In four days of pure energy, excitement, and celebration of Asian pop culture, Anime Friends 2025 made history by bringing together over 150,000 people between July 3rd and 6th in the Anhembi District of São Paulo. It was the largest edition of the event ever held, solidifying Anime Friends as the largest Asian pop culture festival in Latin America. And for those who already miss it, take note: in 2026, Anime Friends returns from July 2nd to 5th.
With over 50 national and international attractions, the festival transformed the 54,000-square-meter space into a vibrant universe full of experiences. Chats with special guests, memorable shows, cosplay contests, themed areas, anime screenings, and much more enchanted the audience throughout the event.
Partnership between São Paulo City Hall and Anime Friends 2025
The event was also attended by São Paulo Mayor Ricardo Nunes, Municipal Secretary of Tourism Rui Alves, and Councilman João Jorge. In partnership with the São Paulo City Hall, the opening ceremony repeated one of the most celebrated initiatives since 2022: the distribution of 45,000 free tickets, allowing thousands of São Paulo residents to immerse themselves in this world. Additionally, approximately seven thousand students from the municipal school system enjoyed the event free of charge. The public also enjoyed free transportation between Portuguesa-Tietê Station and Anhembi throughout the event.
" It was four days of a great celebration, full of respect and inclusion. Anime Friends is a non-judgmental event. Our audience smiles, cries, and gets emotional, experiencing a unique moment. It was a joy for us to produce the largest edition ever held of this great celebration of Eastern pop culture. And next year, we want to make it even bigger ," celebrates Juliano Aniteli, CEO of Maru Division.
This was also the first year for Anime Friends as part of the Omelete & Co. group. The event is now part of the CCXP, CCXP MX and Gamescom Latam family, in its Live Experience business unit.
A festival within a festival: the AF Festival stage reinforces the event's musical vocation
On the AF Festival stage – which celebrated the musical vocation of the event – the international highlights were the shows by the bands Nightmare, ASH DA HERO, seven oops (7!!), Stereo Dive Foundation and MindaRyn, all for the first time in Brazil. On Saturday (5), the entire line-up of the AF Festival stage had women as headliners .
Another highlight was Big Ocean, the only K-POP group made up of people with disabilities (all three members have some degree of deafness). The trio performed a packed show, reinforcing the inclusive nature of the event and proving that music is universal, using Korean Sign Language (KSL) in their performance. Fans were thrilled with the band's first show in Brazil.
The Japanese quartet Scandal, the bands Flow, AKINO with bless4, and the duo Do As Infinity also returned to Anime Friends for new memorable shows. They thrilled the audience with their powerful performances.
Ultraman Live's return and Jiraiya are highlights
Another major highlight of this year was the return of the "Ultraman Live 2025" show. An official blockbuster, licensed by the series' original producer, it brought together five Ultras in a brand-new, dubbed performance: Ultraman, Ultraman Zero, Ultraman Mebius, Ultraman Blazar, and the all-new Ultraman Omega, the franchise's newest hero, making his first appearance outside of Japan.
As always, the panels were a huge success. Several voice actors discussed their work, and manga expert Yukari Fujimoto and director and screenwriter Shinichiro Watanabe also participated in the discussions.
Tokusatsu fans also celebrated, with another appearance by Japanese actors Takumi Tsutsui, who played the unforgettable ninja Jiraiya, and Takumi Hashimoto, who played Manabu in the same series. In addition, Tetsuo Kurata, who played Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Black RX, returned to the event after 10 years.
Finally, the cosplay contest, a hallmark of Anime Friends since 2003, was one of the event's highlights, featuring creative interpretations and costumes identical to the original works. More than 1,000 cosplayers took the stage.
