As in any entertainment industry, being unique help. This is the case with Kanagawa native, Riku Minato, one of JAV's underrated gems.

Even though she retired in 2019, she had a prolific career. First working as a freelancer in relatively obscure studios such as Lama, Tokyo Tin TIn Plus, Up's, and others, she was eventually signed as an exclusive actress by three studios, Moodyz, teamZero, and finally, S1. 

そして気付いてた方も多いとおもいますが、
湊莉久は年内で全ての活動を終え、来年の写真展をもちまして、この業界を完全引退します！

これについてはまた後日ゆっくりお話しさせて頂きます！

みんなに早く伝えたかったんだよ。

— 湊 莉久 (@riku_minato) October 11, 2018

Her JAV story was not quite typical. She debuted with CANDY, a relatively small studio that also debuted Koharu Suzuki. She did a series of releases with a bunch of other studios as a freelancer, mostly doing hardcore and fetish videos.

She quickly got the attention of a small but loyal group of fans who loved her distinct face, shapely body, and bubbly enthusiasm. Two years later, she grabbed the Best Actress prize at the DMM Adult Awards. That same year, she claimed a special prize at the R18.com Awards. Not bad for a freelancer, no?

She then got signed by Moodyz, then known for releasing hardcore-ish content, and continued to release videos of more or less the same intensity.  At this point in her career, she began to dial things down a little though. She then transferred to teamZERO and released a few vanilla videos. After, she got signed by S1 which eventually released her retirement video. Around this time, most of her videos are a lot tamer and more story-oriented compared to her earlier works. 

Despite being retired, she still occasionally posts on social media. She still crops up every now and then in compilation videos, a testament to her prolific freelance work and continuing popularity. In fact, she even made an appearance in the game Yakuza 0. She is one of the women that the character Kazuma Kiryu can hook up with through the telephone club. 

What makes Riku Minato special?

Riku Minato's appeal is a bit difficult to explain. She doesn't have idol-tier looks and model-esque frame. But she is best known for her quirky looks which definitely stands out among her peers. Her tomboy hair also helps to make her more exotic. 

Her body is also a veritable sex-machine. She has a nice rack, a huge ass, and wide hips. Her body just oozes with sexuality, as if it was carved exactly for some wild breeding.  

Last but not the least, she has an adventurous sexual appetite. Like Nana Ogura, she swallows cum without being told to do so. She seems to enjoy getting used in a wide variety of ways - mouth fucking, piston fucking, gangbang creampies, you name it.  

So let's now take a look at some of the landmarks of Riku Minator's fruitful career. 

CND-026 - Porn Debut Of A College Girl With Short Hair Who Works At A Mahjong Parlor! 

Riku's career started without much fanfare. In fact, her debut, CND-026, is as unceremonious as it gets. In this title from CANDY, Riku is branded as a short-haired 19-year-old college girl who works at a mahjong parlor. 

After a brief interview, we get to see Riku working the mahjong place like a diligent intern working part-time to pay her bills. Cleaning the machines, keeping the place nice and tidy, and so on. The action starts when she enters the kitchen where she gets groped by a pasty-looking fellow. In a true Riku Minato fashion, she gets fingered on top of a dirty sink. 

That is when it becomes clear that Riku's job entails not just keeping the mahjong place clean but also to keep the patrons calm and satisfied. To keep the losing players from trashing the place, Riku is tasked with relieving them of stress which, as we all know, means sucking their dicks and letting herself be their stress ball, basically.  

The video is shot in a faux documentary-style where the camera follows Riku's 'genuine' reactions as she gets ordered to fuck every now and then. I am personally not a fan of these indoor titles, but CND-026 is not too bad. You have to commend the production team for hiring a lot of extras and actors to make the set look real and busy. 

As for Riku's costumes, they took the effort to make her look as typical as possible. She only has one outfit, not counting the filler hotel scene at the last third of the video. 

