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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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shukamod @ First Live LV [1 of 4]

This post covers what I did before the LV and the LV itself up to the first six songs in the setlist!

Hi everyone! This is a post that’s been long overdue and I truly apologize. Many things have happened over the past week, including tons of schoolwork, more than one all-nighter, more than one 14-hour-sleep day, and me snapping my chair in half cheering too hard for Shuka, among other things... not to mention general laziness and procrastinating on Discord :))))

Excuses aside, I know at least a few people were curious on my thoughts about the Live Viewing. I wasn’t actually sure how I wanted to write the post another reason it was delayed so much ... It kind of turned into a strange diary-style post about my entire experience. Hope you guys don’t mind hearing about my weekend too...

I’m also terrible at summarizing, so the whole thing got super super long. So long that I’m splitting it up into four parts. (This way you don’t need to wait for me to finish writing everything, too...) Each individual part is still extremely long, so under a cut it goes~

Sorry for the page stretcher, mobile-users ( ‾▿‾ ;;)

The Day Before Our LV was at 12pm on a Sunday. Turns out the earliest bus from where I live doesn’t actually reach NYC until 11:50am on Sunday (... lol), so I resigned myself to arriving in New York on Saturday and paying to stay the night. My friends and I ended up buying tickets for a five-hour bus ride leaving at 7am on Saturday (rip sleep) so we could have time to hang out with the /r/LoveLive Discord community later in the day. It was really lit! We went to karaoke, which was tons of fun, and then had KBBQ for dinner. Thanks to everyone who made sure I ate properly for dinner ;__; I made sure to eat a lot to honor the price tag on the buffet (•̀ ∀ •́)ﻭ✧ I was actually super sleepy that day, so my bad if I seemed super quiet or dead ( ‾▿‾ ;;)

Also: It was cold it was cold it was cold it was so cold that day fml

The Day of: Pre-LV I think my friends and I left for the theater around 8am? On our way there we decided it would probably be wise to actually eat breakfast, so we stopped at an IHOP and met up with a bunch of people from the Discord community again. It was kind of difficult for IHOP to serve all of us quickly, so we didn’t get to the venue until like 10am instead of 9 or 9:30am like I was hoping for. There was already a sizable line forming by then. I handed out a bunch of call guides and UOs, as well as a couple of handwarmers (because it was still cold af) to people, and then we put the banner on the ground for people to sign. Thanks to everyone who signed the banner! I don’t really remember what else happened in line because I was trying to do so many things at once lol...

The theater let us inside earlier than expected (thank youuuu). Everyone was inside by about 11am. I was already super excited at this point. My group and I picked seats in the middle-back behind a railing. During the LV I leaned over this railing like Chika in Episode 2 more than a few times and people were afraid that I was going to fall off. After I got my stuff all settled, we set up a speaker to play Aqours music. Then at some point I got bullied into going up in front of everyone in the theater with a megaphone and introducing myself OTL

I got to talk to a few new faces too! I think it was @keipointo who greeted me first? I awkwardly offered to shake hands because I didn’t know what to say :’))) My bad. Also had a brief exchange with one of @takatsuking‘s friends, which was nice! (waaaa I didn’t catch your name I’m sorry ;__;) I was probably also awkward then aaaaaaa I’m bad at one-on-ones Thanks for taking the time to greet me, all of you! :D

And now onto the Live itself, finally ꉂ(･∀･ゝ ≡ ･∀･)ゝ

Some background. We only saw Day 1 of the Live, since none of the American venues offered Day 2 viewings. I was already pretty much spoiled for the events for both days of the live due to Twitter, but being able to see it in person on a giant screen was still a whole different experience altogether. It’s a sensory overload, to say the least. Yokohama Arena is soooo pretty. It’s kind of hard to describe the structure in words, but there’s a main stage with steps and a screen in the back for displaying camera shots and special effects, like so:

... which is connected to a circular center stage by a runway, which you can see here:

The floor of this center stage was actually a giant screen which was used to display some amazing special effects in a lot of the songs; I was really impressed aaaaaaa

And, as some of you might remember from μ's concerts, sometimes the seiyuu will also hop onto carts and ride them around the arena, like so

hi ainya

Here we go! ( *˙0˙*)

Aozora Jumping Heart The seiyuu rise up from below the stage and you can practically feel the tension in the air. I think... a bunch of people screamed when the music started, but I don’t remember too well. I broke two UOs off the bat because I was so excited lol. People behind me, I’m so sorry if I blinded you... Not much to say about this one, actually. Familiar song, familiar outfits. What was different this time was that they finally did the full version of the song! Since the solo lines in the second verse are done by subunit, there was some cute subunit interaction :D

Koi ni Naritai Aquarium Uhhhhhh.... lol. I didn’t want to die this early in the concert, but here we are... This song was 👌👌👌, and I pretty much... reacted how you might expect me to react. (:D)|￣|＿

Since I was spoiled for the setlist, I knew this song was coming up right after Aozora. I still wasn’t prepared. It’s just...... the choreography looks so good live and Shuka was so cute I was dying the whole time ashfsdkjfhsdkjfs. THERE ARE SPINS IN THE CHOREOGRAPHY (covered up by cutscenes in the PV) THANK YOU..............

The blue → orange → blue penlight color transition in the theater was also better than I expected wew, but then again my expectations weren’t that high in the first place.

In my humble, definitely not biased opinion, the Yousolo was amazing. I broke 8 UBs (uhhhhhh... LOL) and attempted a balrog for the solo but it was pretty spaghetti, considering how much I was freaking out.

AT THE END OF THE SONG, THE CAMERA ZOOMED ONTO SHUKA AND SHE DID A LITTLE HEADSHAKE AND FLASHED THE BIGGEST GRINｓｊｋえｊｓｇｄｘｃｖはｊｄｈｖｋｇｈｗｌｇｈｓｄｇＤ？ＧＳ

I’m so proud of Shuka, especially because she talked about how nervous she was for this song in her blog post aaaaaaaaaaa. There must have been added pressure from having to perform it second in the setlist, too...

My voice was pretty much already dead after this song :)))))))) oops

After KoiAqua, intros happened! The usual calls and all. It was good seeing the seiyuu looking just as excited as we were! Hearing so many people in the theater do the Call & Responses was really refreshing as well :D

Aqours☆HEROES I’m always hype for this song because I love the choreography (read: Shuka’s 128759 spins). The calls for this song are also tons of fun! They were displayed on the main stage screen for the fans. I think this was the first song where the seiyuu went out onto the center stage. A lot of different camera angles (they started singing on the runway part of the stage) and modified choreography to account for the circular stage shape. They ran in circles a lot and it looked pretty tiring tbh because they were running in circles I don’t think Shuka did her “muteki datte” spin (either way the camera wasn’t focused on her) T_T Still good though, I love Heroes :D

The seiyuu leave the stage, and a short intermission drama happens. I’m going to avoid summarizing what happens in the dramas just because my Japanese listening comprehension is really bad, but I’ll mention that the animation for the little talking heads has really improved since the μ's days. They’re much more dynamic, they have more expressions, they have necks... Man, I wish I could GIF this :’)))))

Kimeta yo Hand in Hand Second years take the stage in their Daisuki dattara Daijoubu! outfits! The outfits have pretty wide sleeves, so you can see hints of Yume de Yozora costumes underneath (it doesn’t help that Shuka and Rikyako are wearing blue and pink, whereas their Yume de Yozora outfits are red and blue, respectively...) if you look closely when they raise their arms up.

At the end of the first round of solos, Shuka does a really nice spin which has the unfortunate side effect of flashing the red skirt of her Yume de Yozora costume, as well as her safety shorts LOL.

I remember laughing super hard at the arm-flailing choreo in the chorus when I first heard the song in the anime, but it actually didn’t look that weird in real life. There’s one part where all three of them just grab each other’s hands to form a circle and then run around, which I thought was really cute... ;__;

Daisuki dattara Daijoubu! Err, let’s just say that when Shuka jumped for the “Jump da!” part I thought I was going to have a heart attack lmao :’D

Choreo was pretty much exactly like the anime. For the second half of the song, the three of them moved out to the center stage while holding hands. During the instrumental it looked like there was no choreography, so all of them just circled around the stage and waved at all the fans. Shuka bounced around like a little kid on a sugar high and it was adorable ;__;

Then we had a short second years MC, the highlight of which is seeing the three of them turn in a circle to show everyone their costumes! There’s a giant ribbon on the back :>

Yume de Yozora o Terashitai Okay I already posted the official picture for the Yume de Yozora performance but I have to post it again:

This performance was sooooo beautiful, definitely one of the prettiest songs in the setlist. The whole performance itself took place on the center stage, where they could take full advantage of the screen display on the floor. Lots of aerial camera shots so we could see the evening sky displayed right under the seiyuu... Sooooo pretty. They put a really nice animation of the lanterns spelling out “Aqours” on the floor for Anchan’s solo as well :))))

There was this one part (or maybe two parts? I forget) where Aiai and King reach out and touch each other’s hands in this song, and I gotta say... their height difference is really moe. Ashkfhdsfjdkfh

... I would also like to personally thank the choreographer for putting in a Shuka spin in the second half of this song :)

You can’t see it too well in the photo, but the skirts on the costumes are all glittery. So prettyyyyy aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

After that, the stage goes dark and the seiyuu leave the stage. Next up: Subunits! (and more) → [Coming Soon!]

