Recap of Dokomi 2025
Published on , 2152 words, 8 minutes to read
After my last time attending Dokomi in 2022, it was finally time to do so again! I was asked by friends if I wanted to go there, and since I wouldn't go there just on my own (mainly because of the distance), I agreed.
What I did outside of Dokomi
I arrived on Thursday (to attend Dokomi on Friday and Saturday), so I had some time to spare and everything off-site. Dokomi was usually grabbing dinner with different friends.
QOMO in the Rhine Tower
Thursday's dinner was at the sushi/Japanese fusion kitchen "above" Düsseldorf in QOMO, located in the Rhine Tower. Aside from the stunning view from the windows (and the slowly rotating restaurant platform to get a full 360-degree view of the Düsseldorf area), the food was superb. If you want an exceptional experience in Düsseldorf, this one is it!
Bulgogi Barbeque Restaurant
On Friday, I went to have a Korean BBQ with my friends Jax, Ori, and Vee. Not my first time of KBBQ, and I love having it from time to time. An absolute blast (of good food) with friends. Something that made the whole experience even better in our case was the staff, who frequently joked around with us, creating several memorable moments. If we have KBBQ again next year, we will surely come again!
Okinii
Personally, I had only ever heard positive things about it from friends, but every time one was in town, it was fully booked. So, I haven't had a chance to experience it myself until Saturday. It's All-You-Can-Eat, with ordering directly from your table using your own phone. You can order up to 5 items at a time, every 15 minutes, for a maximum of 2 hours. We all were quite satiated after just an hour, but we still managed to use our time well. Good food and a pleasant atmosphere!
Dokomi
Before this edition, I previously attended Dokomi in 2016 and in 2022. Even 3 years ago, Dokomi was a tad smaller than it is now. Now it has 10 halls packed full of exhibitors and activities... saying "you can see everything in a day" doesn't hold true anymore, unless you maybe sprint through it. It's not that recommended, though; you are supposed to look at all the lovely artwork!
Way back in 2016, when I first attended, Dokomi was mainly housed in the CCD, which now feels like a small building in the southwest corner of the Düsseldorf Messe.
Therefore, if you want to see all the relevant things, you will need at least 2 days to check all the booths.
I'm not going to detail every day, as it was mostly just me walking around quite a lot. Looking at my Apple Health stats for the weekend, I walked a total of 60,000 steps (amounting to about 25km). One of the highlights was meeting my friends, especially those I hadn't had the chance to meet before. This time, it was quite a lot of them that I have known for more than 10 years from Twitter and other places. I would have loved to meet more people as well, but with an event of that size, people are busy and at different locations, making things a bit tricky at times. Another chance will come, for sure!
My Haul
Next up, let's talk business! Or rather, the business I made with artists and vendors at the event, buying their products. I didn't imagine buying anything at all at first, but there was so much great stuff that I couldn't help myself. Here's my haul, organized by artists from whom I received items.
yorucherry
Miro's booth was actually the first that I headed to right after Friday's opening. I've known them for what must be 12 or 13 years by now, and with the Artist Alley being close to the southern entrance (from which I started), that was my obvious first stop. There were many lovely prints for sale, but I opted for stickers (because stickers are great!).
OriOttero
I only knew Ori through my friend Jax, who was helping out at his booth for this Dokomi. I also spent some time here from time to time and, of course, bought something to support the artist. Initially, it was only a sticker sheet of Ori's VTuber avatar. Later, I was persuaded by Jax to commission him,.. which turned out to be a great choice; it turned out amazing.
Ghostbyun
I used the My Dokomi app not just for the map but also to check if there were artists selling prints for franchises that I liked. One of those was Umineko No Naku Koro Ni (very obviously, as it is my favorite Visual Novel). The first few booths that I found tagged with that were not selling any related prints, so I was pretty bummed out. On Saturday, I was strolling through the Artist Alley when I saw a print on the side of a booth, and I had to stop right away to get it.
_naidraws
As Ghostbyun was not at the booth when I initially wanted to grab the Beatrice print, I had some time to spare and walk around the Artist Alley. I then found Nai's booth. Here, I grabbed this really pretty Bocchi the Rock print and this cool shirt!
jomakri
With all the prints I bought above and my miscalculating that A3 prints would definitely not fit into my backpack, I had to get a bag somewhere. Dokomi was full of tote bags, but either they were a bit too small, or the prints on them were not to my taste. While I was searching, I came across jomakri's booth, and she was selling an adorable matcha-themed tote bag, which I decided to grab.
Shikama / Rain Droplet Atelier
The first thing that caught my eye here was the plain but pretty booth design in teal colors! I then decided to look closer and found Shikama, a freelance artist who drew both sprites and backgrounds for otome games (one of which was also advertised there, as she had worked on one with friends). The main piece I bought here is not in the picture above, as I made a commission that wasn't completed by Saturday evening. However, I'll have it sent by post afterward, and of course, you'll hear from me once the OC art arrives. Additionally, I received a postcard with a nicely detailed konbini interior.
nana ga design
While strolling through the Artist Alley, I passed this booth frequently, and the artwork always intrigued me. So, shortly before I had to leave on Saturday, I decided to grab two prints from it. The black tech/cyberpunk one is a foil one even, with some details (like the eyes) being foiled and reflective. To not just pick a single item, I also added the small Koi print!
KazuraArt
I accompanied Jax through the Artist Alley to work through their shopping list, and we came across this booth. I also went through what was offered and found this fantastic set of 4 stickers that mimic the German consumer safety group ratings for (roughly translated) son of a bitch, cutie, NPC, and rascal.
JaxOffTV
The VTuber with the most "I wonder how Twitch allowed that username" username and a really good friend of mine. Technically, they didn't sell me anything, but I received a sticker sheet and a business card.
Yume Shirokuro
Someone else I got to know through Jax! And where it was somewhat essential to meet: To prove that I exist. I regularly watch anime with Jax, and when I turned into Yume's stream once, I was introduced as "the anime buddy." I joined the chat to poke some fun, and that started the controversy that I don't exist and am only Jax's second account. So, to once and for all prove that I am, in fact, real, we met up!
I also got a super cute keychain of their VTuber, Cosmos...and I didn't even notice it at first (as it was always held on the keyring), but the keyring also has bunny ears, which is such a lovely detail!
I remember that I didn't really enjoy previous editions of Dokomi all that much, although I'm not sure exactly what the reasons were. But this time was different. It was so good that I considered extending my stay for Sunday as well, but by the time I had that idea, the tickets for Sunday were already sold out. Well, now I know better for next year.
Thanks to everyone I got to meet and hang out with this year; you made this event a blast, and I look forward to seeing you again next year!
💙
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