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We brought two new doujinshi to debut at Manga Ichiba: an Endfield doujin titled “To you who came from the stars” and an OC office comedy collab titled “A Day in the Life at a Very Normal Company!” 

For our circle, this was our first time making doujinshi. We had a bit of experience with writing and comics in the past, but this would be our first time designing, printing, and assembling an actual book from scratch. In the spirit of DIY, we boldly decided we would print our doujin using our home printers (this was great for time and flexibility, but it was also a headache in many other ways and I would not recommend doing this for longer books lol). In the end, we printed ten copies of each doujin, keeping relatively modest expectations for the event. This was also about the maximum number of copies I could print on my unreliable home printer before it would either stop functioning or I would lose my patience :)

But anyways—onto the event! We arrived on Friday and got to chat with some of the artists who had already tabled. After walking around for a bit, we ended our first day at Manga Ichiba with two main impressions: (1) Everyone was so nice! (2) We may have understocked… more on that later! 

Going into Manga Ichiba, I really wasn't sure what to expect. As a long-time attendee at anime conventions and zine/illustration fests, mostly on the East Coast in NA, I hadn't been to a convention in a few years. What would the reception for a doujin-focused event in the U.S. look like? Would Manga Ichiba end up like Artist Alley? Or could it become something else in its own right? 

I thought about these questions as we were setting up to table on Saturday—although there wasn’t much time to ruminate: as soon as the clock hit 10:00 A.M., the first wave of attendees arrived at the Doubletree. We were quickly greeted with a healthy crowd of folks who were excited to see everyone’s doujinshi! By 10:45 A.M., we had already sold out of both our doujins, and we were looking to see if we could get some extra copies made at a print shop nearby. 

While I was certainly surprised by the sales, I would say I was equally surprised by the amount of interest—both for original work and for what I’d consider a relatively niche/new fandom. I had so many people who came over to chat about EF! I was really happy to hear that other people were excited to see a doujin for a game that had just come out recently. We gushed over our favorite characters, shared our analyses of the latest story quest, traded freebies—it was so awesome. A lot of the time, making fanart or doujin can feel like a pretty solitary activity. Even if you’re a passionate fan, there’s no guarantee that you’ll meet others who want to have in-depth conversations about your same interests. So the experience of meeting other fans in-person who want to share in your excitement—there’s truly nothing like it!

On top of talking to other fans, I also had so much fun talking with other artists and creators. During our down time, we got to visit neighboring tables, and we also had a bunch of artists stop by to say hi. Chatting with other folks who also braved the storm of creating a doujinshi, through both the lows and highs, was incredibly reaffirming. Our fellow doujinka were so generous with their resources and time, and I left our conversations feeling endlessly inspired by their passion and craft. It made me want to make better art, tell better stories, and push myself to make even better doujin in the future!

In closing, I can confidently say that Manga Ichiba was the most fun I’ve had at a convention in a long time. Something about the event, space, and atmosphere made Manga Ichiba feel ripe for conversation and connection in a way that felt unique and special. Maybe it really was the perfect storm of attendees interested in new stories and creators passionate about telling them—but whatever it was, I feel lucky to have experienced it for myself. It’s hard to describe the exact feeling, but it was kind of like laughing with your friends at the movies, or walking home with the crowd after a great concert. There's an electrifying spark in having shared the same space with a group of people who are just as excited about art and storytelling as you are, and I left Manga Ichiba thinking it would be a memory I’ll look back on fondly for a long time.