As for sex action, there is ample sexy time to make CND-026 an okay watch. We get to see Riku fucked in 3P for the first time. She is a lot more passive so we are yet to see her 'sex animal' side. 

All in all, CND-026 is an okay video, but it is a bad debut. She did not get any special treatment here, so it's obvious that CANDY did not see her potential yet. 

MIGD-525 - Riku Minato Is a Cum-Swallowing Cock-Sucking Brothel Girl

Now we're talking. After her pretty dull debut, masters of depravity MOODYZ grabbed the opportunity to put Riku to good use. In MIGD-525, we get to see Riku leap from being a boring college student into a cum-guzzling machine. A gokkun title so early in her career, MIGD-525 will come to define Riku's path as a performer. 

So the video starts where the CANDY video seems to have left off. After leaving the mahjong parlor and its exploitative labor conditions, Riku decides to pack her bags and try her luck elsewhere. She finds herself in a cock-sucking brothel that pays a lot more than her previous employer. There is a catch though: she has to suck a lot of cocks and drink liters of man juice. 

And it seems that it is exactly what Riku is looking for. In MIGD-525, she is a lot more expressive and erotic. None of the fake 'timid college girl' persona, Riku is down for some serious business.

In the exceptional first scene, Riku is paired with an actor who seems to really love his job. He seems to be still in shock that someone like Riku is serving him. Riku is more than willing to deliver. She licks his armpit, sucks on his tongue, gobbles on his briefs-covered cock, until she masterfully gives him a blowjob. The guy lets out a very thick load on Riku's mouth. The lad seems to have saved up a month's load which Riku gargles before swallowing with relish. 

This starts a series of scenes where Riku gets played with and sucks on one cock after another. In one scene, she takes on four cocks at a time. It's obvious that she is still not used to swallowing that much cum. In the same scene, her eyes become glassy as she struggles to swallow one guy's thick load. To put the icing on the cake, they even got her to eat some ass.

The video ends with a total gokkun fest where Riku swallows semen from condoms and, eventually, a plateful of cum. There is enough cum for her for a full-course dinner. 

MIGD-525 is a gokkun masterpiece. There is enough variety and gimmicks to keep viewers interested despite the lack of sex. But the highlight of the video is Riku herself. It is unbelievable that she did this video within the first six months of her career. 

Watch the trailer and be amazed. 

CEN-003 - Hardcore Blowjob

Buckle up boys, we have another masterpiece on our hands.

One of her hardest titles to date, CEN-003 is a brutal deepthroat title where Riku's throat takes a lot of punishment. With total disregard for her mouth's well-being, the creators did everything physically possible that you can imagine with Riku's poor face hole. You'd wonder whether this kind of action does not merit a lawsuit. 

CEN-003 reminds me of Real Works' "Throat Fuck Creampie" series, but with more variety in terms of costumes. Plus they also topped with up with some cum swallowing and fucking for a total package. 

The title starts with CEN-003 waking up in some sort of fetish dungeon. After a brief 'training session' with a big ass dildo, they started ramming their throats on the back of Riku's head without any remorse. There are about five scenarios throughout the video, each featuring Riku in different costumes. But all of them are basically about destroying her throat and occasionally fucking her. 

What stands out the most in CEN-003 are the camera angles. We get to see the action from all sides - from below, from the sidelines, from the top, and so on, giving us glorious views of Riku's stuffed throat. We also have to commend the variety of positions they did on Riku. All these add up to give CEN-003 a steady pace that is not boring to watch. 

Needless to say, Riku Minato's CEN-003 is one hell of a ride. During the first scenes, it is obvious to the viewer that Riku is having a hard time even getting a quarter of the cock inside her mouth. It took her a while to get used to it, but even to the end, you can see that Riku is laboring in every single second of the video. We just wish she got her hard-earned money after it. 