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ripple-reader · 7 years

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chain thingy

so, yeah, @kuuxkat and @hazardtomyhealth tagged me, and I don’t really have anyone to tag because i’m mostly a stalk-y follower, but I guess I’ll do this anyway. (I still haven’t done the other one Kuu tagged me with >.>)

Name/Nickname: Myst, Watch, Watcher, and a bunch of other online pseudonyms Gender: Male Star Sign: Libra Height: Uh... I... dunno. 5 feet something. My little sister approximates that I’m 5 feet 8 inches. Hogwarts House: Ravenclaw Favorite Color: Blue, White, and Yellow, and various combinations thereof. Silver too. Favorite Animal: Mrmmmmmm. Cats? I like hamsters too. Most fluffy things. Not frogs. Average hours of sleep: Ten, I think. I’m sorry. I’m a sleepyhead. (It doesn’t help that I’m unemployed right now...) Cat or dog person: Cats. Dogs are too licky and energetic for me. (Watch me get clawed and bitten by our house cats.) Favorite fictional characters: Furukawa Nagisa of Clannad and Himura Kenshin of Rurouni Kenshin are my mainstays. A lot of other people come and go. Number of blankets I sleep with: One. Favorite singer/band: Merp can’t think of one. I like most songs of anime I like /bricked Of course Aqours, and I guess fhana? Goose House! and maybe Hoshino Gen but I only know his one memetastic song... >.> Dream Trip: ...I’d honestly prefer to stay indoors, but maybe managing to see an Aqours live, or like Kuu said, visiting Uchiura or other anime basis places. Dream Job: I WANT TO BE PAID TO WRITE FANTASY FICTION. Sadly I finished Computer Science and I should probably look for tech support jobs to get money for the various things I want. When was this blog created: 2016, though technically this account was around for quite a long time ago. Recently reactivated it because of @saitou-shuka. Shukamod o7 Current number of followers: 12. I mostly reblog stuff and follow people anyway~ ...and suspicious people keep following me that I end up blocking >.< When did your blog reach its peak?: What peak are you talking about What made you decide to make a Tumblr?: In my college days, to follow a certain someone. Later, to express my most profuse thanks to Shukamod and to gush over Aqours, and then follow the rest of the LLSS community XD Birthday: October 13 Relationship status: Single and unprepared for commitment. I can barely handle life myself, okay. (And I know very few people in the first place.) Siblings: A little brother and a little sister. I’m the useless one. Wake up time: 3 am when I have to cook breakfast (and then fall asleep later). Beyond that, varies wildly from 6 to even 11. Lemonade or sweet tea: Lemonade, as long as it has enough sweetness. AH! BUT I REALLY REALLY LIKE MILK TEA Day or night: Super early morning. Although anytime it’s raining is wonderful. Coke or pepsi: Coke. But Mountain Dew and root beer are even better. Ever met a celebrity?: None that I can remember, sadly. Smiles or eyes: Smiles, I guess. How about smiling eyes? Country or city?: City. It’s familiar, even if the country has better air. The city has less frogs, too. Last song i listened to: Double Action Axe Form, from Kamen Rider Den-O’s soundtrack. Duet between Takeru Satou and Masaki Terasoma. That’s a wrap~

OH RIGHT I CAN TAG A CERTAIN PERSON @aogetsuai

EDIT: also @yujachachacha tagged me and I already have this done, so.

#personal #chain thingy

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saitou-shuka · 6 years

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T_T T_T T_T T_T T_T

#it's been too long since I actually watched a nama live #shukamod liveblogs niconama

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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@Saito_Shuka: Me with a Minion from T-SPOOK!!! I super-dashed up to the Minion to give him a hug I was so tired when I got there. I love them so much... (T_T) This is a picture I took with Stuart. I was like "Gyaaa!"

#love live sunshine #saitou shuka #shukashuu #oops shukamod lag #ok I am not caught up with despicable me at all #I've only watched the first movie in CN #so I didn't know any of the names... vector was 'wei ke te' for the longest time asjfhsdkjfshd #why does stuart look like he came straight from jail #that is literally a prisoner's outfit #shuka...........#ok I'm not going to judge her LMAO #SHE LOOKS SO HAPPY #whoever is in that minion costume is so lucky aaaahhhhh #t spook #minion #twitter #tweet tl

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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*Everyone heading to an Aqours Live Viewing, please read!*

I wrote this for the North American community, but it applies to any country with a live viewing ( ‾▿‾ )ゞ

DO NOT TAKE PICTURES OR VIDEO OF THE CONCERT.

Even if you don't plan on uploading the stuff online, don't do it. It's a serious copyright infringement. Not only will you get kicked out of the venue if you get caught, but you also risk the chance of North America getting BLACKLISTED for future events.

Getting blacklisted means we can say goodbye to all future Love Live! concerts and movies here.

You would be doing the entire North American community a disservice. We worked hard to get our first live viewing LEGALLY, so please respect the seiyuu and staff. Don't drop the ball on this.

If you see other people taking pictures or recording the concert, PLEASE STOP THEM AND MAKE SURE THEY DELETE EVERYTHING. Report them to staff if you have to. I don't know about you, but I am not about to risk getting blacklisted.

I repeat. DO NOT TAKE PICTURES OR VIDEO OF THE CONCERT. I can't emphasize this enough. Don't do it.

#if you disagree I will literally fight you on this #pictures/videos are NOT WORTH potentially getting all of north america blacklisted for any future events #don't screw up our chances of getting another LV when we finally got one #seriously #and don't think you won't get caught #in previous live viewings japanese representatives have flown over to oversee how the LV is doing #you never know who is watching #and if you leak pictures and videos to the internet it'll be even more likely that japanese licensors will find out #DON'T DO IT #I wrote this up for discord earlier today and figured it would be relevant here #sorry if it's worded too harshly #this is a really serious matter #in singapore/malaysia someone leaked footage of the sao movie and now the licensors are facing serious repercussions #I will be furious if NA gets blacklisted because someone took pictures/video during the concert #after all that effort it took to bring the LV here for the first time #if I see anyone taking pictures/videos at NYC LV I will rip them a new one #it only takes one person to ruin it for the entire country #shukamod speaks #please support the franchise and buy the blu-ray!

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saitou-shuka · 6 years

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[English Translation] Ultra Jump March 2018: 100 Questions for Saito Shuka

[Read Anchan’s version!] [Read Furirin’s version!]

“I’m gonna shoot through your heart ☆ Yousoro!”

Saito Shuka (voice of Watanabe You) Nickname: Shukashuu Birthday: August 16th Blood type: A Hobbies: Badminton, calligraphy, walking Skills: Dance

Notable Roles TV Anime: Time Bokan 24 Game: Uchi no Hime-sama ga Ichiban Kawaii (Amaterasu) etc.

1. Favorite food? Salisbury steak with cheese inside.

2. Disliked food? Tomato.

3. Favorite sweets? Gummies!

4. Your number one favorite home-cooked dish? Salisbury steak.

5. Favorite color? Red.

6. Favorite scent? My own perfume.

7. Favorite season? Autumn.

8. Favorite event of the year? My birthday!

9. What sport do you like watching? Soccer.

10. What sport do you like playing? Badminton.

11. Favorite animal? I like dogs! Like Samoyed huskies, toy poodles, and miniature kaninchen dachshunds!

12. If you were to compare yourself to an animal, what would you be? I've been told that I'm a squirrel!

13. Are you a dog person? Or a cat person? Dogs!

14. Favorite manga? "Bokura ga Ita".

15. Favorite genre of manga? Shoujo comics! I like it when I read alone and my heart races and I get all flustered ♡

16. First manga you read? "Crayon Shin-chan".

17. First anime you watched? "Ojamajo Doremi".

18. Favorite movie? "Burlesque".

19. Favorite musical artist? Hamasaki Ayumi-san.

20. Song(s) you listen to every day? Aqours music!

21. First CD you bought? I don't remember.

22. Your specialty song at karaoke? Hamasaki Ayumi-san's "Days".

23. Phone lock screen? A photo of acorns.

24. A clothing brand you often buy? I'm not too picky about that stuff. I want to wear clothes that suit me!

25. Your best outfit? I'm the type to wear a one-piece dress (speaking of which, I only own one or so) or a skirt.

26. Favorite place in your house? The bathroom (because there's not a lot of space).

27. What do you want most right now? A dog. I want two more dogs.

28. What's something that you'll always carry in your bag? A handkerchief (laugh).

29. What's something you've been collecting unintentionally? Those small SMISKI figures.

30. What's your treasure? My family.

31. What kind of child were you? I haven't changed (laugh).

32. Your childhood treasure? I treasured my plushies the most.

33. Your childhood dream? To become a kindergarten teacher (I was actually too embarrassed to tell people I wanted to become an idol so I said this instead).

