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Doujin Market 2024

Doujin Market, popularly known as Doujima, is back again for the 2024 segment at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Center. The event this year is celebrating its 10th edition, here at Suntec from May 11-12. This annual event sees a vibrant gathering of pop culture creators and stands as Singapore’s largest community-centric pop culture art fair, focusing on self-published and original works. Let’s take a visit and explore.

Doujin Market 2024 space
Doujin Market 2024 spans over 3 halls with lots of space.

A Brief History and Evolution of Doujin Market

Originally, Doujin Market started as a small event in Singapore community centers, it provided a starting platform for artists and creators to showcase and sell their independent works. Also, these works included comics, illustrations, crafts, and other creative products.

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Welcome to Doujin Market
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Vast hall spaces
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Event floor map

Moreover, as Doujin Market grew and gained popularity in numbers. Consequently, in 2017, Doujin Market moved to it’s current home here at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. It allowed for the event to accommodate the growing number of exhibitors and attendees.

A Celebration of Pop Culture

Cosplayers
Cosplayers at Doujin Market 2024 this year.

Furthermore, similar to the Singapore Comic Convention (SCC) held at the end of the year, Doujima aims to be a premier pop culture creators’ convention in Singapore. Besides stores, there were a number of cosplayers dressed in their costume livery and roaming the market floors too.

Doujin Market 2024 market area
The market area of Doujin Market 2024.

It celebrates art, illustration, and derivative content inspired by various pop culture genres, including anime, manga, and gaming. Additionally, Doujima fosters a vibrant environment where fans can interact directly with the creators, enriching the community experience.

Nature paintings.
Nature paintings prints on sale.

This year, Doujin Market at Suntec City spans three vast halls. It features over 500 independent creator groups and brands, known as “doujin circles.” This makes it the largest Doujima event to date. Organizers from the Neo Tokyo Project have expanded the event to include a third hall, located in halls 403 to 405 of the Suntec City Mall.

Large character prints for sale.
Large character prints for sale.

Also, show tickets are priced reasonably at $10++ for a Day Pass or $18 for a Weekend Pass. This is especially compared to similar events like Anime Festival Asia (AFA) and the previously mentioned SCC, where tickets can cost twice as much. Note that tickets are only available online via Eventbrite, with no physical sales at the door.

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Chainsaw man inspiration
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Afterwork booth
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Homemade works

Exploring the offerings of Doujima

Custom pokemon terrariums
Custom Pokemon terrariums on sale and custom made here in the show.

For those planning to visit, it is recommended to attend on the second day to avoid the larger crowds typically seen on the first day. Last year’s doujin market experience highlighted this advantage. The spacious convention halls allow ample room for attendees to explore the diverse array of creator booths.

Tanuki themed items.
Tanuki themed items.

Products on sale include popular mediums such as stickers, keychains, and prints. However, despite being branded as a Doujin market, there is limited actual self-published doujins (or Doujinshi) such as manga comics or magazine content available for purchase here.

Crochet pieces
Handmade Crochet pieces on display.
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Gaming and productivity furniture
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Stickers and keychains
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Cat inspired merch

This could be due to media regulations. This is unlike doujin markets in the Japan- Doujinshi’s country of origin where their markets there are largely known to offer mostly self-published comics works for as a staple show item. Self-published works here in Singapore indeed has a different meaning.

Locally inspired novelty items.
Locally inspired novelty items.
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Stickers and prints
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Clothing stores
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Premium gallery aisle

Nonetheless, the event features over 600 talented artists, designers, and illustrators from 15 different countries, including Japan, the US, and Canada. Many booths showcase work inspired by popular genres such as Genshin Impact, Spy x Family, and Pokémon. However, the repetitiveness in themes across booths can sometimes make the offerings feel monotonous.

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Luna cutsey items
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Cutsey key chains
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Open spaces for gatherings

The event layout includes smaller creator booths along the periphery of halls 403 to 405, with more premium booths and a gaming area centrally located in the middle hall 404. This year, the center space also features indie gaming content, where you can have a go at tabletop gaming. This is in collaboration with industry partners Origame and the Singapore Games Association. Also, you can explore various indie board game and video game developers, adding an interactive dimension to the event.

Tabletop gaming
Tabletop gaming sector in the center hall.
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Cosplayers
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Gaming booths
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Central gaming area

Wrapping up Doujima 2024

In conclusion, that wraps up our visit here to Doujima 2024. You are good here for about 2 hours tops and probably a whole afternoon if you were to check out each shop in details. The event is more than just a convention and is tad a vibrant gathering of creators and fans alike. It has content catering to a diverse audience, whether you are an artist, a creator, someone in the creative industries, or simply a pop culture enthusiast, Doujima 2024 is an event not to be missed in Singapore’s buzzing pop culture event line-up.

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