That alone was pretty cool, but there was also some Bandai Namco folks who came and met with fans–this time mainly Kei Umeki, who is one of the main Events manager from Bandai Namco Entertainment for the IDOLM@STER. Here is another interview where Umeki talked with the other series tantous about Ijigen Fes (with English TL).

Anyways, let’s not forget the other guests who visited Animethon in 2026–Daoko, Minori Chihara, Mas’Scar’Piece, Who-Ya Extended, and Hellbroth. Kenji Nojima rounds out the JP seiyuu side and I was able to see one of his panels for once, as it didn’t conflict with anything. I hope he comes to NYC for once for all that Banana Fish fame?

I did visit Animethon 2 years prior for Sally Amaki/Konomi Suzuki, as part of a con drift with Anirevo Vancounver in 2024. For committed eventers, both conventions are about the same “effort” to get to from within Canada. Outside of Canada, you’re kind of locked in to SFO, DEN, YVR or SEA as transit airports. It’s a pain, to say the least, to go to Edmonton. The news on Shiny Colors dropped on July 14, and the event from Friday August 7, leaving you literally with the minimal amount of time before flights prices jump. Looming on the horizon was also a WestJet strike, which squeezed prices even higher and canceled some people’s reservations.

On the upside, the WestJet strike lasted just a day (and on the down side, FAs have it hard in Canada), but it was a thing that really didn’t need to happen, was preordained to happen, and still happened for about a day. Sure, it was just 5 days before that Friday, so folks flying on the 7th mostly made it OK. Folks flying in earlier just had to deal with the usual weather delays. Japanese producers braved even more hazard, and I think the ones I observed walked home with big rewards though, so it’s all good maybe.

Anyways, those were sort of the backdrop. The other piece is that Animethon is a small-midsize con. This year they walked 2500 back clocking in at 12500 versus last year’s 15000. Part of it is probably the economy, but part of it is definitely the airline situation. Otakuthon was the same weekend, across over at Montreal, so that probably cornered a lot of people who might want to stick to GTA to see Yoasobi or the great gets Otakuthon had. Maria Naganawa? Yumi Hara? Konomi Suzuki? I wish I had gone there, I guess. Alas, only the few can do both (and I knew a few who did).

Without saying too much about how the Shinymas situation came about, since I am now a person who is involved in the procurement of such, I will just say that Animethon for 1 day did feel enough for all 3 days. What I did experience more this time is the rest of downtown Edmonton. The part by the con is quite scenic and there are a lot of eats right near the same area. Some establishments opened late (like 2-3am) which made hosting a late-night party feasible.

On that note, what is remarkable was not the guests that showed up, but that IDOLM@STER includes, always, its Bandai Namco overlords. We got to see Kei Umeki and company at our afterparty. We enjoyed that VIP experience. We also enjoyed the VIP experience on Sunday where it costs 175 CAD, but that’s different. In this one we were able to talk to staff and drink with them, and share with them our thoughts. That was perhaps the highlight of my Animethon in a way.

What deserves a shout out is Ma’Scar’Piece, which is a 5-piece idol group from Denonbu as a franchised sub-brand. They are notable for being 5 DJs who are also idols. They have songs that match my taste, but I was kind of distracted all weekend to be too into this neat group. It took up a lot of attention though, and seems like a hit with the locals.

Minori Chihara closed out Saturday’s show and that went great. Sure, it is the same old set, but it works well. I bought her VIP and failed to say much other than I saw her in NYC lol. It was a long story to litigate, certainly too long for a drive-by M&G, so I just mentioned bits of it. Maybe some other time.

What other convention content did I see? A vtuber panel featuring Essie, who uhh, tanked some World Cup teams. Minorin’s panel. And the Shiny Colors panel. I also entered an Umamusume tournament and won one race (out of like 9). There were over 40 contestants I think so that isn’t too bad? I lost the RNG battle and got eliminated in the second round (out of 3).

What else can I say? Some stuff I literally shouldn’t publish, for ethics reasons, for NDA reasons, for privacy, or for discretion, or a multiple of these. So what I can post is the public stuff–my notes from the Shiny Colors panel on Friday, August 8th.

===

[Note that this is my high level notes blown up into more details by memory so I could have omitted or miswrote/misrepresent any particular thing. Please feel free to leave a correction in the comments.]

The talk panel for IDOLM@STER SHINY COLORS at Animethon 2026 was on Friday, August 7, at 4pm local time. Everyone filed in the panel room (Salon 12) orderly, if with a bit of fuss over who wanted the seats up front. The panel has a stage up front with a typical horizontal table set up. Slides that were projected on screen was used.

The MC (Sujay) was on stage with his PC and you can see folks be hind the screen (or from my seat) running the show. Soon we cheered and the cast member filed into the room and on the stage. Each gave their welcoming comments.

Kitahara: The attendees were able to overcome the barrier with our passion
Tajima: Glad to see so many Ps at the panel.
Shizuki: She never imagined such a miracle.

Other than some cast interactions, this panel was otherwise scripted. Kitahara then explained from the script that it is IM@S 20th etc., and they are here to meet us. [That statement hits me pretty good.] Each of the cast members then gave us their impression of Canada thus far.

Kitahara: First time in Canada, she likes the nature and wide sky, and loves it here
Tajima: Also first time in Canada, loves the fresh air, and how everyone is kind and laid back
Shizuki: Been to Calgary before, “big sky” and likes salmon (to eat).

Now, the topic is first time IDOLM@STER at Animethon. Shizuki asks for a raise of hand who has known it, and explains it in official speak. Tajima then speaks to explain what IDOLM@STER Shiny Colors is, with each unit. She also explains the other series and tell us to follow the EN X account.

The panel starts, for real, after Kitahara announces such. The first corner is the talk corner. Sujay then asks some questions to the cast members.

