Sakura Gakuin has scheduled two special streams this month, one which involves a concert and graduation ceremony, and another that reviews the previous year leading up to the graduation. It’s a rare opportunity to view such content overseas as Sakura Gakuin rarely puts out its materials online.
For those who aren’t familiar with Sakura Gakuin, it is a 12-member girl group that incorporates the concept of school. As with every year, the oldest members of the group “graduates” (departs) and holds a ceremony. In fact, BABYMETAL is derived from here and eventually became its own unit later on.
This year, it is the first time ever Sakura Gakuin will stream its content to a worldwide audience, showcasing “The Road to Graduation 2019 Final”, and “The Road to Graduation 2019 Special Program” on August 30. The former program is Sakura Gakuin’s last live performance from 2019 and the graduation ceremony, and the latter program brings the students together with their homeroom teacher, Hayashi Mori, in order to review the academic year of 2019.
The four graduating members include Tsugumi Aritomo, Momoe Mori, Kano Fujihira, Soyoka Yoshida.
A teaser video was revealed in conjunction with the announcement:
The Road to Graduation 2019 Special Program ~Last Home Room~
- Date: August 30, 2020
- Time: 16:00 (JST)
- Description: The members of Sakura Gakuin and their homeroom teacher, Hayashi Mori, will look back on their academic year of 2019. The program will be about an hour-long.
- Ticket availability: Until August 27, Thursday, 23:59 (JST)
- Ticket price: 1,100yen. Bundle price for both streams is 4,950yen.
- Tickets: http://w.pia.jp/a/sakuragakuin-plseng/
- Archived stream availability: Until 23:59, August 31, 2020 (JST)
The Road to Graduation 2019 Final ~Sakura Gakuin Graduation 2019~
- Date: August 30, 2020
- Time: 17:30 (JST)
- Description: Sakura Gakuin’s last live performance from 2019 and their graduation ceremony. The program will be about an hour and 30 minutes long.
- Ticket availability: Until August 27, Thursday, 23:59 (JST)
- Ticket price: 3,850yen. Bundle price for both streams is 4,950yen.
- Tickets: http://w.pia.jp/a/sakuragakuin-plseng/
- Archived stream availability: Until 23:59, August 31, 2020 (JST)
Full detailed information on both streams can be found here.
Formed in 2010, Sakura Gakuin consists of students (members) that fall within the age range of Japanese compulsory education. As implied by the name “Gakuin” meaning “School”, the unit takes on the theme of school life and extracurricular club activities.
BABYMETAL is derived from the “Heavy Metal Club”, a sub-unit of Sakura Gakuin consisting of Suzuka, Yui, and Moa, later known as Su-metal, Moametal, and Yuimetal.
You can see Yui and Moa taking part in the music video “Jump Up ~Chiisana Yuki~”:
