Anime Expo 2026 is building a pretty stacked guest lineup, especially if you are into Vocaloid music, manga, and anime-style illustration.
The convention has confirmed that livetune and TeddyLoid will appear for the "JAPAN MUSIC VOCALOID Powered by DWANGO" event on July 4. One useful detail for fans planning around cost: you do not need a separate ticket for this one. If you already have Anime Expo credentials, entry is included.
That is a nice bonus because AX is already an expensive trip for anyone flying in from Malaysia or the wider SEA region. Convention badge, flights, hotel, food, merch, and impulse buys at the exhibit hall, all of that adds up fast. So when a music event is bundled into the main pass instead of being split into another paid add-on, it actually matters.
Beyond the music side, Anime Expo also announced Kazuo Maekawa as a guest earlier this week. He brings more than 30 years of manga experience and is the lead instructor at Manga Dojo Tokyo. A lot of fans will know his work from the Miles Edgeworth: Ace Attorney and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney manga. He has also been active in running manga workshops and programs across the U.S. and Europe, so his appearance is not just a meet-and-greet type addition, it also fits AX's creator-focused side.
The event is also bringing in karory, an illustrator and game character designer known for illustrating the light novel series The Case of Me, a Tutor for Noble People in a Dress. For fans who follow character art, light novel visuals, and the broader anime game aesthetic, that is another solid name on the convention roster.
On top of that, Anime Expo will also host Yoshitaka Amano, which is obviously a huge pull on its own, while Yurapico is set to appear as part of the ticketed "Idol Summer Escape" performance, also on July 4. So if you are looking at AX's schedule, July 4 is shaping up to be especially packed depending on whether your taste leans more Vocaloid, idol performances, or artist appearances.
Anime Expo 2026 runs from July 2 to July 5 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The scale here is worth noting too. According to the announcement, last year's Anime Expo recorded more than 410,000 turnstile attendees from over 65 countries, which shows just how massive the event has become. For Malaysian and SEA fans, AX is still one of those benchmark conventions that can influence what gets attention globally, whether that is artists, music acts, fandom trends, or the kind of creator programming other events try to follow after.
Even if most readers here are not flying to LA, there is still a reason to care. A lineup like this reflects how strong the overlap is now between anime fandom, Vocaloid culture, illustration, and convention programming. That matters in SEA too, where fan communities around anisong, cosplay, VTuber-adjacent culture, and creator merch are already big and only getting bigger.
If nothing else, AX 2026 looks like it knows exactly who it is trying to feed this year, and honestly, the mix is pretty on point.
Source: Anime News Network