"Having Tomari Is What Keeps Me Going"...
A Love for Love Live! That Began in Childhood
Liella!, the group born from Love Live! Superstar!!, marked the 5th anniversary of their debut this April. Starting out in 2021 with five first-generation members, Liella! welcomed four second-generation members in 2022 and two third-generation members in 2023, growing into the eleven-member group they are today. The cast side of their activities is thriving too: their numbered concert series has reached its 7th installment this year, they have appeared at festivals and plenty of other music events, and their own variety show, Liella! no Chu-toriera!! / TUTOLiella!! (Nippon TV), has now run for two seasons. So how do they see this thing called Liella! today? Through this relay interview series, Real Sound unpacks what all eleven of them are feeling.
For the second installment, we welcome Sakakura Sakura (voice of Onitsuka Tomari), a third-generation member who joined in 2023. At the end of the interview, the relay segment continues, with a question she wants to ask the next member and something she respects about them. Don't miss it.
"At first, I didn't even have the room to feel anxious"
──This year marks three years since you joined. How do you honestly feel right now?
Sakakura: I know this will sound like the usual answer, but it feels fast and slow at the same time... something like that. Between concerts and all kinds of other events, I've been given so many opportunities and made more memories than I can count, and yet I catch myself thinking, "It's only been three years!?" The pace of daily life before and after joining Liella! is completely different, so it's a strange feeling.
──You joined Liella! by passing an open public audition. Did you feel lost or anxious at the beginning?
Sakakura: Right after joining, I was so overwhelmed that I didn't even have room to feel anxious. There was just so much I had to think about and so much I had to learn... Dance was especially hard, since I had no experience at all. Tomari-chan is athletic and great at dancing, so I felt like I was going to be crushed by the pressure of being entrusted with a girl like her. It was only from my second year on that I slowly started to have some room to breathe. That's when I finally started feeling the anxiety too.
──Tell us about something especially memorable from your activities so far. For example, a moment that made you think, "I'm glad I joined Liella!"
Sakakura: Rather than one specific moment I could point to, I think I feel it in our day-to-day activities. For example, when the people supporting us say kind words at concerts and events, or when all eleven of us in Liella! are together, it quietly sinks in: "I'm glad we became teammates," "I'm glad we met." Of course it's not all fun, and there are plenty of hard and painful times too, but the warmth I receive from people outweighs all of that. So I feel "I'm glad I joined Liella!" daily
──By the way, from your point of view, what are the third generation members like?
Sakakura: This might be a strange way to put it, but we're young (laughs). Not in terms of age, I mean, we're a noisy bunch with this student-like energy. Emori Aya-chan (voice of Onitsuka Natsumi) told me, "The atmosphere in Liella! got even brighter after the third gen joined," and "Even when things start going quiet, the third gen livens it up, so I'm grateful." Though I think the main reason we get told that is Yuina (voice of Wien Margarete) (laughs).
──Yuina-san is a bright person, isn't she?
Sakakura: She really is. I feel like Yuina pulls everyone along and the whole mood gets brighter because of her. For me, and everyone else too.
Her most treasured memory: the 4th live tour, where "a view like a starry sky spread out before me"
──As a third generation member, you have been performing since the 4th live tour (Love Live! Superstar!! Liella! 4th LoveLive! Tour ~brand new Sparkle~). What do you keep in mind when you perform?
Sakakura: Tomari-chan, the member I play, is cool and efficient, the complete opposite of me. So at concerts, I always tell myself, "Don't let the real me show."
──Meaning that if your own vibe comes out on stage, it stops feeling like Tomari.
Sakakura: Right. The thing is, I've always tended to favor "the classic cute type" of characters, so cute poses and cute gestures were all I had in my repertoire. To become Tomari, I studied the TV anime and the animation MVs, then put them into practice at concerts. The 'free' (TL: the MC parts) sections between songs where we can move however we like are a kind of showcase, in a way, so that's where I'm especially conscious of Tomari's cool mannerisms. And as I kept at it, I could feel the distance between Tomari's heart and mine gradually closing. These days, becoming one with Tomari feels pretty natural to me.