Q1: Most appealing about your idol, in terms of commu or song or performances.
Tajima: Her “do your best” ganbare appeal. Shiny Song Koito’s episode 0 is recommend, and “open the window” scenario.
Shzuki: Nichika’s desire to stand next to Mikoto. The way she eats sukiyaki like family but not, breaks an egg, and makes a wish.
Kitahara: Strong, but not enough by herself. However she can overcome with help from P and her fans. In the “VS” commu, she fights with Fuyuko and Asahi and it is hearts sharpening.

Q2: What is a good place to start if you are new to Shiny Colors?
Tajima: 6th live, there is a DJ set. Wagamama, and the solo event Master ShowPiece in September.
Kitahara: Play the game, but it is in Japanese. Also please watch the lives. The songs are very different between each unit, but you can find the unit style that you like. Go with the songs with the voices you like.
Shizuki: Watch the anime for someone who doesn’t know anything.

The second and final corner is the challenge corner. The first game is the “Canadian snack ranking (Animethon Staff)” game. Sujay pulls out this notebook with 5 rows labeled 1 through 5, it is also cut into strips for each number to hide the answer behind it. The goal is to guess what is in 2nd place and 3rd place. Winners are awarded points which adds up between games. The winners are awarded a prize, which is this stuffed beaver wearing a red Canada shirt or sweatshirt. It is probably from a Canadian Miniso. In addition for the snack game, each snack is presented on stage for the cast member to examine (and sample).

The items to guess to rank are ketchup chips, timbits, maple creme (cookies), coffee crisp, and wagon wheels. Coffee crisps and wagon wheels were revealed to be 1st and 5th places, respectively. Sujay then asked the cast to guess what is in 2nd place. Shizuki and Kitara picked the ketchup chips, while Tajima picked the timbits. Tajima won that round. For third place, Shizuki picked the maple creme while Kitahara and Tajima picked the chips, and Shizuki won. By the way Shizuki and Kitahara were stealing bites of the timbits.

The second and final game was “charade challenge” in which the three of them take turns acting out various Canadian-themed things. The person who guessed correctly and the performer each are awarded points. Each attempt was 30 seconds long.

1. (round 1) Tajima performed. Kitahara correctly guessed “beaver.”
2. Kitahara performed, Shizuki correctly guessed “shoveling snow”
3. Shizuki performed, Kitahara correctly guessed curling
4. (round 2) Kitahara performed, Shizuki correctly guessed “salmon”
5. Shizuki performed, Kitahara correctly guessed “snowboarding”
6. Tajima performed, everyone failed to guess “lobster”

The end result from both games was Shizuki victory, which is why she was holding the beaver in the pic on Xitter.

Anyways, that was the end of the panel. Each cast member then gave their ending remarks.

Kitahara: Able to see everyone closely during the panel and how everyone is [She was literally doing this very obviously in the first half of the panel.] She is happy that everyone loves imas.
Tajima: Let’s enjoy this weekend and there’s more stuff both tomorrow and the day after.
Shizuki: Today was fun with the beaver and delicious timbits. WIsh we can talk more but we will be here rest of the weekend. I feel your love for imas and please tell others about imas!

After this point we took a group photo and the cast left the stage to applause. Folks also exited the room.

===

PS. Ma’Scar’Piece put together a “music video” which is just their Canadian travelogue. It’s great check it out.

PPS. On that note the stage at Animethon is really well-produced. Last year they had a boom arm, which is unheard of at anime conventions (I think AX sometimes uses it, that’s it). This year they couldn’t do it so they used a drone and it looked really good. The side benefit is that unlike a boom cam it doesn’t block the view and it blow cold air into the crowd. I guess it does become a bit of a distraction to the audience in the back, and maybe also the performers. I think it got close to Chihara lol.

PPPS. Did you know you can go to Osaka in Edmonton, and DORINKU?

So from my POV, Otakon 2026 is the 27th Otakon I have attended. It is the 10th year in DC. I heard the attendance has hit its highest ever at over 47K (warm bodies). This year the music guests were the usual FF orchestra troupe, the usual K-pop acts, and an indie rock concert (cover bands and similar). It’s a choice, unfortunately it’s also a change I’m indifferent to, at least I do want to see some indie rock acts but not enough to skip out on the bountiful number of seiyuu-related programming at Otakon.

I am pretty sure Otakon 2026 has the highest number of seiyuu guests at Otaokn ever. It definitely also has the largest number of autograph sessions where you can get one from a seiyuu. And thanks to using digital registration you don’t have to camp any of them, at least not in any meaningful sense. As a result I scored an autograph from 12 different individual voice actors. Most of them were brought to Otakon to promote some show, so they were part of the autograph session from the guests for that show. This included the New Magic Knight Rayearth anime (Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Rumi Okubo), Bookworm (Yuka Iguchi), Chiramume (Shogo Sakata), Overgeared (Tatsumaru Tachibana), Romelia War Chronicle (Yuna Nemoto), Trigun Stampede (Chika Ayamori), and Roll Over and Die (Ayaka Nanase, Machico). There were other anime titles that brought their teams and I wasn’t able to go to those due to conflicts: World’s Strongest Rearguard (no seiyuu), Kaiju Girl Caramelise (no seiyuu), Tougen Anki (Kazuki Ura, Shogo Sakata), Ghost in the Shell (2026) (no seiyuu), The World Is Dancing (Simba Tuchiya), and Kagurabachi (no seiyuu). I might be missing a few? Apologies if I did.

Anyways, this is as if we took the Anime Japan-style of AX loadout and repurposed it for Otakon, in Otakon style. Everyone got their day in the panel rooms, their autograph sessions, and the usual panel content US con goers are familiar with, and it was good because you didn’t need to do much if any camping. This is all on top of “actual convention seiyuu guests” Ryotaro Okiayu, Kenji Nojima (both Aoni), and of course Ayaka Fukuhara (Across). To put things into perspective, an average Otakon with those 3 would already be an good meal for someone like myself.

In historical terms, at least for as long as I’ve been tracking North American anime cons, this is likely the only time we’ve had a bounty this large in terms of voice actors giving out free autographs. I personally have gotten 13 (one repeat) autographs, and since I don’t have any actual recorded data to go by, the only thing that could exceed it is during some of the older Anime Expo days when a lot of companies also brought their cast members for autographs. In terms of actual seiyuu attendance Anime Expo even this year brought about as many, so this isn’t something so extraordinary. It is just extraordinary that it is happening outside of a completely corporate anime convention like AX or ANYC, and other than Otakon I can’t imagine another convention could have handled it this well.

