Tangerang Selatan, August 16, 2026 — After an energetic opening day filled with anime, cosplay, VTubers, music, and Japanese pop culture, Anime Festival Asia Indonesia 2026 (AFAID26) returned to ICE BSD City for its final day.
Held on August 15–16, this year’s edition carried a special meaning as AFA Indonesia celebrated its 10th edition. Under the theme “Celebrate the Magic of Japan Pop Culture,” the festival brought together fans, creators, performers, artists, and industry figures for two days of Japanese pop culture celebration.
And on Day 2, the festival once again proved that AFA is not only about the big names on the main stage. Some of the most memorable moments could also be found in the Community Hub, where fans themselves became part of the show.
Another Day of Japanese Pop Culture
The second day once again brought fans into the exhibition halls of ICE BSD, where anime and game showcases, merchandise booths, creator spaces, cosplay activities, community programs, and interactive experiences continued throughout the day.
From collectibles and official merchandise to fan-made creations and gaming activities, the exhibition remained one of the main gathering points for visitors.
But beyond the exhibition halls, the Community Hub offered something different: a place where fans could actively participate rather than simply watch.
Little Harmonic Orchestra Brings Anime Music to Life
One of the highlights at the Community Hub was a performance by Little Harmonic Orchestra.
The orchestra brought the world of anime into a live musical setting, performing familiar themes including music from Ultraman and One Piece.
Hearing these iconic themes performed by a live orchestra created a different kind of experience for fans. Songs that many visitors had grown up hearing through television and anime suddenly came alive through an entirely different arrangement.
The performance also featured a collaboration with the Uma Musume community, bringing together orchestral music and the passionate fan community surrounding the popular franchise.
It was a reminder that anime fandom can take many different forms — from cosplay and gaming to music and community performances.
YOASOBI Karaoke: Warming Up for Singapore
The Community Hub then shifted into a much more interactive atmosphere with a special YOASOBI Karaoke session.
Instead of simply listening to YOASOBI songs, fans were invited to step up and sing them together.
The karaoke session also carried a special message: Indonesian YOASOBI fans gathered together to celebrate their shared love for the duo ahead of their upcoming concert in Singapore.
For fans who have followed YOASOBI through anime openings, hit singles, and countless streaming playlists, the session became an opportunity to sing together and build excitement for the next stop of YOASOBI’s live journey in the region.
The atmosphere showed how music can turn a group of individual fans into one community.
Random Play Dance Takes Over the Community Hub
And when the music started getting more energetic, it was time for Random Play Dance.
The popular community activity brought K-pop fans together to test their choreography knowledge and dance along to randomly selected songs.
The activity quickly turned the Community Hub into a lively dance floor, with participants jumping in whenever they recognized a song.
For an event centered around Japanese pop culture, Random Play Dance also demonstrated the broader Asian pop culture ecosystem surrounding today’s fandoms.
Anime fans, K-pop fans, gamers, cosplayers, and music lovers can all exist within the same space — and AFAID26 provided that space.
DJ Brings the Community Hub to Its Finale
As Day 2 approached its final hours, the DJ performance became the closing act for the Community Hub.
After a full day of orchestra performances, community activities, karaoke, discussions, and dancing, the DJ set provided an energetic final chapter.
The Community Hub ended not with a quiet goodbye, but with music, movement, and fans enjoying the final moments of AFAID26 together.
And perhaps that was the perfect way to close the community side of the festival.
Love Live! Superstar!! Takes the Stage
While the Community Hub kept fans moving, the main stage continued to deliver major guest appearances.
One of the featured programs was the Love Live! Superstar!! Special Stage, bringing members of the franchise’s voice cast closer to Indonesian fans.
Among the featured guests were Aya Emori, the voice of Natsumi Onitsuka, Yuina, the voice of Margarete Wien, and voice actress and artist Yuuka Aisaka.
