The second day of Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2022 ended with a bang: The Hololive Meet Event and Concert. This over three-hour-long event saw five of the popular vtubers: Moona Hoshinova, Anya Melfissa, Gawr Gura, Mori Calliope, and Watame Tsunomaki singing, playing games and showing just how energized a live, in-person vtuber event can truly be.

Just by entering alone, you can see the weight of the attraction. The Night Stage was sold out with guests back upright towards the end of the room. Those that bought a VIP ticket got a seat at the front of the hall and all of them were full. Thankfully there were several screens hanging from the ceiling ensuring everyone got a chance to see the Hololive idols and the concert that would soon start.

Moona Hoshinova and Anya Melfissa

The show began with Hololive Indonesia’s Moona Hoshinova and Anya Melfissa. They started by using the stage cameras to project the audience onto the screens, pointing out cool cosplays/posters/held-up merch. It was very cute and cool to see these famous vtubers recognize and appreciate the various cosplay and fan merch people have brought to the con. 

The segment mainly consisted of a trivia game. The host picked a fan from the audience to answer a question, usually about Singapore or the vtubers themselves. For example, “what was the date of Moona’s debut”, or “when in Singapore can we find the best chicken rice”? If the fan loses, they get a punishment. If they win, the vtubers get punished. The “wheel of punishments” consists of embarrassing impressions like having to do a tsundere impression, imouto impressions, and 30 seconds of simping for the fan.

One of the funniest ones was when the vtubers lost and had to spend 30 seconds simping over the winning fan. Moona started flirting with him and asked him to marry her. The poor fellow looked like he was about to pass out from happiness. Overall it was a fun time and I found myself laughing out loud several times from the various exchange of jokes both from the vtubers and fans. It was a great build-up of energy that served as a good start to the night.

Gawr Gura and Mori Calliope

Hololive English vtubers Gawr Guta and Mori Calliope were next up. Neither has been to Singapore but they say they’re excited to be part of the Hololive Meet and concert. They also said they wish to try the chicken rice here one of these days (Singapore must really be well-known for its chicken rice).

Like Moona and Anya, they complimented some of the more notable cosplayers in the audience.

“Wait, is that Shrek!? Not here in public Shrek! Awe, I can always count on you” says Calli.

From here we went into some truly great editions of songs from both vtubers. We got a good mixture of covers of popular Japanese hits and highlights from their own albums like Calli’s ‘Red’ and ‘End of A Life’. Both singers really showed their range, performing in both English and Japanese as well as going from high-octane energetic numbers to slower, more emotional tunes. My favorite had to be Gura’s cover of ‘Stay With Me’ by Miki Matsubara since I love some retro 80s city funk.

They both gave great performances, singing to a sea of applauding fans waving their glow sticks in unison to the assortment of catchy melodies.

“Thank you for being the best crowd ever. Can we come back?” Calli

“Can we keep you guys forever?” Gura

Watame Tsunomaki – Watame Night Fever

This is the first time Hololive Japan’s Watame Tsunomaki has performed a special Watame Night Fever concert outside of Japan and even when following the already fantastic Gura and Calli, Watame was really something else.

We first had a quick Q&A session with her, where the host asked a number of questions like how she found her trip to Singapore.

“Singapore is very hot.”

She then went on to say that her favorite anime are Overlord, and Ranking of Kings, she often choices songs based on what she feels like singing on the spot and she’s very happy to be here.

When the concert properly started, it left a real impression. Unlike most vtubers, Watame’s model didn’t just stand and sing, she danced with some sleek and fluid animations. Her model size and placement made it seem like she was actually dancing on stage like you could reach out and touch her.

Her bubble gum-style pop songs were also complimented by music video-like images and special effects, giving a real larger-than-life feel to the show. The host asked the VIP audience to stand up for the first time tonight, making it feel like a true concert experience with people mashing, alongside strobing stage lights.

When I entered the AFA Singapore Hololive Meet, I wondered what a full-on vtuber concert would really be like. Now, I can safely say that it’s as fun as any other concert if not more so. The premium sound system carries their voices throughout the room and the way these five spoke and interacted with their fans truly shows how connected they are with their following. Hopefully, we’ll see them return (and get some chicken rice) sometime in the near future.