Anime Expo is North America’s largest anime convention, held annually in Los Angeles, California. Along with its anime and manga offerings, it’s a bustling hub for crossover fandoms and industry—such as video games, webtoons, comic books, and in recent years, danmei.
Anime Expo 2025 took place from July 3-6, and was host to many danmei delights: including premieres, sneak peeks, and updates on upcoming productions. DanmeiNews was in attendance, and is here to share the danmei-related news and experiences at this year’s event!
Heaven Official’s Blessing Second Short Film Premieres at Bilibili’s Panel
Promotional screenshots for the second Heaven Official’s Blessing short film, shared by the series official Weibo.The most high-profile danmei event of Anime Expo 2025 was the premiere of the second Heaven Official’s Blessing short film, which debuted to a very enthusiastic crowd at Bilibili’s Friday evening panel.
This newest Heaven Official’s Blessing short film is an adaptation of the “Lantern Riddles on Yuanxiao Night” Extra Chapter from the original novel, which takes place after the main story’s conclusion—and after Xie Lian and Hua Cheng have confessed their mutual feelings and gotten married. The donghua team captured the intimacy of the newlywed couple’s interactions, all while working under the censorship constraints imposed by the Chinese government. They even managed to keep the full “answer” to the riddles intact: that being, “My Husband Is Hua Cheng.” [highlight text to view]
The short also featured cameos from members of the supporting cast: Xie Lian’s parents feature in a flashback to his childhood, and in another flashback to Xie Lian’s lonely years as a wanderer, we see a short interaction he had with the doomed family of He Xuan (also known as Ship-Sinking Black Water).
Although the second short film is not yet officially available on Bilibili’s YouTube channel, it has been posted on the series’ Weibo. Fan uploads of the short have already been shared on YouTube and offer subtitles in a variety of different languages. The first short film is available in an incomplete state on Bilibili’s official YouTube, but is available in its full length format on the series’ Weibo. (See our article on the first short film for more information.)
During leadup to the second short film’s release, the series Weibo released a series of progress sketches of key animation frames. On the official air date, it also shared a series of adorable gifs from the short for fans to use as reaction images. (Below, in order: “worshipping,” “listening intently,” “focusing,” and “I can do it!!!”.)
Heaven Official’s Blessing Third Short Film Coming Soon
The next short film is slated to premiere online on Xie Lian’s birthday, July 15. This third short appears to adapt a scene from the novel in which Xie Lian, after falling in a lake in pursuit of an evil spirit (and getting his first kiss from Hua Cheng in the process), is whisked away by Hua Cheng to his manor for a change of clothes. This, of course, results in Xie Lian wearing an outfit in Hua Cheng’s signature red.
Bilibili’s host stated that there will be more Heaven Official’s Blessing short films to come, though they could not share specifics on what scenes will be animated or when the shorts will air. With Season 3 of the Heaven Official’s Blessing donghua still yet to be announced, this focus on short films may serve as a way to maintain fan interest in the series in the meantime. One could draw a comparison with Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation‘s donghua, in which the two-year gap between Seasons 2 and 3 was broken up by the release of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Q; a lighthearted comedy series in a cute “chibi” art style. This side project also allowed the Grandmaster production team more flexibility to adapt scenes that could not be adapted in the main donghua due to time or scripting constraints.
Regardless, Heaven Official’s Blessing fans were excited to hear the news, and eagerly await the upcoming short films that Bilibili has in the works.
Although the Heaven Official’s Blessing short film was advertised as the main event at their panel, the hosts also showcased trailers for Bilibili’s other upcoming series; such as the highly anticipated Link Click Season 3. Director Li Haolin was not present in person due to a sudden personal emergency, but he answered questions submitted by fans on Twitter/X in a prerecorded video.
During the panel, the hosts also held a short trivia competition and quizzed the audience with questions from Heaven Official’s Blessing, Link Click, and To Be Hero X. Bilibili also handed out special merch to those who came in costumes from said featured series.
Bilibili originally announced their Anime Expo 2025 panel on their official channels as part of the Heaven Official’s Blessing World Tour, and shared an adorable infographic showcasing the various activities planned for June-July 2025. For updates and announcements, follow @ Made By Bilibili on Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube.
Sneak a Peek at Inklore’s Release of the Heaven Official’s Blessing Manhua
North American publisher Inklore was present at the convention, and brought plenty of goodies with them to promote their upcoming English release of the Heaven Official’s Blessing manhua by artist STARember. An Inklore representative provided running updates on their social media, showing off photos of the publisher’s booth as well as the special gifts awaiting those who came with proof of preorder for the manhua’s first volume.
