Official key art for Umamusume: Pretty Derby 7th EVENT WORLD TOUR: THE STAGE in Los Angeles at the Peacock Theater, with Tokai Teio and Kitasan Black either side of the logo. Image: Cygames
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Umamusume’s Voice Cast Was Booked for Los Angeles. Their US Visas Never Came

Published Leah Brannigan , , , , , , ,
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Seventeen Japanese voice actresses were due on stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles tonight and tomorrow, singing and dancing as the horse girls they voice in Umamusume: Pretty Derby. They won’t be there. Cygames cancelled both shows three days out because the US visas the cast needed never arrived, after what organisers say were more than six months of trying.

The two concerts, on 22 and 23 October, were meant to be the first Umamusume shows ever held outside Japan and the second stop on the franchise’s first world tour, 7th EVENT WORLD TOUR: THE STAGE. They’re the only US dates on the tour.

Three days, two statements

The trouble went public on the night of Sunday 18 October, Los Angeles time. Organisers posted that the visas still hadn’t been approved, despite “working with lawyers and promoters in the U.S. to secure the visas necessary to enter the US since over six months ago,” as quoted by SoraNews24. They set a deadline of 10pm Pacific on Monday for a final call.

The stage at Umamusume: Pretty Derby THE STAGE in Tokyo, with giant lit letters spelling UMA and performers on a raised walkway under beams of light. Image: Cygames, via animate Times

The stage at THE STAGE in Tokyo in June 2026, during the UMA IN AMERICA performance. Image: Cygames, via animate Times

The call was no. The official notice announced the cancellation “with heavy hearts” and gave the reason in one long sentence. “Although we have coordinated repeatedly with all parties concerned and explored every possible option in our efforts to make this event happen, we were unable to obtain the necessary visas for entry into the US, so we have come to the painful conclusion that holding the concerts is no longer possible.”

The notice apologised “for the inconvenience and concern this causes, and for announcing this so close to the event date,” and closed with a second apology that named the people on stage as well as the people in the seats: “to all the Trainers who were eagerly looking forward to the concerts, as well as to the Umamusume cast, partner company staff, and everyone involved who put tremendous effort into making this event happen.”

Screenshot of the official Umamusume website notice titled Cancellation of the 7th EVENT WORLD TOUR: THE STAGE in LOS ANGELES, posted 20 October 2026 and updated 21 October 2026.

Cygames' cancellation notice on the official Umamusume website, updated 21 October 2026. Screenshot: Voice Over Herald

Who was meant to sing

The 17-strong cast Cygames announced in July included Machico, the voice of Tokai Teio, Tomoyo Takayanagi (Oguri Cap), Yuko Natsuyoshi (Cheval Grand), Hinaki Yano (Kitasan Black) and Hina Tachibana (Satono Diamond). The full card is further down.

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That’s the thing about an Umamusume concert. The voice actresses are the act. They sing the songs their characters sing in the game and the anime, in costume, with the choreography. As PocketGamer.biz pointed out, Cygames couldn’t simply bring in replacement singers.

Nobody has said why the visas stalled. The organisers haven’t said the applications were refused, only that they couldn’t get them in time. SoraNews24 noted that a tourist trip from Japan to the US is easy to arrange online, but that work visas for performers are a different process, and that the team would have needed visas for 17 performers plus their support staff. Production is credited to Bandai Namco Music Live, and SoraNews24 pointed out that Bandai Namco has sent talent abroad for appearances before.

Graphic styled as a horse racing racecard for the Peacock Theater, 22 and 23 October 2026, listing all 17 runners and their voices, from Tokai Teio voiced by Machico to Hokko Tarumae voiced by Sayaka Kikuchi, stamped All scratched because the US visas never came through.

Refunds, and then travel costs

Ticket refunds, for both seats and the livestream, were promised in the first notice. On Wednesday Cygames went further: it will cover cancellation fees for travel and lodging bookings, and travel and lodging costs for people who’d already flown to Los Angeles “during the target period that meet the requirements for reimbursement”, Anime News Network reported. Fans will need proof of payment and receipts, and the details are still to come.

A performer in a horse girl costume with ears and a feathered cape smiles on stage during THE STAGE in Tokyo, June 2026. Image: Cygames, via The Television

On stage during the UMA IN AMERICA number at THE STAGE in Tokyo, June 2026. Image: Cygames, via The Television

Fans who’d travelled from Japan were part of the picture too. A Japanese fan who writes on note.com as Naka, and who saw the opening Tokyo shows at Ariake Arena in June, pointed out that some trainers had booked an official JTB tour to fly over. “Even so, to stand on a stage in Los Angeles, the visas have to come through,” Naka wrote. “The show stopped at a point that has nothing to do with how many fans there are.”

Naka also refused to guess at blame. “So I can’t say the organisers didn’t prepare enough, or that it was down to a particular American policy,” the post said. It ends with a promise most fans will recognise: Naka can’t get to the overseas shows, but plans to watch London and Seoul on live viewing, and “Yokohama, I’m going no matter what.”

Why it matters beyond one fandom

For many Japanese voice actors, the job doesn’t stop at the booth. Concerts, stage events and convention panels are part of it, and more of those dates are abroad now that the anime and games they voice have big audiences overseas. Voice Over Herald reported yesterday on four voice actors heading to AFA Singapore. Every one of those trips needs a performer visa, and this week showed what happens when one doesn’t arrive: the venue, the costumes, the choreography and the ticket sales were all in place, and none of it mattered.

Graphic styled as an airport departures board for the Umamusume world tour: Tokyo 20 and 21 June departed, Los Angeles 22 and 23 October cancelled, London, Seoul and a Yokohama finale with dates to be announced; visas sought for more than six months for 17 performers plus support staff.

For promoters planning the next overseas voice actor tour, the lesson from Los Angeles is uncomfortable. Six months, by the organisers’ own account, wasn’t enough.

What’s left of the tour

The world tour began in Tokyo on 20 and 21 June. London, Seoul and a finale in Yokohama are still planned, though none of those dates or venues has been announced. Cygames says more details on its response for fans who’d planned to attend in person will be posted on the tour’s official website.

Sources: Umamusume: Pretty Derby official news, “Cancellation of the 7th EVENT WORLD TOUR: THE STAGE in LOS ANGELES” (20 October 2026, updated 21 October); Anime News Network (20 and 21 October 2026); SoraNews24 (20 October 2026); Dexerto (20 October 2026); PocketGamer.biz (21 October 2026); Cygames press release via Game Developer (16 July 2026); Naka on note.com (21 October 2026), quotations translated from Japanese by Voice Over Herald. Image: Cygames.

Lee este artículo en español: El elenco de voces de Umamusume tenía fecha en Los Ángeles. Las visas de EE. UU. nunca llegaron

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