IKKiCON 17 Event Report

Kawa Entertainment filled IKKiCON, the premier anime convention in the greater Austin area. Several activities have been successfully held in a span of three days. Read on to get the rundown on everything Kawa accomplished at IKKiCON.

VTubers Show Up IRL

Kawa talent Hunikin has been tweeting her preparations for weeks leading up to the con—from her cosplay to her stay in the lone star state—and finally, fans met her in person.

Joining Huni is her friend Nene, who also appeared dressed in her own cosplay. On Friday, the pair donned maid outfits while helping out at the Kawa booth. Following their first IRL autograph session, they toured another VTuber, Mino Mieko, around the venue.

Mie was in the tablet and joined by Huni and Nene who are then dressed as maids. This makes them Mie's personal maids!

At the main stage, Kawa's head of merchandising Inanaku Muu joined the rest of the industry guests in welcoming everyone to the con. Joining her was an assistant who brought in a standee of another Kawa talent, bear girl and Valorant gamer Senniursa.

After some brief words describing VTubers, Muu turns over the floor to her assistant—who happens to be Senni herself. "I was so nervous, you could hear it in my voice [...] but I didn't stutter too bad, I think, so we take those," Senni describes that moment with a bit of uneasiness.

Informative and Entertaining Segments

Part of the activities Kawa hosted at the con are panel discussions on VTubing and content creation, among other happenings at the main events stage. We asked participating talents the moments they remember the most during their panels.

As VTubers for two years and counting, Koziichu and Mie share their experiences with the audience. Kozii is expected to upload the segment to YouTube soon.

Kota Kotonya hosts the Lewdtuber panel with Kumo Kuddelmuddel. The agency's sole male crossdressing VTuber shares this:

"The panel was a blast! It really felt like we were there in the room with everyone. People were eager and comfortable talking about their favorite hentai tags which in this case has got to be a win, right?"

Senni and Huni teamed up to discuss a theme common to both of them: Mental Wellness and its relation to the pros and cons of content creation, possible signs and consequences of burnouts, and strategies to maintain well-being.

The latter part of Day 2 is one for the history books—in around 6 months since the agency's debut June last year, Kawa held its first 3D concert. PiaPi UFO and Xion de Noir performed on the virtual stage, while Huni and Senni prance around the hall—captured on video.

"Today, my dream came true," Pia expressed on Twitter. "Looking out over a cosmos of glowsticks, I'm overwhelmed by all the love and support from everyone at IKKiCON this weekend. Staff, genmates, fans, & friends, I'll treasure this moment always."

Xion, who released her second original song Pandemonium around two weeks ago, pats herself on the back after another great performance. "I can finally sleep easy knowing I fulfilled one of my biggest dreams."

Hours have passed and Pia returns to host a wacky Japanese gameshow. The instruction is to guess the product being sold just by watching Japanese commercials.

Wrapping up the panels is an updated VTuber 101 panel the following day, hosted by Pidge (Kawa CEO) and Muu.

Meet-and-Greet Snapshots

Save for that one glitch during Kota's turn, we let these photos below show how cool the meet-and-greet sessions were.

A total of 17 VTubers graced the Kawa booth to hold their meet-and-greets, including Kumo, Pastarino Ravioli, Otakemaru Bubs, Kerimara, Elara, Keydget, Tiffany Witcher and Punkalopi.

Some meet-and-greet participants made their streams available on demand:

• Merryweather
• Mino Mieko (Part 1 / Part 2)
• Kota Kotonya
• PiaPi UFO (Late-night walk-around)
• Kumo Kuddelmuddel

The Friends and Memories They Made Along The Way

As the three-day event has concluded, everyone looks back at their best days to date:

• Nene said: "[...] I had so much fun meeting and hanging with Huni and everyone else, and being able to explore and experience so many things was incredible! I am beyond grateful for the opportunity."
• Senni had several thoughts in mind which she put into words: "Ikkicon was so unbelievably fun and beyond a dream come true! There were so many firsts for me, from getting to be a guest with the convention, to cosplaying my VTuber character, to doing meet and greets and signing things, to presenting a panel. It was such an honor getting attend as a guest (at my first convention in more than four years) and speaking at the opening ceremony, I still can hardly believe it happened! Getting to meet so many lovely people and practice my funny lil' commissioned signature from Kota was so incredibly fulfilling too! The concert was super hype too! My heart is so full 🥺"
• Kozii can't help but look back at how much the agency grew over time: "I probably don't say it enough, but I'm so proud of Kawa and our growth over the less than a year we've been debuted. I know it's hard to grow as a VTuber right now, and all of us might feel that sometimes; but as a company, I think we've already done some incredible stuff."
• Huni has shared several photos of her experience on Twitter, and she carries her experience as she returns to her basement: "My legs are jelly, but my heart is full."
• Muu even told us that business is indeed booming—"We tripled our record for convention sales."
• Even one of Kawa's managers Monty was astounded with the rapid growth the agency has reached. "I am deeply f*cking exhausted, but then I see my talents achieve their dreams, and that's deadass all the energy I need, man."

Kawa Entertainment gives its warmest thanks to IKKiCON for having them as an industry guest and providing the opportunity to interact with fans in a variety of ways.

Kawa's next stop is at the KawaCon Winter Anime and Gaming Convention at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, TX from February 25-26.

Prepared by Jay Agonoy with the Kawa Krew
Photos: Senniursa, Inanaku Muu and the Kawa Krew (unless otherwise stated)