In the 2011 Idolmaster anime, notorious sleepyhead and professional provocateur Miki Hoshii rounds out the season by accepting an offer to appear in a Hollywood movie. Denouement with an expansion abroad has always clashed with the series’ lack of availability outside of Japan, but Anime Central 2026 finally made this dream come true by bringing both the character and her voice actor out to the Midwest for the very first time. Nevertheless, fans were left with arguably more questions than answers by the end.

To be perfectly clear, The Idolmaster has performed in America before. Representatives from Cinderella Girls appeared in Los Angeles alongside such acts as Aquors and AKB48 for Anime Expo’s Anisong World Matsuri in 2017 and 2018, but nothing in other cities and nothing since. Cinderella Girls is also only one brand out of a total of six currently active under the series’ umbrella: neither Miki nor 765 Production have ever ventured stateside before, making their inclusion alongside members from Cinderella Girls for Anime Central 2026 truly special.

Considering all of this, perhaps it should come as no surprise that the response to the initial announcement from fans was swift and overwhelming. Excitement only built further when a live stream on the official Idolmaster YouTube channel confirmed that Miki Hoshii would receive her own 3D concert at the event in the vein of other performances domestically. In fact, demand was so high that Anime Central was forced to offer an additional ticket called the ‘Producer Pass’ via lottery for the first time since hololive virtual YouTubers Gawr Gura and Hakos Baelz attended the event in 2022.

One reason for this was the size of the venue. According to the Hyatt Regency O’Hare’s website, the Grand Ballroom only fits 4000 people when set up for seating: a far cry from the kinds of places that the Idolmaster uses in Japan, including some of the biggest stadiums in the country. Those who managed to win the Producer Pass were able to enter early, but the limited space meant that determined fans would inevitably have to use their first day at the convention lining up outside the venue to get a seat.

As it turns out, that line was an excellent vector for cross cultural communication. Many fans from Japan had also taken the opportunity to come to Chicago and witness Idolmaster’s big splash overseas, bringing them face to face with the unique idiosyncrasies of North American fan culture. Particularly striking was the sudden visit from two of the series’ producers, the level of initiative from event staff to bring a chair outside so fans could check if their bags would be allowed, and playing mahjong on a portable table to pass the time.

Once fans began to filter into the venue and secure their seats, two questions floated in the air. First of all, what kind of songs would the series perform after eight years away and for the first time with 765 Production? Secondly, would there be some kind of announcement after the show like in Japan, perhaps confirming some sort of English release?

Regarding the setlist, most have agreed that it was pretty much the perfect starter selection. Not only did each performer get their own time to shine with a solo song, group songs were mainly taken from each series’ respective anime adaptations: composer Hidekazu Tanaka’s arrest for sexual assault in 2022 unfortunately meant that Cinderella Girls could not perform ‘Star!!’ across from 765 Production’s ‘READY!’, but ‘GOIN’!!’ more than made up for it. The same goes for the Miki show, which even had a second rendition of ‘Marionette no Kokoro’.

Once the 3D live ended, the whole ballroom held its breath to see if anything would come up on the screen… nothing, not even an encore. There wasn’t anything announced at the bumper panel the next day, either, despite other companies using this opportunity to make new release announcements in front of their core fans. A good time was had by all, with Asami Imai taking away the title of ‘Baseball Queen’ by throwing a softball the furthest into the crowd, but there was definitely something left to be desired.

The lack of announcements just poses further questions about the future of The Idolmaster in North America. Was Anime Central 2026 the start of a concerted effort to court new users, or just merely fan service for existing loyalists? All of the voice actors that flew out to Chicago expressed much excitement about the possibility of expanding overseas, but nothing material currently exists to match that enthusiasm.

In many ways, the shadow of Umamusume hung over this entire event. As a title very much inspired by The Idolmaster and even helmed by one of its directors for the majority of its development, the mobile game’s recent release and rave reception shows that raising simulation games can do well outside of Japan if done correctly. What’s more, the series recently announced that its next live event would be a world tour: if Bandai Namco isn’t careful, then Cygames is going to eat its lunch before it even has time to sit down and put the kettle on.

Even the split nature of the performance at Anime Central 2026 between voice actors and a 3D show seems to reflect the split strategy of the team. Certainly, if 2D lives are accepted by a western audience, then Bandai Namco will do more of them: it’s infinitely easier to create a show in Tokyo beforehand and press play in Chicago then bringing over an entire crew of performers, managers, stylists, make-up artists, etc. Nevertheless, my personal experience was that many people left the show halfway through before the Miki section started, showing that voice actors are the real draw.

The team over at Bandai Namco certainly has some homework to do once they regroup back in Japan. A certain amount of demand is definitely there, but how does The Idolmaster operate effectively and profitably overseas given the massive costs involved? As a fan, the only thing I can do is hope that this latest excursion doesn’t end as a pleasant dream, but marks the beginning of a bold new reality.