Comic Party

Summary: >

One summer Kazuki is duped by his friend Taishi to attend an anime / manga convention. Here he's introduced to doujinshi: making armature comics. Kazuki gets interested in the idea of making his own, and as it turns out this was a plot by Kazuki from the very start. Making your own comic isn't easy, and Kazuki has much to learn. His childhood friend Mizuki doesn't like the idea at all, making his choice even harder. Still Kazuki is determined to put his heart to paper. The question is, will other people buy it?

Thoughts: >

What I like most about Comic Party is the sentiment. Kazuki faces a dilemma that most artists grapple with. Do you make something that sells, or do you make something from the heart? His first comic is a compilation of whatever he feel like drawing, and almost no one buys it. It's not because it's bad, but due to poor advertising, and not making it approachable. For his next work, his approach is to glue every popular anime meme possible into a Frankenstein mishmash. This doesn't sell well either, and the few who buy it don't like it. Even worse he feels like a sell out and it gains him nothing. There is a good theme here about staying true to your self, yet finding that balance that keeps it appealing to others. Having others enjoy your work can be justification in itself. Finding that common ground without selling your soul is a great basis for the series. That's a minor part of Comic Party though.

Aside from these reflections of the artist, and some small tidbits about the doujinshi industry, Comic Party is often dull. Kazuki's male comrade who pushes him into the whole doujinshi making process is too over the top in his antics. Actually I think most of the cast is weak, but that would be a long explanation. The only one I think shows promise is Kazuki's childhood friend who hates doujinshi. It's amusing that Mizuki is an anime character that doesn't like anime / manga. This puts her in an interesting position as the potential love interest with the main character trying to make comics. Unfortunately Comic Party doesn't do as much with her as I had hoped. She still has potential, but doesn't get far enough in these episodes. Now that I think about it, not a lot was accomplished at all. It feels like the series is just getting started. That's a long warm up time.

As a comedy, Comic Party isn't that funny. As a drama, it's not very engaging. It does however, have enough of this stuff to make it ok. I think the sentiment about finding your path is the only thing that makes this one stand out. Other than that it's the standard fare which has been done better, and it has characters that are pretty forgettable. Probably worth your time, but not worth going out of your way to see.

Screen Caps: >