Interview: Sakurazaka46 delivers their own unique performance at their first US live show

–What kind of preparations did you make to appear at Anime Expo (hereafter referred to as AX) this time?

Morita Hikaru (hereafter, Morita):　I have had the opportunity to travel to many overseas countries, and as an MC, I sometimes learn the local language and use it to communicate. Today is an anime event, so I came up with a one-off plan for today, such as showing anime footage on the monitors in the background, and I tackled the rehearsals with the hope that everyone would enjoy it every time.

Are you studying languages?

Yamazaki Ten (hereinafter referred to as Yamazaki):　I get language lessons from local interpreters. For example, when I went to France, I was taught that the pronunciation of the English word “Mister” is “Monsieur” with a shorter pause. I feel like I’m growing by experiencing real pronunciation in this way.

　This time in America, the junk food was really large. If a medium size in France is like a large size, then a medium size here would be about the size of an extra large size in Japan, so I was a little surprised by the out-of-the-ordinary sizes and felt happy.

　I’ve had the opportunity to travel abroad a lot over the past two or three years, come into contact with many different cultures, and have gotten quite used to flying. At immigration, my girlfriend (Moriya Rena) showed me a Sakurazaka46 music video…

Everyone　(lol)

Moriya Rena (hereinafter, Moriya):　When I was asked, “What do you do?” I replied, “This is what I do!” and showed them a YouTube video of Sakurazaka46’s music video.

──How was it when you actually entered the AX venue?

Fujiyoshi Karin (hereafter Fujiyoshi):　I don’t usually have much to do directly with anime, but seeing so many people dressed up in anime cosplay at the opening ceremony this morning made me feel proud that Japanese culture has reached America and is so popular. I was reminded once again how happy I am to have had the opportunity to take part in the largest Japanese culture event in America.

There were a lot of guests at the Moriya　opening ceremony, and everyone was so warm and welcoming and excited, which made me really happy.

　It was my first time performing live in America, and the venue was the famous Peacock Theater, so I was a little nervous. When I went up on stage during rehearsal and looked out at the audience, it was really dazzling.

Yamazaki:　As it’s a venue for various award ceremonies and live performances by top artists, the hallways were lined with photos of famous people, and I looked at them all carefully.

–Japanese anime, manga, J-POP, and idols are popular overseas. What do you think is the reason for this?

Yamazaki　: I think that people are discovering new works on these occasions, whether it’s anime or manga. For us, too, we think that major overseas events, such as this “Anime Expo,” are very important opportunities for people to learn about Sakurazaka46 in new ways.

　I also felt that social media is important. It’s easy for people of all nationalities and languages to see. When we announced our US performance, we received reactions from people in other countries, so we want to work harder on social media activities from now on.

──This time, you’ll be performing four songs.

Morita:　Matsuri-chan (Rina Matsuda) and I will be singing “Pikkaaan!”, the ending theme song for the TV anime “Pokémon,” and a special video prepared for this Aime Expo will be playing in the background. It’s an important song connected to the anime, so I want to receive the power of the Pokémon to perform it.

──You want to show a performance that is unique to Sakurazaka46 overseas.

Yamazaki:　Our costumes are shaped like traditional Japanese kimonos. I want to deliver a stage filled with this kind of idol culture that is unique to Japan, a stage full of Japaneseness. Also, there are many different types of idols, and Sakurazaka46 puts a lot of effort into performance, with cool dance moves and intense singing – we’re conscious of showing a different side of us than other idols.

──Finally, please tell us what activities you were involved in from the latter half of 2013 to 2014.

Tamura Hono:　After this, we have two final shows left for the tour, the Tokyo Dome and the Kyocera Dome in Osaka. This will be our first time performing at the Tokyo Dome for three days, and our first time performing at the Kyocera Dome, so to be honest, when it was announced I was very anxious, wondering what kind of tour it would be, how many people would come, and whether we would be able to live up to their expectations, but now I’m really looking forward to it.

　We’ve performed in the regions up to this point, and we were able to present ourselves in a different way from Sakurazaka46 up until now, and I think it was a live performance that all of our Buddies (the collective name for Sakurazaka46 fans) were able to enjoy together, which has given us confidence, so we want to go beyond this first half of the year and make these five days a time to sum up all of Sakurazaka46’s activities up to now, turn that into confidence, and stand tall. And with these five days, we want to run through this year to the very end. I hope we can make many new encounters.

Composition: Hirashima Ayako (Editor-in-Chief of Nikkei Entertainment!, in charge of digital development)