COVER Corporation recently brought the vibrant world of hololive English to Los Angeles with a special pop-up store at the Beverly Center, which operated from February 5th through February 27th, 2025. This first ever, U.S. hololive shop offered fans exclusive merchandise and served as a prelude to Mori Calliope’s “Grimoire” concert at the Hollywood Palladium on February 26th.
The pop-up store featured a variety of themed merchandise, including Valentine’s Day items showcasing talents like Takanashi Kiara, Ouro Kronii, Nerissa Ravencroft, and Elizabeth Rose Bloodflame. Fans had the opportunity to purchase keychains, acrylic standees, apparel, and Mori Calliope-specific concert memorabilia such as towels, CDs, Blu-rays of previous performances, and exclusive glow sticks designed for the “Grimoire” concert.
In a generous move, COVER Corporation announced that proceeds from the pop-up store, along with a $30,000 USD donation, would support wildfire relief efforts in Los Angeles, allowing fans to contribute to a meaningful cause while celebrating their favorite VTubers.
The “Grimoire” concert, held on February 26th at the Hollywood Palladium, marked a significant milestone as Mori Calliope’s first solo performance outside Japan. The event showcased her musical evolution and creative vision, with fans worldwide tuning in via live streams on SPWN and Streaming+. The concert was met with enthusiasm, as evidenced by hololive production’s Instagram post expressing amazement at the event’s conclusion. For those who couldn’t attend the pop-up store or the concert, select merchandise remains available online through the hololive production official shop until March 24th, 2025.
MORI CALLIOPE INTERVIEW
Adding to the excitement, we had the unique opportunity to interview Mori Calliope, at the pop up shop the day following her concert.
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The highly anticipated Sonic Symphony World tour finally arrives in Los Angeles.
Sonic The Hedgehog fans had its first taste of the Sonic Symphony in 2021 during the COVID as SEGA and Soundtrec produced, Sonic 30th Anniversary: Sonic Symphony. Due to the circumstances, the special anniversary concert was only streamed online.
Now, Sonic Symphony is back and bigger than ever! The tour begun earlier this month in London, UK and has now arrived in Los Angeles, California. Sonic Symphony band members include, Shota Nakama (Guitarist/Producer), Jose Delgado (Conductor), Kevin Zakresky (Conductor), Dave Vives (Vocalist), Louis A. Ochoa (Bassist), Derek Dupuis (Keyboardist), & Blaize Collard (Drummer). New guests have been recently announced, all whom will be joining the Los Angeles performances.
These special guests include Kellin Quinn (Sleeping with Sirens), Johnny Gioeli (Crush 40, Hardline, & Axel Rudi Pell ), Tomoya Ohtani & Jun Senoue (Crush 40) all will make appearances at the Los Angeles performances this Saturday. According to the Sonic Symphony X account, Johnny Gioeli will also make an appearance at Boston show on October 21st.
TOP; Jun Senoue & Johnny Gioeli | BOTTOM; Tomoya Ohtani & Kellin Quinn
Get hyped with an exclusive interview with Sonic Symphony producer and guitarist, SHOTA NAKAMA. Join me and Nakama as we speak about his career and what fans can expect from Sonic Symphony! Please note this interview was done before the first Sonic Symphony performance on 9/16/23, thus some information may not be up to date.
Are you going? If so, see you there! Both Los Angeles performances are SOLD OUT when publishing this article; however, for more information on the tour, showtimes, and ticket information, visit, https://www.sonicsymphonytour.com.
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Very few can say they had their hand prints cemented on the famous TCL Chinese Theatre floor. From the early silent film star Norma Talmadge, added in 1927 to the most recent ceremonies of director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau. Now, international musician superstar YOSHIKI has been forever Immortalized at TCL Chinese Theatre, becoming the first Japanese person to do so.
Yoshiki gives a speech during the handprint ceremony.
Who is YOSHIKI?
Yoshiki is a pianist and drummer best known for forming the globally famous band X Japan, which he started with the band’s lead vocalist, Toshi in 1982. You do not have to be a fan of X Japan to see the band’s influence on Japan’s rock subculture. X Japan is often credited as the pioneer of the visual kei movement. Visual Kei, often compared to Western glam, is a movement that originated in Japan during the late 1980s, influenced by glam rock and other 1980s rock music styles. Visual Kei can be a style, music genre, or music scene.