Which is to say everything turned out well, nothing got too sweaty, and we had over FOURTY SEVEN THOUSAND people. If there was an example of how things should be done at anime cons for planning for JP guests and autographs, Otakon 2026 is it. Technology is a force multiplier. Small cons under 30k have no excuse anymore to sweat jam your autograph sessions and block them from guest panels! Invest in your attendee’s time and experience! We don’t go to cons to stay in lines! Sometimes I feel like I’m like Myne when it comes to this aspect of cons.

On Saturday, August 1, Ayaka Fukuhara (Fuurin henceforth) held a panel titled “Welcome to Ayaka Fukuhara’s World!” and is her general information panel about her as a VA. It is run by a MC/interpreter whose name I forget, but it is the same women who did the MC for Sora Tokui last year if I recall correctly. Panel 1 was a big room for her, but it was Saturday and who knows? I think the room was about 20-30% full. Below are my notes that I cleaned up and filled in at certain parts. I don’t have everything so there are some gaps and (?) to denote them. And for this piece and the second panel, there will be some errors or omissions, please feel free to correct in the comments.

Panel MC first inform us about the photography rules, no video or photos except “photo time” at the end.

• After intro and walking up to stage, we go through the usual formalities:
  • First time in DC
  • Seeing and happy that people enjoying themselves
  • Enjoying DC’s historical building and museums
  • Looking for chex mix [this is a continuation of what happened after Acen]

She actually outright recommended stuff to do in Japan, such as visiting the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno. Compared it to the Museum of Natural History in DC.

The meat of the panel is in her deck which she started to go through.

1. Slide 1: Hello
2. Slide 2: 4 roles she decided to highlight
   Rin from IDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls, Tina from Rock Lady, Taro from Captain Tsubasa, Seeking the Pearl from Umamusume
3. Slide 3: Explaination of her actual work:
   Anime recording
   JP dub of foreign works
   Game voice over
   Radio shows
   Concert in cosplay
   About 8 hr a day, early shift (10am start) or late shift (1pm start)
   Been a seiyuu for 14yrs now with Cinderella Girls being Fuurin’s debut work
4. Slide 4: Prep work for stage shows – it shows 3 photos of the below
   Guitar playing (For fake band in Umamusume)
   Stretching before the show
   Eye and face makeup instructions to better copy a character (Seeking the Pearl in this case)
5. Slide 5: Works inspiring her to become a seiyuu
   Yuyu Hakusho
   Hunter x Hunter
   Kuroshitsuji
   Totoro and other Ghibli works
   She first listened to Hunter x Hunter radio at 6th grade and got interested in how the main character voices were so different than their roles. Also just liked that radio’s chemistry.
   Learned basic voice training from VHS lesson from 81produce with famous actors (Masako Nozawa etc) using her new years money in 6th grade.
6. Last parts: Getting into an agency
   During her audition she did an one person skit for a famous scene from Evangelion and one manager liked it. It showed off her uniqueness in a serious situation.

At this point she demonstrated what she meant by a one person skit, using the scene from Totoro where Mei is catching susuwatari. She acted and said all the lines in English even. Everyone’s reaction was lol. It was her first time doing it in English, she said afterwards.

After that we went into panel Q&A with audience. People were asked to line up in the middle of the room in front of the microphone.

• Q1. How was voicing and auditioning for Rin, who was the start of Cinderella Girls which is a large and long-running work.
  • At the time things were just starting and being Rin wasn’t marked as a big deal. For big and impressive IPs the auditions usually are preset in terms of what you sing, but not for Rin.
• Q2 Please tell a funny story from pamphlet shoot. The person produces a pamphlet and showed it to her. [I couldn’t see it.]
  • It was an old concert pamphlet, and the photoshoot outfit was not provided. She had to find a blue outfit. Coordinated with other cast members in order to match.
• Q3 Asked about her experience at Acen.
  • Producers smile the same everywhere. Assuring to see it.
• Q4 Asked to suggest more museums in Japan
  • Roppongi Mori Arts Center Gallery, modern art rotating exhibition. Some pop culture stuff.
• Q5 What she did to train for singing
  • Training using power inhailing. Need to be careful of ear pressure. Also back muscle training. Review book and films to expand what she can prepare her roles.
• Q6 How big uma became
  • Never expected of course. Ishihara reached out to her for audition chance. She was told specifically how to act as Pearl: Not stuck up, look at people in the eye and do a thing (?)
• Q7 For Girls’ Frontline, how was it like to play G11 and RO635?
  • Everyone sounds so different, and also G11 and RO635. Depends on her condition of the day, they change recording order. The story is heavy and needs more energy to play than usual.
• Q8 Who would she personally cosplay not for work?
  • Tifa (FF7)
• Q9 [I asked this] What’s your approach to SNS?
  • I don’t try to be smart on SNS. The idea is to post something fun for everyone. And also food pics because everyone enjoys those.

At the end of Q&A part, Fuurin performed her audition-winning skit, which is from Eva 2.0 when Shinji rescues Ayanami. This time it is in Japanese. It was greeted with applause.

Photo time! She sat on stage and posed for everyone to photograph. It seems there is no restriction to what we can do with the photo as none was given. After this time, she asked us to gather to take a group photo. After that, she went back to stage and gave some parting words, and the audience sent her off with applause.

===

On Sunday, August 2, Fuurin held a panel titled “Voice Actor Nutrition and Training Interactive Panel” and is about her tips for training her own body, voice, strength and keeping things nutritious. I believe she wrote a blog post sometime in earlier this year which reflects similar material as presented at the panel. It is run by the same MC/interpreter whose name I forget, that ran the last Fuurin panel. This time we were in Panel 5, which is one of the panel rooms on the ground level in the middle building. This room filled up maybe half or so, which is pretty decent for a Sunday AM panel. Below are my notes that I cleaned up and filled in at certain parts. Same disclaimers apply, feel free to comment for corrections and omissions.