34. Someone you respect? Mama!!

35. If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? France!

36. What country do you want to try visiting? Europe! France in particular!

37. Any bad habits? Recently I've been quick to touch people.

38. Do you have a catchphrase? This is the best! I said it right away (laugh).

39. Charm point? My eyebrows are sloped downwards like the 八 character.

40. A strength you have? I'm stubborn.

41. A shortcoming you have? I'm stubborn.

42. Your special skill? Dance.

43. Something you're bad at? Studying.

44. A precise weakness of yours? Touching my shoulders.

45. What do you want to fix about yourself? Simply my sharp tongue.

46. What's something you could live off of? Dance.

47. What are you confident you can imitate well? No Face's voice from the scene where he eats the frog in Spirited Away.

48. Your current obsession? TV games.

49. A phrase you've been using a lot? Instaworthy.

50. Favorite motto? I say "once-in-a-lifetime encounter" (laugh).

51. If you could describe yourself with one word, what would it be? Carefree.

52. Something you've been picky about recently? Moving around during a live performance.

53. Fill in the blank with something positive: I'm actually _. Cold*. But in a good way. *(Note: think “chill”)

54. Fill in the blank with something negative: I'm actually _. Cold. But in a bad way.

55. Anything but this! Tickling my shoulders.

56. What would the world be better off without? War.

57. How do you kill time? I play with my dog.

58. How do you relieve stress and refresh yourself? I sleep.

59. What app have you been using often recently? Music app.

60. What's something you always do once you wake up? Open the curtains.

61. What's something you always do before you sleep? Drink hot milk with honey.

62. What do you do when you ride the train? Listen to music.

63. What do you do to maintain your health? I always wash my hands and rinse my mouth! Important stuff!

64. What do you do when you have the day off? Sleep.

65. What do you do when you have time to yourself? I basically only think about work. How I'm going to handle the live performance and stuff!

66. What do you do when you hang out with friends? We go watch movies.

67. Where do you want to go on your first date? I want to go wherever my date wants to go.

68. If you were to confess to someone, what kind of situation would you want it to be? I'd want to meet up and say it directly. Not by letter or by phone, but at the park or something!

69. If someone were to confess to you, what kind of situation would you want it to be? I'd want a smooth confession while we're talking to each other. I don't care where it happens. If someone told me suddenly like "pow" when we were just talking about whatever, I think I'd die (laugh).

70. What memories do you have of Valentine's Day? In the earlier years of elementary school I wanted to give chocolate to a boy I liked, but I couldn't do it and just ate them myself.

71. Something fun that happened recently? Went to a certain amusement park with my friends.

72. Something sad that happened recently? The cactus my family was raising just broke.

73. Something funny that happened recently? (Aida) Rikako dropped a bunch of gummy candies on the Shinkansen and was like "oops I dropped them" but didn't pick them up.

74. Something about your past you want to erase? I'll leave that to your imagination (laugh).

75. A moment that made you think "This is a miracle!"? Right now, each moment that I'm living is a miracle!

76. A moment that made you think "I'm glad to be alive"? Whenever I'm dancing.

77. What wish do you want granted in the future? I want more dogs. I want to be surrounded by dogs.

78. What's something you wished for that came true? The fact that I can go on stage and dance like this now.

79. Any fond memories of 2017? All the live concerts.

80. What went wrong in 2017? Simply, making mistakes while dancing. The challenge is how well you can hide your slip-up.

81. Goals for 2018? I want to act my age. I don't act like an adult!

82. What would you do if you won 100 million yen from the lottery? I'd put half into savings, give half of the remaining money to my parents, and use the leftovers. I want to build a house or something!

83. What would you do if you had a time machine? I'd want to visit the past. After all, the future is something you have to create yourself.

84. What would you want to do if the world were to end tomorrow? I'd want to do a live performance!

85. What would you want to eat if the world were to end tomorrow? Salisbury steak with cheese inside or pizza! I want to eat foods with cheese!

86. If you could bring one thing to a deserted island, what would it be? A survival knife.

87. If you were reborn in another world, what would you want to become? A magician.

88. If you were reborn in this world, what would you want to become? A dog.

89. If you were to be reborn, would you want to be male or female? Female.

90. What's good about being a girl? People spoil me (laugh).

91. What's something you'd want to try if you were male? Getting into a fight.

92. A challenge you want to take on? I want to play a musical instrument. I want to learn how to play trumpet from scratch. Also, tap dance.

93. A voice role you want to try in the future? A really weird, but cute girl.

94. If you could do any job outside of voice acting, what would it be? A pet shop employee or a kindergarten teacher.

95. What made you the happiest out of everything you've been told? “You're so cool!”

96. Have you been keeping any secrets from the rest of Aqours? I haven't been specifically keeping any secrets, no!

97. Where in Numazu would you like to visit again? The Deep Sea Aquarium.

98. Praise yourself as much as possible! You always do your best (laugh).

99. Your thoughts on today's photoshoot? I had so much fun; it was the best!!!

100. Finally, a word for your fans! I'm going to do my very best with Aqours from now on. I'll work hard so that all of you can follow us, and want to follow us as well!

TL: shukamod QC: Yujacha (@yujachachacha)

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saitou-shuka · 6 years

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[English Translation] Seiyuu Animedia May 2017: Saito Shuka Interview

“I was so immersed in my role as You-chan that I forgot to say my own name during the real deal!”

Shuka Saito

profile Blood type A. Her primary work is voicing the Benevolent Sun Goddess Amaterasu for the game Uchi no Hime-sama ga Ichiban Kawaii (Our Princesses are the Cutest). Affiliated with Holy Peak.

I was so immersed in my role as You-chan that I forgot to say my own name during the real deal!

Progress What progress have you made after making it through 1st Live? Our sense of unity got much, much stronger. When all of us were on stage together at Yokohama Arena, I could personally feel that it was only because all nine of us were supporting each other that we were able to come so far. Though we did have a few hiccups during the performance, I don't think we could have overcome it all if there weren't nine of us!

Aqours A message to everyone after having completed 1st Live This is kind of embarrassing (laugh). Let’s see…… Since we spent a lot of time rehearsing together, it felt lonely when we couldn’t see each other as much after the concert was over. Although there’s a lot I can’t help with as I’m the youngest member, please continue supporting me! I’ll support you guys as well!!

Release Expectations and words of enthusiasm for the upcoming release of the Duo & Trio Collection CD It surprised me, I didn’t think I’d be grouped with (Tsushima) Yoshiko. I was like “No way!!” (laugh). In “You & ANGEL”, is You-chan supposed to be an angel, or a fallen angel…… I’m curious about that too (laugh). But, since just about any song would suit them well, I think there are a lot of possibilities for these two. I can’t help but be excited about it!

Together To all your fans who are looking forward to the Aqours Next Step! Project Aqours is unstoppable right now, so I feel like we’ve been rushing to a lot of different places. Of course, I don’t know what kind of places we’ll end up reaching, but I’m really excited to see the future that’s in store for us. I want to see the view with all of you, so please continue to run alongside us!

Yourself How do you think you personally improved after making it through 1st Live? It’s been two years since I was first introduced before everyone as You-chan. My goal was to personally become You-chan. During 1st Live, I think I achieved it. But I didn’t completely achieve it yet. Even though I’m more confident now, I know there’s still more room for growth. I’m gonna try even harder from now on!

Member Profile: You Watanabe Second year student at Uranohoshi Girls’ High School. She specializes in diving, so she’s in both the swim club and the school idol club at school. A dependable girl who always supports her childhood friend Takami Chika. Also in charge of the costumes for Aqours.

The second year songs providing the momentum for the concert put pressure on her...

—During the encore for Day 2, it was very memorable how you sprinted down to the center stage at top speed with a huge smile. On both days, I thought the concert was so awesome that I wanted to shout “I had so much fun~!!” really loudly! During the performance, I was so immersed in my role as (Watanabe) You-chan, to the point that I messed up and forgot to say my own name and voice role during introductions (laugh).

—So that’s how hard you were concentrating. Then, you weren’t nervous either? No, for the first song when we were riding the stage lift up, I was so nervous that I felt like I would cry if I didn’t bite my lower lip. But, when I looked up, I saw the video introducing all the members in Aqours playing. I remember getting the feeling that “I need to do my best with these girls!” as I watched that video.

—Was this also when you let go of your nerves? It was the moment I saw the faces of all the fans in the crowd. Once I thought about just how many people were cheering us on, I was able to calm down. My uneasiness and nervousness disappeared. Then, with the thought that “I absolutely have to enjoy myself” and “If we’re not having fun, then everyone else won’t be able to have fun either!”, I flipped a switch in myself. I don’t really remember what happened after that (laugh). That’s how much fun I was having!

