Not trying to get my hopes up for a proposal for Fubuki.

I assume this kind of implies that Fubuki has been sortieing enough alone to get herself to the pre-marriage level cap.

Missed by one minute...

And wait, is this Fubuki's ring... or did he propose to the LesAdmiral once, and this is a memento?

Jarlath said:

Missed by one minute...

And wait, it's this Fubuki's ring... or did he propose to the LesAdmiral once, and this is a memento?

Nope, he says he like fubuki, but cannot give the ring and proposal to fubuki for now, so he entrust that to lesAdmiral.

A little bit unsure on the fifth panel. Any assistance or corrections would be appreciated.

Edited wrong panel count.

I just realized this is the first time we are seeing a serious LesAdmiral.

Taconuts, stop raising death flags.

So even Tokonatsu admits...

... but he seriously should remember this ring ain't "THAT" ring but its a limit breaking.

ezekill said:

So even Tokonatsu admits...

... but he seriously should remember this ring ain't "THAT" ring but its a limit breaking.

I'm pretty sure that's exactly why he "can't" give the ring to Fubuki. It's not so much a ring as it is combat equipment. Giving it to Fubuki would imply sending her to more dangerous sorties.

seabook_arno said:

Nope, he says he like fubuki, but cannot give the ring and proposal to fubuki for now, so he entrust that to lesAdmiral.

The way I got it is that LesAdmiral is handing it to him as a reward.

Guys, can i buy this somewhere ? like an online store or something ? I would like to support the artist, and also own it, as it somehow grown on me under these months. I found this just after starting to play kancolle myself, and my first was also Fubuki so i was really happy to find something like this

OOhara said:

Guys, can i buy this somewhere ? like an online store or something ? I would like to support the artist, and also own it, as it somehow grown on me under these months. I found this just after starting to play kancolle myself, and my first was also Fubuki so i was really happy to find something like this

There's a list of their doujins you can buy on Toranoana and Melonbooks, but I'm not sure if they ship overseas now depending on where you are. Check his webpage for more info.

OMGkillitwithfire said:

There's a list of their doujins you can buy on Toranoana and Melonbooks, but I'm not sure if they ship overseas now depending on where you are. Check his webpage for more info.

They don't ship overseas any more; you need to forward it through a service like tenso - or find someone who lives in Japan to do it for you. And while both Melonbook and Toranoana (and some others, like DLSite) have e-book sales now (which you [i[can[/i] buy from using a non-Japanese credit card), a lot of circles don't put their stuff up there - and it's orientated towards ero, for the most part.

Otherwise, there are various websites that resell doujinshi to the overseas market; but you'll be paying through the nose for it, and they they also tend to specalise more on the ero side (as it sells better).

Of course, the best way to support them would be to buy directly at events like Comiket, but that's generally out of the question for most people.

Also, this specific story won't be out until next month, since it should be released at Summer Comiket in August (plus a few extra pages). Fubuki the Lonely Island is out there for purchase, though - has 4-odd print-only pages at the end.

Paracite said:

They don't ship overseas any more; you need to forward it through a service like tenso - or find someone who lives in Japan to do it for you. And while both Melonbook and Toranoana (and some others, like DLSite) have e-book sales now (which you [i[can[/i] buy from using a non-Japanese credit card), a lot of circles don't put their stuff up there - and it's orientated towards ero, for the most part.

Otherwise, there are various websites that resell doujinshi to the overseas market; but you'll be paying through the nose for it, and they they also tend to specalise more on the ero side (as it sells better).

Of course, the best way to support them would be to buy directly at events like Comiket, but that's generally out of the question for most people.

Also, this specific story won't be out until next month, since it should be released at Summer Comiket in August (plus a few extra pages). Fubuki the Lonely Island is out there for purchase, though - has 4-odd print-only pages at the end.

Is Tenso's shipping price reasonable?
It's super hard for people not in Japan that wants to buy doujin like us.

OMGkillitwithfire said:

Is Tenso's shipping price reasonable?
It's super hard for people not in Japan that wants to buy doujin like us.

I have no idea; I'd hate to think how much my collection would have cost if I had to ship it overseas... I didn't even buy doujin until I moved to Japan, and now I have over a thousand!

Yea, I've never used a Courier service because every one I've seen pays through out the ass for it. You'll be paying twice or even triple the amount (depending on shipping) for it, especially if you are asking for rarer doujins.

And for any Courier service that has resonable prices, they have a limit cap on how many orders than can take at once(understanable if they actually don't overcharge, they will be flooded with doujin request from us Mericans) and can often only do 20-30 at a time.

