It would be no understatement to say that the virtual YouTuber industry is currently facing a turning point. While viewership boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the relaxation of social restrictions that caused many to turn to virtual talents for companionship posed the question of whether or not that trend would go into reverse. hololive SUPER EXPO 2025 is one example of how the industry is adapting to changing times.

Ever since 2022, Japan’s most popular virtual YouTuber agency has taken over the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba every year for a massive in-person celebration of its talents, music, and fandom. The scale of the event has also continually grown in size to accommodate massive demand: what began five years ago in four halls as a two day exhibition with two concerts now takes up nine different halls to deliver a massive convention floor with four concerts in between. Experiencing everything in a single day would be difficult, hence why the festivities take place on both Saturday and Sunday.

Festive is an appropriate word to describe hololive SUPER EXPO 2025. Even on the protracted transfer to the Keiyo Line at Tokyo Station, groups of fans lugging itabags filled with badges of their favorite talents naturally gravitated towards each other among the rest of the regular morning crowd headed to Tokyo Disneyland. Once alighting at Kaihin Makuhari, the atmosphere exploded: a cacophony of excited voices that only built in volume as the event hall came closer.

In terms of how this year’s event stands out from previous iterations, there are two major differences. First of all is the theme: while last year invited attendees to enjoy a relaxed summer vacation on a tropical island, this year is all about thrill and excitement with an “arcade” amusement theme. More importantly, however, several new attractions have given this year’s event more of a focus on the rich ecosystem of creators that hololive has cultivated through its talents.

After being created in November 2023 to help creators distribute and monetize derivative games based on the hololive IP, holo Indie finally made its debut at hololive SUPER EXPO 2025 in a big way. Taking pride of place right next to the venue entrance and behind the official goods showcase, the brand’s booth offered playable versions of almost everything published under the label, as well as exclusive sneak peeks at some upcoming titles. These included Chrono Gear, a Castlevania-like featuring Ouro Kronii, as well as Holoreversi, a version of the traditional game with hololive members as playable characters.

In addition to game creators, illustrators and composers also found themselves sharing the spotlight with hololive’s virtual talents in a big way. Just across from the member message board this year was another wall displaying hand-drawn illustrations from such well-known artists as Kouhaku Kuroboshi and Shirabi, who had apparently been allowed to check out the event in advance. Sunday, meanwhile, saw thousands of fans pour into the Exhibition Hall to watch a special “Creators Stage” featuring a line-up of songs composed by such big names as Camellia and Giga.

Considering that Cover found itself in hot water just last year after violating the Subcontract Act for unpaid revisions to videos, this is a welcome PR coup. It often goes without saying that a talent agency would be nothing without its talents, but the virtual nature of hololive’s business means that a huge number of creators are needed to bring each character to life. Perhaps by cultivating and elevating this ecosystem through subsequent events, hololive can ensure that its talents live forever in the pop culture landscape long after they’re gone.

Speaking of disappearances, the shadow of Murasaki Shion loomed large over hololive SUPER EXPO 2025. After announcing her graduation just days before in a teary livestream, it was hard not to take all of her appearances on the show floor and in key art with a certain air of finality. This goes doubly so for her live performance on the second stage of day one: the outpouring of support, as well as sadness, was palpable in the air as she sang Forgive Me Medicine.

Even so, fans were generally in high spirits. Placing the press seats right at the front of the stage area for the opening ceremony meant that any unfortunate cameraman who hadn’t quite fully woken up that morning got a bit of a fright when one thousand fans bellowed a hearty “Good morning!” directly behind them, and this energy kept up into the rest of the day. Attendees of all ages, genders, and nationalities were present with the willingness to line up for hours at a time to get into some of the more popular booths: crowd control has improved from previous years, but demand is still high in a limited amount of space.