X Japan often included a mixture of speed metal and symphonic or ballard elements within their music making them stand out from any other rock band in Japan at the time. In 1989, the band achieved their breakthrough success with their second and major debut album, Blue Blood and as a result, X Japan became an instant hit.
Five studio albums later and over 27 sold-out concerts and 16 sold-out tours, on September 22, 1997, X Japan announced that they would disband.
Yoshiki Goes Solo
As a solo musician, Yoshiki released his first solo album, the classical studio album Eternal Melody, which was performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and produced by the Beatles producer George Martin. Around this time, Yoshiki began learning about jazz improvisation and orchestration. In 1994, Yoshiki worked with Queen drummer Roger Taylor on a song he composed, “Foreign Sand,” for which Roger wrote the lyrics; the song was performed at The Great Music Experience in May of that same year.
That same year, Yoshiki also contributed an orchestral arrangement of “Black Diamond” played by the American Symphony Orchestra. The song was featured in KISS’s tribute album “Kiss My Ass“.
In later years, Yoshiki would go on to perform and collaborate on numerous musical projects with artists such as George Martin, Bono, will.i.am, Jennifer Hudson, St. Vincent, Stan Lee, Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen, Gene Simmons and KISS, Nicole Scherzinger, and recently Sarah Brightman.
New Band Formations
MIYAVI, Yoshiki & Sugizo at JRock Revolution in 2007 At The Wiltern Theatre
In July 2006, Yoshiki announced the formation of a brand new band, S.K.I.N.S. which would include JRock (Japanese Rock) stars, Yoshiki (drums, piano), Gackt (vocals, piano), Sugizo (guitar, violin) & Miyavi (guitar, shamisen). This new band was unique from the start, as it was the first Visual kei band based in the U.S., specifically Los Angeles. Uniquely, S.K.I.N.S has only performed once during their debut performance on June 29, 2007, at the Anime Expo 2007 in Long Beach, California. S.K.I.N.S has since been inactive, and no new announcements have been made.
Yoshiki would later be involved in projects that included composing the 69th Golden Globe Awards theme and composing anime and film soundtracks to Attack on Titan and Saw IV.
Anime Los Angeles has been bringing top hit musical guests such Stephanie Yanez, Raj Ramayya, and Lolita Dark in 2019 followed by, Japanese electronic dance music duo FEMM in 2020. This year’s musical guest was KAZAH!
Kazha is a rock band founded by Japanese singer-songwriter Kazuha Oda and guitarist Hideki Matsushige in 2009. Since the release of their first album, Overture (2010) they’ve been touring around the U.S. making headlines in U.S. Anime Conventions such as Nan Desu Kan and Anime Los Angeles.
Guitarist Hideki Matsushige & singer-songwriter Kazuha Oda
Kazha has also shared the stage with national artists such as George Lynch, Tracii Guns, LA Guns, Y&T, Tantric, and Trapt. Moving their base of operations to Memphis, TN in 2015, they’ve been featured on local broadcasts such as WREG News Channel 3, Channel 24, and WMC Action News 5.
We had the honor of interviewing lead vocalist, Kazuha Oda, and hearing her story behind the formation of KAZHA!
Nihon Falcom announced their celebration plans earlier this week. For the last 40 years, Nihon Falcom has become a prominent video game developing company within the industry alongside Square Enix.
Falcom is most notably known for the Ys, The Legend of Heroes, and Trails series. Its current company president, Toshihiro Kondo, will be making a special message during its special 40th Anniversary celebration event on June 24th.
The special event will also feature a special virtual concert from the Falcom jdk band, for all Falcom fans for free, featuring tracks spanning four decades of Nihon Falcom’s game history.
NISA (NIS America) Online Store and NGPX have team up to announce brand new merchandise going live on June 24th after the event, warping up the celebration. According to NISA Online Store, one of these ‘brand new’ merchandise will be made in limited supply.
Tune in and catch it all: Thursday, June 24, 2021 at 10:00 PM PT (June 25 at 7:00 AM CET) Streamed live at the New Game+ Expo Twitch and YouTube channels
Crypton Future Media has just announced the official CANCELLATION of Hatsune Miku’s North American Tour, MIKU EXPO 2020 USA & Canada. Earlier this year, CFM announced its postponement due to the COVID19 pandemic, however they reconsidered and have decided to cancel the tour all together.
