Her third appearance explores cooler expressions and vivid red styling, with a double-sided poster included and a separate QUO card giveaway.
Airi Taniguchi opens a two-issue Sakurazaka46 special in Weekly Shonen Champion 2026 No. 47, on sale October 22, 2026. The Akita Shoten magazine features her on the front cover and in its opening gravure pages.
This is Taniguchi’s third appearance in the magazine, arriving as she takes her first title-track center role on Sakurazaka46’s 16th single, Ai MUST BE.
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The released photographs pair a vivid red ruffled sleeveless outfit with a white top and red floral skirt. One portrait places her beside a pink heart graphic; a landscape-format opening page shows her resting her chin on one hand. The supplied poster artwork changes the setting to a pale sofa, where she wears light-colored ruffled loungewear.
Akita Shoten also describes a chic dress among the feature’s looks. In her comment accompanying the announcement, Taniguchi says the shoot emphasizes her cooler side and singles out the red outfit as a favorite because it reminds her of a goldfish.
Discussing Ai MUST BE, she describes a song that helps listeners feel they are not alone and says she wants to convey it to more people.
Taniguchi also leads a separate forthcoming magazine feature: our B.L.T. December 2026 story follows her everyday-life shoot around Kichijoji.
A double-sided Taniguchi poster measuring 500 × 310 mm comes with the issue. The limited QUO card giveaway for 200 recipients is a separate reader-prize offer, not a card included with every copy. Consult the magazine for application instructions and conditions.
The November 5 date printed on the cover is the issue date, not the on-sale date. See Akita Shoten’s official issue page for publication information.
Photography: Takeo Dec. Cover, feature and poster artwork, and publisher logo supplied by Akita Shoten via PR TIMES.
Source: Akita Shoten via PR TIMES
The October 28 issue pairs a quiet Taniguchi portrait with Matsuda’s streamer-filled celebration, leading a Sakurazaka46 special spanning more than 40 pages.
The October 28 issue pairs her everyday-life shoot with Rina Matsuda’s graduation feature and Wako Matsumoto’s first solo gravure, plus an included poster and separate retailer postcards.
This year again, every applicant will receive a postcard set. Advance images for the first installment featuring Rena Moriya, Aiki Taniguchi and Konomi Asai are now available.