So I either use normal import websites (which to my luck, all went out of business) or just do it physically when I go to Comike.

Then there is always Ebay, but that only works for mainstream and popular stuff. Tony taka or IOSYS stuff? sure easy, but an ero doujin made by *new upcoming circle no one has heard of*, forget it.

To be continued
dóe it mean: "If you want to know what's next, buy it?"

olaolakaka said:

To be continued
dóe it mean: "If you want to know what's next, buy it?"

As is standard with Kouji, yes.

Paracite said:

As is standard with Kouji, yes.

Geh. I get it that shipping is difficult, so - are there digital versions available in any form, by chance?

Tetsamaru said:

Yea, I've never used a Courier service because every one I've seen pays through out the ass for it. You'll be paying twice or even triple the amount (depending on shipping) for it, especially if you are asking for rarer doujins.

I only ordered 4 volumes of commercial manga once. EMS shipping ended up costing more than volumes themselves, and with our regular post service chance of them getting damaged or "lost" is about 75%... I'd be OK with actually cutting and scanning the book, but the costs would kill me with current exchange rates.

Type-kun said:

Geh. I get it that shipping is difficult, so - are there digital versions available in any form, by chance?

Kouji doesn't do digital, unfortunately.

I only ordered 4 volumes of commercial manga once. EMS shipping ended up costing more than volumes themselves, and with our regular post service chance of them getting damaged or "lost" is about 75%... I'd be OK with actually cutting and scanning the book, but the costs would kill me with current exchange rates.

Often if you can get send it Kuroneko rather than EMS, it can be half the price (if you can fit 5kg into a standard 80-size box, it's only 4600 yen to the US, vs 8700 for EMS - almost the same price as seamail!); of course, most shippers don't really offer it for some reason...

You could also pay someone in Japan to buy, cut and scan it for you also. Not that I know of anyone that does that, but still, options.

Paracite said:

Often if you can get send it Kuroneko rather than EMS, it can be half the price (if you can fit 5kg into a standard 80-size box, it's only 4600 yen to the US, vs 8700 for EMS - almost the same price as seamail!); of course, most shippers don't really offer it for some reason...

This is why I'm kinda scared to order any doujin from japan, there are so many different options to do stuff and get it send, also the lack of knowing if some artist or sites offer or not digital versions. This is kinda the same feeling I had before somebody taught me how to order and get stuff from amazon many years ago.

Paracite said:

Often if you can get send it Kuroneko rather than EMS, it can be half the price (if you can fit 5kg into a standard 80-size box, it's only 4600 yen to the US, vs 8700 for EMS - almost the same price as seamail!); of course, most shippers don't really offer it for some reason...

It's kind of ironic since Russia is in Zone 4 - so starting at size 60 I'll have to pay twice, thrice or more, despite my city being actually closer to Japan than any of US or Europe. It's also funny that after "size 60" they actually become more expensive than EMS...

Paracite said:

You could also pay someone in Japan to buy, cut and scan it for you also. Not that I know of anyone that does that, but still, options.

I'd rather pay someone to buy and ship it to me, since proper scanning is vital - and slow. Not that I have any money for that kind of thing now, but I sure am considering to do that some months later :3

olaolakaka said:

To be continued
dóe it mean: "If you want to know what's next, buy it?"

Even with this story, I'm curious what else is going on around it.

One important question about buying the doujinshi: Does it come with English translations?

MarqFJA87 said:

One important question about buying the doujinshi: Does it come with English translations?

Of course not. Unless it is stated that it's translated though.
If you buy the original version it's always in its original language Japanese.

Thanks for the tips guys. I might actually go to Japan in august, so i might be able to buy it at comiket. But... although i heard of it a LOT, im still a noob regarding it, so i have no idea when and where i would find Kouji and his works there.. also, is it true that there are waiting line that take days and the stuff gets sold so quickly that when you get in its not available anymore ? (Im not gonna do camping or stuff like that... im not hardcore enough..)

Okay, so I am going in August. If you can read Japanese a little (or can muddle through it), go make an account on circle.ms, then you can import your pixiv/twitter/nico favourites directly into the catalog, so you can see a map.

Kouji is Day 2, East Hall 2, table A20a; I'm pretty sure that this is a normal wall, and not a shutter circle, which means that they're along the edge of the hall (All circles in 'A' are), but not one that faces outside, and thus lines up outside.