At this point, it’s worth examining why fans are so passionate about this event. On the one hand, you could say that it’s a natural extension of hololive’s continual popularity: more fans means more attendees, but the act of watching virtual YouTubers on a screen doesn’t necessarily extend to watching them in a physical space. Taking the trip out to Makuhari Messe ultimately means sacrificing both time and money, so what’s far more important is the specific ways Cover have designed hololive SUPER EXPO 2025 to be an unmissable event for fans, both hardcore and otherwise.

First of all, there’s the fact that hololive SUPER EXPO 2025 offers a plethora of exclusive content you can’t find anywhere else. Aside from the obvious booth attractions and special goods, pre-recorded conversations between the talents were being played on loop at various points throughout the venue where life-size cutouts were on display. Wanting to witness this makes perfect sense for those who already have notifications on and make sure to catch every stream by their favorite talents, while even casual viewers can get a kick out of seeing certain combinations play out.

The abundance of exclusive content also plays a large part in selling the sensation that by attending hololive SUPER EXPO, you are somehow sharing the same physical space as the virtual talents. Adorning the aforementioned life-size cutouts, as well as many other places around the show floor, are notes and messages supposedly handwritten by each member: this elevates what would otherwise be just another illustration or feature of the event into an avatar of something more real, something touched by an unknown force. It’s a powerful, almost dangerous feeling that has the potential to destroy the delicate Kayfabe behind the phenomenon of virtual YouTubers.

Of course, hololive SUPER EXPO isn’t just about the convention floor itself. Taking place simultaneously and technically under a different name was Hololive 6th Fes. Color Rise Harmony: a live event that itself consisted of four separate stages across two days. Competition for a chance to attend this was the most fierce, with the limited amount of space in Hall 6 presumably meaning far less tickets were up for grabs than the comparatively spread out Expo part in Halls 1 through 6.

When I first went to hololive SUPER EXPO in 2023, I was unable to secure tickets for any of the live events despite applying for multiple lotteries beforehand. This year, I was fortunate enough to attend as a member of the press, meaning that I was finally able to experience what many fans view as the highlight of the weekend: a massive three hour long celebration of hololive music utilizing the latest in projection technology. Although hardly the first spectacle of its kind, the result is something truly unforgettable that has the power to bring fans together like nothing else.

Outside of hololive, Japanese multimedia franchises have been using the power of concerts to build and cultivate a strong community for many years. Part of the reason is that it provides a fixed place for fans to gather, intermingle, and communicate: I saw many people both at the live event and the convention floor meeting each other for the first time and laughing along with old friends. Add to this the inherent interactive nature of anime music with penlights and calls, and you have a winning combination.

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the many hobbies that saw a huge surge in popularity was trading card games. Such behemoths as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Cardfight!! Vanguard have obviously enjoyed a large following in Japan for many years, but the social nature of duelling face to face was the perfect antidote to several years of isolation that brought in new fans and revitalized old ones alike. A number of games were also launched to capitalize on this new demand, causing some to question whether or not we have reached peak capacity.

In any case, the very same forces that brought card games back to mainstream popularity also threatened to undermine the gains of the virtual YouTuber industry. At the end of the day, following a virtual talent ultimately boils down to watching a livestream on a phone or computer screen, but events like hololive SUPER EXPO have played no small part in allowing the phenomena to continue by providing a place for fans to gather and interact in real life. Far from fading, virtual YouTubers are here to stay.

Despite all of the flashy experiences and corporate sponsors, perhaps the most entertaining part of hololive SUPER EXPO was the Joysound booth at the very end of Hall 1. This is because attendees were able to put their name down to sing hololive-themed karaoke in front of their fellow fans. Some took this very seriously, while others used the opportunity to have a laugh: either way, the atmosphere was warm and friendly, bringing complete strangers together over a shared interest.

If hololive can continue to cultivate a strong community while also supporting the creator ecosystem, then perhaps its legacy is secure. For now, it’s an exciting place to be.

Thank you to VT for providing additional insights, without which this article would not have been possible.