Ok, we all know what doujinshi is and some of the horrible things to come from it (I’m looking at you yaoi fan-girls) but do you realize how much work goes into making a doujin? Comic Party is based on a computer comic made in 1999 and has spun off into many others media, including video games, anime, and models.
In Comic Party: Party Time, Volume 1, all Kazuki wants to do is make his doujin in time for the next doujin convention. His friends, however, aren’t exactly helping! There is no real story in this manga; it’s actually a compilation of stories by fans involving the main characters of the popular anime. In short, it’s a doujinshi about making a doujinshi.
Now, because this is a compilation of many different stories, I usually critique each story but, instead, I’ll focus on the manga as a whole. Like I said before, there is no real story, just a bunch of small stories about the main characters from the series. In each chapter they must conquer a problem they’re facing involving their next doujinshi.
Looking back, it’s a real hit and miss for this manga. The stories sometimes make no sense; either that’s because the translator didn’t translate it correctly or the original author didn’t have the proper skills to tell a story. Another problem is that you won’t know what’s going on if you haven’t seen the anime. This is because the manga doesn’t introduce the characters and expects you to know who they are beforehand.
The art is all over the place; the characters are sometimes hard to recognize due to the amateur styles of the doujin artists. However, there are some good mangaka and they prove it in the manga. For example: Ranma Kusumi and Rin Kotoki actually did a good job on both characters and story.
If you’re a fan of Comic Party, this is worth the buy, but I think that’s the only kind of people interested in this manga. I give Comic Party: Party Time, Volume 1 a 2/5.
Thanks to CPM for letting us review Comic Party: Party Time, Volume 1!