Kaoru Sakuraba (桜庭薫, Sakuraba Kaoru) is an idol in THE iDOLM@STER SideM. He is one of three idols that can be chosen at the start of the game.

He is considered the main blue representative of the SideM branch. As a member of DRAMATIC STARS, he also makes up the main trio of the game along with Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi.

He is voiced by Yuuma Uchida (內田雄馬, Uchida Yuuma).

Statistics

Kaoru Sakuraba
SideM Character Data
Name:	桜庭薫 (Sakuraba Kaoru)
Voice actor:	內田雄馬 (Uchida Yuuma)
Age:	26
Height:	178 cm
Weight:	58 kg
Shoe Size:	26.5 cm
Birthday:	September 24th
Blood type:	A
Hobbies:	Reading, especially his sister's worn out poetry book
Skills:	Magic tricks
Handedness:	Ambidextrous
Horoscope:	Libra
Hometown:	Kyoto
Ex-Job:	Doctor
Card Type:	Intelligence
Image Color:
Autograph

Annual Rankings

Event	Prelim Rank	Final Rank
1st Anniversary Election	05	10
2nd Anniversary Election	No Ranking	08

Biographies

SideM Biography

-The cool perfectionist who relies on no one!-
"Commence the most supreme operation!"

SideM Idol File

Reasons for Becoming an Idol: To make money.

Personal Motto: Success follows hard work.

Comments for the Future: My ultimate goal is making money as a top idol; Therefore, my first order of business is becoming a first-rate one. Physical activity is my weak point, and talking with idiots pains me, but I can overcome any obstacle.

Comments about Unit Members: Between a pushy, sweltering middle-aged man and a brat who has no worth other than his smile and his stomach, I'd rather not associate in private with these people at all. But, as idols... Well, I suppose they're not technically worthless there.

GROWING STARS Biography

-From surgeon to idol!-
"Preparations has been arranged. Let's go."

THE iDOLM@STER POPLINKS Profile Quote

"I'm Kaoru Sakuraba. 26 years old. Former surgeon doctor. As an idol, I must aim to be at the top and be ready to do my utmost diligence in any job."

Character Description

Kaoru is a stoic ex-surgeon doctor who is a perfectionist, taking his job very seriously and will do whatever it takes to become the top idol. He tends to come off as rude towards other idols, refusing to participate in conversations and activities that don't bring any benefit. He hates talking to dumb people such as his fellow unitmate Teru, which often leads to the two getting into heated arguments and Tsubasa having to break the two up. Despite his resentment towards such people, he still cares for them. He also warms up a bit after he's become comfortable in someone's presence, though he doesn't want to show his obvious appreciation towards the Producer which then manifests in his frequent medical advice. He insists this is just leftover habits from his old job.

His career choice and drive to become an idol is due to his older sister, who he loves very much especially her singing, was hospitalized and eventually passed away from an incurable disease when he was young. He never fails to carry or wear a dolphin pendant that was gifted by his sister after praising him for his singing. In order to help eliminate the same disease that took his sister's life, he needs a large amount of money to fund the cause.

Song Discography

Image songs

Because

Recorded Solo Songs

Recorded Solo Songs
Song	Classification	CD
MOON NIGHT no Sei ni Shite	Kaoru Sakuraba Solo Remix	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 2nd ANNIVERSARY SOLO COLLECTION
Because	Solo Song	THE IDOLM@STER SideM ORIGIN@L PIECES 04
POKER FAITH	Kaoru Sakuraba Solo Remix	THE IDOLM@STER SideM WakeMini! SOLO COLLECTION 03 INTELLIGENCE Ver.
Nandodemo Waraou	Kaoru Sakuraba Solo Remix	THE IDOLM@STER Series 15th Anniversary Commemoration Song "Nandodemo Waraou"
ASTERISK	Kaoru Sakuraba Solo Remix	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 5th ANNIVERSARY SOLO COLLECTION 01
ANYWHERE	Kaoru Sakuraba Solo Remix	THE IDOLM@STER SideM PASSION@TE FORMATION -INTELLIGENCE-
My Starry Song	Image song	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 49 ELEMENTS-16 DRAMATIC STARS

