Comic Market 86: AYUEST / Ayuya

ALL-matsukaze

The recent scene-wide dominance of Kantai Collection has been a boon for me as a fan to discover other doujinshi circles that I otherwise might never have investigated.  Between the nightly KanColle OneDraw hashtag on Twitter, the pursuit of different works of any of the hundred-some-odd kanmusu, and the busy calendar of doujin events giving artists numerous chances to hone their skills on their boat wife of choice, the Fleet Girls have done much to bring artists and fans together in a way I have never experienced, this author having completely missed the Touhou phenomenon of years past.

Of all the circles I've come across through their kanmusu, AYUEST is most definitely the one I look forward to following after the otaku hivemind moves on to its next obsession.  With a very quick workrate, circle artist Ayuya has fed fans a steady parade of vessels to worship since this time last year, with Kongou, Shoukaku, Taihou, and Verniy all getting the full-sized release treatment.  I was super-excited in June to see Ayuya's Twitter avatar change to be my favorite ship in the fleet, Amatsukaze, but was disappointed to see her only with Rensouhou-chan as a set of badges at June's COMITIA108--so much promise, wasted!

Either Ayuya answers prayers, or I just had to be a little patient, as my darling twintailed one has gained the cover of the circle's newest release for Comiket 86.  It looks like there'll be a ton of KanColle gear for fans to pick up from the circle, including the fifth AYULOGUE omake collection, featuring Shoukaku and Zuikaku in a pose similar to the netsuke the circle produced earlier this year...

...a Shoukaku dakimakura to go along with the tapestry from earlier this year...

...an Amatsukaze towel...

...AND the Lady in Black will even be featured on the side of the circle's goodies bag!