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frozenmikan · 10 months

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Interview with Liella!'s Third Generation Members - Yuina x Sakakura Sakura

Check out the original interview in the LoveLive! Days (September 2023), available for purchase on Amazon JP here.

The cast members of Liella!’s third-generation members have finally been revealed. This is an interview with the two of them, who took separate paths, being cast as a rival character and being selected through open auditions, before becoming members of Liella!.

I’ve been looking forward to having someone who’s both a friend and a partner, and I’m really glad that Saku ended up being the one to fill that spot.

I hope to someday grow into someone capable of supporting Yuina as well.

Their love for Love Live! is greater than any other fan! First encounter through friends and family

To start, please tell us how you got to know about the Love Live! series.

Sakakura: My older brother got into it first. I saw him playing SIF all day at home and asked him what he was doing. That got me into it too.

Yuina: When I was in my first year of middle school, there was a girl in my club who kept doing the “Nico Nico Nii”. Because I heard that phrase almost every day, I got more and more curious about what it was, and when I looked it up, the first thing that popped up was the video of Snow Halation. After that, I got into the songs and started watching the anime as well. I also watched preview videos of the live concerts, and that was the first time I learned about voice acting as a profession. They left a deep impact on me, and since they were just so cute, I kept watching those videos over and over again.

Sakakura: I watched those too! Even before I signed up for the audition, I constantly went back and rewatched the preview videos for µ’s and Aqours’ live concerts.

Sakakura-san, I heard that you’re a huge fan of the Love Live! series.

Sakakura: I believe that my love for the series is second to none.

Yuina: She showed me a photo of the cake she baked for Keke-chan’s birthday the other day.

Sakakura: Yeah! I love Keke-chan! I bought a sponge cake, decorated it with cream, and wrote “Happy birthday Keke!” on it. I even put an acrylic stand of her next to it. I’m a huge weeb (laughs). I have tons of merch too!

Did they really qualify through the open auditions?! Liella! through the eyes of a fan-turned-cast member

Apparently, you were following the Love Live! Superstar!! project as a fan since the very start, Sakakura-san. What were your thoughts about Date-san and Aoyama-san, who joined Liella! through the open auditions?

Sakakura: They’ve been so wonderful right from the start. They’re really cute and beautiful, not to mention their amazing acting, singing, and dancing skills. The conversations they have while on air are also really interesting! The way they stood on stage with their heads held high made them look really cool, and to be honest, I sometimes wondered whether they really qualified through the open auditions (laughs). I’ve been following the project since the very start when the open auditions were announced. After a while, the project’s title and main characters were also revealed, and at that time, the thought of signing up for the auditions didn’t even cross my mind. I’ve actually been saying things like “I’m going to become a cast member of Love Live!” since I was in elementary school. At that time, I was sure that I’d be able to do it, but as I grew older, I learned more about myself and the world around me, and it’s precisely because I’ve been a fan of the series for so long that I know just how amazing the Love Live! cast members are. I’d never learned how to dance or act, and I thought I should just give up on my dream and commit myself fully to supporting them. I wish I could’ve attended a Liella! concert back when they only had five members, but I couldn’t get any tickets, so the first concert I attended was their 3rd Live Tour. I went for the second day in Miyagi, and that was also the first Love Live! concert I ever attended.

How was the concert in Miyagi?

Sakakura: It was amazing! I kept thinking about it even after I got home. I’ll never forget how emotional I got when everyone first appeared on stage with a bang, performing WE WILL!!. It left such a deep impression on me that tears started flowing down my face. Margarete-chan’s performance was also amazing. She changed the atmosphere completely after Liella! infused the entire venue with their energy, and I thought that was really impressive. Her singing and dancing were also on a completely different level, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off each and every one of the facial expressions she made. I really liked the part when she said “Shibuya Kanon!’ too.

Yuina: I’m so glad to hear that! Everyone was waving their blades so hard that I was actually worried whether they’d drop them, and I could acutely feel how much we, the cast members, were loved.

Sakakura: Everyone was trying their best to keep up with the color changes. I waved mine at Yuina too (laughs).

Yuina-san, you’ve been performing on stage since the 3rd Live Tour. What were your thoughts when you first heard about the audition for Wien Margarete?

Yuina: It was love at first sight, literally. I prepared for the audition with a strong conviction that I really wanted to become her voice, that I really wanted to land this role. It was my first time participating in an audition for a voice acting role, but I danced when I was in elementary school, and I’ve always loved singing. I’d even pretend to be an idol sometimes when I was a kid. When I decided to participate in the audition, I started thinking that maybe this role is quite close to what I wanted to do in life. That perhaps this was what I’ve always wanted to do.

How did you react after hearing the news that you were accepted for the role?