They posted the following message on their official Facebook page
According to their Facebook post, CFM is currently redirecting their efforts towards new ways of engaging with Hatsune Miku fans across the world, and hope to be able to announce their upcoming plans with fans soon.
As stated above, contact your ticket vendor for refund details. CFM are still working on refunds, therefore, refund option may not be readily available, we suggest you continue to check your ticket vendor account, as this status may change.
Crush 40 has affected the lives of many Sonic The Hedgehog fans, and no one knows that better than the vocalist for Crush 40, Johnny Gioeli. Johnny has been preforming since the age of 11, going on to form the 90’s rock band Hardline alongside his brother, Joey Gioeli.
During this venture, Johnny met SEGA employee, Jun Senoue and together formed what would later be known as, Crush 40. Join Johnny and us in this exclusive interview, as we speak about the origins of Crush 40, how the music was created, Johnny’s take on the Sonic movie and, as stated above, Bagel And Butter and so much more!
Since making her first U.S. debut, Miku has landed in the mainstream media spotlight, even being featured in other U.S. media, such as ‘The late-night show with David Letterman‘ and was also the opening act for Lady Gaga’s 2014 worldwide tour, The Artpop Ball.
In its 28th year, Anime Expo once again welcomed 115,000* attendees from across the world.
Japanese pop culture fans, both locally and internationally, traveled to the Los Angeles Convention Center for annual Anime Expo (Commonly known as, AX) held from July 4th thru 7th, including a pre-night show on the July 3rd.
Reports that Anime Expo’s contract with the Los Angeles Convention Center had expired, created rumors of Anime Expo moving to another venue by 2020. We can officially confirm that Anime Expo will definitely return to the Los Angeles Convention Center for 29th Anime Expo in 2020, as stated in their website and the back of the Anime Expo 2019 program books.
The Great Anime Expo Earthquake
In an unforeseen turn of events, two earthquakes occurred during Anime Expo 2019, one during Day 2, July 4th at 10:02AM PTD (4.0 magnitude) and the second during Day 3, July 5th at 8:19PM PTD (7.1 magnitude). During the first earthquake on the morning of July 4th, ABC 7 Action News had mistakenly stated that the Los Angeles Convention Center was being evacuated as a precaution. In reality, it was Anime Expo attendees waiting to get insidethe convention, not out. Their statement was later retracted. The earthquake’s epicenter location was Ridgecrest, California.
The following day, July 5th at 8:19PM a second earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.1, struck Ridgecrest, California once more. The earthquake was felt by AX attendees, which some taking to social media to post videos of their terrifying experience while inside the convention center.
Guests of Honor, Faye Mata
This year, Anime Expo featured 22 Guests of Honor, among them, voice actress Faye Mata.
Photo Credit: Ax2D Photography
Mata has voiced numerous characters including, Aqua; Konosuba, Fukaziroh; SAO: Gun Gale Online, Katie Killjoy; Hazbin Hotel, Astolfo; Fate/Apocrypha and most recently Petra in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. We had the pleasure of having an exclusive interview with Faye Mata, Join us we speak about her career, character roles, and other upcoming projects.
This year Anime Expo featured over 400+ vendors among them animator, Vivienne Medrano better known by her pseudonym, Vivziepop.
Vivziepop is famously known for creating the hit series, HAZBIN HOTEL. Following her huge viral success with her YouTube video, which features JayJay, a character from another of Vivzie’s creations titled, Zoophobia, lipsyncing to Ke$ha’s Die Young. This video helped her gain a large audience early in her career as an animator.
Hazbin Hotel official poster
She began her working on Hazbin Hotel during her High school years, designing characters such Alastor, one of many main characters of the series. It wasn’t until 2016, that she initially announced Hazbin Hotel, which was originally titled, People Like Us. We caught up with Vivziepop during the last day of Anime Expo and she gave us an insight into the series’ production and its future.
The series is set to be released sometime during October 2019, although the exact date is yet to be announced. Follow Vivziepop’s Twitter account for more updates and details.
RGP Games, anyone?
