Music / Sakura Gakuin

The 2020 members^*  Left to Right: Yume Nozaki, Miko Todaka, Miki Yagi, Sana Shiratori, Kokona Nonaka, Miku Tanaka, Sakia Kimura, Neo Sato

Sakura Gakuin (さくら学院 - literally Cherry Blossom Academy) was a school-themed Japanese Idol group managed by Amuse, the same agency which manages Perfume, One OK Rock, and Babymetal (originally a Sakura Gakuin subunit), amongst other talents. Most years, the group is composed of twelve^*  (the very first year [2010-11] and the fifth [2014-15] had ten; the final year [2020-21] had eight) girls spanning anywhere from 5th to 9th grades (ages 10-15).^note  Not every nendo has all grades represented – 2010 had no 9th-graders; 2012, 2014, 2016, & 2020 had no 5th-graders; 2013 and 2017 had no 6th-graders. Its stated mission was to train up the members to become "Super Ladies" who will succeed in whatever field(s) they choose – this was no mere platitude, as Sakura Gakuin was known for the extremely high quality of its performances compared to similar groups.

Started in 2010^*  (announced in Idol magazine Pure Pure on Apr 30th 2010; homepage created May 5th; the first Ameblo diary [Ayami's] posted May 6th) with their public debut at the inaugural TOKYO IDOL FESTIVAL that August.^*  SG's actual debut was the day before – Aug 29th 2010 – at the annual Ciào audition, which was not a public event. The group’s main Gimmick is that it was a "Unit Limited to the Growth Period", meaning that when members graduate from middle school in real life (the end of compulsory education in the Japanese school system), they also leave the group, prompting the annual end-of-term "Road To Graduation" concert at the end of March. ^note  The Japanese school calendar resets at the beginning of April. Sakura Gakuin normally held its Tenyuusei show, where new recruits are revealed to the fans, at the end of or immediately following Golden Week (a bunch of official holidays in a row spanning April 29th to May 5th). April was used to introduce the new girls to returning members and get everyone prepared for the Transfer Ceremony.

Just like a school, the subunits of Sakura Gakuin are called Clubs (-bu) – such as the Cooking, Science, Tennis, Art, Heavy Music, Purchasing, Baton Twirling, Newspaper, and "Go Home" themed clubs.^*  The only exception was Puro-Resu Dōkō-kai, which is translated as "Pro Wrestling Fan Circle". Songs from whichever clubs are active in a year, along with songs from the whole group, are collected in an album released around the end of the Japanese school year. For the group's first few years, they would also release singles containing additional studio material absent from the nendo album. Regrettably, despite their popularity with fans and the girls themselves, all remaining clubs except Kobaibu ("Purchasing") were officially stopped at the end of the 2018 school year.

The group also released various videos as bonuses on special editions of their albums. One of these is the Class Test, which involved the members taking a test in general knowledge every year.

There was a Student Council with designated roles. Which positions existed depended on the year, though there was always a President. Other titles used over the years include Talk Chairman, Education Chairman, Spirit Chairman, Performance Chairman, Mood Chairman, Production Chairman, and Vice President. The President would always be from the Senior year even if there was a junior with more time in the group. Other positions usually divided amongst the other 9th-graders, with the exception of Vice President who, if the title is active, would always be an 8th-grader. The girls were accompanied by their "Homeroom Teacher" Hayashi Mori (commonly referred to as Mori-sensei) who often acted as a mentor to them, if perhaps a Trickster Mentor sometimes.

In addition to their albums and stage shows, plus occasional print and televised interviews, the group also hosted a weekly livestream series on Monday evenings, originally on TV Asahi's LoGiRL platform from January 2015 through March 2017, then on the FreshLive and Openrec.tv platform from July 2017 to August 2021. These normally only featured a few of the girls at a time, allowing them an opportunity to show off their personalities – real, stage, or both – to fans in a way they otherwise couldn't. Mori-sensei usually joined them on these broadcasts, helping with showrunning and keeping the girls on their toes. Sometimes graduates would also drop in to plug whatever project they were working on. While the respective shows have proper titles^*  (Houkago Mana’nde Monday for the LoGiRL show and Ganbare!! FRESH! Monday for the Freshlive/Openrec version), fans and the girls themselves typically just call them by their channels (LoGiRL and FRESH) instead.

Other talent agencies have Idol training units (for example the Hello! Project Kenshuusei). Sakura Gakuin was unusual even with respect to these due to the school year membership limit – the absolute longest any girl could be in the group was five years, and most members weren't there that long. Also, there was no senior Idol group or project the members specifically aimed for – indeed, most graduates pursue other occupations: as models, TV presenters, media personalities, actresses (TV, voice, film, stage), etc., and a few have left entertainment entirely.

The 2020 Coronovirus pandemic threw Japanese entertainment into chaos, and Sakura Gakuin was hit particularly hard. The 2019 Graduation ended up being postponed until August 30th 2020, and even then it was a livestream-only event with no audience. Then, on September 1st, staff announced that 2020 would have no new transfers and that, due in part to social distancing requirements making live shows impossible, the school would close on August 31st 2021. That date is, coincidentally, one day after the eleventh anniversary of Sakura Gakuin's public debut. The announcement also reiterated that the remaining girls would continue to receive the training they were promised following the closure, albeit in a different fashion.

The group's farewell show took place on the evening of Sunday, August 29th, 2021.

Has an entry on the other wiki.

Members

Final Group - 2020 {seniority order taken from SG's website}

• Sana Shiratori – Joined 2018 – Seventh Talk Chairman
• Kokona Nonaka – Joined 2018 – Tenth Class President
• Miku Tanaka – Joined 2017 – Second Spirit Chairman
• Miki Yagi – Joined 2017 – Third Vice President
• Neo Satou – Joined 2019 – Fourth Education Chairman
• Miko Todaka – Joined 2019 – Third Performance Chairman
• Yume Nozaki – Joined 2018 – P.R. Chairman
• Sakia Kimura – Joined 2019 – "Reckless" Chairman

Graduated Members (based on join date)

