Comic Frontier 17 Event Report
Take a look at what's happened inside one of the biggest pop culture events in Indonesia
One of Indonesia's biggest pop culture events Comic Frontier returns for its 17th edition last December 16 and 17, 2023 at Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) inside BSD City southwest of Jakarta capital.
In our continued partnership with Ayukawa Media (home to Nawala Karsa and its social arm DotPlus, as well as VTuber agency Nakama Virtual), VTuber NewsDrop brings you another VTuber-focused coverage of the second Comifuro held this year.
What Happened at Comic Frontier 17?
Before we proceed with our VTuber-centric coverage, here's what you need to know about this edition's Comifuro:
- Nawala Karsa reports that this is the biggest Comifuro ever, covering halls 7 to 10 of ICE and with 42,000 tickets sold online.
- Each hall has its own assignments: the Main Stage is placed at Hall 7, food choices can be picked at Hall 8, artists occupy a majority of Hall 8 and the whole Hall 9, and Hall 10 hosted the corporate booths.
- Outdoors, there is a separate stage dedicated to exercise, anikura (anime club) and uttatemita (singing) sessions.
- The large crowds coming in led to the congestion of data signal from the venue, and while efforts are made to boost the signal, the challenge of communicating through data signal is still present, a challenge which can also be felt by large-scale events.
- Our Indonesian partners also reports that cosplay items—especially prop swords—are left outside before visitors can enter for safety reasons. This brought confusion especially to cosplayers, and it persisted on the next day.
- In addition, the temperature outside ICE reached 34°C from before noontime until 3pm local time on Day 1, which is not the best time to conduct cosplay photoshoots.
- Day 1 ended earlier than usual to give way for a wedding ceremony in the convention center's main Nusantara Hall.
- A circle of Japanese artists was present at the event promoting their works.
- Compared to last year, the halls are more spacious and well-ventilated. Signs were put in place to help visitors navigate the whole area.
VTuber Highlights
Now that we have rounded up the important details on Comifuro 17, let's get to the VTuber side of things:
JKT48V
One of the major guests from the VTuber scene is the virtual sub-unit of JKT48 who performed in concert on Day 1.
JKT48V composed of Pia Meraleo, Kanaia Asa and Tana Nona, performed for the Comifuro audience just before their appearance in JKT48's 12th anniversary concert at Surabaya State University the following day.
AKA Virtual and other VTuber Booths
If there's one VTuber agency that is silently making waves this year, it must be AKA Virtual. Aside from managing its own set of VTuber talents in Indonesia (with a new male VTuber generation debuting this year), it also managed to deal with SEGA in Tokyo and have a presence at this year's WebSummit in Portugal.
The said multinational agency also handles its collaboration with JKT48V's production alongside its parent group, as well as Akemi Nekomachi, the first male Indonesian VTuber to reach 1 million YouTube subscribers.
AKA Virtual's presence is marked inside and outside, as they continue to sell their merch (including fragrances) as well as having their VTuber talents perform at the outdoor stage.
Other booths present at CF17 include Mythia Batford and the Scuff Gang, Hai Halo Epel! and EVREN.
Trakteer
Creator support platform Trakteer also made its presence at CF17 with their booth which has interactive activities like karaoke and a polling wall.
Lots of VTuber Art
Art is abundant at places like Comic Frontier, and there you can find several pieces of fan-made, VTuber-related merchandise ready for your purchase.
VTuber Ita-bike
Another important aspect of Comic Frontier is the display of cars and motorcycles dressed in decals, some of which are VTuber-related. In several Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, motorbikes are the preferred way of transportation for most citizens.
VTuber Cosplay
Capping off this coverage is the showcase of VTuber cosplays during the Comic Frontier 17 weekend. Amazingly, they even have a cosplay group all dressed up as hololive's Hoshimachi Suisei!
The next Comic Frontier event will be held at the same venue next year, with Comifuro 18 to be held on May 11 to 12, 2024.
You can read previous Comic Frontier coverage on the following posts:
VTuber NewsDrop
Jay Agonoy