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Too pretty they made me Nervous (Utsukushisugite Nervous) Q I could feel Umeka-san’s love for the group from your narration or your announcement posts on X (= Formerly Twitter) Umeka: I’ve been working with them since “Keyaki tte, Kakenai?”, and I’ve watched over the members like a parent would. I am someone who works in the entertainment industry as well, so I could understand some things that they are going through. It’s not all just fun, there is also the hardship of having to continuously be in the spotlight. Because each of their hard work is being conveyed, I wish that they could all bloom and do their activities with a smile. In “Sokosaku”, characters are made for the girls who don't really stand out often, and it makes me happy if it makes the theme even more fun. Q Such as the “Kousaka Marino DEATH GAME”. Umeka: Yeah, that’s right! (laughs) Her face popped out in my mind right away! Q I interviewed you for BRODY ~3 years ago , and what do you think of the 2nd generation’s

  Q 9Lana’s “Let me battle” that was composed and arranged by Giga-san and TeddyLoid-san received a huge response. What were your thoughts going into this new work, “Pikkaan!”? TeddyLoid: ”Let me battle” that I created with 9Lana-san showed a new side to Pokemon songs that has never been seen before, and I think it has become a song that surprised everyone. Pokemon is a work that we are all familiar with, so when the offer came, I was like “It’s finally here”. Giga-chan and I talked about sublimating the maximum performance we have in our music as we took this on Giga: I was really happy to receive another offer, and it was both challenging and fun in trying to set it apart from our previous work Q In addition to the two of you, DECO*27-san is also credited as the songwriter for this song. This is the first time the three of you worked together after Ado’s “Odo” TeddyLoid: In the first place, I wanted to ask DECO*27-san, who I thought to be the best lyricist and music producer, to help

  How Each of Them Will Come into Bloom It has been a year since the Sakurazaka46 3rd generation members passed their auditions. The blossoming individuality of the eleven members is bringing new life to the group. The sensational girls are forging their own trajectory of growth. — It’s been a year since the eleven of you first met each other as members of Sakurazaka46’s 3rd generation. Now, I’d like you to talk about the future while looking back at the past and also the present. First of all, shall we start with talking about which members have changed from their initial impression or shown you a new side of theirs while spending time together? Mukai: I wonder… Surprisingly, we still have the same vibes from when we first met, so I think there are only a few members who have changed their impressions by a lot. Yamashita: That’s right… Everyone already showed their true colors from the beginning, so I feel like we’ve barely changed. Murai: It’s just that we were divided into two group

  Q As Sakurazaka46’s second Tokyo Dome approaches, shall we look back at the last 1.5 years it’s been since the last Tokyo Dome? Rena: So many things have truly happened, like how we performed overseas for the first time, and how I was selected to be the center of the 5th single title song “Sakurazuki”. Thanks to all the support the Buddies have given to us, as a team we can head toward the same direction together, and we were able to experience so many things that it is unthinkable it all happened within 1,5 years. Q It’s probably like that because the group released 4 singles in the past year, from “Sakurazuki” to “Ikutsu no Koro ni Modoritai no ka?”. All in all, that’s a single every three months, not to mention the concerts in between. Rena: It was certainly one production after another. I’m truly grateful that we are able to stay busy in such a blessed environment. Q I think that being entrusted with being the center of “Sakurazuki” must have been a very important event for you i

Q What does Fujiyoshi-san, who has been appearing in dramas and a movie in-parallel with your activities in the group, think of the past 1,5 years that have passed since the last Tokyo Dome performance? Karin: It felt very fast. As you said, I have been able to try a lot of different things, and it feels like a year has suddenly passed as I was giving my all and working hard. Q At least it doesn’t feel slow, right? (laughs). Speaking of which, as you go back and forth between the filming site and your group activities, did you see a new side of the group Sakurazaka46? Karin: If I must say it in one phrase, then I felt “an encounter”. I have been only working within the group, so I’ve been not only with the members but also the staff members, and that’s all I knew about. It felt like I was in a school, and then I went outside for a bit. And from there, I was able to learn a lot of things. Q It might be a bit rough to group acting, which you described as “in the outside world”, together