—Though, the second song suddenly turned out to be “Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM”, the song where You became center. Did you feel pressure from this as well? The first song, “Aozora Jumping Heart”, had a lot of energy-intensive dance moves, so I had to catch my breath first. But, as soon as this music started, everyone switched their penlight colors to blue for the song. I was so touched when I saw that. “Everyone is cheering You-chan on”, I realized, and when I was singing, it felt like I was actually in the middle of the ocean. I was thinking, “If you do this kind of thing for me, I’ll definitely end up crying~” (laugh)

—After that, you stayed on stage all the way until the end of the 8th song. In the first half, the second-year songs “Kimeta yo Hand in Hand” and “Daisuki dattara Daijoubu!” left a lasting impression. The setlist for this concert followed the story from the TV anime. These two songs were from when the second years first started off as a group of three, and ended up being their first step as school idols. Because of this, there was also a sense of responsibility in that if we didn’t properly convey this story, we could ruin the rest of the concert. That made me feel more tense when I was singing.

—Speaking of affinity, the part of the concert from “Mijuku DREAMER” to “Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare” was wonderful. “Mijuku DREAMER” was from when Aqours had finally gathered nine people, allowing You-chan and (Sakurauchi) Riko-chan to break out of their shells and be themselves more than before. Since You-chan was supposed to look at Riko-chan right before the “Omoi yo Hitotsu ni Nare” performance, I feel like crying when recalling all my memories of the song. But, it wasn’t only that I was touched, it was also like “Since Riko-chan is trying her best, I have to do my best singing and dancing too!” As a result, I had a lot of emotions while I was singing these two songs.

—So, Aqours’ 3rd single is now on sale. Please tell us what we should listen for! Although it’s fun when you’re riding the train of happiness, there’s something sad about it too. Also, it depicts how everyone in Aqours is growing up, making it bittersweet as well. As a result, my first impression was that it was “a mysterious song”. But because of that, there’s something new every time you listen to it, and I end up wanting to play it over and over again. Please be sure to loop the song and let your imagination run wild!

TL: shukamod QC: Yujacha (@yujachachacha)

#love live sunshine #saitou shuka #shukashuu #another long-awaited interview hahahaha #some of shuka's thoughts on first live #she's so honest #you can never see her nervousness when you actually watch her perform #but it's still there #the pressure must be insane #ganbare shuka #translation #interview #seiyuu animedia #long post

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saitou-shuka · 6 years

Text

[English Translation] B.L.T. VOICE GIRLS Vol. 29: Saito Shuka Interview

SHUKA SAITO

She became more gentle to make her dreams come true

As someone with a flashy seiyuu debut in Love Live! Sunshine!! under her belt, just what kind of future awaits Saito Shuka? It was still chilly as she wandered around at the shrine and along the floodplain in the afternoon. Dressed in her best clothes, she poured her heart out to us with a giant smile.

photo = Fujimoto Kazunori text = Ōkubo Kazunori styling = SHIBA hair&makeup = Onodera Risa

SHUKA SAITO INTERVIEW

“I don’t really understand what kind of person I am. The people around me have been helping me get to know myself better.”

Saito Shuka Born on August 16th in Saitama Prefecture. Leo. Blood type A. She debuted as Watanabe You in Love Live! Sunshine!!. As part of the same franchise, she began participating in activities as a cast member of Aqours. The solo live of the aforementioned group, “Aqours First Love Live! ~Step! ZERO to ONE~”, will be held at Yokohama Arena on February 25th and 26th. Their new single HAPPY PARTY TRAIN releases April 5th.

Official Blog: http://ameblo.jp/shuka-saito/ Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/Saito_Shuka

After being chosen to voice Watanabe You in “Love Live! Sunshine!!” and debuting as a seiyuu, it seemed as if she was catapulted into stardom overnight. As an active member of the school idol group Aqours, she is awaiting the release of their 3rd single, “HAPPY PARTY TRAIN”, on April 5th, and will likely achieve even more beyond that this year. That very same Saito Shuka told us about the various feelings she has now.

Since your coming-of-age ceremony happened, the feature turned into a fancy kimono photoshoot.

I knew I was going to be like this, but I was pretty tense wearing a kimono. On top of that, during the photoshoot they were telling me that I wasn’t going to just gracefully sit there smiling, and that it was okay for me to move around quickly. This blew away my preconception that I needed to be very conscious of the kimono I was wearing. I thought it was fun that I was able to break that impression I had!

From how you appear in the photoshoot, you seem to be cheerful, but also someone who is very serious, Saito-san.

I don’t think I’m a serious person at all, but there are a lot of people who have told me otherwise. I personally think I’m not very reliable (bitter laugh).

But you often practice singing and dancing even when you have the day off, don’t you?

When there’s something I have to do, I can’t help but think about it. Because of that, I pretty much deal with work even if I have the day off. It’s because I love my work more than anything. But, if I actually have nothing to do, then sometimes I just sleep all day, and sometimes all I’ll do is talk to my friends. Besides, I had no idea someone like me would be considered serious. I often think about how it would be better if I was more stoic in regards to my work.

Just before, you said that you often hear from other people. What else do they tell you a lot, other than that you’re “serious”?

They told me that deep down, I have a stiff personality (bitter laugh). When you’re stiff, even if your performance is graceful, the people watching you won’t be able to truly enjoy it because they can see the stiffness. Since they told me, I looked at women who have a more gentle feel to them, and I researched their expressions and stuff. In particular, there seem to be a lot of announcers who appear very gentle, so I keep in mind what they’re like and use them as reference.

Anything else they’ve told you?

They’ve told me that I have a lot of mental switches I flip to change my mood. That surprised me. I’ve never noticed that about myself. I didn’t even notice that I was changing my mood in the first place. But, now that they’ve told me, I guess it is kind of like that. I don’t really understand what kind of person I am, so I’ve been learning about myself from others a lot. Everyone exposes all these traits I didn’t even know I had (laugh). Some time ago, my friends from middle school made an instruction manual on me, and it was spot on! They knew just about everything about me (laugh).

Could you specifically tell us what kinds of things are written in this so-called instruction manual?

Someone wrote “When she’s embarrassed, she’ll hit her friends”. I wasn’t aware I did this either, but I guess I do, huh (bitter laugh). Someone also wrote “when she’s super excited, she’ll fumble her words”, which is also accurate. Even though I don’t have much of a vocabulary in the first place, every time I become more aware of how much I want to convey my feelings, what I’m saying can’t catch up to how I’m feeling and I slip up (laugh). Other things people wrote include “When she’s super excited, she’ll jump around”, “She shows her love through insults”, “If you’re nice to her when she’s trying to play tough, she’ll cry”. All of this is completely true, so I think that it’s pretty likely that I haven’t changed much since then.

Compared to those days, you haven’t changed and become more mature?

I haven’t changed. I met up with some middle school classmates I hadn’t seen in two years, but they told me that I really hadn’t changed at all. It made me strangely happy, though. I mean, when you were a kid, you'd have fun no matter what you were doing, right? It would be nice if I could become an adult without forgetting that kind of mindset. Of course, although I’ve grown in the sense that my singing and dancing skills have improved, I thought that I’d become an adult without changing the essence of who I am. Wait, while we were talking, I thought of something that did change! I remembered just now!

So something has changed, right?

I cry more easily now. In the first place, I’m so weak I cry watching shows about animals and kids’ shows, but it’s even worse now. Now it’s like, even when I’m just practicing dance at my house on a day off, I’ll start to tear up. After debuting as a voice actress, opportunities to go meet the fans who have been supporting us at events and stuff have increased. When I think about that during dance practice, I end up crying. Even though I was a nobody when I first debuted, now there are so many people who know who I am and who have helped me figure out what kind of person I am. When I think about that, I could just cry…...

What attitude do you have towards all the activities you’ll have to do from now on?

There are a lot of voice roles for energetic girls available right now, but I’d like to try voicing a young guy, or maybe a girl who’s kind of timid, since I want to become able to voice someone whose personality is completely different from mine. One day, I’d also like to try taking on the challenge of voicing a sexy older woman. Since there’s a lot I still haven’t tried doing and a lot of things I still don’t know about, I’ll just keep exploring my options. I want to see the various expressions everyone will make along the way. I’ll do my best as part of Aqours so that people come to love Love Live! Sunshine!! more and more, because I want to make a lot of dreams come true together with everyone who is cheering us on. For the next three years, five years, and for the future, I’ll put forth nothing but hard work!

TL: shukamod QC: Yujacha (@yujachachacha)

#love live sunshine #saitou shuka #shukashuu #this has been sitting around in drafts half done for like a year lmao #(looks at the profile) sweats this interview is from before 1st live #I really like this interview though #it conveys a very different side of shuka than the really hyper one we used to it #much more introspective #more self-conscious #she's a real person with hopes and dreams but also things she's anxious about #going through the trials of adulthood like the rest of us #ganbatte shuka T_T #translation #interview #blt voice girls #long post

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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hello shukamod this is embarrassing but what is a UO that you and other people that watch the live is talking about?

Nononono it’s totally fine! I’ve found that it’s actually really hard to learn about this stuff unless you’ve actually been to a live concert or viewing. Which… as some of you may know from experience, is excruciatingly difficult if you’re an overseas fan (꒪⌓꒪)

The short answer: UO stands for “Ultra Orange”, and is a chemical glowstick that glows bright orange, often only for a couple of minutes before it burns out. Because of how short-lived they are, people usually save them for their favorite songs at concerts.

