After seven years, Anisong World Matsuri returned to this year’s Anime Expo 2025. Titled “J-Pop Sound Capsule Anisong World Matsuri,” the concert took place on July 3rd at the Peacock Theater. The six artists who performed at the concert were: GRANRODEO, FLOW, TOGENASHI TOGEARI, Sakurazaka46, and Hiroshi Kitadani with Asterism as the opening act. Anisong World Matsuri was filled with cheers, penlight waving, and singing, making this year’s concert an unforgettable experience for those who attended.
Opening Act: Asterism
Thirty minutes before the start of Anisong World Matsuri, Asterism came onto the stage as the opening act for the concert. Asterism, a heavy metal band from Japan, performed a few songs, including a cover arrangement of one of the songs from Tokyo Ghoul. The audience stood and cheered, waving their penlights as the band showcased their instrumental talent and global popularity.
1st Artist: GRANRODEO
The main show began with a short video featuring a gacha machine that turned to reveal the first artist to perform: GRANRODEO.
The duo band, made up of popular voice actor KISHOW (Kisho Taniyama) and composer/guitarist e-ZUKA, started the show with a bang. They performed eight songs from different anime series:
- • “THE HERO!! ~Ikareru Kobushi ni Hi wo Tsukero~” (One Punch Man cover, with Hiroshi Kitadani)
- • “The Other Self” (Kuroko’s Basketball)
- • “Treasure Pleasure” (Baki Hanma)
- • “TRASH CANDY” (Bungo Stray Dogs)
- • “Henai no Rondo” (Karneval)
- • “BEASTFUL” (Baki)
- • “modern strange cowboy” (NEEDLESS)
- • “Can Do” (Kuroko’s Basketball)
GRANRODEO started the concert by singing a cover of One Punch Man’s first opening theme song by JAM PROJECT, “THE HERO!! ~Ikareru Kobushi ni Hi wo Tsukero~,” with Hiroshi Kitadani. As soon as GRANRODEO appeared on stage and started singing with Kitadani, the audience immediately cheered and waved their penlights with the color red.
After singing with Kitadani, the rest of the time was all for GRANRODEO, where they performed the opening theme songs from different anime series, and a part of their 20th anniversary album, which was released in May of this year. They performed the third opening of Kuroko’s Basketball, “The Other Self,” and showed the opening scene during the first half of the song. Many of the songs that GRANRODEO performed were so energetic that the audience couldn’t help but chant, sing along, and jump with GRANRODEO to the music. Even a microphone issue in the middle of a song did not lessen the energy from GRANRODEO. They kept up that very same energy to the last song they sang, “Can Do,” the first opening theme song of Kuroko’s Basketball, and that was the main highlight for GRANRODEO’s part of the concert.
As soon as GRANRODEO sang “Can Do” alongside a video of the opening scene, the audience recognized the song and began to cheer and chant in time with the music. With one last chant from the song, GRANRODEO ended their section on a very high note, setting the bar for the rest of J-POP Sound Capsule Anisong Matsuri.
2nd Artist: Sakurazaka46
The second artist to perform was the Japanese idol girl group Sakurazaka46. The group showed the audience a great and well-choreographed performance. While I am not quite familiar with their songs, I am somewhat familiar with the group and enjoyed their performance. The group performed four songs, two of which were connected to an anime and a manga series:
- • “Start over!” (JUMP collaboration song of Hunter x Hunter and Sakurazaka46)
- • “Pikkan!” (Pokémon Horizon)
- • “Jigoujitoku”
- • “Shounin Yokkyuu”
Before the performance, a short video introducing the group was shown. The video featured clips from music videos by Sakurazaka46. Then the group started the performance by singing “Start over!,” a Sakurazaka46 song featured in a special collaboration music video with Hunter x Hunter.
After briefly introducing themselves, the group then sang “Pikkan!,” one of the ending theme songs of Pokémon Horizons, sung by Rina Matsuda and Hikaru Morita. While I was a bit disappointed that Pokémon characters didn’t appear during the song, the fact that they sang a song from the Pokémon franchise and showed clips from the series was a special treat for Pokémon fans.
After “Pikkan!,” the rest of the group members appeared and showed off their skills by singing the last two songs from their most recent two singles that they released last year. It was quite impressive to see how well it was choreographed with fourteen members.