Watch the trailer to get an idea: 

SVDVD-381 - Shame! Outdoor Breakdown! Totally Crazy, Sticking A Big Bang Egg Vibrator Into Her Pussy For A Squirting Orgasm Date

Ok, this one's something of a palate cleanser. SVDVD-381 is part POV where we get to see Riku walking around with an egg vibrator inside her pussy. We see her in a number of kinky situations, such as playing with the boys in the recreational room, having a stroll in the busy streets of Tokyo, buying at a convenience store, etc. Also, Riku is a pisser, so she pisses herself uncontrollably when she orgasms. So we get to also see Riku commit a possible felony. 

Lovers of public humiliation and pissing will totally love the scenarios in SVDVD-381. They shot one scene inside a rec area with other male actors to see how Riku will try to behave herself while being surrounded by unknowing people of the male species. The scene in the convenience store is also quite entertaining as they pushed her not only to pee on the floor but also expose her breasts while other customers are innocently browsing for their favorite instant ramen or something. 

We'd have to be honest though and point out that Riku's acting on SVDVD-381 is quite, well, interesting. She was still deep into her doe-eyed pervert persona and did her best to channel that in this video. But she over the top acting sometimes kills off the whole 'this is real and shot with real amateurs' vibe which SVDVD-381 seems to be going for.

Another gripe we have with this video is the filler at the end. The hotel sex scene at the final part of the video is a much-needed release for Riku who has been walking around with an egg between her legs. She definitely needed a real cock and some good banging. But they should have fucked her in public or something like that just to be consistent with the title's premise. 

Nonetheless, SVDVD-381 is still fun to watch. It is goofy, laid-back, and it has its weaknesses, but it is a solid one in terms of JAV entertainment. 

DASD-247 - 100 Round Gangbang

At this point, Riku's management may have already been thinking of how to top her previous releases. They've already done gokkun, deep throat, creampies, and public sex, so what's next? Well, there's no better way to up the ante than by an all-out century gangbang.

DASD-247 is not just your typical gangbang. It was meant to feature everything that Riku has done so far. After all, it takes a bit of creativity to come up with ways to use 100 juice men without boring your viewers. 

But before sexing up Riku, what's the best way to get the actress in the mood? With a giant vibrator curtain, of course!

After the lengthy vibe curtain scene, the actors began to cum on Riku's wide-open pussy to lather it up with their juice. Thus commences the gangbang proper and the endless creampie session. 

DASD-247 is as raw as it gets. Men line up to fuck Riku, cum inside her pussy, mouth, face, and wherever they want and then get on with their lives. There are some sequences where they bukkake her and cover her face completely with thick male goo. There are tons of creampie too, as par for the course. 

It's sad that Riku doesn't seem very excited about shooting this video. She looked painfully uninterested throughtout the shoot. She even shed quite a few tears in some scenes towards the end. It's difficult to determine whether it's all acting or there's something going on behind the scenes. Probably it is because of the drab and boring set and the almost inexistent costumes. There is nothing much going on the scenes except Riku, cocks, and more cocks. This title could have used a bit more color to make it less tedious. 

DASD-247 is typical of her videos with DAS. But still it's worth watching if only to see Riku take on a hundred men and get her pussy totally mushed up by their semen.

SVDVD- 409 - Her First Raw Creampie With A Black Guy! Her First Big Squirting! Her First Time Swallowing A White Dude's Cum! 

SVDVD-409 features Riku Minato's many firsts. Its her first major 'squirting' video, her first taste of a white guy's cum, and her first BBC fuck - with a creampie, at that. 

This video is like a three-layered burger. It is simply not possible to take it all in one bite, and the flavors do not necessarily blend. Sure, the white guy and black guy pairing is mildly interesting, but what's up with the random squirting intro? Anyway, this video still manages to be entertaining. 

SVDVD-409 is some sort of a tongue in cheek experiment. First, they interviewed Riku about squirting and having sex with foreigners. She shares that she has not had previous sexual experiences with gaijin. This is why she is curious and excited to perform with them. She is then made to 'squirt' gallons of pee, for some reason, perhaps to warm up her pussy for some foreigner dicks. 