The long answer: I’m gonna talk about glowsticks under the cut! Yayyy :DSkip to the Cyalume section for the full explanation on UOs :)

Disclaimer: I’m pretty new to all of this too, so any of you more experienced eventers please don’t hesitate to correct me if I say something inaccurate. Thanks!

Glowsticks are a staple of anisong and idol concerts, where audience participation is super important. The audience section is dark during concerts, and waving around glowsticks helps the performers know that you’re enjoying the show!

There are two types of glowsticks: battery-powered penlights and cyalumes.

Penlights

Pictured: @dyreatic‘s impressive penlight collection :^)

These are battery-powered LED glowsticks. Many of them can change color with the click of a button. It’s pretty much a plastic tube mounted onto a handle with buttons. You can almost always unscrew the tube off, and then the handle is basically a multi-colored flashlight. Most of them also come with wrist straps, so that the penlight doesn’t come flying out of your sweaty hands at a concert. The brightness and colors will die as the batteries drain, so I always recommend packing some fresh batteries for concerts.

If you’ve ever watched a live (whether in-person or not), you’ve probably seen plenty of these. I’ll cover some of the more known brands from the perspective of a Love Liver.

King Blade

Overview:Price: $30-35 USD, 4500yen (official Love Live! Blades, firsthand)Batteries: AAA x3Buttons: 2, on the bottom of the handle (Forward/Backward)Strengths: Custom colors

One of the most popular brands of penlight. The newest version (x10iii) comes with an app that allows you to tune the penlight to have whatever color palette you want (e.g. you can make specialized blades with the colors for μ’s, Aqours, or whatever you favorite group is!)

Most of the official Love Live! penlights are King Blades. They’re often colloquially referred to as “kbs” or “blades”. The King Blade is so common (at least in the Love Live! community) that sometimes you’ll hear people use the word “kb” as an umbrella term for all penlights.

Pictured: The official Aqours Blades for 1st and 2nd Live.

King Blades are in stock on Amazon with free shipping!King Blade x10iii Shining - $31 USDKing Blade x10iii Smoke - $31 USD

The Smoke version has a matte cover over the penlight tube, while the Shining version has a glittery cover. In my experience I’ve found that most people prefer the Shining version.

Lumiace

Overview:Price: $25 USDBatteries: AAA x3Buttons: 3, on the side of the handle (Left/Confirm/Right)Strengths: Cheaper than KB, 24 colors

Another good penlight brand, and a somewhat cheaper alternative at $25 USD vs. the King Blade’s $30-35. The default color palette on the latest version, Lumiace 2 Omega (abbreviated L2O) is 24 colors rather than the King Blade’s 15 colors. However, the L2O cannot be programmed to have a custom palette like the King Blade x10iii.

The official Aqours in Los Angeles penlight from Anime Expo 2017 was a Lumiace 2, and comes with the nine official Aqours image colors rather than the Lumiace default palette. As far as I know, this is the only official Love Live! penlight that isn’t a King Blade.

Lumiaces are also in stock on Amazon with free shipping!Lumiace 2 Omega Sparkling - $25 USDLumiace 2 Omega Matte - $25 USD

The two different styles are the same as the King Blade ones — the former has a glittery tube, while the latter has a matte tube.

PENLa

Overview:Price: ￥2500-3000 without shippingBatteries: AAA x4Buttons: A switch on the side of the handle (very easy to flip by accident)Strengths: Very bright but don’t die like chemical lights

A slightly different type of penlight. PENLas don’t actually change color, but they have three different brightness settings. The first brightness setting is about as bright as your King Blade or Lumiace at full battery. The second and third are much, much brighter. The primary advantage of PENLas is that they are just as bright as chemical glowsticks (covered later), but they are reusable.

They are suuuuper bright. My eyes.

A fan compares a PENLa UO to a KB x10ii. Jeez they are bright.

PENLas come in three tube sizes (S, M, L), but I recommend the S because same brightness + smaller tube = brighter penlight :)

Unlike KBs and Lumiaces, they also come with a small bag. I’ve heard complaints that the wrist strap that comes with PENLas isn’t as secure.

You can buy PENLas from Amazon JP with DHL shipping!PENLa Orange (S) - 2970yenPENLa Blue (S) - 2563yenPENLa Green (S) - 2950yenPENLa Yellow (S) - 2970yen

Cyalumes

These are chemical glowsticks. You crack them to cause a chemical reaction that makes the glowstick… glow. And boy do they glow. They’re much brighter than penlights, but they only glow for a couple of minutes before dying. And they’re one-time use only, so they’re useless after that. By the way, cyalumes are also kind of fragile. Don’t drop them unless you want to crack them by accident and have them dead before you actually need them (꒪⌓꒪)

Cyalumes are almost always colloquially referred to as the abbreviated form of “Ultra [color]”, regardless of brand. Ultra Oranges are UOs, Ultra Blues are UBs, Ultra Greens are UGs, etc.

The UO in particular has chemicals that make it much brighter than any other color of cyalume, making it the most popular color by far (regardless of who your best girl might be!). They’re an irreplacable part of idol concerts. Because of how bright and short-lived they are, people will save UOs for special moments such as solos or the choruses of their favorite songs. They’re also smaller and thinner than penlights, so it’s easier to go crazy and hold like 8 of them at once.

Exhibit A: Honoka’s parents with a whopping 16 UOs total.

For even more hype, you can take two UOs and do a rapid cycling motion above your head. This is called “cycloning”. At concerts you will often see people cycloning during the chorus of fast-paced crowd favorites such as Strawberry Trapper or Thrilling・One Way. You can also cyclone using your kbs, but it’s more exciting if you use brighter glowsticks like UOs or PENLas. It’s also way easier to cyclone with UOs — if you try to cyclone with bulkier glowsticks like kbs without practice you’ll probably end up hitting them on each other.

Perhaps the most famous use for the UO is during Honoka’s solo in Snow Halation. At Final Live, everybody popped a UO. No kidding:

The whole dome was orange (இ⌓இ )

Other colors are less common because they’re not as bright. Even so, in recent years, more and more Love Livers are starting to use colors other than Orange. I’ve seen people cracking UBs for both Koi ni Naritai Aquarium and MIRAI TICKET, and I know at least a couple of others who are considering UGs for HAPPY PARTY TRAIN.

How long do cyalumes last? A good rule of thumb is that the brighter they are, the more short-lived they are. The Lumica Daisenkou Kiwami Orange is one of the brightest brand of UOs available, and one stick lasts 2-3 minutes. Nice duration if you want to crack for a solo or chorus and have the UO last through the rest of the song before dying.

You can also buy standard Lumica Daisenkou Orange, which are not as bright as the Kiwamis (side note: kiwami means “extreme” lol), but last for 5 minutes instead. On the other hand, UBs are not much brighter than a KB at full battery, but they last for a good 15 minutes. In my experience, Kiwami UOs are always better than the normal UOs. The extra brightness is 500% worth it (•̀ ∀ •́)ﻭ ✧

You can either buy a box of 25 (left) or single glowsticks packaged separately (right).

The best brand of cyalume for buying in bulk (and trust me, you don’t want to buy just a single chemical glowstick. Especially if you’re importing from Japan.) is the Lumica Daisenkou. You can buy cyalumes in boxes of 25 from Amazon JP with Global Priority (DHL) shipping. Be warned: the shipping is not cheap. They’re also available on Amiami sometimes, but as of right now they’re sold out there. My personal recommendation is to always buy multiple boxes if you can afford it and just save the ones you didn’t get to use. Go to concerts with friends and split cyalume orders with them! ٩( ᐛ )( ᐖ )۶

Overview:Price: ￥2400-2500 for a box of 25, without shippingBatteries: None! :DStrengths: very bright, very hype, less bulky than penlight

Lumica Daisenkou Kiwami Orange (2-3min duration) - 2400 yenLumica Daisenkou Orange (5min duration) - 2400 yenLumica Daisenkou Blue (15min duration) - 2500 yen“Daisenkou” on Amazon JP (for other colors)

If you live in the U.S., you can also order Lumica Daisenkous straight from Lumica USA via email: [email protected]

Why buy cyalumes at all when PENLas exist? They’re short-lived, and don’t seem very cost-effective.

The way I see it, the point of having chemical glowsticks is to show both the performers and the people around you how excited you are for your absolute favorite songs. As a novice concert-goer I’ve found that I really enjoy cracking UOs (and UBs) in the heat of the moment and seeing other people get fired up cracking UOs for the songs they like best. They may not be very cost-effective, but at the end of the day, they truly enhance your concert experience.

shukamod recommends at least one penlight and a handful of Kiwami UOs for the first-time concert-goer! For best results, at least two penlights and a box of 25 UOs! If you’re like shukamod, then be sure to bring a box of 25 UBs as well o7

As always, thanks for reading (` ･-･´)ゞ

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yujachachacha · 7 years

Note

Have you gotten to watch your copy of First Live yet and if so what’d you think of the BTS stuff?

