Sasaki Saku

Sasaki Saku (笹木 咲) is a female Japanese Virtual YouTuber affiliated with NIJISANJI. She debuted as a second batch member of now-dissolved group, NIJISANJI Gamers, along with Honma Himawari and Yamiyono Moruru.

Saku had temporarily shut down her channel on 11 November 2018, removing/making almost all her content private, but on 16 January 2019, she announced that she would resume activities and restored/made her content public again.

Profile
A sophomore high school student from Kansai with a laid-back attitude and a love for video games and aquariums. Her favorite animals are pandas and Japanese pancake devilfish. She is commonly referred to as (and prefers to be called) "Saki-chan" or by her surname "Sasaki."

Background
Saku's Twitter account was opened on 28 June 2018 while her YouTube channel was created on 2 July although she did not start her activity on YouTube until her self introduction uploaded on 7 July.

Retirement and return
In November 2018, Saku closed her channel after a farewell montage premiered on 15 November and ceased her activity due to undisclosed reasons. Two months later on 16 January 2019, NIJISANJI announced that she would be resuming her activities and she announced her return.

2019
On 3 April, it was announced that Sasaki Saku, along with three other members of NIJISANJI (namely Dola, Rindou Mikoto, and Akabane Youko), would be getting an update to their 2D model. She showcased her updated model in a stream on the next day.

On 17 June, Saku held her official 3D model debut livestream on YouTube.

2020
On 10 April, Kizuku and Sasaki Saku began hosting "ヤシロ&ササキのレバガチャダイパン" (Yashiro and Sasaki's Lever Gacha Daipan) on the official NIJISANJI YouTube channel, a regularly scheduled 3D 30-minute program which invites different Livers to play games every week.

2021
On July 1st, she became the fifth member of NIJISANJI (after Tsukino Mito, Kuzuha, Kanae, and Honma Himawari) to reach 600,000 subscribers.

2019

 * On 8 December, Saku participated in the concert event Virtual to LIVE in 両国国技館 2019 (Ryogoku Kokugikan) and performed songs with other NIJISANJI members.

2020

 * Saku was scheduled to perform at the Zepp DiverCity Tokyo venue on 5 March 2020 as part of the concert tour NIJISANJI JAPAN TOUR 2020 Shout in the Rainbow!, but unfortunately, the live event had to be canceled due to the dangerous climate surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
 * On August 2020, Saku Participated in Vtuber Most Cooperative tournament Apex Legends alongside Naraka & Ratna Petit as their Teams ONIPANDA

2021

 * On 27 March, Saku participated in Fall Guys Super Match alongside Saegusa Akina, Shiina Yuika & Fuwa Minato as their teams SaSaShiiFu & claim 5th Place in final rankings.
 * On July 2021, Saku Participated in Vtuber Fall Guys Sports Festival Alongside Hayama Marin, Mashiro (Nijisanji) & Yashiro Kizuku as their Teams Berry Destroyer & Claim 5th Place and 6 points in final ranking.
 * On 27 December, Saku participated in the 4th NIJISANJI Mario Kart Cup and became champion with 63 points during the final race.

2022

 * On 27 February, Saku participated in the NIJISANJI VALORANT Custom event organized by Lauren Iroas and Naraka as team "Nyon Nyon Peak" along with Naraka, Fuwa Minato, Nagao Kei, and Kitakoji Hisui.
 * On 26 March, Saku & her teams SaSaShiiFu returned in Play Alive Fall Guys vol.2. They claimed 3rd place in the final Ranking.

Fans

 * Saku fans are called "Sasa-kids" (笹キッズ).

Relationships

 * SakuYui, along with Shiina Yuika
 * Evergreen Nerd, along with Uzuki Kou, Makaino Ririmu, Lize Helesta and Yashiro Kizuku.
 * Onna no Iyana Dokoro, along with Shiina Yuika, Gundo Mirei and Otogibara Era.
 * Kaizan GIG, along with Akabane Youko, Shiina Yuika and Ryushen.
 * Kusaoshiri, along with Makaino Ririmu, Kuzuha and Shiina Yuika.
 * Gozayayo, along with Honma Himawari.
 * Junintoiro, along with Makaino Ririmu, Siina Yuika, Takamiya Rion, Rindou Mikoto, Kudo Chitose, Gundo Mirei, Yuzuki Roa, Ange Katrina and Lize Helesta.
 * Susumo Kindergarten, along with Ushimi Ichigo, Yamiyono Moruru, Honma Himawari, Makaino Ririmu and Sumomo.
 * NIJISANJI GALS, along with Higuchi Kaede, Shiina Yuika and Takamiya Rion.
 * NIJISANJI PROJECT WINTER, along with Kanae, Kuzuha, Lize Helesta, Ange Katrina, Tenkai Tsukasa and Fairys Chan.
 * NIJISANJI Resistance, along with Shiina Yuika, Hanabatake Chaika, Mononobe Alice, Aduchi Momo and Ryushen.
 * NIJISANJI Gamers (2nd and 3rd Batch Gamers), along with Honma Himawari, Yamiyono Moruru, Makaino Ririmu, Kuzuha, Setsuna and Shiina Yuika.
 * BanKouJou, along with Uzuki Kou and Lize Helesta.
 * Hiyoko Pantsu, along with Lize Helesta.
 * Dare Panda, along with Belmond Banderas.

Trivia

 * Color: #EF9AAF
 * Saku shares the same character designer with Honma Himawari and Hassaku Yuzu.
 * She is close friends with Shiina Yuika.
 * In November of 2019 Saku adopted a kitten named Popo, a gray female Scottish Fold. For her birthday stream that month she even recorded and uploaded footage of herself playing with Popo (something comparatively uncommon for VTubers to do).

Twitter hashtags

 * #笹なま #笹らいぶ - Stream talk
 * #笹の絵 - Fan art

Further readings

 * 笹木咲 - Unofficial NIJISANJI Wiki
 * 笹木咲 - Pixiv Encyclopedia
 * 笹木咲 - Nicovideo Encyclopedia
 * 笹木咲 - Japanese Wikipedia
 * 笹木咲 - Moegirl Encyclopedia
 * 사사키 사쿠 - Namu Wiki