We decided to cover a few things from this year’s Entertainment Hall booth, beginning with Fate/Grand Order 2019 Tour. As you may remember, the Fate/Grand Order 2019 Tour began back in February of this year…
…and continued throughout Anime Expo 2019. Their booth featured an interactive photo-op station and the opportunity to play the tabletop game, Fate/Grand Order duel. Type-Moon representatives also handed out Fate/Grand Order 2019 player guides.
The Fate/Grand Order tour continues with its next stop being at Anime Weekend Atlanta 2019 in October, for more information visit their official here.
Staying inside the Entertainment Hall, we stopped by Auragon Games’ booth as they promoted their newest game, Hiraethia!
Hiraethia is a new RPG puzzle game developed by Auragon Games, a new independent game developing company based off Texas. Auragon Games founder, Sunny Chai and Hiraethia character designer, Tin Liu spoke to us gave us an overview on Hiraethia.
“A story of adventure, mystery, and tragedy. Follow a brave group of heroes as they try to save the world.” as the game’s Kickstarter states.
We got to play the game during its promotion demo at Anime Expo and although we did not explore much of the storyline, we can see it becoming quite popular among mobile RPG fans. As Chai stated in our interview, what sets the game apart is the fully animated character scenes. It’s one of the few games out there, that features hand-drawn, fully animated attack sequences. As you may know, most games go with the traditional visual novel animation. In addition, the game also features a puzzle mini-game within the main game itself, in which, the player must strategically match ‘tiles‘ accordingly to create stronger and more powerful attack combos. It is when these attacks are performed that the fully animated sequences appear.
Furthermore, the game also features a collaboration with YouTube gamer, LilyPichu as a playable character in the game. Auragon games have not released much about their character’s background, therefore not much is known about lily nor the role she’ll play in the game, storywise.
There is currently no date set for the game’s release, other than ‘it’ll be out on the market before the end of 2019.‘ Want to know more,? head over to their official website to learn more about the game and merchandise.
Anime Expo 2020
Anime Expo ended with an unusually finish. It’s a well-known fact that Anime Expo sale badges for the coming year, hours before the current year convention is over. Things were a bit different this year, with Anime Expo announcing that badges for Anime Expo 2020 would not be sold on-site and instead, sold online.
A limited number of early bird 4-day badges will go on sale beginning on August 16th 2019. Early bird price is $75 (not including fees) for a 4-day badge. Once all the early bird badges sell out, 4-day badges will be available for $85 (not including fees) and continue rising monthly as Anime Expo 2020 gets closer. In another surprising move, Anime Expo has also stated they will no longer hold a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sales.
For more information regarding Anime Expo 2020 badge please go to their official website here. Now that Anime Expo 2019 has long been over, its time to prepare for Anime Expo 2020. Will you be there?
The annual anime festival kicked off at the Cultural Arts Center in Torrance, California on Saturday, March 23rd, 2019
With the success of last year’s event, it’s no surprise that AniFest returned with a bang! With not only more attendees but also with more guests and performing acts!
Cosplay guests included D-Piddy, Ruiriupanda, VampyBitMe, Rinmieru, Paprika Mari and yours truly, to name a few.
Anifest had over 10+ performers including the Taiko Collegiate, Stephanie Yanez x Plasmic, Voia, Manatsu Project & Candy Bomber.
One of many performances were the Röli Angels, an idol group from Japan. They performed during Anifest’s very own, Arcane Maid Cafe.
The Roli Angeles performing the hit-song, A Cruel Angel’s Thesis:
During the festival, we stopped by Sanyo Foods’ Sapporo Ichiban booth, where representatives gave FREE ramen samples by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto to all attendees.
Ramen Maid Astolfo
Sapporo Ichiban will be uploading all the photos they took with cosplayers during AniFest, keep your eye out for their album here. Sapporo Ichiban has now uploaded their AniFest photos, you can view them here. For deilcous ramen, visit their online store here.
AniFest ticket winner!
Before I leave you with our wonderful AniFest photo gallery below, I’d like to mention the winner of our AniFest ticket giveaway, Romy! Hope you enjoyed your time at AniFest! Missed out? There’s always next year, that’s right, AniFest returns for another fantastic year in 2020, See you there!
Photo Gallery
Special thank to:
Beari King, Drew and the rest of the AniFest team for making this festival extraordinary!
