From the 21st to the 23rd of February, hundreds of visitors flocked to the Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) for Nijigen Expo 2025. With a star-studded guest lineup of international cosplayers and performers, excitement was definitely high from fans going into the event.
Didn’t make it to Nijigen Expo 2025? Here’s what you missed:
Performances
Nijigen Expo 2025 featured a jam-packed lineup of guest performers. Aozora Fumi, a popular drummer from Japan, performed drum covers of anime opening themes, including fan-favourite series like Gintama and One Piece. Her infectious energy managed to get the crowd on their feet, who cheered and sang along to her entire set.
Singer-songwriter Ryoji Takarabe, who went viral for his Doraemon cosplay song covers, brought his iconic Doraemon outfit to his segments at Nijigen Expo. Though the crowd initially seemed a little apprehensive about his unusual getup, they were quickly won over by his great renditions of anime songs like Kick Back from Chainsaw Man.
Joining them on stage throughout the weekend were local acts, with notable performers such as B-Sidetrack, Jiei and Nico from Hachinari Productions, DJ Harimao, and many more. The Malaysian girl group KLP48 capped off the event on Sunday with the premiere of their latest original song, “Alasanku Maybe”.
Mural Paintings
Visitors to the event could witness large-scale mural paintings being drawn by artists Shinn Uchida and Kevin Bayashi, who worked on their pieces while curious onlookers watched on. This was no easy feat for the artists, as their canvases were several feet tall and twice as wide, with Bayashi’s piece in particular taking up to nearly 23 hours to complete.
Guest Cosplayers
The event featured an impressive lineup of international guest cosplayers, with a diverse range of countries featured, from Italy to China, to Germany and Russia, and nations closer to home such as Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Fans could be seen queueing for hours in some cases, just for a chance to meet and grab photos with their favourite cosplayers.
Guest VTubers
VTubers are something of a mainstay for Nijigen Expo, and this event was no exception, as the lineup included appearances from independent VTuber Shylily and five Japanese talents from the VTuber agency VShojo. Both groups conducted meet-and-greets with their fans, with Shylily additionally having a panel appearance on Friday.
F&B
Last but not least, visitors to Nijigen Expo didn’t have to worry about going hungry as rows of food vendors were located just outside the event hall, selling a wide variety of street food, snacks and drinks. Those looking for a more upscale experience could visit the Doko Koko pop-up cafe, which sold more substantial meals like curry rice and fish and chips.
Overall Thoughts
As our team’s first visit to Nijigen Expo, the event definitely did not disappoint in terms of its content. On top of everything mentioned above, there were also the usual event mainstays such as doujin and cosplay booths, as well as a wide variety of exhibitors’ booths that visitors could browse through.
We also appreciated how the stage was segregated behind a panel wall, which opened up more space in the main exhibition hall and allowed visitors to explore the event without the usual distracting sounds and lights from the stage. Organisers hoping to hold future events in MIECC could definitely consider using a similar layout.
On the flip side,there were definitely aspects that could be improved, such as better communication with fans regarding panel times. The last-minute announcement of Shylily’s Friday panel meant that many fans unfortunately had to miss her session, which could have been mitigated if this had been communicated earlier.
With all that being said, thank you for reading, and we’ll see you at the next event!
Photography contributed by 004bar_. Check out more of their work on X/Twitter.
