The 2013 Summer round of Comic Market (Comiket) began on 10 August, drawing flocks of anime, manga, and cosplay fans from Japan and abroad. The three-day event draws around half a million attendees on average.

For one resident of Odaiba where the event is held, this time of year is an absolute nightmare as he claims an abnormal smell emanates from the convention every time. The following is an translated open letter from the office worker in his 30s, who we’ll refer to as Mr. A.

Let me say that it’s great that every summer my area is crowded with people for Comiket. But for the love of god, take a bath! I live fairly close to the venue and there is an intense smell. Really, it’s a hell of an odor.

If you were to ask me to describe it, it’s as if you splattered someone with rotten eggs and then let it stand for another week. If someone swallowed poison, I would take them to Comiket to induce vomiting. I’m really not trying bash the people who go to Comiket, but it really stinks when these freaking people are here.

I think it’s fine if your hobby is to line up outside in the scorching sun to get your favorite dojinshi [independent manga, anime, novels, etc.]. But take bath. Seriously. Please.
(Mr. A)

So there you have it. It certainly seems understandable that in this scorching 30℃ plus heat of Tokyo in August, thousands of people, many of whom are clad in full suits of armor, might emit something of a musk. But I can’t imagine who could have produced the week-old rotten egg smell that Mr. A described.

Nevertheless, Comiket is too powerful to go away anytime soon. Mr. A’s best chance at relief would be to create a wildly popular dojinshi featuring anthropomorphic car air fresheners, bottles of Chanel No. 5, and a freshly baked trays of chocolate chip cookies.

Photo: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]