The sex with the white guy is curious, to say the least. The guy they hired is as white as white could get -  lean, tall, and looks a bit like Ozymandias from Zack Snyder's Watchmen adaptation. This makes Riku giddy with anticipation. She sucks the guy's cock with the apparent intention to impress. After a few minutes of loving cock-work, the white guy lets out an ungodly amount of cum straight into Riku's mouth. Riku then plays with the cum to savor the taste and perhaps to determine whether white people cum have a unique taste. Funny stuff. 

Then we get a pretty much generic BBC scene where Riku takes on the black guy. She gets manhandled and creampied by the end. 

SVDVD-409, as we already said, is entertaining, but we feel like it could have been much more. The set and the costumes, for instance, are uninspired. Fortunately, Riku's energetic acting made up for the lack. All in all, SVDVD-409 has enough novelty to merit a place on our list. 

WANZ-306 - If You Can Endure Riku Minato's Awesome Techniques You Can Have Creampie SEX With Her!

WANZ's Raw Creampie Sex - If You Can Handle It! series is incredibly popular, for good reason. The concept is relatable, and who wouldn't want to watch JAV actresses use every trick in their sleeves to make untrained amateurs cum? 

Riku is perfect for this series. Aside from her great personality, Riku's wide range of experiences is a guarantee that she will expertly make these lucky men cum in no time. That is an added challenge that our batch of amateurs have to endure if they want to experience the once-in-a-lifetime experience of cumming in Riku's pussy. 

WANZ's collection of 'amateurs' for this installment are pathetically hilarious. Riku takes absolute control by doing erotic poses, shoving her butt onto their faces, whispering naughty nothings into their ears, the works. There is something glorious in seeing Riku laugh at them as they cum on their tummies, failing their one shot at sex heaven. 

All of these transpires in WANZ's minibus. That's not a lot of space, but Riku's skills can cram in as much eroticism in every square centimeter of that vehicle.

Despite the simple concept, WANZ-306 has the characteristic WANZ production quality that makes it enjoyable to watch. The angles are top-notch, and it feels like we are with the actors inside that cramped bus. The sound effects and editing are also loud and colorful, like Japanese TV. Of course, the sex act itself is hot as fuck since there is the dynamic of watching the actors struggle not to cum. 

WANZ-306 is one of the top-selling videos for this series, for good reason. Riku's performance brings in the fun and dominating energy that is needed to take charge of her boys. That is also the reason why this is on our list. 

MIGD-618 - Chained In Place For A Creampie Gangbang  

Let's go back to some hardcore stuff. At this moment in her career, creampies have become a staple in Riku's videos. But MIGD-618 wants to take it a step further by immobilizing her and squirting as much semen into her love hole. 

MIGD-618 is practically a bondage slave fetish video. From start to finish, a sadistic group of men subjects Riku to all sorts of immobilizing devices. Helpless and stuck, Riku has to endure the relentless creampies and ejaculations into her mouth and body. She also gets played with sex toys and tied up to furniture. 

What makes this brutal video interesting is its creativity. Despite the lack of plot and the bare-bones set, the director came up with intriguing poses and  scenarios. Cumming inside a speculum straight to Riku's womb? Check. Tying her to a school table while a group line up to cum into her mouth? Check. The producers did not run out of wacky ways to deliver the (many) money shots to Riku's body. 

These kinds of themes also make us ask how actresses deal with the pregnancy risks that come with such a crazy number of creampies. Sure, a lot of it may be fake, but who knows for sure? The mere fact that Riku is willing to get herself filmed getting possibly impregnated by men of all ages and sizes is enough to get a good number of viewers. 

Bonus: TEAM-069- ReDebut with TeamZero

After dozens of videos with hardcore videos, Riku finally decided to sign with a major label and give her career a fresh start. In TEAM-069, she 're-debuted with the teamZERO studio and got herself 'reborn.' That means sporting a longer, more feminine-looking hair, and dialing down the hardcore content. 