DanmeiNews had the chance to speak with Logan Balestrino, the above-mentioned Inklore representative. Logan is a long-time danmei fan, as well as a long-time fan of Heaven Official’s Blessing specifically. She is also the proud parent of the Xie Lian Minidoll featured in the photos. Logan said they are delighted to have the opportunity to bring the manhua to English readers, and would embrace an opportunity to bring more danmei to North American bookshelves.
Inklore allowed us a closer look at the sample print of Heaven Official’s Blessing (The Comic) Vol. 1, which was a stunning sight to behold. The comic’s pages are rendered in vibrant full color, and the red-and-gold hardcover binding gives the book a luxe, elegant look that wouldn’t feel out of place as a wedding album. DanmeiNews was given a press preview copy of Vol. 1 to take home, as well as a bookmark (pictured above) to pair with it. We were equally as impressed with the translation and lettering quality included in the sample, and are confident that Inklore will treat the manhua with the respect it deserves as a beloved adaptation of a landmark danmei series. Readers can see sample pages on the first volume’s Amazon listing.
Inklore is poised for great success in the future, and that success may well include more danmei. For updates and announcements, follow @ InkloreBooks on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook.
BluPetal: A New Publisher on the Danmei Scene?
Con attendees prowling the dealer’s room floor for danmei goodies may have spotted a booth with stacks of books from publisher Aloha Comics, including the donghua comics for Link Clink and Heaven Official’s Blessing. The table didn’t belong to Aloha Comics themselves; instead, it belonged to a very recently launched publisher by the name of BluPetal. They were selling titles from Aloha Comics’s catalog as part of a previously announced partnership [source: 1, 2].
BluPetal is a North American book publisher that launched in May 2025. Although they have not yet announced any licenses of their own, they state they plan to specialize in work targeted toward women and the queer community [source]:
BluPetal is going to be the ultimate community for those who love stories mostly for women, stories about LGBTQ+ folks, & romance. BluPetal will be giving the BL, TL, Yuri, Shoujosei, & Gei Komi fandoms the full fan experience they deserve.
Notably, the company’s info on the Anime Expo website includes the sentence, “Featuring exclusive opportunities to buy the best Boys’ Love manga and Danmei books in print”. It’s only speculation at this point if that statement is in reference to the publisher selling books from Aloha Comics at this specific event, or if it indicates the publisher’s future plans to publish danmei.
Going by their stated focus and their partnership with Aloha Comics—as well as having several employees who previously worked at English danmei industry leaders such as Seven Seas Entertainment and Crunchyroll [source]—it’s not hard to see why BluPetal might ping on a danmei fan’s radar. BluPetal is certainly worth keeping an eye on in the coming months. For updates and announcements, follow @ BluPetal_En on Twitter/X, Bluesky, and Instagram.
Missing in Action—Where Are the Other Danmei Pubs?
The largest publisher of danmei in North America, Seven Seas Entertainment, was notably absent from this year’s Anime Expo. They have appeared at most Anime Expos over the past decade, sporting tables full of books for sale; including their various danmei series. Although some of their books could be found at other retailer booths in the dealer’s hall, their in-person absence was keenly felt; especially in light of Bilibili and Inklore’s heavy promotion of Heaven Official’s Blessing. (Seven Seas Entertainment is currently republishing the series in hardcover format after its highly successful paperback run.)
Regarding other U.S.-based danmei publishers, Aloha Comics did not have their own booth, but was represented by BluPetal in absentia. The first wave of danmei from Hai Tang Books hasn’t been published yet, making their absence at the event understandable as they focus on their upcoming releases. Monogatari Novels continues to address ongoing issues with distribution, which likely makes convention appearances a low priority.
International publishers Via Lactea (Canada) and Rosmei (Singapore) were also understandably absent, though both had minor representation at retailer booths. Although we’d love the opportunity to see Rosmei have their own booth, the publisher does not have permission to sell most of their English books outside of Singapore, making such a convention appearance unlikely.
However, Anime Expo certainly isn’t the only big convention in North America where readers can hope to find some official danmei news and goodies. One upcoming opportunity will be this fall’s Anime NYC, where Seven Seas Entertainment is listed as a sponsor. The publisher also had a booth in Anime NYC’s exhibition hall last year.
TL;DR: Danmei Was Blazing Hot at Anime Expo 2025 (But That Fire on Day One Wasn’t Our Fault)
With new mini episodes of the Heaven Official’s Blessing donghua debuting, the upcoming English release of the Heaven Official’s Blessing manhua, and potential new publishers entering the scene, Anime Expo 2025 gave everyone a sneak peek at some exciting things on the horizon. Danmei has truly established itself in North America as a genre that’s here to stay.
(And no, there wasn’t a fire on Day One—it was just a faulty overhead fan emitting smoke. Xie Lian’s barbeque techniques were not at fault, at least regarding this specific incident.)