Yuina: I jumped into the air… (embarrassed). I got the call when I was all alone at home, so I was in total disbelief at the start. But I had a bad feeling that something would go wrong if I got too excited, so up until the point where I was formally announced as being part of the project, I decided to take everything in life seriously. So I had a lot of time to digest the news. You never know what might happen in life, after all! (laughs) Now that I managed to land the role, I wanted to show off her position as the rival to the best of my ability. So I did my best to incorporate Margarete-chan’s sense of justice into my acting, no matter what others might have thought. But, during the 3rd Live Tour, which closely followed the anime’s storyline, I was performing on stage as Margarete-chan, who went on to win the first prize at the Yoyogi School Idol Festival. That was a little nerve-wracking, and I constantly wondered whether I managed to put on a performance worthy of that.

Since you were watching from the perspective of a fan, Sakakura-san, what did you think about Yuina-san?

Sakakura: The first time I saw Margarete-chan in the anime, I went “Who’s this beautiful girl?!”, and after the episode, I saw the cast announcement on social media and went “Who’s this beautiful girl?!” again (laughs). They were a perfect match, and I was surprised at how high-specced they both seemed.

Yuina: You flatter me~...! (embarrassed)

Yuina-san, you joined the Love Live! Superstar!! project at the same time as Liella!’s second-generation members. What are your thoughts about them?

Yuina: I didn’t manage to talk to them a lot back then, but we did meet before the announcement was made, so I was really nervous when I watched the first live stream featuring all nine members. I genuinely felt that I really liked everyone after seeing all nine members of Liella! together, and even though I knew that I’d be joining them later as a third-generation member, I couldn’t really imagine what that’d be like. What about you, Saku?

Sakakura: They’re all amazing, but the one that caught my attention the most was Nonchan, who also joined Liella! after being selected from the open auditions. How she caught my eye was different from how Sayurin and Nagichan did, in a good way, of course. She seemed reserved at first, so I wondered what kind of person she was, but as I watched more live streams, it became easier and easier to see her charms, which made me happy as well. That made me want to support her all the more.

Just give it a try! Taking the first step forward thanks to Liella!

The open auditions for the third-generation cast member were announced after the second season of the anime finished airing. What made you decide to apply for it, Sakakura-san?

Sakakura: It’s not like I regretted not signing up for the first round of open auditions. As a fan, I genuinely thought that Sayurin was the only one for Kanon-chan, and Nagichan was the only one for Ren-chan. Seeing how amazing the cast members who qualified through the open auditions were as they engaged in their activities as Liella! really gave me a push on the back, and that gave me the courage to apply. What Keke-chan said in the anime’s first season, “Is there such a thing as the end of the road for something you love so much?”, really struck me, since I was about to give up on my dreams. After hearing that line, I started wondering why I had decided to give up in the first place, and that I’d definitely give it a shot if I had the chance to do so in the future. Because of that, I applied for the audition without hesitation once it was announced.

How did you approach the audition?

Sakakura: I’m not very confident in my singing, but I really love singing Love Live! songs, so I’d have fun practicing. I’m really bad at dancing, so I practiced the set piece every single day while recording myself, and re-watched those recordings afterward. Practicing the acting part in front of my family members was embarrassing, so I practiced that when I was alone. I thought that I did alright in the second round, which was conducted online, and at that time, I still thought that it’d be nice if I made it. The third round was the first to be conducted on-site, and I was excited at the very prospect of being able to meet the people who worked on the Love Live! series (laughs). Everyone was really kind to me, and that holds true even to this day. But, I thought the third round didn’t go too well, and I remember texting my family about how I’d flunked it after it was over. Once I learned that I made it to the final round, I decided to just enjoy myself, since I thought it was already quite a miracle that I had managed to make it that far. Although I lacked confidence in my singing, dancing, and acting, I was sure that my love for the Love Live! series was greater than anybody else’s, and that was how I approached the final round. I couldn’t believe it when I got the news that I had been selected. Although I’m completely lacking in both ability and experience, I was really grateful that I was given an opportunity like this. Oh, I also wondered what my future would be like now that I was selected.

After that, it was finally time for your first meeting. What were your first impressions of each other?

Sakakura: Surprisingly, we got along pretty well right from the start.

Yuina: Yup, that’s right! I had heard that she was younger than me, but she seemed so mature the first time we met. When she started talking, she looked so cute and had this huge grin on her face… And she said she was so glad to meet me!

Sakakura: Of course I’d be glad (laughs)!

Yuina: Your happiness was contagious (laughs)! Since we were already like that the first time we met, we were quite close from the very start. But, even though she referred to the other Liella! members as, for example, “Sayurin” and “Nagichan” from the very start, for some reason, I was “Yuina-san”. I’ll never forget that! You felt so distant!