TEAM-069 marked an important stage in her career as she began to appeal to a wider, more vanilla crowd. She still took quite a few creampies in the re-debut and occasionally in her subsequent titles. But it gave her the chance to shed off some of her sex freak persona and gain new fans. 

Her late-career also marked her transitioning into more plot-oriented titles. teamZero and S1 gave her the chance to put her acting chops to good use. It is a welcome change, as Riku definitely has the energy and technical acting skills for such roles. More importantly, it added more dimension to her persona, as she is now not limited to acting as a sex freak or being used by horny old men. 

TEAM-085 - Is Riku Minato Really A Freak?! Private Sex Footage Secretly Captured At Home

By this time in her career, Riku has already developed an image as some sort of sexual freak. In light of their rebranding efforts, the geniuses at teamZERO came up with an interesting concept: make a documentary to give us a glimpse of Riku's life behind the scenes. 

The idea is to further humanize Riku as an actress. Since her hardcore content has already reached a plateau, teamZERO realized that it is probably best to go back to square one by showing a very different Riku. The goal is to show her softer, more genuine side. They even convinced her to get a longer hairstyle for the full effect. 

We first see Riku on the streets in casual, un-sexy clothing, with a face mask on. The guys than get a move on Riku and attempt to bed her. This starts a fairly typical seduction game that is documented in 'candid camera' style. Of course, the guys succeed in their goal with flying colors. But they did not expect what happened next. 

It turns out Riku Minato is a lot more sensitive and restrained in bed. While we don't get the usual theatrics that we have associated with Riku's performances, it is refreshing to see her acting like a normal person. The set and the acting by the male actors also helped a lot to achieve this effect. 

The title's appeal lies in the curiosity to see Riku's 'genuine' reactions. The gonzo-style camera work leaves much to be desired, but it works for the video's intentions. We get the feeling that we are like voyeurs in Riku's secret life. 

While obviously untypical of Riku's work, TEAM-085 has since become one of Riku's best-selling works. Stripped of all the nastiness and gimmickry, TEAM-085 managed to pull off a successful rebranding effort. It should be noted that after this title, Riku has begun to make tamer titles while continuing to sell. This is proof that Riku's charm in itself is enough for her to become marketable. 

SSNI-146 - Riku Minato Her AV Retirement Her First And Final Fan Thanksgiving Day Bukkake!! She's Opening Up Her Home And Showing Us What She Looks Like Without Makeup!

Riku's late-career works with teamZERO and S1 were remarkable, sales-wise. She got renewed attention without doing the crazy antics she used to do. However, most of her works were quite tame. This is why in her emotional retirement video, the producers decided to feature her in her most vulnerable form. Fully-shaved and bare-faced, she did a thanksgiving bukkake for her fans. None of the sex freak imagery - just pure Riku Minato as herself. 

Her retirement is kind of a bittersweet goodbye. We watch her reflect on her long career and then get fucked by some of the actors she has worked with over the years. Again, there is not much to talk about in SSNI-146, except that it looks professional and slick, as expected from S1. However, the half-assed bukkake feels like a throwback to her hardcore early years, giving it a bit of melodramatic tinge. 

The tribute fuck at the end of the video is sad enough to bring viewers to tears. After receiving her bouquet of flowers, the actors then decide to get their last taste of Riku. It is almost impossible to fap when you know the actors on camera at having a tender moment. 

Indeed, SSNI-146 marks the end of a long and fruitful career for one of JAV's most underrated cult favorites. 

It is not a surprise that many fans still eagerly await updates from Riku. A comeback is quite unlikely for the JAV star. Fortunately, she left a deep well of JAV goodies to keep her fans busy for a long time. 

What about you? What's your favorite Riku Minato video? What version of Riku do you prefer, the nasty one or the more vanilla version? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!