COVER Corporation’s hololive production held its largest event of the year, hololive SUPER EXPO 2025 Supported By BANDAI/hololive 6th fes. Color Rise Harmony on March 8th and 9th 2025 at Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Halls.
For Part 3 of this COVERedge series, we spoke to a variety of fans, from elementary school children to those in their 40s, those who went with their families and those who visited from overseas, to discover the reach and charm of hololive production.
(Please also check out interviews with staff and booth representatives about the booths that featured at EXPO 2025 in Parts 1 and 2 here on COVERedge.)
Kids Influencing Parents: Enjoying hololive as a Family
A mother of a son in the 2nd grade of junior high school visiting from Hokkaido prints stickers at the Magical Girl holoWitches! booth as she enjoys EXPO with her son and husband as a family. “I’m here with my son because he’s a fan. We try to watch streams together as a family when we have the time,” she told us. Her son also went on to say, “My oshis are Usada Pekora and Murasaki Shion. I became a fan of hololive because of a smartphone game collab they did.”
They explained that they have experienced going to a movie theater in Hokkaido in the past for a live viewing, but this time they planned to go to the live concert the following day, which was going to be their first time watching a hololive performance live, so they were really looking forward to it. The son has a lot of merchandise in his room, and told us that hololive for him is one of the “joys in life.”
We also spoke to an uncle-niece duo from Saitama who were enjoying some of the EXPO-exclusive food who told us that they “became fans of hololive from watching YouTube Shorts.” The man continued, “I realised that my niece was also a fan when she bought hololive wafers,” and that EXPO 2025 was the first event they had attended.
He went on to say that, “hololive is so comforting for me,” and his niece also expressed her love for hololive music and the trading card game (TCG): “My favorite song is Captain Houshou Marine’s “Bishoujyo Muzai♡Pirates. I have also played in a hOCG tournament before.” She continued telling us her dreams: “I want to be a VTuber in the future. I’m designing characters with my school friend,” and when asked about why hololive is so appealing, she responded from the genuine perspective of a schoolchild, “Everyone is so fun and are like friends to me.”
We Learned How to Sew! Hobbies and Community Through hololive
When asked about their thoughts on EXPO, three friends in their 20s from Chiba and Tokyo who had come in hololive Indonesia 1st Generation cosplay said, “We had been looking forward to our oshis’ food! Moona-chan’s (Moona Hoshinova) Nasi Goreng came with a postcard and it tasted really good!”
The girls, who arrived at the event at 6:30 AM on the first train of the day, had started making their costumes a month prior. “We bought all the material separately to suit our costumes.” they told us. “When COVID-19 hit, we couldn’t go outside so we started watching streams, which was something we were still able to enjoy without leaving the house,” they replied when asked about how they got into hololive. They were also addicted to hololive Indonesia content as a part of that.
They also talked about overcoming language barriers and communicating across borders: “We couldn’t understand Indonesian at all in the beginning, but gradually started picking it up. Even now, we are looking up things in Indonesian, and interacting with Indonesian fans as well.”
“hololive is one of our joys in life; we live for it. We usually wake up watching hololive and fall asleep to it too. It’s always there by our side regardless of whether we’re sad or happy.”
They even gained new hobbies: “We’ve even learned how to sew thanks to cosplaying.”
Two self-professed otaku friends in their 20s came from Osaka and Tokyo to attend both days of EXPO. They told us that they planned to cosplay on the second day as Houshou Marine in costumes that they made by hand together. “We were originally VTuber fans, and then got into hololive through watching 3rd Generation video shorts. We’ll definitely be going to our oshi’s live concerts now!” said the hololive fans of four years.
“The Magical Girl holoWitches! booth was really good. We were really moved by the costumes there,” they responded about EXPO 2025.
Their passion for hololive was evident as they spoke: “We watch our oshis every day: streams on our commutes and when we’re getting ready. We put on archived content, and it always feels like they’re with us. hololive is our lifeline—we couldn’t survive without it.”
Another fan of 3-4 years in their 40s hailing from Tokyo was with plushies of his oshi Tsunomaki Watame he had brought, enjoying an EXPO-exclusive drink. He told us that he had arrived at 7 in the morning and “was glad to see the mascot parade, something that [he doesn’t] normally get to see.”
He spoke about the appeal of hololive: “It is what comforts me on a daily basis.”
“When I recommend hololive to people, I tell them that there are so many different kinds of VTubers, so they can definitely find one that suits them.”
He was at EXPO with two of his friends who gained another common interest thanks to hololive: “They are longtime friends of mine who became fans of hololive because of my recommendations.”
hololive Transcending Borders: From Online Encounters to Real-Life Friendships
A fan of 5 years in his 30s who had traveled to Japan all the way from the Netherlands spoke about his love of cosplaying: “I really wanted to cosplay today, but I couldn’t get a ticket.”
“I have been cosplaying for over half of my life,” he asserted, stating that he had started cosplaying when he was 17. “I was really looking forward to the hololive English booth (ENigmatic Recollection). I’m so glad I was able to see the booth where all the members are together for the first time.”
A HOLOSTARS fan in her 20s who had traveled from Kanagawa talked to us about her oshis Rikka, Hanasaki Miyabi and Minase Rio and how she came across hololive production: “I started getting into them through watching their live content on TikTok about 2-3 years ago.”
“I was originally a fan of other streamers, but HOLOSTARS was the reason I became interested in VTubers,” she said, also mentioning that she has a channel membership on YouTube.
Four Oozora Subaru fans who met on social media (one of whom was in Japan from South Korea) told us that “[they] occasionally meet offline!”
The one from South Korea also went on to say, “I first came across hololive at the start of 2022. Even in South Korea, there are events and collab cafes, and there’s even a live viewing for today’s event (EXPO).”
They also told us from each of their perspectives what hololive means to the four of them: “It’s a place that gives us energy.”
“I get energized from Subaru-chan’s (Oozora Subaru) streams.”
“It’s like the sun.”
“It’s entertainment that makes you feel positive.”
“I feel really close with them because we see not only how they are on regular streams, but who they are in daily life too.”
“There’s so much content in the archive that you can never get sick of it.”
EXPO: The Culmination of Diverse Connections Made Through hololive
We heard from people from all walks of life through these interviews over the two days at hololive SUPER EXPO 2025 Supported By BANDAI/hololive 6th fes. Color Rise Harmony at Makuhari Messe, showcasing how hololive can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of age, gender or nationality, and connects people through fan interaction. Whether you are a school student, adult, family, friends with a common interest or by yourself, hololive is a place for everyone to enjoy in their own way.
We also heard how much hololive production means to people, with answers like “It’s part of my daily life,” “I live for hololive,” and “hololive comforts me,” giving us a little insight into how hololive is more than just a mere hobby for some.
Stay tuned here on COVERedge for more on the constant evolution of hololive production, bringing fans together regardless of talent and fan relationships.
(Please also check out interviews with staff and booth representatives about the booths that featured at EXPO 2025 in Parts 1 and 2.)
