Bandai Namco Music Live Festival just wrapped another major overseas showing at Anime Friends 2025 in São Paulo, Brazil, and the biggest news for us in this region is simple: the festival is officially coming to Southeast Asia, including Malaysia.
The event ran during Anime Friends 2025 from July 3 to 6, marking the festival's second straight year at the massive Brazilian convention, which reportedly draws around 150,000 attendees annually. For Bandai Namco Music Live, this was more than just another overseas concert slot. It also doubled as a clear signal that anisong events are expanding harder beyond Japan, and SEA is next in line.
On the festival's opening day, four acts led the show: ASH DA HERO, STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION, Nowlu, and MindaRyn.
Nowlu opened the festival with what was described as her first-ever live performance, kicking things off with "Arika" from GUILTY GEAR STRIVE: DUAL RULERS and "yoin" from Wingman. She later performed "Stuck on you" from More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers, giving the crowd a softer moment before the pace picked up again.
After that, DJ Dhalsim of ASH DA HERO took over with an anisong DJ set packed with recognisable picks, including tracks tied to Love Live!, My Deer Friend Nokotan, and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Basically, classic and newer anime fans both had something to latch onto.
MindaRyn then returned to the Anime Friends stage for the second year in a row. She performed "Daylight" from Arifureta Season 2, "Shiny Girl" from SHY, and "Fireworks" from Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion. As part of her Hello New Friends world tour, which began in June 2025, she also included Lantis label covers for the Brazil crowd, namely "Rhapsody of Blue Sky" and "Sparkling Daydream".
She closed her main segment with heavier energy through "HIBANA," "SURVIVE," and the hugely recognisable "Like Flames" from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2, which has passed 22 million YouTube views.
STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION made a Brazilian debut with a 17-song medley backed by anime visuals. Among the highlighted songs were "ALPHA," "Renegade," and "STORYSEEKER," the latter also being a strong fan favourite with more than 10 million YouTube views. The set reportedly ended on "Daisy," with the audience swaying along together.
One of the night's bigger crossover moments came when the show shifted into Ultraman territory. MindaRyn performed "BLACK STAR" from Ultraman Blazer, followed by an appearance from Ultraman Blazer himself. The event then rolled straight into promotion for the new series Ultraman Omega, with ASH performing opening theme "BRIGHT EYES" and MindaRyn plus ASH debuting ending theme "Missing Link" live for the first time.
ASH DA HERO later handled the grand finale, performing songs including "Super Sonic," "YELLOW FEVER DANCE," "Hankou Seimei," "LA VIDA LOCA," plus Blue Lock: Episode Nagi insert songs "Octave" and "Beast Mode." The closing stretch also included "Judgement," the opening for the anime's second cour.
For the final send-off, all performers returned to the stage for the first-ever band performance of "Trinity" from That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: The Saga of How the Demon Lord and Dragon Founded a Nation.
Why Malaysia and SEA fans should care
This is the part that matters most for egg readers: Bandai Namco Music Live Festival is coming to COS-MIC 2025 in Malaysia on September 13.
Here are the confirmed Southeast Asia dates:
- Malaysia: COS-MIC 2025, September 13, 2025
Sunway Pyramid Convention Center, Selangor - Thailand: AniEx 2025, November 22, 2025
MCC HALL, The Mall Life Store, Bangkapi, Bangkok
For Malaysian anime fans, this is a pretty big win. We always talk about Japan acts skipping the region or only touching one or two major cities. So when a Bandai Namco-backed festival format actually locks in Selangor as a stop, that matters. It means local fans may finally get a proper anisong event with recognisable label power, instead of just hoping for one-off guest appearances at conventions.
If the Brazil show is any sign, expect a mix of anime theme songs, label crossovers, and crowd-friendly setlists rather than a super niche concert only hardcore fans can enjoy. For SEA convention organisers too, this is another sign that anime music events here are getting taken more seriously.
Source: Honey's Anime