──By the way, is there a cast member whose performance especially draws your eye at lives?
Sakakura: I think every one of them is amazing in their own way, but Nako-chan (Misaki Nako, voice of Arashi Chisato) and Wakana-chan (Okuma Wakana, voice of Wakana Shiki) have dance experience, so they really are cool. When we practice as 5yncri5e! (the unit made up of Misaki, Suzuhara Nozomi, Okuma, Emori, and Sakakura), they casually pull off moves that make me go, "How are you even using your body like that!?" They're at a level I don't think I could ever reach, no matter how much I practice.
──5yncri5e! is known as the unit that goes all out on dance numbers. Combined with that, your first year must have been brutal.
Sakakura: It was. When I first saw what the unit was about, I somehow didn't even panic. It was more like, "Oh my... this is going to be rough" (laughs).
──Next, tell us about a concert that is especially memorable for you.
Sakakura: It has to be day one of the Chiba shows on the 4th live tour, my first time ever on that stage. It's my most treasured memory, and I don't think I'll forget it for the rest of my life. The first song was Jump Into the New World, and the choreography had us whip around to face the audience right on the opening line, so that was the very first moment I saw the crowd. And then... everyone was watching the stage while waving their blades (penlights), so all at once, a view like a starry sky spread out in front of me. It was so beautiful.
──That sounds like the kind of moment you could get completely lost in.
Sakakura: Seriously! I actually almost cried, but I desperately pulled myself back together, thinking, "I can't cry here!" (laughs). But it really was beautiful. It gave me chills.
[Preview] "Jump Into the New World / Liella!" (from the Liella! 4th live Blu-ray box, released 5/15)
The Love Live! series is like life itself to her
──If you had to choose one Liella! song that is special to you, which would it be?
Sakakura: What would it be...! There are so many that it's hard to choose, but the one I've loved ever since I was auditioning is Watashi no Symphony.
──That's one of the songs on the debut single.
Sakakura: That's right. There's the nine member version re-recorded after the second gen joined, and the eleven member version with the third gen, so it's a song that keeps changing with the times. Another thing about it is that the staging changes at every concert, and it makes me feel like this song has grown right alongside Liella!. Also, listening to it always puts me in a really positive state of mind. I don't think I've ever forgotten why I started, but hearing it brings back how I felt back when I was desperate to make my dream come true. It's a song I want by my side forever.
Watashi no Symphony
──You also performed it on the 4th live tour, your first tour.
Sakakura: Yes, we did. The lines were split so that the third gen opened the song and passed it on to our senpai, so it felt like the senpai were right behind us, pushing us forward. During the chorus, a flurry of cherry blossom petals was swirling through the air... I still remember how lovely it was.
──Then, while we're on the topic, tell us about the new song Hyper Glowing!. What do you want people to pay attention to?
Sakakura: When I first heard it, I thought, "This is a type of song Liella! has never had before." It's less about belting it out and more about having fun, and I thought it would really get the crowd going at a concert. The biggest point is definitely the calls. A song where everyone who comes to see us can shout along with us is sure to be exciting, so I want to perform it as soon as we can. And also, this is actually the first song ever with "Liella!" in the lyrics. The "L, i, e, l, l, a... Liella!" part is where you can call along, so I want everyone to shout it with everything they've got!
──What do the Love Live! series, Liella!, and Tomari mean to you now?
Sakakura: The Love Live! series has been around since I was in about the middle grades of elementary school. I've loved it ever since those days when I was completely absorbed in μ's, so I've spent more than half of my life with the series. So... it's like life itself to me. Whenever I look back, it has always been there beside me.