Sakakura: You don’t really have a nickname, so I didn’t know what to call you… (laughs wryly) Also, my manager kept the fact that I’d be meeting her that day a secret, so I went over thinking it was just a normal meeting. I was then told that Yuina would be there too when I arrived, which sent me into a panic. I wish I had put on nicer clothes and done my makeup properly!

Yuina: Even though I was so excited to meet you (laughs).

Sakakura: Oh, that was also the first time I saw an illustration of Tomari-chan. I honestly thought that she was really, really cute. That illustration struck right at my heart! Most of my favorite characters up until now have been the laid-back type, but Tomari-chan was so cute that it shattered all of that. At the same time, I wondered whether it really was okay for someone like me to be voicing such a cute girl. But I was really happy to see her!

Did you think about what your character would be like before you met Tomari-chan?

Sakakura: Of course I did! I thought she’d be someone more reserved like Hanayo-chan or Ruby-chan, since she was also a first-year. Also, I had already predicted that Margarete-chan would join as a third-generation member, so I really thought the other member would be more reserved, to serve as a foil to her.

Yuina: I totally get you! I thought we’d get someone who’s the complete opposite of Margarete-chan. So I was quite surprised that we got a cool-looking girl instead. But she’s really cute, and I really like the visual impact that the two third-generation characters give off when together.

Sakakura: Yeah, totally!

Yuina: Another thing that surprised me was that she’s Natsumi-chan’s younger sister.

Are there any traits that you think you share with Tomari-chan?

Sakakura: Practically none at all (laughs). But, well, Tomari-chan loves her older sister, and that has greatly influenced her personality. I too have an older brother, and he has also influenced me in various ways. For example, I decided to join the Kendo Club because he also did Kendo. Oh, and, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that he got hooked on SIF influenced me too. So I would say that he influenced me quite a bit. We get along really well, and I love him as a brother, so I guess that’s something I would say I share with Tomari-chan. As for our personalities, Tomari-chan has the tendency to put on a strong act, which makes her sound fiercer than she intends to be. There are times when I act like that towards my family members as well, so I guess we might be similar in that aspect.

Yuina: There’s a part during her self-introduction where she goes “Please don’t stare at me like that…”, and I think that’s just like Saku. Saku gets embarrassed easily too, and that’s one of the things that makes her so cute. We might be able to uncover more similarities after we get to know Tomari-chan a little better!

Sakakura: That’d be nice. What about Margarete-chan?

Yuina: Like… It felt like I was looking at myself in the past. I absolutely couldn’t stand losing, and I’d never quit until I won. Like, I wanted everything to end with me winning (laughs). I’d much rather participate in sports myself compared to just watching. Oh, and both of us have older sisters, so that’s another thing we share. I love my older sister, but I couldn’t stand losing to her. I didn’t want people to look down on me just because I was the younger sister, and I wanted to show my mother that I could win against her as an equal. So in that sense, I think we’re pretty similar.

After that meeting, you met the other members of Liella!.

Sakakura: I was really, really emotional, the most I’ve ever been in my life, even. I’ve always just been a fan, so seeing all of them right there in front of me made me almost burst into tears. Before meeting them, my manager warned me not to fangirl too much since I was going to become a cast member alongside everyone else, but there was no way I could hold back… (laughs)

Yuina: It was quite a strange feeling for me. We entered the room with a staff member announcing “And here are the third-generation cast members!”, and I started getting nervous too because Saku was trembling beside me. Though that all dissipated the moment we entered the room and everyone said something like “Oh, that’s a familiar face!” (laughs). I thought I had to bridge the conversation between Saku and everyone else, but once we started talking, it became clear that I had nothing to worry about. She quickly got along with everyone else, which just goes to show how friendly she is.

Sakakura: Everyone came over and talked to me the moment we were done for the day. I had a lingering worry that the Liella! I’d been watching as a fan all this while would be different from the Liella! I’d meet in person. I was also worried whether I’d be accepted into the group, given that the nine first- and second-generation members had already gotten to know Yuina and I’d be dropped in the midst of all that, all by myself. But our first meeting made all those worries vanish into thin air. Experiencing how kind and friendly Yuina and everyone else in Liella! were made me really glad that I’d supported this group all this while.

Waiting for a partner The bonds between the third-generation cast members

Did you see the fans’ reactions to the self-introduction videos or your first live stream?

Sakakura: I was so scared that I decided not to look at the comments on the self-introduction video.

Yuina: I told her that I was gonna look at Tomari’s comments before her, so that’s precisely what I did (laughs).

