Our penultimate day in Tokyo officially began when Phil and I caught the Keisei Line train to Shiodome, where we transferred to the Yurikamome Line to Tokyo Big Sight Station. Crossing the Rainbow Bridge, as we entered Odaiba we could see the life-size Unicorn Gundam, nearby a large crowd gathered for the BMSG’25 music festival.
At 10:30, we arrived at Big Sight station. My friend Jon informed us via text message that he would be arriving at 11:08. So while Phil scrolled through his phone for the latest news about the upcoming Tokyo Sumo Championships, I went downstairs to the vending machine and purchased a 220 yen aluminum can of Suntory Hyper Zone Energy Black Punch.
I thought the drink was Energy Coke, but it describes itself as an “energy drink.” It tastes like a mix of cola and weak coffee. Jon arrived on time and immediately walked down the escalator and through the station exit. So Phil and I chased him until we got him back to us. The three of us then walked across the elevated walkway to the Big Sight Convention Center.
I showed Jon the official website for Comic SDF 17. He noted that the website did not specify where the event would be held at the Big Sight Convention Center. So we went to the information desk, which guided us through the floors to the escalators. On the second floor, we immediately spotted an entry form for a comic book convention. However, there is no mention of “Manga Self-Defense Forces” on the sign. As we were trying to make sure we were in the right spot, an English-speaking tour guide came up to us. When I showed him the event website on my phone, he said we had arrived at the right place. The admission fee for the conference is 1,500 yen. There is an additional fee of 1,000 yen for the printed conference catalog. I chose both.
This “small” venue consists of nine rows of back-to-back tables, with a total of more than 250 tables. One wall of the conference space is dedicated to fan-created figures and articulated action figures.
Two rows of tables adjacent to the display space were given to exhibitors who primarily offered or displayed their custom, limited-edition action figures. The rest of the room was filled with amateur fan artists grouped by parody. all beast friend Doujinshi creators are stationed together. all Girls und Panzer Fan artists are brought together. all fleet collection Artists together. all blue file Artists together. The theme of this conference seems to be military=beautiful girls plus beast friend.
I quickly realized that, by American standards, it was an unusual situation to have artists offering adult and erotic comics mixed in with artists selling all-ages comics. Adult comics are labeled as such on their printed covers, but no other effort appears to be made or required to distinguish between sexual content and all-ages content. And it didn’t seem like any effort was needed, as everyone at the conference seemed to be young people, with some attendees like us already well into middle age. I’ve never seen a kid on the show. There are a modest number of role players; almost all of them are women. As a rough estimate, the split between male and female artists is 80/20, but I did purchase some erotic comics from young female artists.
My harvest from the convention was 23 doujinshis autographed by the creators, one doujinshi signed by the artist “Fullauto Firing” with a simple sketch, two doujinshis from creators who refused to sign comics, two doujinshis from artists who were not present when I purchased the comics, and one dirty pair The 40th anniversary colored illustration dressing is priced at 1,500 yen, a colored mini dressing is priced at 1,000 yen, and a colored mini dressing is priced at 4,000 yen. I was particularly excited to discover dirty pair illustration. I was also happy to find the fan comic “Soineya to Dagashiya” by the artist “Blue Mage (Aoi Manabu)”, having purchased a brand new copy from Mandarake four days ago. I bought the second copy directly from him and he autographed it for me.
As we exited the show and returned to the first floor, Phil asked us to take a detour so he could buy a drink. So we walked to the Lawsons convenience store in the lobby of the Big Sight building. When we arrived at the store I excitedly pointed to a poster Heart-stealing pretty girl commodity.
Jon explained to me that the poster was an advertisement for the store’s ongoing lottery draw. I was able to purchase a ticket for $770 that was redeemable for Category I to Category A prizes; however, the store’s only A and B prizes – Cure Black and Cure White figures – had already been won. Since I had never participated in a lottery before, I decided to give it a try, fully expecting to win the “I” prize, a roll Pretty Cure Packing tape. At the Lawson checkout counter, I handed over my shopping card and 770 yen. The cashier picked up a box Ogamajo Doremi Buy your ticket, scan the box, and deposit your money. Jon noticed the mistake and explained to the cashier I wanted this Pretty Cure Lottery, no Ogamajo Doremi Lottery. The cashier apologized and had to return my payment to himself and then deposit the payment back into the cash register’s coin collector. I randomly draw a ticket and open it. I won one of the “H” prizes, randomly Pretty Cure Key chain. Another clerk pulled out four matching boxes for me to choose from. I picked one and put it in my backpack. To me, the unforgettable experience of winning a prize in a lottery event is more valuable than the meager prize money I won. So I had no intention of opening the box to see which blind box keychain I received.
Phil found the line at the convenience store checkout too long and inconvenient, so he bought a drink from the vending machine. I suggested we go to DevilCraft for lunch, one of Jon’s favorite restaurants. So Jon took us by train from Koto Ward in Ariake to DevilCraft Bar and Restaurant in Hamamatsucho.
We ordered a plate of waffle fries with meat peppers, followed by a “big” Detroit style top pizza without peppers. Over the next few hours, Jon ate a piece of pie and both he and Phil drank a few beers. Our conversation ranged from Pier Paolo Pasolini’s salou arrive Mission: Impossible movie franchise Saint Seiya 1995 animated installment Gurchieva of the 13th Division 1990s TV series magic taruruto TV animation by Studio APPP and its 1999 Prince of Flowers and Birds TV series, one-hit wonder band derived from musician Prince and others.
At around 7pm, we parted ways at Hamamatsucho train station. Following Jon, Phil and my advice, I walked to the far end of the Yamanote Line 2 station to look for a replica of the Belgian Manneken Pis statue. When we realized the statue was at the end of Platform 3, we walked up and down the terminal stairs to the end of Platform 3 so Phil could take a photo of the statue wearing a silk clown costume for Halloween.
Phil and I then took the train back to Qingdi. We parted at the station. Phil returned to our rental house. I went to the Daiso store to look for packing supplies, but when I arrived at the store, the intercom announced that the store was closed for the night. So I walked back to our rental house.
Phil watched sumo highlights on YouTube. I consulted Google Maps and learned that there was a “small” two-story Don Quijote store and a relatively large Yoshinoya restaurant on the road perpendicular to our house. After Phil rested, we walked ten minutes from our house in 5-chome to Yoshinoya restaurant. After dinner, we walked down the block to the “DonKi” store.
After a thorough inspection of the store, various surprises were revealed. The Don Quijote store initially looks like a traditional Japanese grocery store, but we discovered it also sells small appliances including televisions and washing machines, motorcycle helmets, clothing, liquor, children’s toys, luggage, watches, marriage aids including “concentrated horse penis extract,” and gag gifts including men’s underwear that dispenses toilet paper through the crotch.