Sakakura: And Liella! is what introduced me to so many experiences and emotions. There are so many things I could never have done, people I would never have met, and feelings that would never have grown in me if I hadn't joined. The name Liella! carries the meaning of "connecting," and I really think that's exactly right. As for Tomari... at first, I couldn't shake the worry, "Will I be able to truly understand this girl?"
──You did say she was your complete opposite.
Sakakura: Exactly. I kept wondering, "How can I get closer to her?" But at some point, I found myself thinking more and more, "Maybe Tomari and I aren't such complete opposites after all." Now she's like a second self who is always in my heart. Even when I'm feeling down or can't find any motivation, I think, "Tomari would never give up," "Tomari would see it through to the end." Having Tomari is what keeps me going.
──It's a curious thing, isn't it? At first, you thought you were so different.
Sakakura: Sakakura: I wonder why? Did I move closer to her? Did we both move closer to each other? I don't really know, but she's someone very close to me now, and she supports me.
──What a lovely relationship. Now, to close, a segment fitting for a relay interview. After you, Yuina-san's article will be published next, so tell us "something you respect" about Yuina-san and "something you want to ask" her.
Sakakura: There are so many things I respect about Yuina, but if I had to pick one, it's how bright she is. A lot of the Liella! cast are serious types who face themselves head-on and push themselves really hard, so sometimes things just naturally go quiet. Yuina is the one who softens that air. And she's not just cheerful, she genuinely pays attention to the people around her, so I think there are times when she's being bright on purpose, out of consideration for us. I respect that mature side of her too.
──Then, what would you like to ask Yuina-san?
Sakakura: Yuina and I go out together a lot, but we've never gone anywhere far. So I want to ask her, "If you could go on a one-week trip with me, where would you want to go?" I'm curious what her answer will be. It's something I could just ask her directly (laughs), but I want to find out by reading the article, like everyone else.
──Also, since you are the first runner in this relay interview, we have a question for you from the anchor, Date Sayuri-san (voice of Shibuya Kanon). Would you answer it for us?
Sakakura: Ooh, of course!
──Here it is: "If you could become a cat, who would you want as your owner?"
Sakakura: That's such a laid-back question (laughs)! Hmm, who would it be!? Picking just one person is insanely difficult. So... for now, can I say I want all of them to keep me (laughs)?
──(Laughs). As a hypothetical, you mean?
Sakakura: Right. I'd have everyone in Liella! live together in a share house, and I'd move in as their cat. Non-chan (Suzuhara, voice of Sakurakoji Kinako) said she's not good with cats, but maybe this could be her chance to become a cat lover. I'd try to stay in her line of sight as much as possible (laughs). Also, Pei-chan (Payton Naomi, voice of Heanna Sumire) and Wakana-chan have cats back home, so they seem used to taking care of them, and Nako-chan and Yuina both seem like animal lovers, so I bet they'd dote on me. I don't know if I could ever pick just one in the end, but as long as I get to be with everyone, I'd be happy (laughs)!
As the daughter of a prestigious magical family, Margarete had always believed that she was destined for greatness. But after failing to get into her dream school in Vienna, she makes a bold move to study abroad and expand her knowledge of magic for one last chance at her dreams. However, despite excelling in all her classes, Margarete can't shake a pervasive feeling of unease. She knows that she can't afford to slack off but the clock is ever ticking. So when the opportunity to make the magical discovery of a lifetime presents itself, Margarete seizes it without a second thought. But playing with the powers of the unknown has dire consequences.
And sometimes, magic has the power to bring even stories to life.
presenting... "Skybound in Folio"! a love live superstar multi-ch fic set in an au where some of the members are witches while the others are... elsewhere 🤔 & how their worlds collide
if you like magic shenanigans, twists on classic fairy tales, teenagers taking ill advised risks, & typical liella silliness pls give it a read!
Skybound in Folio | tokebi7
semi-regular updates
(art by my sister, the extremely talented @gamjabyte)