To get down to it, we went to the slide right away after introductions and greetings.

Slide 1 – to keep in shape for costumes
Goal is to prevent blood sugar spikes
Adequate protein intake – she made a comment on how she had Starbucks egg white breakfast in DC and they don’t have that back home, it’s a good example
Eating rice during the day – get tryptophan, which helps you sleep and be sated.
Adequate vitamin intake – fish oil etc. Best to get from actual food, but supplement if you can’t.
Healthy fat intake – for example, fish oil, flax seed oil (she drinks flax seed oil mixed in tomato juice)
Now she talks about how she studied nutrition in college and is a registered dietitian after passing the certification exam.
Usually, people who have that degree work at a nursing homes or schools to make food, or at corporations to make various food products.
When she was recording Rin’s first solo, Never Say Never, it was right before the exam. She was literally studying during the recording downtimes.

Slide 2 – Nutrition for healthy voice 
Vitamin A C E
Protein intake 
Manuka Honey – helps immunity 
Regular hydration – also help rinse any bacteria/virus in throat besides other health benefits

Slide 3
3 pictures of her meals (home made) that fits the requirements.
Nikujaga
Rice and mackerel mazegohan
Yasai Agedashi (can be eaten chilled)
She talks about how her grandma ran a small inn and had worked there to learn cooking when she was young.
She also gave a story about how she went to a supermarket after recording and ran into coworkers with a big bag of vegetables, which slightly embarrassed her having to explain.

Slide 4 – protect your throat with olive oil
Spoonful of olive oil help protect throat
– Oleocanthal is the active ingredient
During dry season
When infection is a concern 
Before smoky stage performance (fog machine smoke)

Slide 5 – Make sure your olive oil:
EVOO
Cold pressed
Organic and pesticide free
Award winning
Dark glass bottle
Properly store in a cool dark place
Note: Avoid using olive oil if your throat is already irritated 
Consult your healthcare provider before use if you have any concerns

Slide 6 – Strength training for vocal health
Your vocal cords are supported by muscles!
Relying only on your vocal cords can lead to vocal strain and injury as a professional.
Strength training is essential!
However, improper training or excessive muscle tension can reduce vocal resonance 
Muscles can act as both accelerator or blocker

Slide 7 – Muscle/strength training
Train the lats in moderation 
Lats support the rib cage, gives better control and good posture 
Helps with long line and louder stage voice 
Helps with posture for stage and photos
Row exercise for chest and arm muscle
Avoid building muscle on traps so only engage lats
Avoid overtraining the chest muscle – too much chest muscle may restrict vocal resonance 
Chest muscle is used normally and don’t need extra exercise for itself
Strengthen the deep core muscles
The trans versus abdominis and pelvic floor muscles are the keys – Great for both beautiful voice and beautiful legs
Planks for trans versus abdominis
She would watch video and listen music while planking 
For pelvic muscle helps with breathing, use abduction machine

The interactive part of the panel began after this. It was to demo an exercise. She got off the stage and sat in a chair prepared in advance up front.

Sit legs closed, place fists between legs. The fists are side by side, about 3 fingers thick from the knee in her case, you can find a good spot for yourself, it will vary from person to person.

The exercise begins by pushing your fists again the inside of your thighs trying to open them, and push your thighs against that force while clinching the butt, while sitting upright.

This was a demo and, uh, she was making some sounds which I think is just acting in good fun. We were all called to do this. She said she was doing this on her commute on the train. Each set is about 2 to 3 minutes.(?)

After the demo we moved to Q&A.This time we raised our hands and was picked.

• Q1 How she deals with mental fortitude against failure from auditions etc?
  • Analyze why she failed and find ways to improve result next time.
  • Talk to family and friends to support and get help
• Q2 Has she shared these advice to coworkers
  • Yes, some people. Sometimes people come over for food at her place.
  • Train with coworkers also
  • Story about Hasshi, she doesn’t like avocado but likes Fuurin’s avocado salad. So this is one way Fuurin’s skills helped her.
• Q3 Dealing with congestion while voice acting
  • If it’s too bad need to rest and reschedule, such as bad hay fever.
  • If it’s mild, clear out your nose first, then use a lot of vics vapor dilute in hot water and smell it, but it’s not recommended 

Last part, photo time, again with her first then as a group. Then she gave some parting words and we cheered as she walked off stage.

PS. I just want to say this year was amazing when it comes to autographs from seiyuu at Otakon. Otakon brought half the industry, first of all, then many of the brought seiyuu to promote their one or two projects. And while there was the usual focus on light novels, there were the usual big titles like Trigger’s stuff and Ghost in the Shell from BNFW. And arguably things like Overgeared and Rayearth.

This means I got an overwhelming amount of autographs in just one weekend. And Otakon doesn’t really go on much on Sunday, as by 3pm everything ended basically. I didn’t spend all day in the autograph area either, as I tried to hit as many of these seiyuu panel as I could. With so few days of the event and with so many guests, it’s invariable I can’t see everything I want. For example I wanted to thank EnJoh Toe about working with Itou Project but that chance never came. Can’t be helped I guess. Still, this was an impressive haul. On the note of EnJoh Toe, I also want to write more about the two very different light novel authors at the con, between Chiramune’s and Romelia’s. Maybe later.

PPS. Food wise, again, maybe avoid STK, but I had a nice steak there. Also it was quite empty. Yard House in DC isn’t that good versus the LA Live one. Nothing new here, other than it’s still a good place to booze it up. The only two notable discovery is that Love, Makoto is a Resy restaurant and Wiseguy pizza is the NYC type style place I want, which is about 15 minutes away on foot from the Marriot Courtyard by the con.

First, here’s the official post on the LA stop. It has all the details for a reasonable person to make it to the show. I’m assuming you read it. Good.

