A Case for Mosaic in JAV. An In-depth Opinion. Part 2 of 3

With censored JAV, we just literally do the opposite with the above list. Better lighting, unique production, good narratives, cool creative direction, better aesthetics and eroticism in general. And yes, of course, hotter, cuter, sexier JAV stars. Censored JAV can afford all these things because for the most part, JAV is funded majorly by the Japanese, and its target market prefers the censored stuff for a multitude of cultural / social reasons. Foreign sales barely make a dent to this because of many reasons but the biggest reason is that JAV just isn’t made to be marketed outside of Japan. If it was, it would be more accessible. The market speaks and creates the almighty demand, and the demand is whatever is popular, which is the type of content that mainstream censored JAV makers create. 

Well… the answer is: it is impossible to make objective value judgements on subjective arguments. Primarily because the key point to consider with this matchup is the audience’s taste. Specifically, what does the target audience want? While I can’t speak for you, I can speak for myself. I watch both, but why do I like JAV better than western porn? The biggest reason is the most obvious: the women. I like Japanese women because I enjoy the East Asian aesthetic. You don’t see that kind of woman in western porn. Even if Japanese actresses also performed in uncensored Western porn, there is also a big consideration in how they portray themselves that separates it from the Japanese productions. JAV stars have no tattoos, their makeup is styled differently, their natural beauty is differently portrayed, they are clothed differently, act differently, fuck and get fucked differently, and if they have surgical enhancements, those are done differently compared to their western counterparts. Also, moving back on to the topic, the required censorship in JAV adds a certain stylistic flair, which I discussed in the last article. 

A good way for me to check what my true preferences are is to check actresses who have crossed over from JAV to Western porn (and vice versa). The prime modern example for this is Sumire Mikuzawa (aka Emiri Momota, in western porn releases.). She is a Japanese bombshell beauty who crossed over, gained success in the Western Porno-sphere, while maintaining her prestige in the JAV world. The visuals are supreme. The sight of her vagina in its uncensored glory, shot in high profile Vixen videos, are a sight to behold. But the narrative and the eroticism is… pretty much on par with the rest of the premium in western porn, with the same problems on too much focus on penetration and a lot less focus on the erotic narratives. Meanwhile, The Taku Yoshimura’s adventures in LA fuckin pornstars of all colors is a treat. Watching American women gasp, then moan to the legendary Frogman’s sexual prowess is erotic and a turn on for me, even with mosaic added. Though this doesn't have a lot of narrative since Japanese Male x Foreign Woman is a bit of a niche genre. But I succinctly remember other foreign actresses crossing over for full on Japanese narrative movies, like Melody Hina Marks and if you go back further, Mia Malkova in her prime.

Western porn does have its advantages like: the variety of women indifferent shapes, colors and sizes, the sexual expressiveness of gendered sexuality(especially with Women on Women) and the accessibility of watching porn in a language you understand. But the aesthetics and eroticism is just such a different flavor compared to JAV, which, if it isn't obvious by now, is my bias. To be fair, there are some steaming hot western porn out there, and I do enjoy both, as a sexual degenerate myself. But if I had to choose, it's JAV all the way, censorship and all, because I like how it is presented, delivered and enjoyed. It's a vibes thing I feel. Some people like Anime, others people like Football.

Then there is the Chinese AV scene, like in Taiwan, with women also of East Asian descent. A fledgling adult industry aiming to replicate the success of JAV but uncensored. And a quick verdict is: it’s just not there yet. I tried to give it a shot but the few I’ve watched rarely feature quality women, and there are too many questionable choices in the production of Chinese AV that are neither aesthetic nor erotic and make me scratch my head. (Like, temporary tattoos of sponsor logos? really?) 

What YOU want matters more because ultimately, it's you who will decide for yourself. What kind of content do you like, in what style it is available, and ultimately what you consume is the answer to this question. I’m just here to convince you that JAV looks, sounds and feels this way because of cultural conventions in Japan, censorship is among them. And I, for one, prefer these stylistic creative choices found in censored JAV(partially due to them working around said censorship) over that in other porn. 

And whose to say that if we like one, we are no longer allowed to enjoy the other? We are free to like what we like without getting hungover value judgements. Both can be good, but like in cuisine, maybe I just like Japanese cuisine better because of their unique taste and ingredients.

Regardless of our preferences, there are advantages to keeping JAV censored not just inside of the JAV movies itself, but outside of it. For the final article in this series, we explore the social impacts of censorship as it relates to JAV and talk about why JAV is censored in the first place.