well. One such event is Hakakura Yahhou! that this year will be held on September 10 (11:30-15:30) at the Ota-ku Industrial Plaza, on the second floor (Small Hall). You can easily reach this place by train (check here) 
http://www.pio-ota.jp/english/pio.html

COMIC1 2017

This year all-genre dojinshi market COMIC1 has become a bi-annual event. If you have missed today's gathering you can always check out the new autumn edition (#12) on October 15 (10:30-15:30) at Tokyo Big Sight East Hall. For more info:  http://www.comic1.jp/index.htm and Circle.ms, the info motherlode for otaku indie publication-related festivals  https://app.circle.ms/CEvent/Detail/21037. Dojinshi are covered from p. 116 of my guide.