• Ayami Muto – Founding member: First Class President. Graduated 2012
• Ayaka Miyoshi – Founding member: Graduated 2012
• Airi Matsui – Founding member: Graduated 2012
• Suzuka Nakamoto – Founding member: Second Class President. Graduated 2013
• Marina Horiuchi – Founding member: 1st Vice President (2012), Third Class President. Graduated 2014
• Raura Iida – Founding member: Performance Chairman. Graduated 2014
• Nene Sugisaki – Founding member: First Talk Chairman. Graduated 2014
• Hinata Sato – Founding member: Mood Chairman. Graduated 2014
• Moa Kikuchi – Joined 2010^*  (while Yui and Moa were added to the roster at a later time than "Ayami's Eight", Sakura Gakuin didn't start performing without them, and they revealed that they were intended to be part of the "first batch", hence most fans and Mori-sensei still consider them founding members): Fourth Class President. Graduated 2015
• Yui Mizuno – Joined 2010: Production Chairman. Graduated 2015
• Hana Taguchi – Joined 2011: First Spirit Chairman. Graduated 2015
• Rinon Isono – Joined 2011: Fifth Class President. Graduated 2016
• Yunano Notsu – Joined 2012: Second Talk Chairman. Graduated 2015
• Saki Ōga – Joined 2012: First Education Chairman. Graduated 2016
• Mariri Sugimoto – Joined 2012. Graduated 2013 (she left early to pursue modeling after grade school)
• Saki Shirai – Joined 2013: Third Talk Chairman. Graduated 2016
• Aiko Yamaide – Joined 2013: 2nd Vice President (2016), Seventh Class President. Graduated 2018
• Sara Kurashima – Joined 2014: Sixth Class President. Graduated 2017
• Megumi Okada – Joined 2014: Fourth Talk Chairman. Graduated 2018
• Mirena Kurosawa – Joined 2015: MC Chairman. Graduated 2017
• Momoko Okazaki – Joined 2015: First Ganbare! Chairman. Graduated 2018
• Maaya Asou – Joined 2015: Second Education Chairman (2017), Fifth Talk Chairman. Graduated 2019
• Marin Hidaka – Joined 2015: First Hamidase! Chairman. Graduated 2019
• Kano Fujihira – Joined 2015: 2nd Performance Chair (2018), Ninth Class President. Graduated 2020
• Soyoka Yoshida – Joined 2015: 3rd Education Chairman (2018), 2nd Ganbare!! Chair. Graduated 2020
• Yuzumi Shintani – Joined 2016: Eighth Class President. Graduated 2019
• Tsugumi Aritomo – Joined 2016: Second Hamidase! Chairman. Graduated 2020
• Momoe Mori – Joined 2016: Sixth Talk Chairman. Graduated 2020

Sub-Units

• Baton Twirling Club: TWINKLESTARS (active: 2010-2012, 2014-2015)
  • Ayami (leader), Marina, Raura, Nene, Hinata, Yui, Moa (2010-2012)
  • Yui, Moa, Yunano, Sara, Aiko (2014-2015)
• Go Home Club: sleepiece (active: 2010-2014, 2015-2017, 2019)
  • Raura, Nene, Marina (2010-2014)
  • Saki Ōga, Mirena, Maaya (2015-2016)
  • Mirena, Maaya, Kano (2016-2017)
  • Maaya, Marin, Kano (2019)
• Cooking Club: MiniPati (active: 2009-2017)^note  (formed in April 2009 with Marina, Raura, and Nene as part of AMUSE 'FOOD ACTION NIPPON' supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries; it became a sub-group when they joined Sakura Gakuin as founding members)
  • Raura, Nene, Marina (2009-2011)
  • Hana, Moa, Yui (2011-2015)
  • Aiko, Marin, Momoko (2015-2018)
• Heavy Music Club: Babymetal (active: 2010-)^note  (became an independent group when Suzuka graduated in 2013; See Spin-offs below)
  • Suzuka, Yui, Moa (2010-2017)
  • Suzuka & Moa (2017-2023) ^note  This doesn't count rotating backup dancers from 2018 on, including Kano and Momoko
  • Suzuka, Moa, Momoko (2023-present)
• Newspaper Club: SCOOPERS (active: 2010-2012) — Ayaka & Airi
• Tennis Club: Pastel Wind (active: 2012-2014)
  • Nene (leader), Marina, Hana, Yunano (2012-2013)
  • Nene (leader), Hana, Yunano, Saki Ōga (2013-2014)
• Science Club: Kagaku Kyumei Kikoh LOGICA? (active: 2012-2014, 2015-2017)
  • Hinata, Marina, Rinon (2012-2014)
  • Rinon, Sara, Megumi (2015-2016)
  • Sara, Megumi, Momoko (2016-2017)
• School Store Club: KOBAIBU (active: 2014-2021)
  • Yunano & Saki Shirai (2014-2015)
  • Saki Shirai & Soyoka (2015-2016)
  • Soyoka & Tsugumi (2016-2020)
  • Miki & Neo (2021)
• Pro-Wrestling Circle (active: 2014-2015, 2021^*  as guest performers) — Hana & Rinon
• Art Club: trico dolls (active: 2018-2019, 2021)
  • Momoe (leader), Yuzumi, Yume (2018-2019)
  • Yume, Kokona, Neo (2021)

Spin-offs

• Babymetal (active: 2013-):
  • Members: Suzuka (SU-METAL), Yui (YUIMETAL, 2010-2017), Moa (MOAMETAL)
  • Support dancers (uncredited): Kano (2019), Momoko (2019-)
• @onefive (active: 2019-): Soyoka (SOYO), Kano (KANO), Tsugumi (GUMI), Momoe (MOMO)

Discography

Albums

• Sakura Gakuin 2010 Nendo ~message~ (2011)
• Sakura Gakuin 2011 Nendo ~FRIENDS~ (2012)
• Sakura Gakuin 2012 Nendo ~My Generation~ (2013)
• Sakura Gakuin 2013 Nendo ~Kizuna~ (2014)
• Sakura Gakuin 2014 Nendo ~Kimi ni Todoke~ (2015)
• Sakura Gakuin 2015 Nendo ~Kirameki no Kakera~ (2016)
• Sakura Gakuin 2016 Nendo ~Yakusoku~ (2017)
• Sakura Gakuin 2017 Nendo ~My Road~ (2018)
• Sakura Gakuin 2018 Nendo ~Life Iroasenai Hibi~ (2019)
• Sakura Gakuin 2019 Nendo ~Story~ (2020)
• Sakura Gakuin 2020 Nendo ~Thank You~ (2021)

Compilation Albums:

• Houkago Anthology from Sakura Gakuin (2014) ^note Contains only subunit songs.

Singles

• Yume ni Mukatte / Hello! IVY (2010) ^note  December 8th, which SG considers its "official" anniversary.
• Verishuvi (2011)
• Tabidachi no Hi ni (2012)
• WONDERFUL JOURNEY (2012)
• My Graduation Toss (2013)
• Ganbare!! (2013)
• Jump Up ~Chiisana Yuki~ (2014)
• Merry Xmas To You (2019)

DVD Singles

• Heart no Hoshi (2014)
• Aogeba Toutoshi ~From Sakura Gakuin 2014~ (2015)
• School Days -2015- (2015)

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Tropes for smiling:

