#liyuu

YJ Full Bloom Vol.4

Liella! (Liyuu ・ Sakakura Sakura)

YJ Full Bloom Vol. 4 Weekly Young Jump Combined Issues 22-23. On sale April 30, 2026 Featured on the cover, opening pages, center spread, and closing gravure

It's "YJ Full Bloom" Vol. 4, the interview series that goes behind the scenes with the talents on our opening gravure! This time, the spotlight's on Liella!, who took over the Weekly Young Jump combined 22-23 special issue from front cover to closing gravure, all in a single sweep. We're bringing you a roundtable with these school idols straight out of "Love Live! Superstar!!" split into four pairings! These groupings are actually a YJ exclusive, so you might just catch a side of the cast you don't usually get to see!?

――We tried out an unusual pairing for this shoot with you two. What do you each find appealing about the other?

Sakakura: Rii-chan (Liyuu) is cute by anyone's standards, her figure's amazing, she's basically beauty personified. She works so hard on it, always figuring out new ways to get even cuter, and honestly, that's something I want to learn from too. I joined the group partway in, so even back when I was just a fan cheering Liella! on, I already knew how hard she worked, and now being right next to her, there's still so much I'm picking up. Performance-wise, she used to say dance wasn't her strong suit, but watching her up close, her dancing is so good, and her movements are so clean; there's a lot that I want to copy. I'm sure all of that is exactly because she's never let up, and the way she keeps pushing herself even with that much talent... It's just so cool!

Liyuu: Saku-chan (Sakakura Sakura)'s charm point is just how lovable she is. The way she is around everyone, she's super endearing and just adorable. And she pulls it off so naturally, which is exactly why she really feels like our youngest. At lives, I could tell how deeply she studies Tomari-chan. If it were just Saku-chan being herself, I think her performance would come out way cuter, but in Liella! she's performing as Tomari, so you can really feel how much she loves Tomari and how she's putting thought into every part of it. And I think that's exactly what makes her so appealing.

Sakakura: It really makes me happy that she sees me that way. I'm pretty much the complete opposite of Tomari, so yeah, I do study her a lot.

――Tell us what makes a Liella! live special.

Sakakura: We've got more and more songs where everyone can shout along together and get hyped up, so you really get to feel that unity in the venue. There are cool songs, songs you can get hyped to, songs that wow you with the choreography, so the range of genres you can enjoy is what makes it special.

Liyuu: The performance goes without saying, but every show has a story to it as well, with audio dramas playing during the intermissions. Even if it's your first time coming, I think there's plenty to enjoy just from following along with the story.

――How was the 7th Live?

Liyuu: This time, all of us got to perform a solo song, plus there were songs split between the first-years, second-years, and third-years, and a few we hadn't done in a while. So I think it ended up being a live that longtime fans and first-timers alike could really enjoy. The solo song "Fundamental" really fits Keke-chan now that she's a third-year, and it felt like a song wrapping up her high school days, so there was this lonely, bittersweet feeling tied to it.

Sakakura: So much of the staging was built around us all enjoying it together, and that made me really happy. Honestly, I just had so much fun. Getting close to everyone and seeing their smiles up close gave us so much energy, too. And it was Tomari's first solo performance, so I had a lot of nerves, but in the end it became a really great stage. All of you said many kind things after, so I hope to perform it again someday.

――Last one: what's something you'd like to try with Liella! going forward?

Sakakura: I'd love to do things like a sleepover!

Liyuu: A training camp would be nice too!