3rd Artist: TOGENASHI TOGEARI
As the concert continued into its second half, TOGENASHI TOGEARI came out as the next artist to perform. TOGENASHI TOGEARI was definitely one of the most anticipated artists as the audience went berserk once the band came out. The band played eight songs, all from the series GIRLS BAND CRY:
- • “Zattou, Bokura no Machi”
- • “Koenaki Sakana”
- • “Kara no Hako”
- • “Kuhaku to Catharsis”
- • “Daremo”
- • “Namonaki Nanimokamo”
- • “Shikaino Sumi Kuchiru Oto”
- • “Hazete Saku”
Throughout their performance, clips and music videos of the anime series were shown on the big screen as the band played each of their songs. Although I am only familiar with the series, I could understand why many people in the audience were excited for their performances. All of their songs were songs a J-rock fan, such as myself, would enjoy.
4th Artist: Hiroshi Kitadani
One of the highlights of the J-Pop Capsule Concert was Hiroshi Kitadani, known for singing songs featured in One Piece. Unlike the other artists, Kitadani only sang a few songs from his setlist, all of which were from One Piece. His set list included:
- • “We Go!”
- • “UUUS!”
- • “We Are!”
As soon as Kitadani ran in during “We Go!,” everyone instantly recognized the song and chanted in time with it. After announcing One Punch Man season 3, he sang “UUS!,” the opening for the Egghead arc in One Piece. After making the fans chant “USA,” he sang “We Are!” the memorable first opening song of One Piece. The excitement was high as everyone sang alongside Kitadani. He ended his performance strongly, making the audience anticipate the next artist.
Final Artist: FLOW
The last artist for J-Pop Sound Capsule was, in my opinion, the biggest highlight of the night, especially for fans who grew up with their music. Unlike the previous artist, FLOW had more songs on their setlist:
- • “Re:member” (NARUTO)
- • “CHA-LA HEAD CHA-LA”(Dragon Ball Z)
- • “COLORS” (Code Geass)
- • “Alright!!!” (From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman)
- • “Haruka Kanata” (NARUTO)
- • “GOLD” (BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS)
- • “Sign” (NARUTO Shippuden)
- • “Howling” (FLOW x GRANRODEO; The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments)
- • “7 -seven-” (FLOW x GRANRODEO; The Seven Deadly Sins)
- • “GO!!!” (NARUTO)
Before FLOW appeared, the screen showed their logo in big letters while playing a song that let everyone know they were coming. FLOW then immediately started their setlist by singing a NARUTO theme song that almost everyone in the audience recognized: “Re:member,” the first opening theme song of NARUTO.
In fact, throughout their performance, everyone in the audience, including me, was very enthusiastic. Not once did we sit down or stop cheering, singing, or clapping. Who wouldn’t be? It was difficult to stay seated, especially with all the iconic, energetic songs they performed. The tension was extremely high as FLOW moved and jumped around in excitement, and it was difficult not to join in, even if someone told the fans not to.
After “Re:member,” the band immediately sang their cover of the Dragon Ball Z opening, “CHA-LA HEAD CHA-LA,” and “COLORS,” the opening theme of Code Geass. The only time they slowed down somewhat was during “Alright!!!,” the ending theme song of From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman. It didn’t last long, though, because soon after that, they made a big announcement about the “NARUTO THE ROCK” World Tour,” which brought everyone’s excitement back up again. Following that announcement, they then sang two more songs from NARUTO, “Haruka Kanata” and “Sign,” where the audience sang along while banging their heads, and jumped with them, especially during “Sign” as scenes from NARUTO and BORUTO were shown on the screen.
FLOW then sang the following two songs with GRANRODEO, the songs that they collaborated on for The Seven Deadly Sins anime. The tension was through the roof when they performed the two songs. FLOW then ended the concert by singing the NARUTO opening theme song, “GO!!!” alongside GRANRODEO. The audience jumped, screamed, and sang throughout the song, and at one point, they made a wave. All the artists came out to sing the chorus together before doing one big jump to officially end the concert.
Seven years after the last Anisong Matsuri Concert, J-Pop Sound Capsule was a great start in bringing Anisong Matsuri back to the fans at Anime Expo. Not once did the excitement die down since the start of the concert. With such a great line-up of artists and music, this year’s Anisong Matsuri was an experience that fans will never forget, with hopes that it will be back for next year’s Anime Expo.