I will assume you’re a shut-in who’s never been to a concert in the USA, or another country’s concert for that matter. You know how to get to LA Live (the entertainment complex where the Peacock Theater is located) by car and you can get there by car, have a credit card (AMEX), and have enough money to pay for everything like an average person and conduct yourself in society like an average person. And on that note, I’m not going to write for things that someone coming from out of town will need (like hotels and how to book a plane ticket or things like that), I assume if you’re doing that you are advanced enough to know “how to survive” a concert trip.

In this case, the first thing to decide is do you even want to go? Concerts are kind of involved. If you are not at a level to be able to be around a few thousand strangers cheering on some Japanese voice actors performing a stage event and sing Umamusume songs, you might want to watch the online stream instead. For that matter, anyone who doesn’t want to spend the money to travel (for me, two VIP tickets are still cheaper than my flight + hotel costs combined), staying home is perfectly nice and better than being goaded to go to the show. I will assure you while going in person can be a great experience, you can also have a great experience not going in person. I enjoyed many watch parties in my short stay on Earth thus far too. For that matter, it’s likely that at least one person who will be at the venue will go home with a bad time. It all comes down on how you execute. Can you execute? Are you confident? Maybe? The cheat code to this is to go with a friend or SO. It’s just like anime cons in that regard–more the merrier, and you can split some of the cognitive and monetary burdens, maybe.

Once you decide that you are going, great. See you there?

Ticketing

First, you want to get tickets. I’m going to assure you that for a majority of the attendees, being there is more important than having a good seat. To me, this kind of a concert in America is extremely special. Otaku content (not counting, say, Sailor Moon) with the full-blown, seiyuu idol treatment (17 is a lot for America!) is a first-in-history type of thing. Being a part of this odd otaku history to me is the main thing. So basic things first–create and an AXS account. Try to buy tickets on another show at the Peacock Theater (not to actually buy, but learn the process). You might have to disable VPN and AdBlock.

If you want to fight the ticket sales war, you need to have an AMEX to pay for the ticket on the July 23 presale at 10am Pacific time. It’s not certain if all seats will be available at the various presale rounds and how many you can buy per sale. If you aren’t sweaty about having the best seat, you should still be able to buy tickets during the other rounds of presales (promoter and venue both have rounds of presale on July 27, and July 28 is public sales start). I personally don’t think it will sell out quickly, and it might not even sell out completely, because they’re using most or all of the seats and it’s on a Thursday and Friday. I think it could still sell out, but unlikely right away.

In any event, deciding to go soon is a boon, so you can purchase tickets right away. So you do, just log in to AXS up to 30 minutes before ticket sales start, and it should put you in a queue for the tickets. Once you pop out of the queue (it’s your turn to buy the tickets), you can’t auto select seats, so manual pick the seats you want, then check out with your AMEX (assuming it’s during the AMEX presale round onward from July 23). You’ll need to do that for each of the two shows. And that’s it for tickets.

If you want to get sweaty, I won’t get into this, but there are definitely ways! Don’t resort to illegal means! But, if you failed to purchase tickets from AXS/Peacock directly, in the USA 3rd party ticket sellers are just as good. If you don’t need a VIP seat I would be okay scalping it from the usual large ticket reselling platforms like Seatgeek or Stubhub. For VIP tickets, it will depend on how they handle distributing the VIP bonus merch, but it might also work fine second-hand.

With tickets in hand, the rest of it is the “survival part” and I will sort it based on importance. Some of it, IMO, is super important, but not important in terms of, say, health or safety. So they’re in the “optional” or “semi-important” category. You get my gist?

Important Items

• Make sure you are physically capable to handle a concert. This means you’re not ill, and any physical disability can be accommodated with the venue (you can reach out to the venue in advance to make arrangements or ask questions about disability related accommodations). I expect the concert to run for about 2 hours. If none of those clears, maybe consider not coming and stay somewhere you’re comfortable. If you are going both days, you’re not going to sleep early after Thursday since it ends kind of late! Keep all of that in mind in terms of your physical condition please. And yeah, don’t come to the venue smelly, do your hygiene. Precious 女性声優 are going to look upon your countenance, so keep that in mind when you present yourself at the venue.
• Make sure you read the rules and regulations for Peacock Theater and from Cygames about this show. If you need to bring any accommodations, make sure it is allowed into the venue, such as any medication or fluids. Peacock theater itself sells refreshment inside the venue. The bag policy is no bags larger than 14 x 14 x 6 inches, and no glass/aluminum bottles. No outside drink or food is allowed other than made exception by guest services (for ADA) and unopened plastic bottles of water 1L or smaller.
  • As of this writing Cygames has not posted anything about rules for this show, so stay tuned. If you are curious, in Japan, they don’t allow UOs nor UO cyclones, and overly bright penlights. Recording of any kind and photography are prohibited (except during that one segment on 5th Tour, LOL). I doubt the recording part will change, but some things may be relaxed for the USA.
• I recommend parking at LA Live (the underground deck, which is Lot E or East Garage), if you need parking. You might need to get there early enough, since it can run out of space. It seems like a convenient, safe, and not that expensive of a deal (40 plus tax for all day)? If you want cheaper parking you can park further but I don’t recommend it. Note that I have not parked in any of the LA Live garages on my own, but I’ve gotten in and out of cars from all those garages before w.
• If you plan to show up early at LA Live to hang out, like doing some of the “optional” things listed below, then make sure you bring enough hydration and get enough rest. If you didn’t sleep enough the day before, obviously that could impact your experience. It’s all understandable, having to break out of your daily routine to go se some Horse Girls in the flesh sure makes one excited and all. Still, the point here is make sure you are in good, nay, great condition! Not only will you have a much better time when you’re feeling well, you’re more likely to not screw up executing.

