Anime NYC weekend for me was filled with music events big and small.

Club Ironmouse

I admire Ironmouse and the community she’s managed to foster, but I had yet to ever see one of her concerts in person. When tickets for her Anime NYC edition of Club Ironmouse went up for order, I decided to buy some tickets without any additional info available. I was confident that in addition to herself, she would feature some spectacular guests, and my prediction was rewarded. In particular, I’m a big fan of Michi Mochievee, and I’m glad I got to see the two perform together. The other main artists were Ünnamed (who is nonbinary and performed as both their male and female selves), a musician called CG5 (who used a chibi version of himself to participate in this VTuber experience), and Banzoin Hakka from Holostars. I’m surprised there were no jokes about Michi and Hakka being each other’s doppelgangers.

One problem with the event, through no fault of Ironmouse or her team, was that the Javits is just not a good space for concerts due to poor acoustics and a concrete floor that’s extremely unforgiving to feet. Another problem was one of my own making: Due to a conflict, I missed the pre-show and a bit of the main portion. I ended up having to deal with an unusually torrential Manhattan evening, and my feet were definitely not dry for any of it. Overall, I liked that things felt both casual and exciting, which is a different vibe than from a lot of the things I’ve experienced.

Club Ironmouse also did something amazing: They sent a discount code to give all live attendees the ability to watch the stream for free. This gave me a chance to catch those other parts and to revisit Michi and Mousey’s performances, as well as the others. I really wish other concerts follow suit, as it does feel like you get punished a bit for going to events like this in person. 

Big Apple Idol Fest

This was originally not on my radar, but my Sunday was fairly open. This event area held around 1,800 people and featured many more acts. They ranged from cosplayers doing dances and pantomimes, to more traditional idols who did both covers and original songs, to VTubers who will also perform live. I generally enjoyed the song-and-dance performances more than the dances, but I did appreciate that the latter included choreography from Oshi no Ko and Aikatsu! I also thought it was nice that a lot of the performers were from New York and surrounding areas.

In my previous review of the Otakon Idolspace, I had mentioned that the kaigai (overseas) idol scene seems to want to extract the positive aspects of idol culture without also bringing in the more abusive and problematic parts. Big Apple Idol Fest clearly showed an embrace of different body types instead of having restrictive standards for height and weight and other aspects. It’s like the idols want it to be just as much for themselves as it is for their fans.

Yumemi and Phoebe Chan were two performers I had seen at multiple events this year like OshiUplink, Otakon 2026, and Skyline Serenade. Both had mentioned doing this for about 10 years, and I felt in their performances a level of refinement that reflected their levels of experience. I also lucked into being the perfect spot to buy a cheki from Phoebe and meet her in person. We talked about Macross!

I also later learned that multiple VTubers (some of whom I follow) were in the audience, enjoying a culture that interacts with and overlaps with theirs so thoroughly. It’s kind of funny to just think about the fact that they were secretly present, enjoying the advantage of relative anonymity.

Eclipsed Fates

I think it’s safe to say that there are more VTubers now than anyone can reasonably ever watch, which means that sometimes you find people you like and enjoy, but then they fall to the wayside. This happened to me with the girls of Variance Project, particularly Leia Memoria. When I saw that they were having their first ever concert for their first anniversary, and that it was during Anime NYC weekend, I decided to go.

Unlike the other events mentioned above (but like Skyline Serenade and Seigetsu Stars), Eclipsed Fates was not officially associated with Anime NYC. Rather than being held at the Javits, it was at a small bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn called Atolye NYC. Most of it was standing room, but there was some seating which I took advantage of. I was behind the camera the whole time, so you will not see me in the VOD.

Two things I noticed about Variance Project have been 1) True to its name, the girls are very different from one another, like you’re going from chocolate cake to straight vodka, and 2) they seem to enjoy reveling in their lore more than other groups. Eclipsed Fates was less of a straight concert and more of a concert-musical with a narrative underpinning everything. The sound could be hard to hear at times so I didn’t catch every detail, but the story was basically that the three girls of Equilibrium—Leia, Avaritia Hawthorne, and Katya Sable—were brought to a barren world where they were made to face off by an evil deity, with the winner getting to make a wish. Each of them was also accompanied by an ally (i.e. guests for the concert): Phoebe Chan (again!) in VTuber form, Vampirate Odessa, and Pengy. Eventually, they managed to work together to reject and defeat the god through the power of song, and they realized they make a pretty good team (though some were more reluctant to admit it than others). Overall, it was a neat idea that I wish I could have heard better at the venue. 

After the credits, there was a teaser trailer for their next generation. In the days since, Embyr Sparks and Cecilia Lent have debuted, and they indeed lean into their lore pretty hard. I particularly enjoy Embyr’s easy-going and familiar-feeling attitude (and does a good cover of “Skyfall”), but I also appreciate Cecilia’s character acting (and the fact that she’s selling sticks of wood for debut merch).