I have! Actually, let me just copy down exactly what I said when I first watched the BD:

THESE BLU-RAYS ARE WAY TOO FUCKING POWERFUL OH MY FUCKING GOD HELP SEEING SHUKA SMILE IN ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION SHOULD BE FUCKING ILLEGAL BECAUSE IT CAN DEFINITELY KILL PEOPLE

And as for my reactions to the BTS footage:

THERE IS SO MUCH ANSHUKA

There is also a LOT of KyanRika omg

CATCHING A GLIMPSE OF NANAAINYA GOING ON A DATE AROUND YOKOHAMA ARENA - IT’S JUST THE TWO OF THEM, EVEN THE OTHER MEMBERS POINT THIS OUT - FEELS LIKE I’M INTRUDING ON SOMETHING PRIVATE ASDFJKL;

there’s this scene when they’re in the tunnel at the live where shuka smiles at this staff member really brightly and it causes the staff member to smile back omg she’s so precious 😭

It’s just so good. There’s a rare moment of Anchan interacting with Arisha, plenty of cute shenanigans from the FKT trio (i.e. the first years), Ainya being hyper leading up to the live, emotional scenes of Rikyako trying to keep herself calm before her piano performance (T_T), Suwawa being the shadow gay queen that she is, and of course Shukashuu being gorgeous and cute and funny...my wallet definitely cried at the purchase of the Memorial Box, but it was hands-down worth every cent.

I still need to watch it some more to be fully satisfied - there’s a lot to catch, and anyone who’s familiar with my blog by now will know that I’m the type to obsess over every single detail about the seiyuu. If you’re wondering whether I have another motive for rewatching the BDs - remember the guide that shukamod and I made for the December 2016 Mini-Live?

...I’ll leave it at that. :3c

#love live sunshine #aqours #aqours 1st live #seiyuu #anonymous #yujachask

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yujachachacha · 7 years

Text

AWM 2017 recap

Things I saw at AWM today plus some bonus content I was informed of by other attendees of the event (roughly in chronological order):

Cinderella Girls

- I know next to nothing about this series except that Rin and Uzuki and that Love Laika duo are popular yuri ships lol.

- I already forgot their setlist OTL sorry I’d probably remember if I listened to some of their songs again. I think they performed 5? STAR, GOIN…uh…

- They pretty much spoke Japanese the entire time and were impressed that the audience seemed to be following along well despite that.

- They did a live skit or something? They showed clips from the anime(?) for each character and had them read a script live. Was pretty cute.

- Lit songs of the set list: YES PARTY TIME (is…is that the right title lol I just remember screaming those words a lot), and of course their closing song Onegai Cinderella.

- Okay to be exact all the songs were exciting but those two were particularly lit. iM@S songs have somewhat difficult calls (at least compared to Aqours) but those two songs are pretty easy to follow along with for wotaing even if you’re not at all familiar with the series.

- They performed one song I wasn’t familiar with because it wasn’t on the AWM Day 0 fan-compiled playlist nor the CG callbook _(:3 」∠)_ I believe this was one of their opening songs, so I started off the concert vaguely waving my KB and chanting “HAI HAI HAI HAI Uhhhh I don’t know the calls for this OOOH HAI OOOH HAI”, thanks for carrying the rest of us, Producers 👌

- Okay a friend has told me that song is Yumeiro Harmony? RIP.

Wake Up, Girls!

- 6 songs performed: Tachiagare!, Koi? de Ai? de Boukun Desu!, SHOUJO KOUKYOUKYOKU, Beyond the Bottom, 7 Girls War, Gokujou Smile. I…already forgot the exact order of the songs, but I *think* at least the first two are in the right places. Beyond the Bottom was close to the end iirc.

- I watched a grand total of 3 episodes of the anime plus the first movie so I’m not particularly familiar with the series, but I got attached to Minyami…to no one’s surprise lol, she happens to be the character whose image color is yellow and has a “nya” catchphrase 🙃 I screamed whenever she got a solo part she’s so cute aaah

- Mayushii is such a good singer holy fuck, kinda reminds me of a super-ikemen Emitsun (except ever since I saw a niconama of her crying hysterically over a horror game I can’t take her seriously :3c).

- They were saying things about having the audience smile or something as a lead-in into Gokujou Smile lol

- They tried to speak a bit of English, but it was mostly basic stuff. They were cute. :)

- I broke a UG (Ultra Green, the green version of a UO/Ultra Orange - which y'all might be familiar with from Snow halation) for Tachiagare and I lost my shit because Shukamod couldn’t find her UG, and she ended up breaking like 4-6 UBs (Ultra Blue, for songs like KoiAqua and MIRAI TICKET) unintentionally in her frantic search for one before I took pity on her and gave her my spare lol.

- SHOUJO KKK was motherfucking lit, everyone lost their shit at the hips great choreography and deep voices.

- Lowkey sad that they didn’t perform 16 sai no Agape because it’s the first WUG song I knew (thanks to King’s ANiUTa playlist) but I don’t have any complaints about their performance tbh. They are really, really good dancers and Mayushii’s singing is so damn ikemen I died.

- Everyone else in ONIBE was 🍝 for Yoppi lol.

- 15min intermission afterwards.

Walkure

- Only 2 members performed but it was still lit~

- These two are so talented??? The audience (me included) completely lost their shit at Ikenai Borderline.

- Shukamod probably had a good laugh at me screaming shit like “OH MY GOD JUNNA IS 16 HOW TF IS SHE THIS GOOD WHAT AN IKEBO HOLY SHIT”

- oh yeah, setlist…uhhh…also can’t recall the titles from the top of my head, but Ichi Do Dake no Koi Nara was one I remember. Really good song holy mother of god.

- Friends have reminded me that there was 5, and the first song was Koi Halation, other was Bokura no Senjou, and also supplied the title of the last song (I know the calls but not the title lol).

- In the MC, JUNNA and Minori talked about how they were really impressed by the American burgers. They wanted recommendations for more delicious burgers and several people in the audience had to start a chant to help them remember. They started to say McDonald’s and everyone screamed in horror until they eventually caught on that people were chanting “In N Out” lmao.

- They spoke so much Engrish bless these kids

- For the MC before the last song (Run ga Pikatta Hikattara), Minori was trying to teach the audience the call for it and was pleasantly surprised when the audience automatically did the call once she started singing a specific part of the song without her having to spell it out for us. What do you take us for, casuals? >:|

- All the solo parts were done by Minori…dunno if that’s normal but that’s what I noticed ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Aqours

- These are somewhat arbitrary numbers but it seemed like that the audience was made of like 25% CG fans, 10% WUG fans, 5% Walkure fans, and then the rest were there for Aqours. Possibly even more for Aqours, since I saw an insane number of people wearing the caps from the You birthday set lol. I even spotted someone cosplaying Ruby from the recent Time Travel set on SIF, holy shit how did they assemble that costume for AX so quickly… Anyways, of course the entire theater went wild when Aqours was finally up to perform.

- Like for their Christmas minilive and 1st Live, the members entered 1 by 1 through a splash screen introducing their character by default member order (i.e. Chika-Riko-Kanan-Dia-You-etc).

- To no one’s surprise, they started with Aozora Jumping Heart. @saitou-shuka and I were pretty much screaming our hearts out from the start. Shukamod broke a mega UO during Shukashuu’s intro lmao.

- They were wearing their MIRAI TICKET outfits and their set list basically turned out to be almost identical to their ANiUPa setlist.

- MC (member introductions using their standard character speeches e.g. Kanan going “I guess my appeal point is my muscles?”) after Aozora. They went down the line in the order Aikyan-Furirin-King-Rikyako-Anchan-Shukashuu-Suwawa-Arisha-Ainya.

- They didn’t do their call and responses (T_T) and I noticed that right away when Aikyan went into her introduction, so after she finished speaking I screamed “OHAYOSHIKO” and a few people copied me, I think? Me and Shukamod ended up shouting the call & responses before or after each introduction lol.

- Aikyan mentioned that this was her first time in America with Aqours, and when King did her introduction she sounded so smug going “This is my second time zura~~~”

- Rikyako mentioned that this was actually the first overseas performance for Aqours (which I already knew but it’s still cool to be reminded again) and everyone was hyped.

- Screamed a lot during Shuka’s intro RIP my voice.

- Suwawa started her self-intro and forgot what her lines were partway through so we had a good laugh when she went “Eh, nandake?” all of a sudden lol.

- People were cheering loudly for Arisha partway through her introduction, so she shushed everyone and then went “suki” and everyone lost their shit again.

- Ainya is so tiny omg what a shiny smol girl

- I made the resolution to be the American version of that one guy who always screams “AAAAaIiiNYAAAaaaAAa” at Aqours lives, and according to Shukamod I did a pretty good replication of it :3c

- Rikyako and Suwawa were in charge of the English language MC and their English has gotten really, really good holy crap. Only complaint I would have was the line “Let’s enjoy with us!” (should be something like “Let’s have fun together” or w/e), but their pronunciation and speed were godly. Both spoke a lot, but Rikyako in particular was really active in repeating stuff said in Japanese into English.

- Ainya was really clingy with Arisha lol I don’t remember which MC it was during but Ainya kept hugging Arisha and stuff lol

- Rikyako then said that the next song would be from their first single and everyone got hyped for KimiKoko.

