Blue Archive Has Most Booths at Comic Market 104 – Interest

Comiket is the twice yearly doujin flea market where Japanese anime and manga fans sell parody works of their favorite IPs and cosplay as their favorite characters. It’s not a wild party, just a time for fans to get together and nerd out. One question that often looms over each Comiket is what the most popular IP is? This changes from event to event and is a good gauge to see what Japanese fans currently enjoy. What’s the number one spot for Comiket 104 in August 2024? It’s none other than Blue Archive.

Genre Code Lovers’ X (formerly Twitter) account compiled the data on June 7. The group posted a spreadsheet showing the data from different genres appearing at Comiket 102-104, how much each genre increased or decreased between Comiket 103 and 104, the percentage of booth space in Comiket 103 and 104, and what percentage points the genre increased or decreased by.

It’s fascinating seeing how a work’s popularity has shifted over the past year and a half. Blue Archive had no presence at Comiket 102. Yet, half a year later it took the top spot for number of booths at the event, taking the Japanese anime and manga fandom by storm.

This likely has to do with Blue Archive developer Nexon‘s policy regarding derivative works. The Blue Archive website has an entire page dedicated to how fans can use their work. For instance, the page states if an individual or corporation wishes to make a non-commercial derivative work of Blue Archive, Nexon will allow it. Unfortunately, Nexon states the rules only apply to Japan. This has the undue effect of calling in to question how Blue Archive fans outside of Japan should go about using the rules laid out by Nexon. Can a U.S. fan make a cosplay outfit of a Blue Archive character, wear it, and post photos on social media without punishment?

According to the spreadsheet by Genre Code Lovers, series like Uma Musume Pretty Derby, Kan Colle, and The IDOLM@STER, among a few others still maintain a presence at Comiket. Time will tell if Blue Archive can maintain its popularity at Comiket.

Sources: Blue Archive’s website (link 2), Genre Code Lovers’ X/Twitter account via Hachima Kikо̄