• A Cappella: A regular open class event called "Archaeology of Song", held by Principal Kuramoto, is based around this – each of the girls has to choose a song from before they were born, then perform part or all of it without any kind of musical accompaniment.
• Alternate Character Reading: The song title "Ganbare!" and member title "Ganbare Chairman" isn't written as the usual 頑張れ or ガンバレ ("do your best") but is an unusual reading of 顔笑れ (kanjis for "smile" 笑顔 egao reversed). Fans translate it as "Smile your/our/my best" when it's used by the girls in diaries.
• Alternate Reality Episode: The music video for "Heart no Hoshi" involves the members playing nymphs living in a forest who discover a door leading to this reality where they witness their regular selves performing the song.
• All Just a Dream: The end of Yui's half of the "Yearning for Friends" video has Yui wondering if her time living as Airi was this. Then we see Marina behind her waving a fairy wand.
• Annual Title: Two different ones.
  • The main albums released each year, which are always phrased Sakura Gakuin [year] Nendo ~[subtitle]~
  • "Mezase! Super Lady ~ [year]". Constantly updated as its whole point is to introduce each member.
• Ascended Extra/Breakout Members: Essentially the whole point of the group, which is explicitly cast as a training unit. Amuse's executives have stated outright that the agency views SG as a long-term investment and increasingly the place for the most promising young girls on its roster.
  • This may have led directly to SG's downfall in 2020 — the Coronavirus pandemic made it impossible for live shows to happen and even for the girls to meet up most of the time, but Amuse and Principal Kuramoto had already committed to making the eight remaining members into Super-Ladies, so they needed to find an alternate method.
• Audience Participation Song: Several songs have parts which require the audience to wave the Sakura Gakuin Flag along with the girls.
  • Examples of 'flag songs' include "Hello Ivy", "Yume ni Mukatte", and "Wonderful Journey"
  • "Fairy Tale" has a spot where the girls and the audience will twirl a hand-towel.
  • "Friends" has a spot during the bridge where the girls chant the ritual for rock-paper-scissors, expecting the audience to play along too
  • Some songs weren't intended to have audience participation parts but the audience participates anyway, typically songs where there's a brief pause allowing Fukei to call the name of whichever girl just sang a solo line. "Chime" is a good example.
• Bilingual Bonus: A few of their songs have these.
  • "Wonderful Journey" features several non-Japanese phrases – greetings and thanks in at least four different languages apiece, including but not limited to: both major dialects of Japanese, Italian, Hindi, Mandarin, Korean, German, and English. It also takes advantage of Japanese's L/R gloss to make a pun between original member Raura Iida and Costa Rica's then-President Laura Chinchilla.
  • "Song For Smiling" is all about this, featuring an English phrase followed by a Japanese adaptation
  • invoked In LoGiRL Episode 6, the same episode where the Portmanteau Couple Name MoiMoi was coined from the Finnish for "bye bye", Moa tried to speak Indonesian and said "da-jah-hah". She probably meant "da-daah", which is a loanword from the Dutch "daag" and also means "bye bye".
  • Marin Hidaka, who has Anglophone relatives and can speak the English she knows with native-level pronunciation, took advantage of it in a 2017 FRESH episode where Mori-sensei was irritating her. She snapped at him to "Shut up!" Mori-sen, who speaks very little English and was busy, did not notice.
• Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: The School Store Club's skits beginning in 2016 when Tsugumi, a big fan of these, filled the slot left empty by graduate Saki Shirai.
• Book Ends:
  • They usually end transfer concerts, Festivals, and sometimes graduations with their first ever recorded song, "Yume ni Mukatte" ("Aim For Your Dreams").^*  The Graduation Finals, with one exception, switch off between using "See You…" and "Yume ni Mukatte" (RTG'2012 is the odd one out, using "My Graduation Toss").
    • Their farewell show in August 2021 ended with "Yume ni Mukatte", making this circle complete.
  • The video for "Jump Up" ends with the camera zooming back through previous scenes, eventually returning to the photo (now with the girls on it) from the beginning of the video
  • For "Melodic Solfége", the video ends showing the same record player from the beginning.
  • Sakura Gakuin Festival 2010^*  (coinciding with the release of their first single, Yume ni Mukatte / Hello! IVY) featured a dance cover of "Motteke! Sailor-Fuku", the opening theme of the anime Lucky Star. They repeated this at the 2014 anniversary show "Celebration in December" with Yui and Moa – being the last members remaining from the original lineup, in their final year – taking the positions of the oldest members (Ayami and Ayaka) from the first performance.
• Call-and-Response Song: "Pièce de Check" has one of the girls respond to Mori-sensei's pun on their name (originally Yunano, then Soyoka). His lines are themselves a response to that verse.
  • Several songs during live shows have sections where the audience participates, often during instrumental bridges if the girls aren't speaking (and sometimes even if they are).
• The Cameo: KenKen, the songwriter/arrangement composer of "Aogeba Toutoshi" appears as a hologram band for a second in the music video.
  • Graduates who appear on the group's livestream show can also count.
  • Same for graduates who appear in active members' diaries. This has happened a few times with Saki Ōga, who is otherwise no longer a public figure.
• Candid Camera Prank: Mori-sensei loves pulling these on the girls. Often his prank involves him jumping out of a random place to shut the girls' activity down by yelling, "Yarase nê yo!" ("Not allowed!!").
• Catchphrase: Most of the girls have one or two lines they always say during their introductions on concerts.
  • They also frequently repeat the name of their first song “Yume ni Mukatte” (Aim for your dreams) and another song “Ganbare” (“Good luck/Do your best” written unconventionally (顔笑れ) with the characters for “face” and “laugh” – typically translated as "smile your best") in diaries. Or, with graduates, in tweets and blog posts.
• The Commandments: The "school regulation" consists of seven articles, based on quotes by seven accomplished women, or "Super Ladies".
  Be a Super Lady Beyond Idols! As Marilyn Monroe said, "I'm not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful."
  Be Really Unique! As Coco Chanel said, "In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different."
  Be a Lady Who Believes in Herself! As Jakucho Setouchi said, "I do not believe in something unless I search through it with my own hands and understand it with my own head."
  Deliver Your Love! As Helen Keller said, "Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same."
  You Can't Do It Alone! As Yoko Ono said, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."
  Use Your Heart! As Mother Teresa said, "It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love is put in the giving."
  Do Things Completely! As Fumiko Hayashi said, "A life of flower is short and painful, yet the wind is also blowing and the clouds are also shining."
• Confession Cam: A whole bonus video for the 2014 album is based around the girls answering questions and confessing about their feelings of the year into a mystery tube set up in the hall. Brought back as a feature in some of the LoGiRL and FRESH! shows.
• Cover Version: In addition to newer members often rerecording songs by the original members…
  • "Aogeba Toutoshi" is a cover of the Japanese graduation song by the same name.
  • "Tabidachi No Hi Ni" is also a cover of a Japanese graduation song.
  • All three of Sleepiece’s songs are covers of children’s songs.
  • 2013’s graduates recorded and performed an acoustic cover of their earlier song “FRIENDS” and a fully Japanese version of The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer”.
  • The 2014 members of Twinklestars^*  (Yui, Moa, Yunano, Sara, Aiko) rerecorded their version of "Tenshi tó Akuma", a B-side to the original Twinklestars'^*  (Ayami, Raura, Marina, Nene, Hinata, Yui, Moa) single, "Please! Please! Please!".
  • A live version of "Over Drive" by Judy and Mary, at the Idol Otakarakuji Party 2015