Sakakura: And she told me there were a lot of welcoming comments (laughs). Of course, there were some negative ones, but most of them were welcoming. That made me realize the fact that the kindness of Love Live! fans was one of the things that make the series so amazing, and it reaffirmed the love I have for it.

Yuina: Yeah, the comments were really kind! I thought I was panicking before the live stream, but Saku was completely white and looked like she was about to pass out (laughs).

Sakakura: Self-confidence has never been my strong suit, so what the fans would think of me joining Liella!, which was already such an amazing group, constantly weighed on my mind. I even imagined scenarios where I’d receive a flood of mean comments…… I was really, really nervous, but everyone in Liella! came over to ask if I was okay, or to give me a pat on the back. Up until that moment, being in the presence of the members of Liella! had only served to make me even more nervous, but during the live stream, I actually became less nervous thanks to them. Even though I’d just met them, I realized that what Liella! meant to me was starting to change, bit by bit.

Yuina: I’m sure everyone watching could tell how sincere your words were precisely because you’re such a big fan of Love Live!!

Sakakura: Thank you……! I didn’t manage to read many comments during the live stream itself, so I took the time to go through them slowly after I got home. The warmth in each and every one of the comments was the thing that finally melted away all my nerves and worries, and that was when the tears started flowing down my cheeks. The desire to become a cast member was indeed the dominant emotion within me, but there was also a part of me that was worried about the future and everything I’d be doing. After all, now that I’m involved in this world as a cast member, I’m sure what I’ll be able to see will be completely different from the glimpse I caught as a fan. But, now, I’m really glad that I decided to sign up for the audition. I experience something new and enjoy myself every single day, and even though I definitely still have a long way to go, I think I’ve definitely grown as a person. But that’s mostly thanks to how kind and amazing everyone in Liella! is, and the fact that they’re such good role models. Of course, I want to catch up to them in terms of my acting and singing, but I’d also like to become more like them, as a person. It’d be nice if I could continue changing for the better in the future.

The pace of the eleven-member Liella!’s activities will surely only continue to increase. Tell us about something you hope to achieve in the future.

Sakakura: The top priority for me is to do my best to catch up to Yuina. There’s not a single thing that she can’t do but I can. Even so, she always says things like “Let’s do our best together!”. Hearing those words really does make me happy, and because she has supported me countless times, I hope to someday grow into someone capable of supporting Yuina as well.

Yuina: … (stares at Sakakura)

Sakakura: (laughs)

Yuina: Really, though, I feel like I’ve already come to rely on her. The other day, I attended a recording session where Saku wasn’t there beside me, and that made me rather fidgety (laughs). Because we’ve spent practically every single day together attending lessons, being alone suddenly made me feel uneasy. That made me realize that without me noticing, I’ve been unconsciously leaning on Saku. Somehow, having her beside me puts me at ease. So I need her by my side! Because the character I voice has up until now been a rival and a lone wolf, there was a part of me that couldn’t wait for another third-generation member to show up. I’ve been looking forward to having someone who’s both a friend and a partner, and I’m really glad that Saku ended up being the one to fill that spot. She claims to be bad at dancing, but seeing how much she improves after every single lesson makes me want to push myself even harder too. So rather than keeping your worries to yourself, I hope that we can tackle this together as one since we’re in a three-legged race together. So… Thank you. (looks Sakakura in the eye)

Sakakura: No, thank you!

Last but not least, a message for the fans!

Yuina: Your kind words have supported me countless times ever since the 3rd Live Tour. I’ll be part of Liella! from now on, and I’m really glad that I’ll get more chances to interact with everyone. Of course, there are still many things I need to get used to, but I hope to dance high up in the sky together with Margarete-chan!

Sakakura: Thank you so much for all your support. Your kind words really are the thing that keeps me wanting to do my best every single day. Just like how you’ve supported me, I hope to become someone that can support you in return, together with Tomari-chan. I’ll do my very best, so I’d be glad if you watched over me as I do just that!

Yuina, the voice of Wien Margarete, is from Kanagawa. She attended the audition for her role in between rehearsals for a stage play she was starring in and showed up in full vampire makeup, which apparently caused quite a stir. She mentions being enthralled by the cool solo performance of Kobayashi Aika-san, the voice of Tsushima Yoshiko from Love Live! Sunshine!!

Sakakura Sakura, the voice of Onitsuka Tomari, is from Saitama. Before becoming a cast member of Love Live! Superstar!!, she aimed to become a kindergarten teacher. A true Liella! fan, she visited the rolled ice cream cafe that Liella! collaborated with and stayed there until she managed to draw her favorite character, Tang Keke.

Translation: xIceArcher

Translation Check/Quality Check: Dyrea (@dyreatic)

#love live superstar #liella #yuina #sakakura sakura #sakuchan

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