Regarding the lines, these are main options, in decreasing hardcoreness:

Get a circle/industry ticket - the best option, meaning that you can get in before it opens; there's still big lines, but this pretty much guarantees that you can hit up a lot of walls with limited goods (had this one last Winter)

Day 0 - You get there 2 days before, line up, and maybe get a special pre-entry ticket allowing you and some friends to line up right at the front on all three days. Then you can go home and get some sleep. This is pretty much the best you can get without having a real entry ticket; this really only works with larger groups though, as the chance of getting a decent number (and not getting the booby prize of 'no number for you!') is pretty low, this is usually done with crews of 5 and up.

Last train - You catch the last train to the Big Site (since you can't line up the day before anymore, but you can from 11PM or so) and wait overnight. This usually means a reasonable wait to get in in the morning, often less than an hour to get in after opening.

Walk in - Just get there somehow during the night/morning, and line up

First Train - as the name suggests, you catch the first train to the Big Site and line up. You won't have a chance to get confused, just follow the enormous amounts of orderly people and hope that were you choose to go gets selected to go in earlier than others. An very popular option for most people.

Whenever - come later; no lines to get in, but you're risking not being able to get stuff.

Now, if Kouji isn't selling any special event books (and he usually doesn't as far as I know; that's Shino), you can always get it from Melonbooks/Toranoana later (on 'Day 4', where they run special popup stores for Comike doujin).

Regarding selling out, depending on the popularity, you can usually be able to get the books before 1200 without issue, with decreasing probability after that; often the newest issue sells out much faster, and you can pick up the back issues instead - still not a bad thing, if you don't have them.

If you're wanting the back issues of Kouji's stuff, the newer back issues are in stores, so you could pre-order them for instore pickup at Melon or Tora, to save the trouble of getting them at Comiket itself.

Also, if you do go to Summer Comiket, make sure to prepare appropriately - have change ready to go, and be prepared for the heat; being cooling equipment and sufficient hydration. Also, if you're getting there early, you will be being pushed around in a sea of people, make sure that you're not wearing/carrying anything that can get loose and fall off.

Overall, Comiket is nothing to be scared of if you're prepared for just how busy it is. Make a map, make a list, make a plan, and you'll be able to get most of what you're wanting to get. Me and my crew have a good success rate (in the 80-90% range) of getting at least one of everything that we aim for every time. Preparation is very much the key if you've got specific wants.

Regarding the days - Day 1 has the biggest lines for the commercial booths, and Day 3 is the busiest overall, as it's the ero doujin for dudes day, and those are often event exclusive, and limited in quantity. It's the worst for the crushing crowds.

If you don't speak Japanese, make sure that you know, by sight, the names and tables of the circles that you want, as the signs for the end of the lines have both on them - even though many have pictures to make recognition easier.

Some circles are really nice and hand out price lists to pass around the line so that you know exactly what they have, and what's sold out before you even get to the front (Shino had this at Winter).

It's a pretty unique experience for a person to have, and can be a great deal of fun to go to at least once in your life. While the smaller events are often better (for you sanity), nothing beats the sheer size and energy of Comiket.

If you have more questions, feel free to message me.

Thanks a lot Practice! My preparations for going to Japan are underway, but even if I somehow can't make it to comiket this time, Im saving this 'guide' for the next time, because as you said, i definitely want to go and experience it at least once myself ^^

*cue roundabout song*

After reading through these comments I was toying with the idea of using the above mentioned tenso to order some doujins. Namely some Kouji and Sakimiya's lethal Level 1 Zuikaku books, sadly though the doujins I was after all seem to be sold out. How good are the chances that they will create some fresh stock of these for sale during and after the umcoming summer comiket?

Monki said:

After reading through these comments I was toying with the idea of using the above mentioned tenso to order some doujins. Namely some Kouji and Sakimiya's lethal Level 1 Zuikaku books, sadly though the doujins I was after all seem to be sold out. How good are the chances that they will create some fresh stock of these for sale during and after the umcoming summer comiket?

Quite a lot of Kouji's stuff is on Melonbooks and Toranoana alike (Toranoana even has Networks 11!), and both Typical Level 1 Days (the 2nd is pre-order for the Summer Comiket release). It's quite likely the the regular Level 1 Zuikaku will be back in stock at some point, it's been restocked at Melon twice since the initial publication. While there's no mention of selling Level 1 Zuikaku next month, it was on sale last Winter, so it's a non-negligible chance to appear. Kouji doesn't tend to get his stuff reprinted as much, unfortunately, and a quick search on Lashinbang's storefront didn't have any luck either.

