Held twice a year and famous among otaku (fanboys and fangirls) the world over, Comiket, short for Comic Market, held its 86th event Aug. 15-17 at Tokyo Big Sight in Odaiba. With more than 550,000 people reportedly attending the event over the three days, Comiket has grown significantly since its early days when a few hobbyist creators and collectors got together to swap hand drawn fan fiction. It's now an event that includes all types of goods, drawing visitors from as far away as Europe and the U.S.

The true attraction of Comiket was in the East Hall, where row upon row of dining-hall-style tables had been set up with a huge and varied selection of dōjinshi (fan-created manga). Each day, almost 12,000 groups set up their stalls across the Big Sight convention hall. Some of these dōjinshi groups, already hugely popular, sold out within minutes of opening, others were newcomers hoping to make a dent in the scene with their fan fiction of popular characters.

When we arrived at around 1 p.m. on the Friday, the effect the day was having on the creators was already visible. A number of tables had long since packed up and gone home, successful in their quest to win new fans, while others sat there disappointed, heads hung low, their boxes still full. Although commonly known as a place for adult-orientated hentai (perverse) material, Comiket caters to different topics on different days, and Friday displayed a wide range of work aimed at both male and female audiences, some of which fell into the BL (Boys Love) and hentai categories, but plenty of others featured drama, adventure, romance and animals.