  • The 2017 nendo album has the girls sing a rearrangement of Perfume's song "Nē (ねぇ)". As it happens, they performed onstage with Perfume during that year's AmuseFest, doing backup dancing during "Spending All My Time".
  • Shuffle Units, where members cover songs from clubs of which they're not members, also qualify. The best-known of these – probably because it's the only one known to have been filmed in its entirety, not just snippets or bootleg recordings – is when Marina, flanked by Ayaka and Airi (in an intentional reversal of the dynamic Suzuka had with Moa & Yui) sang Babymetal's inaugural song "Doki-Doki☆Morning".
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience:
  • MiniPati’s ties and the lines on the post-2013 uniforms: Green, Rose Red, and Yellow
  • Same with sleepiece’s pyjama colours: Green, Pink, and Yellow
  • Since the original members of Sleepiece were also the original members of MiniPati, the girls kept the same colors: Marina was yellow, Raura was pink, and Nene was green.
    • Summer versions are Blue, Pink, and Yellow since 2015.
  • trico dolls have berets reminiscent of France's tricouleur. Momoe was red, Yuzumi was beige (white), Yume was blue
• Costume Evolution: The group has a habit of changing uniforms every three years.
  • In the very early early days (around their debut at TIF 2010) they wore a dark grey uniform with different colored ties for each Jr. High member, while the elementary members had either red or blue ribbons. Their skirts also had a grey overlaid skirt over the regular plaid skirt. During Summer, the Jr. High members wore dark grey vests while the Elementary members wore off-white ones.
  • Due to collaboration with clothing line 'Mono Comme Ça' following SG's official debut, they switched to dark navy blue (almost black) blazers with red plaid skirts. The ties and ribbons were also standardized to be red for all members. The design of this uniform is the basis for all later main uniforms. Yuzumi wore this blazer as a Call-Back during the 2018 Transfer Ceremony as she trolled Mori-sensei and the audience by pretending to be one of the new transfers. Mori asked why she was wearing the old-style jacket.
  • Starting in 2013 (after Suzuka's graduation), those blazers were replaced with beige ones, although the overall design stayed the same. The skirts also switched to blue and white plaid.
  • In 2016 (after Rinon's graduation), the jackets became grey with white trim on the collars, and the skirt's colors became blue plaid with some red influence. The same year they also revealed their new summer uniform: a light blue short-sleeved button-up shirt with a green and navy blue tartan skirt, although this is only worn for non-performance events; when actually performing they still wear the off-white vests with short sleeved white shirts under them that have been in use since the beginning. Or matching T-shirts if performing outside – Tokyo gets hot in the Summer.
  • 2019 saw yet another uniform change. This time they changed to deep navy blue blazers reminiscent of the OG-era uniforms, except with the white trim from the grey uniforms. The skirts are the same as in the Grey Jacket era.
• Crossdresser: Has happened a surprising number of times over the years.
  • Starting with the 2017 Sakura Gakuin Festival, this became standard for the "Sakurademy Awards" skits, with two members dressing (unconvincingly) as boys to act opposite the six girls in competition. At least Maaya/Maasuke tried to deepen her voice.
  • Saki Ōga is a huge fan of the crossdressing idol group Fudanjuku, and has dressed up as a boy on numerous occasions just for fun. It turned out a couple years later that Fudanjuku were fans of hers and a photo exists from early 2016 of Saki with the group holding each other's latest albums.
  • When Mori-sensei could not be present for the group's LoGiRL livestream ^note  (2015/03/09, the 7th "Manande Monday" episode), Moa appeared in his place dressed as him. The glasses gave her some trouble (unlike many members, she doesn't wear glasses even off-stage) so she took them off. Photos of her Mori cosplay appeared in the Shuffle-Unit photoset.
  • Sara cosplayed as Mori-sensei for one episode. Unlike Moa or Saki.O, she didn't need to alter her hairstyle: a bob.
  • Mirena dressed up as Conan Edogawa at the time she guest voice-acted in an episode of Case Closed
    • So did Kokona during the Mystery skit at Sakura Gakuin Festival 2019
  • Marin did it twice onstage, both times at Festivals: In 2016 she dressed as comedian Kazuyoshi Morita and in 2018 she came out onstage as a silent European Gentleman (complete with moustache) to introduce Trico Dolls and their song "C'est la Vie".
  • In Fall 2019, Momoe, Tsugumi, and Soyoka all cosplayed as Mori-sensei. Soyo was quick to point out that she had put in the most effort (she even taped her nose to look more like him; it also didn't hurt that she and he both need coke-bottle glasses to function)
• Early-Installment Weirdness: In addition to the very first graduation ceremony not being named like all subsequent ones, Sakura Gakuin did things during its initial years that stand out today.
  • In the very first-recorded competition (an art-off) between the girls – so early the girls wore the shirts they'd designed, predating even the first uniform era – Mori-sensei referred to the girls by their first names. When he, Moa, and Yui discussed this during the first episode of LoGiRL, all three admitted it felt really weird and creepy in retrospect.
  • For the first Nendo Test, Mori-sensei didn't even try to prank or Jump Scare the girls. He just one day calmly explained to them what was going on before passing out the tests. He also gave them far less time (maybe) to complete the test than he would in subsequent years.^note  He said "five minutes", although it's very likely the girls actually got much more time than that to work based on the existence of footage shot during the test — every other test has a 15-minute time limit which is strictly adhered to. The 2011 test similarly did not feature any sort of prank, though it did come as a(n unpleasant) surprise.
    • Mori-sen didn't pull his first true Test dokkiri on the girls until the 2012 nendo, and the first elaborate prank was in 2013.
  • The Ayami's, Ayaka's, and Airi's Room talk-show setup from the 2011 nendo has never been repeated. Nor have the "Shinri Tests" immediately following them.
  • The Yearning For Friends shorts from 2011, which required a level of on-camera acting ability. Nothing quite like it has been attempted since, with later extras often going for more spontaneity.
  • Sakura Gakuin SUN. It's filmed and set up like a documentary series with occasional scripted bits thrown in and feels like it was intended for television, especially with Mori-sensei's narration. After the final episode wrapped in 2012, the group never revisited it, although Te no Hira no Sakura Gakuin from the 2016 nendo has some minor similarities (but it is on a far smaller scale).
    • Principal Kuramoto was very prevalent in SUN, with him teaching the girls and the girls sometimes trying to prank him. After that, despite still being very much in charge, he largely faded into the background to only resurface at Transfer and Graduation ceremonies.
• Educational Song: Since they're a school-themed group, this is expected
  • "Sakura Hyakunin Isshu", about Hyakunin Isshu
  • "Planet Episode 008", about the Solar System
  • "Song For Smiling", about English phrases
  • "WONDERFUL JOURNEY", about countries
  • "Hana＊Hana", about the language of flowers
  • "Animarhythm", about animals
  • "Mathematica", about math
  • "Melodic Solfege", about classical music
• Evil Laugh: Mori-sensei, after collecting the test papers in the first four class test videos.
  Ayami: "He's a demon!"
  • Soyoka does this during Day 2 of the 2019 Festival after everyone learns she killed Mori-sensei. She followed it up with a Villainous Breakdown immediately after.
• Evolving Music: "Mezase! Super Lady", since new verses need to be added for every new member. Sometimes existing members' lines will also be rewritten for a new year. Some examples…
  • Yui's spoken line in the original version of M.S.L (2012) was "Yui is not little!!" However, the next year, after Yui finally hit her growth spurt and was no longer even remotely the shortest member, the line about her height was altered to "Yui is not little anymore!"