• If you are driving from home, make sure you budget in traffic, but I probably don’t need to tell you that if you’re driving in LA normally. If you’re an out of towner counting on an uber on the other hand, definitely take traffic into account.
• On another LA note, while DTLA in general is somewhat safe, especially the area that is LA Live, you need to be aware of your surrounding at all times outside the venue. Definitely be careful when walking alone after dark outside of LA Live (say if you’re taking the mass transit or parked farther away) and avoid leaving your belongings unattended.
• Lastly, don’t forget to bring your ticket. You might also want to bring something to prove your age and ID (don’t drive without your license…), and some cashless payment method (Peacock is cashless). Most AMEX credit cards support chips or Apple/Google pay these days. I assume all concert merch sales sold by Peacock event handlers are also going to be cashless, but this was not always the case IIRC. All this basic stuff you can refer to not to a google doc or a blog post, but the literal guide on Peacock Theater’s site for visitors.

Semi-Important Things

• It helps a lot to know the songs at the show. It’s not important but it will immensely improve how much you get out of the show. By “know” I mean knowing how the song goes, the lyrics, and maybe even the song title? For bonus points you can know how the calls for the song goes (Umamusume build most calls into the recording itself), but you don’t need to do them. You can if you want to, but not doing calls means you can’t mess it up or tire out faster, and sometimes that’s preferred, YMMV.
  • Your best bet is look around online for a prediction setlist. The only two songs I’m counting on to happen is UMA IN AMERICA and Umapyoi Densetsu…or Umapyoi Legend if we get the English version. More likely I think we’ll just get the same classic hits they have always done, just taking the best old songs from 7th Ariake.
• It helps to have something to cheer with. If you’ve never been to a concert before, having a pen light is a huge clutch. In 2026 you can buy one off Amazon, so I’m assuming you know where to go to get one. If you got one from another concert, hell, nobody says you can’t bring it to Umamusume. However, it would be great if you just got a generic, unbranded one or buy an Umamusume one for this concert. You should be able to buy one at the venue (queues and stock willing). If you want to get sweaty and mail order one from Japan, the official carrot blade seems to always be in stock (15 days lead time). You’ll need a proxy or something, just to be aware.
  • Yeah there are advanced strats like buying a tube cover. Check the official site for ones still left in stock. El, Cafe, Mambo, Kitachan and Nicene are still in stock, and this can change.
  • Cheering with just your hands is what I always recommend. You really do not need to bring anything, which is why this is “semi-important.” Some songs have clapping, others just need you to wave them in the air (in a way that is considerate to your neighbors).
  • Bring other cheering goods if you have them, and hopefully they’ll just sell it at the venue. Just be aware of Peacock Theater’s rule about banners if you’re rolling that route.
• For the same reason why it’s good to go to the show with friends, socialize with other trainers at the venue. Maybe it’s the people in the seats near you or before the show. Obviously don’t get creepy about that but just be nice and helpful is always good.
• Buying merch is semi-optional. Well okay it is entirely optional, but we want to support the concerts and this part of the Umamusume business. Unlike gacha or buying carots you actually get something in return. It is good culture. Just don’t get too sweaty and compromise your experience at the Umamusume concert over this!

Completely Optional Things (That May Be Important)

• Cosplay is completely optional. The only thing I beg is for cosplayers to observe Time Place Occasion rules. Don’t go into the venue with a bulky cosplay and block the views of people behind your fake ears or something. It’s just inappropriate when you cross that line.
  • On that note, if you have a towel, a uchiwa, or something like that, please refrain from raising them over your head. Thanks, the person behind you says in advance.
• Hanging out and socializing with friends before the show is completely optional. Half the time with these Peacock Theater otaku events I do hang out with people before the show, since I got nothing to do, as I’m across the country from home. The locals might still pull up 30 minutes before the show, park, and get inside 10 minutes before start time. LA is infamous for traffic, so take that into account if you’re not the one driving, too.
• Flaunt your itabag/itashas/itachari/itawhatever. If you’re into them you know. If you’re not you can just ignore this. Just make sure you don’t get into trouble trying to secure it or bring it to the venue.
• Flaunt your nuis or dolls or whatever.. If you’re into them you know. If you’re not you can just ignore this. Just make sure you don’t get into trouble trying to secure it or bring it to the venue.
• Take photos with your stuffed animal/horse children at the venue and your seat and all that (rules permitting).
• Write a letter to the cast member(s) of your choice. I don’t know if Cygames is going to arrange this but they might have some people on staff who cares about it enough to enable gift boxes at the venue. If not, write a letter to their agency or something and detail your concert experience.
• Flower stands and backstage flowers. Flower stands is a Chinese/East Asian custom that Americans generally do not do, and are not familiar with outside of funerals and weddings. Having looked into this years ago it is a major pain in the butt to do at the Peacock Theater, given what you get out of it. More importantly, BNML and Cygames has to allow this in the first place, you can’t just unilaterally do it. Backstage gifts on the other hand might be easier to do at Peacock Theater. I still recommend against it because these are not something in your control unilaterally and could cause the recipients trouble, but you can try I suppose. Definitely in the bonus round category here, it is a super extra optional activity.
• Learning calls is almost completely optional I would say, but it is. It’s definitely a tier lower than “learn the songs” at any rate. Because Umapyoi Densetsu exists and it’s the most Umamusume thing in the world, the only call that you should learn in advance is the “ore no aiba ga” call from that song. And even then it’s okay that if you don’t. More specifically, learning calls is something you do over time by going to concerts. You can read about it, sure, but until you’ve gone to one of these things you probably would have no real idea how it goes–and I’m not even sure 7th LA would count, since the calls are likely not at the same level as calls in Japan. But Uma fandom is a little less hardcore I would say, so I expect the excited Trainers in America (along with our Japanese Trainer friends flying to the States) will give the cast the same loud welcome during their performances. You earn lots of brownie points if you watch the live streams, follow the call guides, and learn it on your own (or with friends), but it’s literally just brownie points. More over, if you’re quick-witted you can probably do most of the calls just by following the audience and having some basic understanding of calls, while knowing all the songs.

My approach to this is not so much, don’t do these, but trying to make it so that we strip out the extra stuff so we keep our eyes on the real prize. If you want to do the optional things, great, but do remember they are optional and shouldn’t ever cause problem for the more important, non-optional side! If your condition suffers because of these extra optional stuff, then it might not be worth it. Take care of yourself first.

