Create, Connect, Continue.
Dojinshi exhibition and distribution event in UT, since 2010.

Are you interested in Japanese pop culture? Frankly speaking, are you otaku? If you are fond of anime & manga and can't live without them even for a minute, Comic Academy should be the best event to join in May Festival and Komaba Festival, which are held at the University of Tokyo (UT) annually. We exhibit and distribute (sell) both original and fanfictional creations including manga, illustration, music (VOCALOID, Toho Project, etc.), essay, novel, accessory, and so on. In short, Comic Academy is the "Comic Market" of UT.

There are no guests, just participants.

In general, almost all dojinshi events have some fundamental principles in common. The most important fact among them is: "there are no guests."

There are three types of participants: general participants, circle participants, and staff. The general participants see and obtain what they want by visiting booths of each "circle." The event staff gather the circles, place their booths in the venue, and do other administrative works to create a peaceful atmosphere.

Many newbies frequently ask, "what's the difference between guests and general participants?" Dojin culture is based on non-profit and fairness. Once you enter the venue, so-called buyers and sellers are on equal terms in dojin events. This concept might be a matter of course for many English speakers, but customers are treated as "god" in traditional Japanese business culture. This is to express merchants' spirit to please customers before everything. In contrast, both general participants and circle participants respect each other in dojin events, and the money for obtaining (not buying) a copy is often considered as a compensation for the production cost and does not include profits.

Our mission

So what's the meaning of holding a dojin event in UT? To answer this question, introducing our mission is the shortest path.

Fundamentally, we aim to "vitalize dojin activities inside UT and Japanese pop culture." To achieve this goal, we set three major activities:

• accelerating communication between dojin creators
• preparing opportunities for newbies to take a first step toward the dojin world
• making dojin culture more popular among general people
  (who are not familiar with anime and manga)

Almost all kinds of people visit UT, including high school students who are thinking of entering the most famous university in Japan, elderly alumni, otaku inside and outside UT, etc. We believe that this chaotic environment is the best place to introduce and diffuse non-popular but interesting culture, i.e. dojin.

How can I join?

As a general participant

Just come and visit May Festival in May or Komaba Festival in November. We hold dojin events in both opportunities. General participation is free of charge (of course, you need to open your wallet to obtain what you want!).

As a circle participant

We call for circle participants 1.5 - 2 months before holding each event (usually April and October). Please check our website and Twitter regularly for more information. Should you have questions in English, don't hesitate to ask via email or Twitter.

As a staff

We are always craving for new staff. We update our website, reply emails from circle participants, attend meetings of May Festival / Komaba Festival, maintain our circle registration system, and do many other things. We always try new projects to make Japanese pop culture and dojin culture more popular (i.e. dojin workshop, anison DJ party). If you are interested, please contact us by email or Twitter.