hololive is arguably the premier VTuber company, and hololive fes is the big annual concert for its female talents. I’ve been watching avidly for a few years now, and it’s become a tradition I increasingly look forward to every time. However, 2025 saw quite a few major challenges for hololive, notably the departure of multiple talents. So while I was just as enthusiastic as ever about watching this year’s 7th fes, I wondered how differently I might end up feeling with so many familiar names gone.

Despite the potential setbacks, I came out of it with generally positive vibes. I always appreciate that we get performances of all stripes, with each talent bringing a story of their own that was created through their experiences as VTubers and the fanbases they’ve cultivated.

Venue and Other Details

This was the first year that the event took place over three days—a change that affected its associated convention, hololive Super Expo 2026, as well. Rather than having two concerts per day over two days, they had one on Friday, two on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Moreover, whereas one of those concerts used to be an “extra” stage that utilized talents from the other three, this time around saw all four concerts featuring unique performers. Watching the stream live meant messing with my sleep schedule, in some ways better compared to previous years and in other ways worse, due to time zone shenanigans and a pesky thing called a “work week.”

Once again, the venue setup used multiple stages as a way to have more people able to get better views of at least a few performances. The mysterious pod from 6th fes did not return, and was replaced by a new moving cart/trolly contraption with screens on the sides, which acted as “windows” to see the VTubers and vice versa. It moved through a diagonally placed lane that cut through the audience section, with the seeming aim of also providing more up-close viewing and interactions with the talents. While it was definitely less confusing and bizarre than the pod, it didn’t have quite the novelty factor, for better or worse.

The Debuts

While it stung to lose some beloved members of hololive in 2025 and to have both Inugami Korone and Haachama not participating, the overall number of performers stayed close to the same as last year thanks to the two most recent generations making their fes debuts: Justice on the English side and Flow Glow on the Japanese side. While the graduated talents were truly special and can never be replaced, the performances by the newest blood kept them well out of their predecessors’ enormous shadows.

Justice showcased each of their unique approaches—Liz’s versatile vocal range, Cecilia’s emphasis on elegance and accuracy along with a violin solo, Gigi’s boundless energy and a singing style that hangs on a razor’s edge, Raora’s bubbly pop. And when Flow Glow hit the stage, they put on a display of why they’re the most stage-focused group ever in hololive thanks to their well-honed skills and experience in singing, dancing, and overall entertainment.

Leveling Up

For the returning fes veterans, their hard work came through more than ever in their performances, with some having come particularly far from where they started.

With her characteristic awkward grace, Shiori Novella sang her recently-released first original song, “Monsters and Men” and came across as more comfortable than any previous performance—possibly because the song was made for her. Biboo (Koseki Bijou) discovered in the past year a method for singing lower, which she utilized for her original song “Rock In” while showing increasing comfort with dancing. Ichijou Ririka took on the challenge of covering “Darling Dance” and its fairly complicated choreography despite having two left feet when she first debuted. Ouro Kronii probably wins the award for greatest overall vocal improvement, showing a different and more vibrant quality as she performed a surprise new original of her own titled “Storm.” And Airani Iofi pulled off an impressive cover of “Unison of Smiles,” the main heroine’s signature song from You and Idol Precure!, emphasizing just how far she’s come in all aspects.

Not everyone comes to hololive as a strong singer or dancer (skill in either doesn’t seem to be a strict requirement), so seeing evidence of the talents’ hard work and progress in these areas gives me joy.

Conquering Great Hurdles

Even those with more experience and ability pushed their limits. Baelz Hakos, already a top dancer, gave a stunning performance of the first Oshi no Ko opening, “Idol.” One stand-out moment was when Bae seamlessly transitioned into a squat as she went into the rap portion of the song, but more significantly, she also threw in a cartwheel and some basic breakdancing moves at the end. These are more acrobatic moves that she has been afraid to do because of the potential head trauma, and for her to confront her fear directly was a real thing of beauty. 

Perhaps the biggest story of all was the astounding recovery made by Kazama Iroha from holoX. In 2024, she was afflicted with a psychological condition that left her unable to speak, and her voice only barely managed to come back by the time 6th fes rolled around. But whereas some of her speech was still noticeably halting and unsteady in 2025, a year of speech therapy and streaming resulted in an Iroha at 7th fes who almost made me forget the tribulations she’s experienced. We saw her sing and dance with confidence, and even have heartfelt and off-the-cuff exchanges with her frequent collab partner (and idol) AZKi. 

Preludes to Upcoming Concerts

Speaking of holoX, they have their big live-attendance concert, First Mission, coming up. They’re not alone either, as Ninomae Ina’nis and Takanashi Kiara from Myth are only days away from their own concert in Los Angeles, Drawn to Dawn. While I can’t be sure how the rehearsal timelines lined up, I really felt that their practice for these major events are evident at 7th fes, especially in the case of Kiara and holoX’s leader, La+ Darknesss.

Kiara’s dancing and singing showed a new level of refinement, while La+ once again focused mainly on singing for her solo performance…and then threw everyone for a loop by humorously and abruptly tossed her prop guitar on the ground at the beginning of her song. When Kiara and La+ then performed together their original, “Glow in the Dark,” they reminded me that 1) Kiara is one of the most versatile talents around, and 2) even as the overall level of dance in hololive keeps going up, there’s really something special about the way La+ moves. At the same time, it felt like both of them were holding back a bit, as if they’re saving the big guns for the upcoming concerts.

IRyS has also just announced her first solo live concert for October 2026. I had thought her incredibly solid performance of her Eurobeat original “Carbonated Love” might have been out of a desire to feature at fes a song she personally adores, but now I also suspect it’s because the majority of her energy is going into this major project.

Other Stand-Outs

There were still other performances that caught my attention.

I feel that the entirety of hololive Indonesia really showed up this year. Moona Hoshinova especially brought some of my favorite performances of the entire event, with “100%,” her song featuring Nerissa Ravencroft, being one of the absolute highlights for me. 

On the Japanese side, Nekomata Okayu’s deep and sultry singing is always a surprise, but it really hit hard this time around. Natsuiro Matsuri can go under the radar, but she appears to have made some incredible strides this year on top of her already underrated skills.

I also got a kick out of Todoroki Hajime’s new solo choreography for “Countach,” and Otonose Kanade’s voice rang out loud and beautifully on  “Greatest.” And while Juufuutei Raden isn’t quite the musical performer of her fellow ReGLOSS members, the fact that she turned a Japanese art history lesson into a song and then had thousands singing along (and thus learning in the process!) really showed me how VTubers can reach people in unique ways.

Final Thoughts

As I finished watching 7th fes, I began to think about the structure of the event itself and what it can accomplish. fes is a gathering of both the hololive talents and their fans, and because these fanbases don’t overlap perfectly, the concerts can also be someone’s introduction to other VTubers. In that context, I end up wondering what kind of first big impression these unfamiliar audience members get. The way this format encourages fans to branch out past their immediate faves by providing this comfortable atmosphere really appeals to me, especially with the live audience there to react. That’s why, despite the fact that fes prices out a lot of fans (and something like the New Year’s Countdown is arguably a better introduction because it costs nothing to watch), I think it can go a long way in igniting someone’s career and helping someone discover a new favorite.

So while I certainly missed the presence of the talents who left or couldn’t be there, it was also an opportunity in many ways. I just hope that hololive can foster an environment that gives these artists the chance to develop their craft in the ways they want, and in ways that keep them healthy in both mind and body.