(Minor update from 7/29/2026. Tickets are all on sale now, as with the JTB tour pack lottery which ends today. Day 1 still has tickets for sale directly from AXS, while day 2 seems to have sold out (for now). I also clarified some text and fixed some typos.)

In the second numbering concert for the sub-brand, Gakuen IDOLM@STER hauled out its budding-star lineup once more and put on a great performance. It’s getting absurdly good by josei seiyuu standards that I think the show itself has aspects that can stand alone. Forget that it has a video game (and it’s even fun, I mean, who doesn’t like Slay the Spire). Just watch Yukari Amane’s MY STAGE performance and let me know how you think? Actually, watch the music video and the vtuber version of each first if you have the time. Seriously, I want to know what people think.

In a grab bag situation with over a dozen heroines, do you even need the rest of the media mix? I guess so, because it’s how everything is put together. But first, links.

Setlist day 1. Setlist day 2. Playlists for each day. Official announcement posts day 1 and day 2. AP Kasshi teamed up with Aarin on day 1’s after stream. Day 2’s after stream link. Asobi Stage link for the actual streams. IM@S-DB (also ez links to xR HIF selection show last month). My quick takes here.

I think the easiest take is the same what I put on twitter, that 2nd is basically formatted the same as 1st. The one new element is Tsubame CV: Yukka, and she did some stuff for the first time during 2nd. If they want to retain this surprise element, I guess we’ll see Rinha next in 3rd? That means she gets implemented half way through year 3 I suppose.

Rinha’s implementation was one of the factors driving anticipation for 2nd, so maybe there needs to be something that follows if they really are adding Rinha. I think there isn’t any reasons to think to the contrary as that they won’t implement Rinha.

As to the show itself, it has been a long journey if you ask me. Part of this is just like how the Garakuta Road PV, the design elements in the 2nd anni outfits, that the 2nd merch was mostly based on Garakuta Road outfits… I don’t know, but those designed feels very well polisehd, for years. In the end, the cast wore step 3 outfits and performed step 3 songs. I suppose that much made sense given where we are at the game, and so far Gakumas has been the One Series that performs music from the game in the right timing. As an aside, where are our birthday songs? I guess that’s more to look forward to in the 3rd year and beyond.

The start of the show is obviously, the ticketing? Gakuen IDOLM@STER consistently outperformed its reasonable expectations and have smashingly sold-out shows. It’s a huge ordeal to get tickets to them, to the degree that many JP attendees come to the venue to socialize and go home to watch the stream. In order to win tickets, many of the oversea producers tried ticket pooling. Since there wasn’t a strict ID check, people generally were able to win tickets and transfer them, despite being against the terms of service. I think the popularity of Gakumas also affected oversea attendance and some of the ticketing situation did get a bit dicey to say the least.

Leading up to the show was the xR concert, which gave us the first look at the second single for Tsubame. The song selection was pretty basic but it covered the grounds we saw in 1st. I was able to watch it at Acen, which was fun with a group.

For the actual concert, we went into it planning an offkai on Saturday, and having a large group was pretty fun both pre-show and during the offkai. We did a smaller meetup on Sunday for lunch, eating Thai to manifest Rinha (because her seiyuu is born in Bangkok?) which was just a fun thing.

The weather more or less cooperated until Sunday afternoon. Maybe it’s just the collective tears of kimoi otaku to celebrate the announcement of Honoka Kuroki’s marriage, but it started raining right when the show doors opened for Sunday. It was fun seeing people make light and cheer for the big news before the show. There was a tweet or something about someone saying something about it while wearing a Village Vanguard Aoi Nagatsuki collab t-shirt, which made us want to get those shirts. I won’t bore you with the seiyuu otaku neta but fun was to be had.

The show itself is at Yokohama Arena, which is about a 7-10 minute walk from Shin Yokohama station. Given its oval shape and the stage being at one of the pointy end, you could end up in a seat very far back, or all the way to the side. I had pretty okay seats so there’s not much to complaint about, but I still had to watch the stream for both days to really get everything out of the shows.

In a way Gaku 2nd is a “letdown” in the sense that those of you who’ve been or seen Ongakusai a few months prior, it’s not going to be as lit. The main new thing was Tsubame’s new songs and the new outfits everyone wore based on Step 3. That points the rest of us looking for more excitement towards surprises, like manifesting Rinha’s implementation.

Sure, the longer POV is that we are pent up of new stuff that had to get released over time, so Gaku 1st had more surprises than Gaku 2nd. With big media mix projects like this, it’s always easy to fall into the trap of treating the live performances as afterthoughts in the overall plan. It does feel that way for a lot of IM@S sometimes, even if it is one of the franchise that does that the least. Anyways, I thought we had a thoughtful setlist and it was coordinated in a thoughtful way to squeeze out the feels to the max. I was next to a ChinaP for day 2 and he really had it going for him in the last block, while I’m just enjoying the coast to the end. I’m just glad to know that the planners know which songs people want to hear, and care enough for the setlist to put it in the right order.

If you are a big time Gakuen IDOLM@STER fan, you really should try to come to one of the shows in Japan. That said, it doesn’t have to be a numbered show, it could be any show with all the cast members, or even just your favorites. It’s all streamed, so there’s always that option too. I’m still stoked that one of my fav sub-branch is finally doing it right, and I hope we can enjoy it overseas or via flying to Japan!

Lastly and very briefly, my favorites:

• Naiwa is always a banger and I love this song at shows and at home. This is definitely one of the best versions outside HIF Selection.
• Kimi to Semi Blue is a reliable fun song, along with Campus Mode. On that note, also Mirakuru na Nau. Do the calls, to the left and to the right.
• I realize I care about the weirder step 3 songs more than, say, Ittai Itsukara. SUNFADED, Ume’s Step 3, and Wildflower are so good. Atmosphere is so good live. I don’t know. If China summoned her drones maybe I’d like the Evan Call masterpiece more. On that note it’s a rare treat…
• Garakuta Road is a lot of fun also. I want to see this a few more times.