- SHUKA LEAPFROG IN HER MIRAI TICKET OUTFIT WOOHOO SEEING IT LIVE WAS WILD

- KOIAQUA AFTERWARDS WHOOOOOOO SHUKA’S DANCING WAS SO GOOD!!! Also according to some people in other seats there were some audience members who were doing the “IE TAIGAAAA” calls for this song 🙃 Shukamod and I each broke a handful of UBS for this of course haha

- Another MC/small break afterwards! Furirin did that routine she always does at Aqours lives where she suddenly collapses and asks if she can have a water break lol is this gonna be a regular routine now?

- SHUKA ACCIDENTALLY TOOK ANCHAN’S BOTTLE AND FLAILED AND SAID SOMETHING LIKE “OH NO I DRANK SO MUCH OF CHIKA-CHAN’S WATER”

- MIRAI TICKET was announced as the Ep 13 insert song to be performed next! It was fun breaking out the UOs and UBS for this song too~ The “we say yousoro” part was of course enthusiastically screamed by all the You fans in particular o7

- Surprise song Yume Kataru yori Yume Utaou! They brought out pom poms too! Ainya and Arisha had a really cute hug in this song :D According to others apparently the 1st years were also super clingy and were doing lots of group hugs and stuff

Miscellaneous

- I spotted someone trying to record a part of the concert in the beginning and got really mad and pointed it out to the members of ONIBE I was sitting with. We screamed something like “HEY FUCKER YOU WITH THE CAMERA STOP FUCKING RECORDING” at him after the song, which caused a lot of stares but did achieve the effect of getting him to stop.

- When Aqours finished, Anchan became the MC for the closing speeches at the end.

- Minori had a paper at the closing MC with a speech written in English on it lol. She tweeted a picture of it after the performance, but basically it’s something along the lines of “Thanks everyone, In n Out burgers No. 1!!!” lmao

- JUNNA couldn’t come on stage at the closing MC with all the artists at the end because minors (JUNNA is 16) aren’t allowed to work after 10pm lmao, I had been so confused and concerned until that announcement was made and then I just cracked up.

- I saw Anchan making an adorable pouty face during one of the other groups’ closing speech aaaah so precious.

- Furirin and Shukashuu were doing small “ganbaruby” motions off to the side bless these two :’D

- King kept doing the Ohanamaru pose too lol

- Apparently for the VIP meet & greet after the concert, someone did a “hagu shiyo” with their friend in front of Suwawa, and in response Suwawa did it too with Shukashuu.

- Sosa (Korean Twitter artist famous for their NozoEli video comic of Garasu no Hanazono) was apparently at AWM today…AND RECEIVED A CALLBOOK FROM ONIBE. I MIGHT HAVE WALKED PAST ONE OF THE KOREAN ARTISTS WHO’VE I’VE TRANSLATED FOR. I MIGHT HAVE EVEN HANDED ONE TO THEM. WHAT THE HELL??

#love live! sunshine!!#love live sunshine #aqours #awm2017 #ax2017 #wake up girls!#cinderella girls #walkure #seiyuu #my ramblings #gonna jot this down while it's still fresh in my head #im already forgetting stuff fml #hopefully I can remember some more things later...?#apologies for formatting I'm on mobile #I fucking screamed about Sosa reeee #the other ONIBE members were like 'omg stfu yuja u sound like ur dying r u ok'#rushed onto twitter once I found out to tweet at Sosa lol #based on Sosa's reply I...might have sounded a bit too creepily desperate whoops;;;

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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Happy Aqours 2nd Anniversary!

It’s been two whole years since Love Live! Sunshine!! was first announced in Dengeki G’s Magazine on April 30th, 2015!

Looking back on the past year, we can see that Aqours has released a whole bunch of albums and a TV anime. They’ve also had a handful of mini-lives and performances as well as their first major live concert! And now they’re currently on their way to a second live concert and many more smaller performances, not to mention they have a second anime season coming up. On top of that, they’ve basically brought an entire dying town back to life. Aqours has worked so hard and accomplished so much ;__;

Thank you so much, Aqours. I love each and every one of you.

Since it’s a perfect time to reflect upon my personal involvement in Love Live! Sunshine!!, I wrote a bit about that too. Under the cut. Do not read if you don’t appreciate excessive amounts of sentimentality, I’ll gross you out.

Oh boy. It’s only been about 10 months since I was plunged headfirst into Aqours (fyi I drowned so I still haven’t surfaced) but I’ve somehow managed to start a blog about some Japanese girl that I didn’t even know existed a couple of weeks ago (I’m sorry LOL I love you Shuka), obsessively put an insane number of hours into said blog, start learning Japanese again, and even make a ton of new friends in the Love Live! community. There are so many kind, fun people in this community... thanks for reading my blog and talking to me ;__;

And thank you Shuka, for making all of this possible in the first place.

... Then there are the more questionable decisions I’ve made, like spending all my spare cash on seiyuu magazines, dragging myself out of bed at five in the morning every month to watch streams, putting a painful dent in my wallet to see my first (delayed) Live Viewing five hours away from where I live, as well as impulsively deciding to fly to Anime Expo to see Aqours perform live (er, how convenient that this happened right before the anniversary...).

tl;dr one year ago I barely knew Aqours existed and today I’m contemplating the consequences of flying 6 hours to the other side of the country just to see them :’)))))

Yeah. Basically, it’s been quite a ride. I must be crazy (:D)|￣|＿

Oh, and I actually have a running bucket list of hopes and goals relating to Shuka + Aqours, so I thought I’d put them here. Who knows how many of them I’ll manage to accomplish by next year, if any.

Goals: Meet & Greet Shuka M&G Shuka more than once Get Shuka's autograph somehow (lul raffles) Go to an Aqours Live Viewing (DONE: 5 Mar 2017) Go to Aqours Live in US (SOON: 30 June 2017) Go to Aqours Live in Japan Write a letter to Shuka (DONE: 7 Feb 2017) Mail Shuka a present (DONE 7 Feb 2017) Get a question answered on #ShukaInstructionManual

Hopes: You solo album Shuka becomes cover girl for a magazine (VOICE GIRLS I’m lookin’ at you) Shuka on Kanetomo Shuka radio show Shuka Fan Club

Some last words to my future self: Do you still love Shuka as much as you did when you made this post? How many more people have you ruined turned into Shuka fans? :) Did you ever finish your LV report or your ShukaBlog backlog? How about your asks? By the way, you had 99 of them as of April 29th, 2017. Also, please stop abusing your wallet. Remember to thank your friends and followers (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

Thanks for sticking with me, guys. To the future we go! Full steam ahead ꉂ(゜▽゜)ゝ

-shukamod

#aqours anniversary #shukamod speaks #I'm come back and look at this in a year a la /r/LoveLive time capsule #long post #I'll probably put a shorter version of this on reddit #because wtf how did I write so much #I feel bad I should have written more about aqours #I wish everyone in aqours an amazing future

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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Just 3 days left until Aqours’ First Live! Let’s hear from Shukashuu~⛵

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“I’ve danced at Yokohama Arena before when I was young, but the pressure of performing there as Aqours is a whole different story, huh...”

Q. Saito-san, this was your first time actually voice acting. Please tell us your current feelings on completing all thirteen episodes of the TV Anime, performing as Watanabe You. A. I was surprised when You-chan suddenly decided to join Aqours in Episode 1, and I also cried a little during the acapella scene in Episode 3. It was my first time voice acting, so my memories of all the episodes are very strong. But the most memorable part had to be the “Isn’t it frustrating?” line directed towards Chika-chan in Episode 8. These are words that could only have been spoken because of the bond that You-chan and Chika-chan share. They sounded very sad and lost, so my own feelings became heavier as well. Later in Episode 11, I felt jealous of Riko-chan without even knowing it. The day we recorded for the episode, I worried over what Rikako and Anju could be talking about together without me. My eyes naturally followed them around at the studio (laugh). And I’m not even the type of person that gets jealous easily to begin with. When I realized that I had unknowingly ended up sharing You-chan’s feelings, I felt the strength of my feelings towards You-chan.

Q. Which of Aqours’ activities left the strongest impression on you? A. The fact that someone like me, who only has background in dancing, got involved with a project like Love Live! is a miracle in itself. Because of this, it was especially frustrating when I made a mistake while dancing (supposedly my specialty!) at the 1st Single Release Commemoration Event on January 11, 2016. I learned from this, and now whenever I feel like I’m going to run into trouble, I prepare myself beforehand. I love µ's very much, so I also have a strong desire to uphold the reputation they’ve worked so hard to build. It will soon be two years since we started our activities. Time really flew by quickly. When I watched the broadcast for Episode 13 of the TV Anime, I somehow started to feel the same way I did when watching Episode 1. “From here on out, this is truly where we begin, as Aqours,” I thought.

Q. What kind of enthusiasm do you have for Aqours’ 1st Live Step! ZERO to ONE? A. The subtitle is also “Step! ZERO to ONE”*. Since we are still inexperienced, we want to hold a live concert befitting of the title ‘Step! ZERO to ONE’. I’ve danced at Yokohama Arena before when I was young, but the pressure of performing there as Aqours is a whole different story, huh...