  • Aiko had at least two completely different verses, as the first was simple wordplay on her name and tininess and noted how she was at the time the only member from Kyushu. A later version talked about Aiko's love for ice cream, which also used wordplay).
  • For her first two years, Yuzumi's verse was right before the refrain so she could perform the call to attention. Her final year, when she was Class President and therefore had to be named first, her verse was completely rewritten.
• "Freaky Friday" Flip: Two of the videos released as extras on the 2011 album’s special editions are based around this – One involves Yui wanting to be taller and accidentally changes places with Airi, then the tallest member; The other involves Ayami being fed up with being seen as cute and girly and wanting to be as cool as Ayaka. They too change places for a day.
• Ghost Story: A LoGiRL stream revolved around these, with the girls even telling each other some stories.
• Girlish Pigtails: A popular style for the hairdressers to give girls before shows. Almost every member has worn these for at least one major show. Sara was the primary exception to this as her hair was in a bob style her entire three years in the group. Ayaka was the only long-haired member to never wear pigtails – her hair was always either down or in a single ponytail.
• Graduation for Everyone: Everyone is bound to leave the group, so each year concluded with a graduation ceremony. The only exception was the very first (2010) nendo, as it had no seniors.
  • Six of the final eight members (Kokona and Sana aged out naturally) had early graduations in 2021 due to the group's shutdown. Mariri Sugimoto also graduated early in 2013 due to logistical hurdles.
• Gratuitous English: Par for the course for an East-Asian Idol group, honestly.
  • The song "Pumpkin Parade" includes a lengthy intro and interlude narrated in quite broken English (bordering on "Blind Idiot" Translation). The chorus is also mostly in English.
  • "Wonderful Journey" includes, as noted above, phrases in several languages, but English is still the most common after Japanese – "Hello World", "Let's Dance!", "Love and Peace", and the big one "Thank you very much!!" originally shouted by Marina, then later Marin (who is very proficient in English).
  • Some other songs also include random English phrases, such as “Thank you, oh my friends” in "FRIENDS". Plus, almost every second line in "Song For Smiling", though that one is intentional as the point of it is to introduce an English phrase and then give its Japanese translation.
• Height Angst: Given that this group spans the "period of growth", members discuss this a LOT. So do younger and/or shorter graduates. Active members' heights are public information^*  (this is also true for some graduates who have stayed in the industry, especially if they model), and there's even an Orientation live show every June where all members are measured.
  • An aside during the 2010-2011 SMILE Documentary is dedicated to showcasing this, ending with
    The "Sakura Gakuin Height Battle" will continue forever…
  • A moment during the very first "FRIENDS" skit in October 2011 has older members and Mori-sensei speculating this as a reason why Moa would be avoiding Yui.
    Mori-sen: "Why would she avoid you for something so trivial? You two are basically the same."
    Yui: "No! We're different! I'm three millimeters taller!"
  • The first half of the 2011 drama Yearning For Friends has this as its primary focus — Yui, at the time the shortest member (because Moa had recently [temporarily] outgrown her), was jealous of Airi, the tallest member. Thanks to either a bump on the head or fairy-magic, she gets to live as Airi for an afternoon.
  • The choreography at the beginning of "Makeru na! Seishun Hizakozou" has the girls lining up by height – as they often must do for group photos – then comparing their height with another member. Another piece of choreography later in the song has a shorter girl standing on a box being chided by taller members.
  • Aiko has this in general IRL, but showed it in-character on the first two episodes of FRESH!. In the first, she became agitated when commenters called her a midget and pointed out (correctly at the time) that Momoe was still shorter than her. In the second, she had a near-meltdown at the thought that Tsugumi had outgrown her; Soyoka had to measure them back-to-back to calm Aiko down.^note  At the time, June 2017, Aiko had the height edge by 2mm at most. As of 2019, Tsugumi is over 7.5cm/3” taller than Aiko, and Momoe is ~4cm/1.57” taller.
  • Not even tall girls are immune. In a late-2017 diary, Megumi, that year's tallest member, wrote of her concern that Soyoka – two years younger but seeming to grow taller by the day – would pass her by graduation. As of Summer 2022, both have stopped growing and Megumi is still ~2cm taller than Soyoka. Also in 2019, Megu prefaced a birthday message to Miku (four years younger and another tall) by saying, "Don't grow anymore"; Soyoka said the same thing to Miku a couple months later during a recording session – Miku would pass Soyo by the end of that school year and passed Megumi during what would have been her final year in SG.
• "I Am" Song: "Mezase Super Lady" is where the girls introduce each other. The lyrics change every year as members transfer in and graduate.
• Ice Queen: Ayaka’s personality is played up as one a lot, even after Sakura Gakuin. Apparently, only Mori-sensei has the ability to throw her off-balance to the point she breaks her own character.
• Important Haircut: Some girls have bobbed their hair during or shortly after their time in the group to signify a transition to a new stage of life, and have framed it that way. The only members thus far to have bobbed their hair while still active in the group are Raura (who did so upon entering junior high, spent the next three years growing her hair back out, but then bobbed it again after graduation), Rinon (bobbed during her Presidency), and Yuzumi (bobbed just a few months into 7th-grade; she's kept her hair short ever since).
• In-Series Nickname: For specific groups of members. Note that the girls themselves thought up nearly all of these. Nicknames for individuals are listed elsewhere.
  • 3AM for the 2011 graduates as all three of their monograms (in Western Order) are A.M.
    • This nickname was also used as the title of their Seniors' Song in 2012.
  • NHMR or "the 98's" for 2013 graduates Nene, Hinata, Marina, and Raura
  • M&M for Marina and Moa when they performed covers of Anime songs
  • As mentioned elsewhere, Moimoi for Moa and Yui.
  • KYG for Maaya, Kano, and Momoko (in that order); elaborated upon further down
  • KSTM for the @onefive quartet of Kano, Soyoka, Tsugumi, and Momoe. Created by Kano
  • Sanassu for Sana and Kokona ("Nassu")
• Let's Duet:
  • Marina and Moa’s covers of Anime songs from the 3rd Anniversary concert
  • The Newspaper Club SCOOPERS, The Wrestling Fan Circle, and the School Store Club consist(ed) of two members
  • One performance of NHMR's unplugged version of "FRIENDS" had this – because Raura and Hinata were concentrating on playing guitar, only Marina and Nene sang. Marina sang lead and Nene harmonized.
  • By definition, any Seniors' song from a year that only has two Seniors – thus far that's only 2016/7 (Mirena & Sara), although Sana and Kokona may get their turn in 2021.
• Lucky Charms Title: Several subgroup songs have this, as do one or two full-group songs.
  • "Princess☆a la mode" (Mini-Pati, 2010)
  • "Doki Doki☆Morning" (BABYMETAL, 2010)
  • "Miracle♪Pattyful♪Hamburger" (Mini-Pati, 2012)
  • "Science Girl▽Silence Boy" (Logica?, 2012)
  • "Hana＊Hana" (Full Group, 2013)
  • "Non-stop☆Kitaku-bu Zaishaku Wasshoi! (sleepiece, 2013 - an album-only remixed medley)
  • "Hirari! Shiny-Shiny☆Yummy-Yummy Museum" (Mini-Pati, 2014)
  • "Jakapara Goo Goo ♡ Omurice" (Mini-Pati, 2015)
  • "Dabada♪Salada de C'est bon☆Avenue" (Mini-Pati, 2016)
  • "Akindo☆Soul" (Kobaibu, 2017)
• Meaningful Name: Aside from its theme, this group actually is a talent school for Amuse's top junior female talents, to an extent.
• Medley: Has happened with subgroups at certain live events.
  • Logica?’s last performance with the original lineup at the 2013 nendo graduation concert was a medley of 3 of their songs
  • 2nd generation MiniPati’s last performance at the 2014 RTG Final covered 7 of their songs.
  • 3rd generation MiniPati also did this at the 2017 Nendo RTG Final.
