Rio Nagao & Yuou Nishihara (Karen na Ivory) and Momoko Hashimoto & Momona Matsumoto (Takane no Nadeshiko) perform at AFA, one of Southeast Asia's largest anime festivals, as HoneyWorks Vocal All Stars!

Members of the idol groups 'Karen na Ivory' and 'Takane no Nadeshiko', sound-produced by the creator unit HoneyWorks—Rio Nagao (Karen na Ivory), Yuou Nishihara (Karen na Ivory), Momoko Hashimoto (Takane no Nadeshiko), and Momona Matsumoto (Takane no Nadeshiko)—performed at the anime event 'Anime Festival Asia Thailand 2026' on Sunday, May 31st. As 'HoneyWorks Vocal All Stars', they presented a special stage in Bangkok, Thailand, alongside CHiCO and Haconiwa Lily. We report on the event. 'Anime Festival Asia (AFA)', held since 2008, takes place in various Asian countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is one of the largest anime events in Southeast Asia, disseminating pop culture such as Japanese anime, comics, games, and music, with a cumulative attendance of approximately 3 million people. As the band started playing and the audience's anticipation grew, Rio Nagao and Yuou Nishihara of 'Karen na Ivory' took the stage. The first song they performed was 'Friday's Good Morning', a 'sweet and sour heart-throbbing song' that is a representative HoneyWorks track and also officially covered by 'Karen na Ivory'. When Nishihara called out at the beginning, 'Are you ready? Let's get excited!', the venue was wrapped in loud cheers. Following this, in 'Senpai.', which depicts the youth of a girl in love, Hanon and Kotoha of Haconiwa Lily joined the stage and performed in perfect harmony. After delivering two songs, the two members of 'Karen na Ivory' left the stage, and Haconiwa Lily performed 'I Like Myself', an insert song for the Netflix animated film 'Super Kaguya-hime!', a bright and powerful song that explodes with self-affirmation. Next, Momoko Hashimoto and Momona Matsumoto of 'Takane no Nadeshiko' appeared, and Hashimoto declared, 'Sing with me, Kawakute Gomen!'. They performed 'Kawakute Gomen', which became a huge topic mainly on social media and is also officially covered by 'Takane no Nadeshiko'. In the familiar chorus, many audience members were seen singing the Japanese lyrics together with the members, making the stage feel the popularity of the song across borders. With that momentum, CHiCO appeared on stage and performed 'The World is Falling in Love' with Hashimoto and Matsumoto. They layered their delicate singing voices, and the fresh ballad harmony wrapped the entire venue into one. After the two members of 'Takane no Nadeshiko' left the stage, CHiCO sang 'Pride Revolution' solo. In the following MC, CHiCO called all the performers so far to the stage, and the HoneyWorks Vocal All Stars gathered together. Hashimoto of 'Takane no Nadeshiko' said, 'I was nervous because it was my first time, but everyone welcomed us warmly, and there were so many penlights and voices, thank you!', and when everyone conveyed their gratitude with 'Khop Khun Ka!', the venue gave warm cheers. With that momentum, everyone powerfully performed 'Kessen Spirit'. The last number was 'Fansa'. Claps and perfectly timed calls echoed through the venue, and the performers and fans became one. They shared the excitement until the end. 'Let's meet again, everyone! Thank you very much!', they concluded, and the special stage as HoneyWorks Vocal All Stars came to an end.