*(TL Note: This subtitle is literally “Step! ZERO to ONE” translated to Japanese, while the actual title “Step! ZERO to ONE” is in English.)

Q. Is there anything you personally make an effort to do in preparation for the First Live? A. When I have spare time, I do nothing but listen to the music and imagine the stage in my head. On such a big stage, if I don’t move my body well from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, I won’t be able to reach all our fans. What kind of actions can I make to please everyone? That’s what I envision in my head while I’m practicing.

Q. Lastly, please say a few words for all the fans who are looking forward to the First Live. A. Thank you very much for always giving us your support! I think 1st Live is the very first step of the dream we will fulfill with everyone, as well as a chance for everybody to see our growth. Even though I’ll be constantly excited because everything is still a first for me, I want to have as much fun as I possibly can with everyone and the music during the performance!

Thank you to close012 for scans!

Brought to you by ONIBE (￣^￣)ゞ

TL: shukamod Typeset: shukamod QC: Dyrea, Mega

#shukaaaaaaaa.......................#getting jealous over anrika DJSKFLDSJLKJLC #love live sunshine #saitou shuka #shukashuu #here's the one-liner about her performing at yokohama arena before #before you ask anything no I don't know anything else about this #she's still upset about last year's mistake.... shuka we still love you ;__;#translation #interview #first live countdown #long post

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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What's up Shukamod. Do you know what Shukashuu has done before Aqours? I watched a video called "Suwawa, Shukashu, Furirin before joining Aqours" and got curious about her past career and adorable antics. Let us know if you got any insight.

Hmm, Shuka is literally fresh out of high school, so there’s not much on her pre-LLSS life out there. What we do know:

According to her 1st Live Pamphlet interview, apparently she’s danced on the Yokohama Arena stage before?? She gives no further details, but maybe she’ll tell us about it some day…

She attended Watanabe Entertainment School as a student in the Vocal Course.

She was already signed to her agency Holy Peak under the name Hida Yuchika. As Hida Yuchika, she performed in two stage plays and advertised for the mobile game Map of Eldice.

… She’s owned her dog for 13 years? LOL

That’s all. Total enigma otherwise ヽ(ﾟ､｡)ﾉ

#lmao watanabe entertainment school #it's fate #!!!! shuka info #there's not much #ask #anonymous #shukamod speaks

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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8 days until Aqours’ First Live! Let’s hear from Arisha~💎

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“There will be trials ahead, but because of that, we are going to put up a performance that will surprise everyone and exceed their expectations.”

Q. Komiya-san’s first challenge as a voice actress was the role of Kurosawa Dia. After the broadcast of the anime was completed, didn’t you feel that you had a better understanding of Dia’s emotions? A. Ever since the first episode of the anime, I have somehow felt that Dia and I had something in common. One of them was being too engrossed to the point that we don’t notice our surroundings. However, Dia has this composure when she watches over the relationship between Kanan and Mari. I am aware that this is particularly different from me — I’m someone who gets mood swings. In episode 8, we had a scene of us having a long conversation, which had heavy emotions, and it was really tough for me to perform the intonation needed when doing the voice-overs. That’s why after episode 10, I was able to voice Dia as she was like originally (laughs). Additionally, she cherishes the relationship with her younger sister, Ruby. “Don’t they seem like they are very close at home?” and the like was the kind of image we wanted to present when I was doing voice-overs for those scenes with Aiai (Furihata Ai).

Q. Komiya-san, you’ve been participating in activities as part of Aqours. What is the moment that has left the best impression so far? A. Up until Episode 9 of the TV Anime when Dia joined Aqours as a member, I honestly had this uneasiness in my heart about what kind of emotions I should have when I am standing on stage. In the TV anime, all nine members of Aqours took another step forward. After that, I was finally able to enjoy singing and dancing with 100% pure emotion, and I was surprised at how different this was. I also got to meet all the fans at the (CICF) event in China, and this experience seemed to have started making me think, “Let’s aim for a bigger objective”. The other impressive moment that I had was my first experience of hosting a radio show. I thought, “I can’t do this alone!”, but before i knew it, I was surprised at how I couldn’t stop talking. Before that, I didn’t realize I was able to talk like this.

Q. When you first heard about the title of the 1st Live, Step! ZERO to ONE, what were your thoughts about it? A. “So this is it!” was what I thought. There are quite a number of fans whose favorite song was Step! ZERO to ONE, which was in our first single. Even when I read the lyrics again after the end of the TV anime, I still thought it was wonderful, and the desire to continue inheriting Dia’s story got stronger after that. There will be trials ahead, but because of that, we are going to put up a performance that will surprise everyone and exceed their expectations.

Q. With regards to 1st Live, have you done anything to challenge yourself in private? A. As fitness is of utmost importance, I have been running and planning my diet around food that is good for my body. I have to sing while running, and that is actually the most difficult. This will decide if I’ll be able to sing a phrase within one breath, and I plan my training accordingly to improve my lung capacity.

Q. Lastly, please say a few words for all the fans who are looking forward to the First Live. A. I am looking forward to this wonderful event, and I feel fired up about being able to perform for two days. For the sake of those who are unable to make it to the Live this time, I will cherish this 1st Live. From now on, in order to hold Lives in various places, I will work hard!

Thank you to close012 for scans!

Brought to you by ONIBE (￣^￣)ゞ

TL: Arishamod (@arishamod) Typeset: shukamod QC: Mega, Dyrea

#komiya arisa #arisha #ARISHA!!!! so confident omg...#everyone else talks about how nervous they are and how they want to be able to answer our (fans') expectations but arisha is just like #'I'm going to kill it at 1st live just u watch'#👀👌👌👌#good work team 👌#(not my translation)#first live countdown #long post

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saitou-shuka · 7 years

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Only 10 days until Aqours’ First Live! Let’s hear from Ainya~ ✨✨

To kick off our final countdown to First Live, ONIBE is translating all of the interviews from the First Live Pamphlet — starting with Ainya!

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“With this Live, we want to deliver a performance that will give our fans the same radiant smile we carry!”

Q. Having completed the recording of all 13 episodes of Love Live! Sunshine!!, there must definitely be a fair bit of things to look back upon. Suzuki-san, were there any instances where you experienced any unexpected feelings during the recording? A. At the very beginning, Mari was portrayed as being somewhat of a "lone wolf", keeping watch over everyone from a distance - her feelings towards Kanan and Kanan's feelings towards her were only laid bare in Episode 9 of the TV anime, exposing the clumsy and blunt aspects of Mari's personality. The entire misunderstanding between the two was all because Mari had prioritised Kanan's feelings over her own... As such, Episode 9 remains the most memorable to me as it was an episode of reconciliation between Mari and Kanan. When we recorded the insert song ‘Mijuku DREAMER’ after the recording of the episode proper, I was really moved by the lyrics - I was singing while on the verge of tears.

Q. Suzuki-san, what kind of impression has it left on you, having experienced Aqours' activities for yourself? A. I realised that I wasn't quite aware of the amount of work I would have to put in as a member of Aqours. While going through the activities required of us, such as event preparations and dance practice, I realised that everyone's work was directly invested towards a common, unified goal - to bring us together, and to strengthen our bonds to each other, and to achieve greater things. For example, during dance practice, we pointed out each other's mistakes and worked to correct them - and after some more practice, our poses and timing started to line up perfectly. It's during these kinds of moments where we really strengthened our bonds.

Q. How did you feel when Aqours' First Live Step! ZERO to ONE was announced? A. When I heard it was going to be held at the Yokohama Arena, across two days, I was surprised and excited at the same time! I'm nervous about whether I would be able to bring out the vibrance and elegance of Mari during this First Live. Either way, since I will be performing at the Live, I want to put on the best performance possible for every one of the fans watching our Live!

Q. Since the start of the Love Live! Sunshine!! project, do you feel like there have been any changes within you? A. Before joining the project, when I felt mentally strained or nervous it became impossible for me to think about anyone else other than myself. But after I took up the role of Mari, I had more to consider - namely, "What would Mari do in this situation?" I feel that playing as Mari has helped me to broaden my perspectives — and I feel that this project has helped me improve myself noticeably.

Q. Lastly, please say a few words for all the fans who are looking forward to the First Live. A. "When facing new challenges, it's natural to be nervous and excited. Even if you encounter some obstacles along the way, cherish the thrill of the challenge, and you'll surely find something to hold on to." This is what I believed in, and I worked hard with everyone in Aqours all the way. With this Live, we want to deliver a performance that will give our fans the same radiant smile we carry!

Thank you to close012 for scans!

Brought to you by ONIBE (￣^￣)ゞ

TL: Astral (@astralwinters) Typeset: shukamod QC: Mega

#suzuki aina #ainya #I wasn't going to publish this here #but by popular demand I'm going to publish all nine #rather than have all the interviews scattered around all the different translators' tumblrs #asjfhdsskjfhsdkh ainya ;__;#she talks so much about being nervous lol #she's accomplished so much I'm so proud....... pls love ainya #(not my translation)#first live countdown #long post

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