Over four days of pure energy, emotion, and celebration of Eastern pop culture, Anime Friends 2025 made history by bringing together more than 150,000 people between July 3rd and 6th at Distrito Anhembi in 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 are already missing it, mark your calendars: Anime Friends returns in 2026, 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. Talks with special guests, memorable shows, cosplay contests, themed areas, anime screenings, and much more delighted the audience throughout the event.
Partnership between the City of São Paulo and Anime Friends 2025
The event also featured the presence of the mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, the municipal secretary of Tourism, Rui Alves, and councilman João Jorge. In partnership with the City of São Paulo, the opening of the event repeated one of the most celebrated actions since 2022: the distribution of 45,000 free tickets, allowing thousands of São Paulo residents to immerse themselves in this universe. In addition, approximately seven thousand students from the municipal school system enjoyed the event free of charge. The public also benefited from free transportation offered between the Portuguesa-Tietê Station and Anhembi throughout the event.
“ It was four days of a great celebration, full of respect and inclusion. Anime Friends is an event where there are no judgments. Our audience smiles, cries, and gets emotional, experiencing a unique moment. For us, it was a joy to produce the biggest edition ever held of this great celebration of Eastern pop culture. And next year, we want to make an even bigger edition ,” celebrates Juliano Aniteli, CEO of Maru Division.
This was also the first year of Anime Friends as part of the Omelete & Co. group. The event is now part of the CCXP, CCXP MX, and Gamescom Latam family, within 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 event’s musical vocation – the international highlights were the shows by the bands Nightmare, ASH DA HERO, seven oops (7!!), Stereo Dive Foundation and MindaRyn, all performing for the first time in Brazil. On Saturday (5), the entire AF Festival stage line-up headliners .
Another highlight was Big Ocean, the only K-POP group formed by people with disabilities (all three members have some degree of hearing loss). The trio put on 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 memorable new shows. They thrilled the audience with great performances.
The return of Ultraman Live and Jiraiya are highlights
This year, another major highlight was the return of the show "Ultraman Live 2025". An official super production, licensed by the original series producer, which brought together five Ultras in a brand new, dubbed show. Ultraman, Ultraman Zero, Ultraman Mebius, Ultraman Blazar and the brand new Ultraman Omega, the franchise's newest hero, who made his first appearance outside of Japan.
As always, the panels were a great success. Several voice actors spoke about their work, and manga expert Yukari Fujimoto and director and screenwriter Shinichiro Watanabe also participated in the discussions.
Fans of tokusatsu also celebrated, with another appearance by Japanese actors Takumi Tsutsui, the unforgettable ninja Jiraiya, and Takumi Hashimoto, who played Manabu in the same series. In addition, Tetsuo Kurata, actor of Kamen Rider Black and Kamen Rider Black RX, returned to the event after 10 years.
Finally, the cosplay contest, a trademark of Anime Friends since 2003, was one of the highlights of the event, featuring creative interpretations and costumes identical to the original works. More than 1,000 cosplayers took to the stage.