This year for me it’s pretty crazy. Somehow I was indirectly being made aware of some of this stuff, partly because I also have been doing some fan projects for IM@S contents for Acen on the side. I think having some additional information did help make me make better plans in 2026, as once the IM@S stuff is locked in, it’s all I had time for at the con and before the con. I mean I wanted to go see FJ/Kajiura and I ended up not doing it because of various reasons outside my control, which kinda means the only thing I saw was the maestro herself on stage at Opening Ceremony. In addition I was able to see U3 and get an autograph from her too, thanks Sekai Project. There was a moment I got to see the INTERSECT guests, but that’s basically it.

So, where to start? I’ll just say that IDOLM@STER at ACEN is brought to you by nothing less than a small miracle. I’m sure Sujay and company have lost like 6 months of their life expectancy working on bringing IM@S to Acen this year so if you see Sujay and his crew, make sure to buy them a drink to further reduce said life expectancy. It was frenetic leading up to the big show on Friday and maybe Sujay can write a book about it when he retires or something.

What that meant for all the American producer, however, is probably a lot more than the total value of hard work of a small team over there at Acen, and even Bandai Namco. Overwhelmingly the reaction from all the Ps who went have been positive, including all the Japanese (and Chinese) producers who flew for this. As someone who goes to Japan for IM@S events I can only smile at how JP Ps are learning the fun experience that a good con can be. Even the local whiners, while loud and disproportionately reflected reality, still had a good time. Just about everyone I talked to had a great time, selection bias aside.

At the party was the only time I was able to go around and talk to a lot of people. Saturday during the day I was busy un-dying from watching HIF Selection Exam stream, then to deal with the panel, then to deal with the autographs, and then straight to the offkai. Friday I had some time to chat when I canvassed the line (thanks Cyberwave) to get P-cards. I gave up doing shikishi message boards because 6 sets is too many to deal with, I would need like 3 additional helpers. Also big thanks to pal Vanilla Thunder for hooking me up with his spare necktie since I left mine at home, among a number of other things. I also left some other things at home that cost me some money, but oh well.

Well, yes, I threw a party Saturday. Not a lot is to be said about that, but I feel it’s an important part of a culture of having a Good Time in the tradition of cons. Here’s a Google Photo pool that you can look through. First of all, it wouldn’t happen without the incredible turnout from Ps and folks willing to help. So a big thank you both to those who helped and those who came. If you ever want to throw a party, it’s really important to get the vibe right, and this, to me, is not only the key to success but I need the event that I throw the party with to be on the same page. Thankfully Acen is it, much like when Cinderella Girls came to AX that one time. What is different this time is there are actually Ps? Who are these Americans, that went to see IM@S in Japan, and brought that back, and all that stuff. Maybe some of them learned from Vtubers? Why, at the anikura on Friday, people only got hype from IM@S songs? I really don’t know.

What is truly unique about Acen IM@S, that I do know. That is the Miki solo showcase.

The Miki thing is not something you’d expect if you knew anyone involved, or Acen in general, although I suppose other Vtubers have landed at Acen before. But in IMAS 3.0 the whole XR/MR/VR stuff is beginning to pop off. All I can say is, I went to Chihaya Budokan, and it’s the most special thing I’ve seen in a long time, and definitely the best MR concert I’ve seen. Maybe it’s a bit of a promo for the July MR concert IWSF, but hats off to the folks who made the Miki show possible. It felt like a proper concert with Miki and I think everyone felt that. It’s a special sauce that added something extra to IM@S Acen, with its own substance, and a kick in the face for attendees (in a good way). I’m just laughing at how Japan reacted to the live stream, the American Ass thing.

Anyways, what else to say other than it’s great to have some drinks, cake, light meal, and a lot of happy Ps in one room, with some nice DJing going on? This is it. I brought some speakers for the offkai but I also used them to watch HIF Selection Exam day2. On Saturday night (like 3am), about 20 of us hijacked an unused room to put my $30 projector into use, so it’s dark enough to work. We got Tsubame’s new song. It was as lit as it can be at 4am.

Just a couple hours earlier, I went to see Kenmochi Hidefumi at the rave, which was great because I like his Denonbu hits! It was a fun time. Anyways, it was too much in a night for this old man, let alone the whole weekend. I had barely any time to eat Saturday, so basically I was living on fumes for half the weekend and in a physically active state. It wasn’t too bad, but it made the Italian beef after the con hit pretty good. I think the only thing missing was my roommate drank my last Monster which made Saturday just that much more painful.

In 2026 I have been doing the same “come to Acen way before” thing as I had done in prior years. I probably will again next year to witness how this Chicago dog is made from within and from the outside. Also there’s just so much good eats in Chicago that I want to have the time to do so, outside con hours. If it’s like any other year I will be very busy on the actual con days anyway.

PS.

Food-wise: Peaquods finally made it back this year, and I got Lou Manati’s twice. Funny story, I was suppose to eat pizza with some folks on Thursday night but they end up being very late (because they gave feed back to Bandai Namco staff at the mixer?) and I kept ordering more pizzas since the slices for them kept on getting eaten by other people who dropped by, lol. The main culinary focus on this trip was a dinner (regular) at Alinea, a three-star Michelin place. Was it worth it? It wasn’t that expensive, and it’s a fun experience. I probably won’t mind doing it again but it’s not exactly what I particularly care about in dining.

I still got to go to Gibsons at Acen. It’s becoming a tradition.

Drinking with friends, a wonderful time was had.

PPS. Murakami Munetaka is some special baseballer. I hope the Chicago White Sox treasure this man. Also, at the game, I almost caught a foul ball but I was too busy looking at my phone to react fast enough. If you go on a weekday night game when it’s chilly there’s not going to be many at Rate Field, so your odds of catching one are so much higher lol.

PPS. Some links as promised. Not exhaustive by any means.

• A MihoP from Japan
• Akiko Hasegawa
• A MikiP from Japan.
• Yumi Hara, part2
• A MikiP from Japan.
• A MikiP from Japan.
• A MikiP from Japan.
• Sujay gloat
• Banners
• Still can’t get over this
• Kind of how I feel.