Recorded Group Songs

Recorded Group Songs
Song	CD	Sung With
STARLIGHT CELEBRATE!	THE IDOLM@STER SideM ST@RTING LINE-02 DRAMATIC STARS	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
DRAMATIC NONFICTION
DRIVE A LIVE
Yozora o Kirameku Hoshi no You ni	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 2nd ANNIVERSARY DISC 01 DRAMATIC STARS & High×Joker	Teru Tendo, Tsubasa Kashiwagi, Shiki Iseya, Hayato Akiyama, Haruna Wakazato, Jun Fuyumi, and Natsuki Sakaki
MOON NIGHT no Sei ni Shite		Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
Beyond The Dream	THE IDOLM@STER SideM "Beyond The Dream"	315 ALLSTARS
Beyond The Dream	THE IDOLM@STER SideM "Beyond The Dream"	315 Intelligence Idols
Reason!!	THE IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 01 "Reason!!"	315 STARS
Ryuusei PARADE	THE IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 01 "Reason!!"	Teru Tendo, Tsubasa Kashiwagi, Touma Amagase, Hokuto Ijuuin, Shouta Mitarai, Michio Hazama, Rui Maita, and Jiro Yamashita
Fuyu no Hi no Étranger	Special CD: 315 St＠rry Collaboration 01 ～DRAMATIC STARS&Beit～	Kyoji Takajo, Pierre, Minori Watanabe, Teru Tendo, and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
Sa-yo-na-ra Summer Holiday		Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
ARRIVE TO STAR	THE IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 07 "ARRIVE TO STAR"
Reason!!	THE IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 07 "ARRIVE TO STAR"
Beyond The Dream	THE IDOLM@STER SideM ANIMATION PROJECT 08 "GLORIOUS RO@D"	315 STARS
DRIVE A LIVE
GLORIOUS RO@D
POKER FAITH	THE IDOLM@STER SideM WakeMini! MUSIC COLLECTION 03	315 STARS (Intelligence Ver.)
DREAM JOURNEY	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 4th ANNIVERSARY DISC "LIVE in your SMILE / DREAM JOURNEY"	315 STARS
PRIDE STAR	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 5th ANNIVERSARY DISC 01 PRIDE STAR	315 ALLSTARS
DRIVE A LIVE
Beyond The Dream
Reason!!
GLORIOUS RO@D
ASTERISK	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 5th ANNIVERSARY DISC 02 DRAMATIC STARS & Shinsoku Ikkon & F-LAGS	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
Fine Day! Find Way!		Teru Tendo, Tsubasa Kashiwagi, Genbu Kurono, Suzaku Akai, Kazuki Tsukumo, Ryo Akizuki, and Daigo Kabuto
Your Nobility	THE IDOLM@STER SideM WORLD TRE@SURE 12	Genbu Kurono and Kazuki Tsukumo
MEET THE WORLD! (UNITED KINGDOM Ver.)	THE IDOLM@STER SideM WORLD TRE@SURE 12	Genbu Kurono and Kazuki Tsukumo
PRIDE STAR (DRAMATIC STARS Ver.)	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 5th ANNIVERSARY UNIT COLLECTION -PRIDE STAR-	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
Nandodemo Waraou	THE IDOLM@STER Series 15th Anniversary Commemoration Song "Nandodemo Waraou"	THE IDOLM@STER FIVE STARS!!!!!
Nandodemo Waraou		Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
MEET THE WORLD! (DRAMATIC STARS Ver.)	THE IDOLM@STER SideM WORLD TRE@SURE UNIT COLLECTION -MEET THE WORLD!-
GOOD NEW MORNING	THE IDOLM@STER SideM NEW STAGE EPISODE:12 DRAMATIC STARS
NEXT STAGE! (DRAMATIC STARS Ver.)	THE IDOLM@STER SideM NEW STAGE EPISODE:12 DRAMATIC STARS
Growing Smiles!	THE IDOLM@STER SideM GROWING SIGN@L 01 Growing Smiles!	315 ALLSTARS
DRIVE A LIVE
Beyond The Dream
NEXT STAGE!
Growing Smiles! (DRAMATIC STARS Ver.)	THE IDOLM@STER SideM UNIT COLLECTION -Growing Smiles!-	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
ANYWHERE	THE IDOLM@STER SideM PASSION@TE FORMATION -INTELLIGENCE-	315 Intelligence Idols
Change to Chance	THE IDOLM@STER SideM GROWING SIGN@L 14 DRAMATIC STARS	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
Rainy Memories	THE IDOLM@STER SideM GROWING SIGN@L 14 DRAMATIC STARS	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
Take a StuMp!	THE IDOLM@STER SideM GROWING SIGN@L 15 Take a StuMp!	315 ALLSTARS
Take a StuMp! (DRAMATIC STARS Ver.)	THE IDOLM@STER SideM UNIT COLLECTION -Take a StuMp!-	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
S!T!A!R!ting	THE IDOLM@STER SideM 49 ELEMENTS-16 DRAMATIC STARS	Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi
Dramatic Anthem	THE IDOLM@STER SideM F@NTASTIC COMBINATION～BRAINPOWER!!～ DRAMATIC STARS	Teru Tendo, Tsubasa Kashiwagi, Michio Hazama, Rui Maita, and Jiro Yamashita
DRIVE A LIVE
Study Equal Magic!		Teru Tendo and Tsubasa Kashiwagi