• Mind Screw: The Nendo tests. The test is "General Knowledge" and bears little to no resemblance to actual tests in Japanese schools. Some of the questions are very deeply tied to Japanese history and culture and make absolutely no sense to a Western mind. No wonder the girls fail at them so hard.
  • In the 2014 Nendo Test, Rinon got an idiom question wrong. The idiom's English equivalent is "Birds of a feather flock together". Rinon's answer was "bird", but that wasn't correct in Japanese. When asked to explain herself, Rinon justified it the way an English speaker would (albeit in Japanese). Mori-sensei, who does not speak English, wasn't impressed.
  • Some questions involve drawing a picture and the senseis' judgements can be pretty subjective. While answering "Holstein" by sketching "Soyoka-chan's Imaginary Friend" in 2015 was obviously wrong, Momoko in 2016 tried to draw a sloth …and Mori-sensei refused to count it because he felt it looked more like a mole.
• Modesty Shorts: Although the skirts are not especially short, these are still essential given some of the more energetic dance routines.
• Mood Dissonance: The music video for "Carry On" sees many scenes of members smiling in apparent happiness while singing rather melancholy lyrics. Also there's an airhorn sound effect.
• Music for Courage/Pep-Talk Song: "Ganbare!". This phrase, when not utilizing unusual kanji, translates to "Do your best", and the song's lyrics try to invoke this. The music video is even more blunt about it because it involves members running a relay race through the streets of Tokyo.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Sakura Gakuin invoked this twice.
  • During Sakura Gakuin SUN, Kuramoto was referred to in narration as the "Demon Principal".
  • K.Y.G.^*  (Kyoufu no Yay Gundan, or "Dreadful Yay Corps", made up of the noisiest & most ill-behaved members, all of whom joined in 2015: Momoko, Maaya, and Kano) will haunt Mori-sen's dreams.
• Non-Appearing Title: "Song for Smiling" doesn't have the title in the lyrics, although there is "smiling" in English.
• Non-Indicative Name: The official title of the very first Graduation show on March 25th 2012, which saw off Ayami, Ayaka, and Airi, is Sakura Gakuin First Live. Due to the confusion – it wasn't SG's first live show or even first solo show by a long shot – fans usually call it Road To Graduation 2011 to line it up with every subsequent graduation Final.
  • Also, in a more minor example, the actual date of the graduation ceremony does not take place during the year the Nendo is stated to be – i.e. Road To Graduation 2012 was on March 31st 2013. This is because Japan's fiscal/school calendar starts in April and they emphasize the start-point rather than the end-point.
• Now, Buy the Merchandise: Since the creation of the School Store Club in 2014, pretty much every performance includes a segment of the club members introducing new merchandise before performing their song.
• One Degree of Separation: To be expected given the relatively small sector of entertainment the girls are in.
  • Suzuka and Mariri are both from Hiroshima and attended Actor’s School Hiroshima (ASH) at the same time.
    • This is the same school the members of Perfume hail from.
    • Perfume and Babymetal both employ choreographer Mikiko Mizuno for their routines. Mikiko is also the chief choreographer for Sakura Gakuin, though she leaves most of the work to one of her subordinates due to her busy schedule. Not coincidentally, Mikiko-sensei taught dance at ASH when that school first opened.
    • 2019 initiate Miko Todaka is also from Hiroshima and trained at ASH. Fellow 2019 initiate Sakia Kimura was in Perfume's music video "Let Me Know" portraying little-Nocchi. It shouldn't be any surprise, then, that Nocchi herself attended that Transfer Ceremony (and took a photo with her miniature doppelgänger). Nocchi later invited Sakia to play games with her for Perfume's 15th Anniversary celebration and expressed shock at how much Sakia had grown.
    • Another notable contemporary of Suzuka's from ASH is Riho Sayashi, who at the age of 12 was recruited straight into Morning Musume – the founding group of Hello! Project. Fast forward to late-June 2019 and Riho, now aged 21, was spotted onstage with Suzuka and Moa in Yokohama as one of Babymetal's new trio of rotating backup dancers (in place of the retired Yui). Riho left Babymetal in February 2020 and launched a solo career in Summer 2021.
  • Some of the girls are or were previously associated with promoting Ciào!, a shoujo manga magazine, and others have worked together while modeling. In fact, Ayami was the original "Ciào Girl" before Karen Girl's happened and new girls (some of whom would later join SG) took her place.
  • Marina and Hinata went on to do voice acting in the anime KutsuDaru joined by Yuika Shima, who was the third member of Karen Girl’s alongside Suzuka and Ayami. Yuika is often considered an "honorary member" by fans as a result of her connections with so many SG members.
    • Yuika also co-hosted Night of Spica, a gossip corner type show on Stolabo Tokyo, with Raura.
    • In late-2019, Yuika was in a stage play with Marin.
  • When Ayami started a livestreamed talk-show on TV Asahi’s LoGiRL service, wrestling announcer Shigeki Kiyono became her co-host. This is the same Shigeki Kiyono who did the intro for the Wrestling Fan Club’s song, "Spin in the Wind", during concerts
  • Yui’s family was on good terms with Ayami’s family before the group was founded and she also wrote in a diary that she auditioned for the group because she "wanted to be a Karen Girl’s, too".
    • Yui had also known Hinata for some time before they both became founding members of Sakura Gakuin.
  • Mori-sensei hosts a weekly radio show called Mochikomi! with fellow Amuse talent/actress Asami Tano. While it's not unheard of for the show to feature Sakura Gakuin members or graduates as guests, Asami also ended up playing Sarah Kazuno in Love Live! Sunshine!!, the elder sister of Hinata's character, Leah Kazuno.
• One Game for the Price of Two: All the albums (and the singles before 2014 nendo) came out with special editions containing behind the scenes footage, dance versions of the single, or other extra videos. You want to get all of the footage? Then buy the album two or three times.
  • Sometimes they even come with a card of a random member, so you might even have to get 10+ copies of a single to get them all
• Or Was It a Dream?: At the end of Yui’s Yearning for Friends skit, after Yui wakes up with a bandage on her forehead, Marina appears in the background waving a magic wand.
• "Pachelbel's Canon" Progression:
  • In "Jump Up ~Chiisana Yuuki~". First it might seem quite subtle, but the choir segment towards the end is just straight-up "Canon in D".
  • "Melodic Solfége" also uses the melody of "Canon in D" for one bit. This is expected since the song is about classical music and its best-known composers.
• Passing the Torch: Almost literally. At the 2011 Transfer-In Ceremony the original members of MiniPati (Nene, Marina, and Raura) handed over their scarves to Moa, Yui, and Hana respectively.
• Playing Against Type: Invoked and played with in the second half of "Yearning For Friends", where Ayami and Ayaka – two very different personalities – have to act as each other.
• Privacy by Distraction: During the prelude to the 2014 Nendo Test, while the girls put wasabi into Mori-sensei's food during the prank video, Sara and Megumi drag him out of the room to play Pin-Pon-Pan.
• Recurring Element: "Check-it-out Chocolate" could be seen as this. First it was the brand of chocolate Yui and Moa get tempted by to become Black Babymetal during the I.D.Z Apocalypse concerts, then it gets referenced^*  (although it could very well be coincidence seeing how mundane and fitting the line is) in "Pumpkin Parade" and later in Babymetal's "Gimme Choco!".
  • A more subtle one is the Sakura Gakuin eraser, which often makes an appearance in any music video where the girls are sitting at desks – possibly the same prop, as it looks significantly more beat-up in "My Road" than it did in "Science Girl Silence Boy". Fans learned in 2020 that a real version exists – Yume Nozaki was photographed doing homework while using a Sakura Gakuin eraser that had her name on it.
