Well, that escalated quickly.
I was planning to write a post about a completely different topic, but apparently the universe had other ideas.
As I’ve discussed in previous posts, I’m planning my first trip to Japan. Actually, considering I just pulled the trigger on buying my airfare, it’s no longer a plan but a trip on the calendar.
A while back, the Love Live! 15th Anniversary Fest was announced, and it just happened to fall around the same time I was planning to be in Japan.
So naturally, the thought process became: Extend the trip a little in case I somehow get into the concert?
As a Love Live fan, that’s about as much of a no-brainer as can be.
Let’s be clear, the entire trip wasn’t hinging on whether I got a ticket.
The concert would be an incredible addition and one hell of a way to end my first trip to Japan, but it wasn’t the main reason I was going.
If I didn’t get a ticket, would I have been disappointed?
Absolutely.
But my consolation prize would’ve been…a month in Japan. Quick, somebody get the world’s smallest violin for this devastating first-world problem! Japan has been sitting on my “someday, maybe” list for at least 15 years. I think I would’ve somehow found the strength to carry on.
Still, of course I was going to try.
You never know unless you roll the dice. Or, considering we’re talking about Love Live, pull the gacha.
The thing is, I’m used to buying concert tickets in the United States through something like Ticketmaster.
Japanese concerts, particularly major ones, can work a little differently. It’s often not as simple as logging into Ticketmaster, joining the virtual Hunger Games, and clicking “purchase” before somebody else grabs your seat.
Tickets are commonly sold through lotteries where you’re essentially entering for the opportunity to buy one. Domestic lotteries can also involve requirements such as a Japanese phone number, adding another layer of logistics for someone coming from overseas.
There are ways around that, including proxies if you have someone in Japan willing to help, but each option comes with its own complications. For me, the best move was simple: wait and hope they announced a lottery or package specifically for overseas fans.
Eventually, an overseas lottery opened for a tour package that included two hotel nights in Nagoya and a ticket to one of the two performances.
Perfect, as I’d already added Nagoya to the end of my trip and had a hotel reservation I could adjust if necessary. There wasn’t much left to do besides enter.
My expectations were pretty straightforward.
Give me a ticket.
That’s it.
Put me somewhere in the building.
I don’t care if I’m close enough to see individual facial expressions or sitting somewhere in the upper reaches contemplating the curvature of the Earth.
Just let me in.
I submitted my choices and waited.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, and I woke up to the results.
I hadn’t just been selected.
I got my preferred day.
My preferred seat type.
My preferred hotel type.
I stared at the confirmation for a moment because apparently the gacha gods had decided to stop tormenting me for once.
Japan was already an SSR pull.
This? Legendary UR+ pull.
Suddenly, a trip that was already shaping up to be one of the biggest adventures I’ve ever taken had somehow gotten an enormous cherry dropped on top of it.
I’m going to the Love Live! 15th Anniversary Fest.
In Japan.
Even typing that still feels slightly ridiculous.
This isn’t just another Love Live! concert, either. It’s a massive anniversary celebration bringing together representation from across the franchise’s different generations. And I’m going to be there, inside the dome with tens of thousands of other fans.
That’s where this becomes a little more meaningful to me than simply winning a ticket lottery.
I’ve written before about my history with Love Live! and how funny it is that I initially dismissed the franchise before giving it a second chance. Somewhere along the way, it became one of the biggest parts of my anime fandom.
I’ve watched the different generations come and go.
I’ve listened to an absurd amount of the music.
I’ve cosplayed characters from the franchise.
I’ve celebrated its anniversaries and during some genuinely rough stretches of my life, Love Live was one of those things that could reliably give me something positive to look forward to.
Now, sixteen years into the franchise’s existence, I’m going to celebrate that anniversary alongside tens of thousands of other fans in Japan.
Technically, this concert probably should’ve happened last year during the actual 15th Anniversary, but coordinating that many performers with different schedules and commitments is presumably a logistical nightmare.
Whatever scheduling chaos pushed it into 2026, I’m certainly not complaining.
Somehow, the delay caused the 15th Anniversary Fest to land right in the middle of the window when I was already planning to be in Japan.
Yeah, I’m still processing this absurdly excellent Gacha roll and I already know there will be emotional damage.
The good kind.
Probably.
Actually, who am I kidding?
There is absolutely going to be emotional damage.