Trivia and Fan Culture

Trivia

Kaoru's given name means "Fragrance" and his surname literally means "Cherry Blossom Garden". Combining them will translate to "Fragrant Cherry Blossom Garden".
Kaoru was ranked as the tenth most popular character in the first election of THE iDOLM@STER SideM.
In his unchanged SideM Xmas Live 2015 SR card, Kaoru is seen with a gift bag containing glasses. This bag also appears in Genbu Kurono's unchanged Xmas Live 2015 R card, suggesting that Genbu bought the glasses for Kaoru.
He is good with magic tricks. He is also a skilled ventriloquist.
He shares the same birthday with Megumi Ijuin.
In the Live on Stage's New Year Countdown Live 2018 event, Kaoru's SR appeal can be connected with Ryu Kimura's - starting from Kaoru attempting to catch Ryu from nearly tripping over.
Kaoru has matching pajamas with his unitmates Teru and Tsubasa, as told by Teru when asked by Yusuke from the LIVE ON ST@GE!'s pajama photoshoot event.
In the Granblue Fantasy side story, Kaoru reached a rank of 103 in the span of mere months before their PV shoot in-story. It is unknown whether he truly did it for research purposes or was simply enjoying the game.
According to his "Candid Shot" card, he says that he is not a morning person.

Fan Culture

Kaoru is mainly nicknamed "Kaoru Sensei" (かおるせんせぇ) or just "Sensei" (せんせぇ) by fans due to having the same given name, romanized and kanji, as the idol Kaoru Ryuzaki (who refers to the Producer as "Sensei"), which both of them were paired in some fanworks.
Because Ranko's and Kaoru's voice actors, Maaya and Yuuma Uchida respectively by age, are siblings, fans sometimes feature this pair on their fan works.
A meme involving him has emerged thanks to the first SideM event: during the appeal chances, the sprite for his ranking SR in that event was animated in a way that made him appear to be sliding in on an office chair. This became a running joke in the fan community and was even performed by Kaoru's seiyuu Yuuma Uchida during the Niconico live stream for SideM on January 17th.
Although semi-unofficial, he is commonly associated with Megane Z, a group of glasses-wearing idols from the production. The other members are Nao Okamura, Michio Hazama, Shiki Iseya, Kyosuke Aoi, Ryo Akizuki and Genbu Kurono.