• Pseudo-Romantic Friendship: Discussed and invoked in the strictest Japanese sense of it being not at all romantic – these are very young girls after all. It's common for the girls to ask each other, "Which member do you want to date/marry?" If this happens during a livestream episode, Mori-sensei invariably interjects, "If you/she was a boy, right?" ^note  As of Fall 2020, the only graduates believed to have been in an adult relationship at all are Ayami and Ayaka, but even they haven't confirmed it. Japanese in general value their privacy, and girls in the entertainment world can face fan-backlash (and legal backlash prior to Japan's High Court voiding "No Dating" contract clauses in 2018) if they're thought to have hooked up. Ayaka infamously faced abuse from Japanese otaku after a fellow actor she is thought to have dated committed suicide in 2020 – Fukei both West and East immediately leapt to her defense to cheer her up, attempting to keep her from becoming another statistic.
  • Yume Nozaki took this trope to its most extreme in her first two years by declaring Kano Fujihira, three years older, her "Boyfriend". Given Yume was 10-12 years old at the time, not even Kano (genius) would take it as a serious declaration of love, although she was more than happy to play along with her admiring junior. Group photos of the period often show Kano hugging Yume, who sports a satisfied smile.
  • At one point during one FRESH broadcast after everyone joked about Yume always saying she wants to marry Kano, Mori-sen asked Sana her feelings about this trope. The result is on the "Funny" subpage.
• Rock Me, Amadeus!: The whole concept of "Melodic Solfége". The verses are based on Chopin's "Nocturne No.2", Bach's "Minuet in G major", Beethoven's "Für Elise", "Act II No. 10" from Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake Op. 20" and the 4th Movement of Dvořák's "New World Symphony", while a bridge also includes Mozart's "Turkish March". The chorus is mainly based on Beethoven's "9th Symphony" and Pachelbel's "Canon in D major"
• Running Gag: This group has a few.
  • invoked Mori-sensei forgot Sara Kurashima’s last name during the 2014 entrance ceremony. She won’t let him live it down and the incident was incorporated into Sara’s introduction during "Mezase! Super Lady", with him either needing a second to remember it or (in 2016) saying "Kuroshima" instead.
    • This also got referenced at an Open Calligraphy class. Sara wrote down Kurashima and after being asked why, she replied, "Well, that's my surname but that guy forgot it!", pointing towards Mori-sensei.
    • Again, during the 2015 Entrance ceremony when Mori-sensei was ready to continue the show, thinking all the new members have been introduced. Cue Sara running in shouting “Sensei, have you forgotten about me?”
  • Ayami’s height issues (she’s been 149cm or 4’10⅝” almost since the beginning). She's always joking about it, since the other girls from her year, Ayaka and Airi, are both 170cm (5’7”) or taller.
    • Yui and Moa, who were the smallest when the group started, outgrew her by their graduation.
    • Even Saki Ōga, the one and only Baby-chan, is at least one centimeter taller than Ayami. Infamously-tiny Aiko has just over two centimeters on Ayami.
    • This naturally continued into her solo career. During AYM Ballads, she's standing on a six-inch riser and is still shorter than a couple of the men in her backup band …despite the riser and three-inch heels. On the second night of a two-night gig in early 2019, she told the audience that she had them raise the stage so she could see them better.
  • A related gag is the tendency for the Class President to be the shortest of the graduates - Ayami, Suzuka^*  (Su was the only Senior that year and is slightly above average height, but Mariri – who left at the same time – was and is taller than her despite being three school years younger), Marina, Moa, and Aiko.
    • Averted by 2015's Class President, Rinon, who was and is tall by Japanese girl standards, and considerably taller than either Saki. (would have been averted had their classmate Mariri, who is even taller, not left early)
  • During graduation ceremonies, the souji speech to the seniors is read by one of the juniors. On three separate occasions, that girl has been significantly taller than the outgoing president, so the president must adjust the microphone downward to read her touji speech, usually resulting in the girls and the audience having a chuckle.
    • The first time, in 2012, was when Ayami followed Suzuka
    • In 2015, Moa followed Rinon
    • In 2018, Aiko followed Yuzumi
  • Nai! Nai! Nai!
  • Marina refers to most entities as "-kun" (a casual honorific suffix). Seniors, juniors, classmates, she doesn't discriminate. Even food, celestial bodies, medieval shoguns, and Japanese regnal era names.
    "Farewell, Heisei-san. Hello, Reiwa-kun."
  • At an interview with Tower Records CEO Ikuo Minewaki, the girls were prompted to do an impression. Yui did an imaginary “Tomato-kun” (because of her obsession with tomatoes). The impression stuck and got referenced over and over again because of Yui’s uniquely masculine twist on it.
    • Moa became jealous of Yui's success with this impression and created "Spinach-kun" as her own version.
• Smart People Wear Glasses: The costume of Newspaper Club "SCOOPERS" is the standard SG uniform plus glasses and "PRESS" armbands. Science Club "Kagaku Kyumei Kikoh LOGICA?" is the same, but with a Labcoat of Science and Medicine over the inner uniform.^*  In a bit of irony, the original members of the club – Marina, Hinata, and Rinon – were rarely if ever in the upper tier during nendo tests (Rinon of course being the original "Queen of Last Place"). Post-Rinon Logica? played this straighter as Megumi and Sara both wear glasses behind the scenes and always scored near the top on nendo tests… buuuuut then there was Momoko, far more of a ditz than Rinon ever was.
• Special Guest:
  • At the 2013 anniversary concert, the graduates appeared on stage and Ayami even joined the then-current members for a song.
  • Yui and Moa were unable to be present for Sakura Gakuin's set at TIF 2014 because they had to tour California with Lady Gaga as Babymetal at the time, so Marina and Raura came back to fill in for them – their status as guests was noted by their different color shirts (blue while the other girls wore white).
    • Moa & Yui were extremely unhappy about missing their final TIF, so they appeared via video to talk to the audience and join along in dancing to "Yume ni Mukatte".
  • At the 2015 anniversary concert, during a performance of "Message", Airi and Ayaka joined in the song, and after a short talk they performed their subunit song, "Brand New Day".
  • Raura, Ayaka, Hinata, and Marina made small appearances during LoGiRL broadcasts. Raura took a particular liking to Kano after Kano casually insulted Mori-sensei to his face. Maaya was completely starstruck and unable to say a word the entire time Ayaka was on set; probably for the best she was farthest from Mori-sensei and Ayaka.
  • Ciào Girl Yui Kato appeared on LoGiRL in 2016. Another Ciào Girl, Liliane Roy, appeared on the fourth episode of FRESH! Monday in 2017.
  • Mirena appeared on FRESH! Monday for the last show of 2017 to promote her play, Metal Opera Millennium Momotaro. Then she was a guest on the show again in March 2018 to alleviate Mori-sensei's burden of having to carry a whole livestream all by himself since the girls were rehearsing for the graduation ceremony. Words can't describe how delighted he was to see her intrude.
    • On this same episode, Sara sent in a video message since she couldn't make it due to scheduling conflicts.
    • Mirena showed up on two additional FRESH! episodes, though her guest appearances ended once she went on hiatus and left Amuse.
  • Aiko dropped in during the first "Lonely Monday" FRESH! episode Maaya had to host alone to promote her second single. She appeared again during the Summer of the following nendo to plug her third single …and create a Tiktok video with her juniors (Kano, Soyoka, Momoe, Miko). Given this is Aiko, who loves Sakura Gakuin and self-promotion, expect her to show up in the future as many times as she can get away with.
• Spiritual Antithesis: Sort of. One of Mori-sensei's biggest gripes with the 2016 nendo Seniors, Sara and Mirena, was that they pretty much agreed on anything. Cue the 2017 nendo seniors who, towards the end of the year, often talked about having fights and disagreements during lessons in the early days of the nendo, many times even making their juniors worry about them.
• Student Council President: Each class (nendo) has one, traditionally the 3rd-year member with the most experience and/or seniority in the group. Thus far, Ayami is the only girl to hold the position for more than one year.