For Love Live! fans, the stage offered another opportunity to experience the franchise beyond the screen and connect with the people behind its characters.
Yume Palette Represents Indonesia’s Pop Culture Scene
Day 2 also featured Yume Palette, an Indonesian group inspired by the colorful world of J-Pop.
The group consists of Yola, Arisu, Eiri, and Tara, with each member representing a different color and emotional identity.
Their appearance highlighted one of the most interesting aspects of AFAID26: Japanese pop culture doesn’t simply arrive in Indonesia unchanged.
It inspires Indonesian creators, performers, musicians, and communities to create something of their own.
Dave Rodgers and the Sound of EUROBEAT
Another major name featured during the festival was Dave Rodgers, famously known as the “King of EUROBEAT.”
With a career spanning decades, Rodgers has become especially iconic among anime fans through his connection with the Initial D franchise.
His EUROBEAT sound has become deeply connected with drifting cars, mountain roads, and some of anime’s most recognizable racing moments.
For fans who grew up with Initial D, seeing Dave Rodgers at AFAID26 was a nostalgic experience that connected generations of anime and music fans.
Anime Runway by COSSPO!!
Cosplay remained an important part of Day 2 through Anime Runway by COSSPO!!
Japanese cosplayers Rukia, Romu, and Kumose Chio returned to the AFA stage, giving fans another opportunity to see their detailed character portrayals.
The runway highlighted cosplay not simply as costumes, but as a form of performance, character interpretation, and creative expression.
MEISHOHIKOKAI Keeps the Energy High
The musical lineup continued with MEISHOHIKOKAI, a five-member Japanese music group known for their energetic rock sound.
Their performance added another layer of Japanese music culture to the final day, keeping the energy high as AFAID26 moved closer to its biggest closing performance.
The Grand Finale: TOGENASHI TOGEARI
But one of the biggest highlights of Day 2 was undoubtedly TOGENASHI TOGEARI.
The real-life band connected to the anime Girls Band Cry came to Jakarta for “Rinne no Kotowari” in Jakarta, bringing the music of the series directly to Indonesian fans.
What makes TOGENASHI TOGEARI unique is the close relationship between the band and the anime. The members are also the main voice cast of Girls Band Cry, creating a direct connection between the fictional band and its real-life performers.
For the Jakarta performance, Rina, Yuri, and Shuri took the stage, while Mirei and Natsu were on hiatus and did not participate in the performance.
The result was an emotional and energetic finale that perfectly connected anime storytelling with live music.
Two Days, Countless Communities
As the final performances ended and AFAID26 came to a close, the two-day festival left behind more than just memories of major performances.
The festival showed the many different ways people experience Japanese pop culture.
Some came for anime.
Some came for music.
Some came for cosplay.
Some came for VTubers and games.
Some came to meet communities.
And some simply wanted to experience the atmosphere of being surrounded by thousands of people who love the same things they do.
The Community Hub especially represented this spirit.
From Little Harmonic Orchestra performing Ultraman and One Piece themes, their collaboration with the Uma Musume community, YOASOBI Karaoke, Random Play Dance, and the closing DJ session, the area demonstrated that fans themselves can become an essential part of the festival experience.
A Decade of AFA Indonesia
AFAID26 was ultimately more than another anime convention.
It was a celebration of 10 years of AFA Indonesia.
Across two days, ICE BSD City became a meeting point for Japanese artists, Indonesian creators, international guests, cosplay communities, gaming fans, musicians, and thousands of visitors.
From the massive stages to the smallest community activities, every part of the festival contributed to the same celebration.
And perhaps the most fitting conclusion came from the Community Hub itself: people singing together, dancing together, playing music together, and simply enjoying the final moments of the festival together.
After ten years, AFA Indonesia has grown into something bigger than a convention.
It has become a community.
AFAID26 may have ended on August 16, but the connections, performances, and memories created over these two days will continue long after the lights at ICE BSD have gone out.
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