Doujin doesn't tend to get many reprints in general; finding anything more than a year old new is quite difficult - you usually have to go for second hand. Often though, you can pick up compilation books, such as Shino's recent one, or the upcoming Haruna Biyori one; they tend to stay in stock a bit longer, and also get reprinted more often for events and the like.

Unfortunately, for some doujin, beyond the initial release, they become event-only back catalogues; for example, Red Ribbon's books are not on Melon or Tora in any great capacity, but at events they had their complete set of for sale. Conversely, Gouta generally only has the newest (and sometimes the previous release) available at events (and only 1 per customer, at that!).

What doujin were you after, exactly? I might be able to track some down for you (but not my copies, as I had to scrounge around in 2nd-hand doujin stores to get the -really- old stuff).

Paracite said:

Quite a lot of Kouji's stuff is on Melonbooks and Toranoana alike (Toranoana even has Networks 11!), and both Typical Level 1 Days (the 2nd is pre-order for the Summer Comiket release). It's quite likely the the regular Level 1 Zuikaku will be back in stock at some point, it's been restocked at Melon twice since the initial publication. While there's no mention of selling Level 1 Zuikaku next month, it was on sale last Winter, so it's a non-negligible chance to appear. Kouji doesn't tend to get his stuff reprinted as much, unfortunately, and a quick search on Lashinbang's storefront didn't have any luck either.

Doujin doesn't tend to get many reprints in general; finding anything more than a year old new is quite difficult - you usually have to go for second hand. Often though, you can pick up compilation books, such as Shino's recent one, or the upcoming Haruna Biyori one; they tend to stay in stock a bit longer, and also get reprinted more often for events and the like.

Unfortunately, for some doujin, beyond the initial release, they become event-only back catalogues; for example, Red Ribbon's books are not on Melon or Tora in any great capacity, but at events they had their complete set of for sale. Conversely, Gouta generally only has the newest (and sometimes the previous release) available at events (and only 1 per customer, at that!).

What doujin were you after, exactly? I might be able to track some down for you (but not my copies, as I had to scrounge around in 2nd-hand doujin stores to get the -really- old stuff).

Was mainly after Kouji's recent Fubuki stories, though only 'Lonely Island' has been released so far. And Sakimiya's Zuikaku books, post #2060649 and post #2212901. All of these are not that old and I'm hopeful there should be some fresh stock online following C90. I appreciate the offer to pick some doujins up on my behalf but I have no way of getting the money to you for them. I've never used paypal and I'm still a bit uncertain about this tenso thing but it's a chance to get my hands on some hard to find doujins.

I was in Melonbooks today, they've restocked the Level 1 Zuikaku books.

Shinhwalee said:

I just realized this is the first time we are seeing a serious LesAdmiral.

Suzuya said:

She can really get it done when she has to, ya'know?

Paracite said:

I was in Melonbooks today, they've restocked the Level 1 Zuikaku books.

Considering how popular manga is out in "foreign" countries outside of Japan, why don't artists sell their works scanned online more frequently, and maybe team up with translation groups to put out a product that would reach an even wider audience? It seems they would get more sales, and an artist has a better chance of being more well known and their works discussed.

79248cm/s said:

Considering how popular manga is out in "foreign" countries outside of Japan, why don't artists sell their works scanned online more frequently, and maybe team up with translation groups to put out a product that would reach an even wider audience? It seems they would get more sales, and an artist has a better chance of being more well known and their works discussed.

I don't know about all that. Focusing just on getting things fit for an international market, there would be a lot of extra time and money going into getting all that set up before you start collecting sales. Of course there are plenty of enthusiasts who would be happy to translate for free, but you can't always count on that, and there's still the problem of going through an international online retailer.

Not saying it couldn't work though. There would need to be a time vs. money study to fully determine if the extra effort and possible expenses would be outweighed. Manga is kinda niche outside Japan in the grand scheme of things, so I wouldn't bet on it personally.

Blindga said:

I don't know about all that. Focusing just on getting things fit for an international market, there would be a lot of extra time and money going into getting all that set up before you start collecting sales. Of course there are plenty of enthusiasts who would be happy to translate for free, but you can't always count on that, and there's still the problem of going through an international online retailer.

Not saying it couldn't work though. There would need to be a time vs. money study to fully determine if the extra effort and possible expenses would be outweighed. Manga is kinda niche outside Japan in the grand scheme of things, so I wouldn't bet on it personally.

My view is since it is such a niche market, why not just freely send it to scanlation groups and while you may not make money aside from donations, the viewer base that does spread spreads on the foundation of your name, increasing your popularity even if by a small margin. Just throwing out thoughts. I really have no idea on how the Japanese entertainment industry works.