  • Kano also held the position for over a year, but that was due to her graduation being pushed back five months thanks to the Coronavirus pandemic.

  • Sara was the first Class President to have less time in the group than a member of lower seniority – she joined in 2014 when Aiko, her junior, had already been a member for a year. Aiko was named Vice President in recognition of her longer tenure.
  • Yuzumi is the first Class President to turn the seniority system completely on its head. Although she is the oldest of the 2018 nendo by age, four members – seniors Maaya (who was expected by most to get the job) and Marin, plus juniors Kano and Soyoka – had been in the group longer than Yuzu. All four were given student council positions to back Yuzu up.
• That Syncing Feeling: The subgroup performances are usually done with backing tracks, although it is often difficult to tell. Watching the most inexperienced members of the group is usually the best way to see if this is happening. The whole-group songs are done live, with the notable exception of "Heart no Hoshi" due to its extremely intricate choreography. That said, it's not uncommon for more experienced girls to sing over the backtrack anyway.
  • The most blatant example of this came during the Soyoka/Tsugumi version of "Piece de Check" in 2017 and (especially) 2018. When the song switched from the backtrack to live vocals during the bridge, their voices were noticeably deeper.
• Title by Number: "Planet Episode 008"
• True Companions: Sakura Gakuin operates on the ethos of "Once a Member, always a Member". The girls invoke and discuss this often (Mori-sensei and Principal Kuramoto also encourage it), and the group's own website explicitly uses the term 'Graduated Members' rather than 'ex-' or 'Former'. As a result of this, it's very common for graduates to attend major live events and appear in backstage photos with the active members. Indeed, fans make a game out of guessing which graduates will attend certain shows.
  • By the same token, active members will occasionally hang out with graduates who had mentored them (often mentioning it in diaries after the fact). Many graduates are known to still be close friends years after aging out of the group.
  • This connection is physically cemented by the tradition of hand-me-downs. Because Sakura Gakuin spans the portion of a girl's life where they go through the greatest amount of physical growth, older members will often give shirts they've outgrown to younger and/or smaller members for practice lessons, something the recipients gleefully mention in diaries. This is why, for example, Tsugumi has been photographed & filmed wearing a 2014 Nendo T-shirt even though she didn't join until 2016.
• Unishment: When the girls faced off against Idoling!!! in a punishment badminton game, one of the punishments for losing a point was eating a spoonful of aojiru powder. Despite its apparent bitterness and texture, Marina seemed to be enjoying it.
• Unplugged Version: the 2013 graduates’ cover of "FRIENDS" and The Monkees’ "Daydream Believer"
  • The 2016 nendo's live redo of "Sakura Hyakunin Isshu", with guitar by Principal Kuramoto.
  • In Episode 35 of FRESH!, Marin picked up a guitar and played a shortened English version of the Sakura Gakuin song "Identity" which she had translated and adapted herself.
  • Shortly before her graduation, Maaya went on a radio show and sang solo to an unplugged "Carry On".
  • Graduated members have done this too…
    • Ayami held an acoustic concert on June 10th 2014 titled AYM Ballads during which she sang "FRIENDS". She sang the song again, this time a capella, during a November 2019 livestream.
    • Aiko performed a piano-only arrangement of "Identity" during one of her livestreams.
• V-Sign: Many, many, many pictures. It's kind of a thing with Japanese girls in general.
  • Sometimes, like here, the girls will do a sideways-V, as if they're shooting beams from their eyes. Soyoka in particular does this when she's trying to concentrate. By coincidence, this move strongly resembles the shtick of former Nogizaka46 member Himeka Nakamoto, older sister of Sakura Gakuin graduate (and Babymetal frontwoman) Suzuka.
  • Marin, being post-OG Sakura Gakuin's resident Cloud Cuckoolander, has been photographed giving a W-sign.
• Voices Are Mental:
  • Yui in the 2011 album’s bonus footage, Yearning for Friends
  • During live shows when Marin would "read the minds" of other members and/or Mori-sensei.
    • This extends of course to the minds of those she's reading, as well as other members like Soyoka who have tried to piggyback on her ESP powers.
• Wacky Homeroom: Being a school-themed group, this is a given, especially in the nendo tests and transfer ceremonies.
• You Are Not Alone: Suzuka said in interviews that she felt huge pressure when she was appointed Second Class President in 2012 (replacing Ayami) and didn't know if she was good for the job. She was genuinely surprised when the others threw her an "Appreciation Party" before she graduated.
• You Talk Too Much!: Invoked as "You Talk Too Slow". In "Mezase! Super Lady ~ 2020", Neo (well-known for her keigo speech patterns) says her line slowly, softly, and politely ...and Mori-sensei cuts her off to introduce Miko before Neo can finish.

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