JAV in Review 2023 Part 2

JAV Fans are eating good

The JAV industry has been through the wringer in recent years with the pandemic, new AV laws with increased scrutiny, and the closure of R18. However the spice continues to flow. The porn still comes out time and time again and 2023 was a good year for JAV fans and we see signs of the industry healing. We got big team ups like S1’s studio wide title, Beauty Venus’s triumphant return, a surprise BV spinoff, SOD’s top rookies teaming up, Yua Mikami’s long retirement tour, Sumire Mizukawa in western porn, Eimi Fukada back from hiatus with new tits, the wave of new super busty debuts coming out, comebacks, and more. More big group sex titles and orgies like Madonna's big anniversary title or Moodyz’s massive orgy series Bako Bako Bus which is expected to return too. Nature I mean JAV is healing. For many in industry are in a tight spot but good porn is still coming out and it’s nice to highlight the positives.

Pick Your New Super Busty Starter

Speaking of the new wave of Super Busty debuts. This year has seen a big drop of newbies sporting massive chests. I don’t know if its normal and just seems like a new trend but we’ve seen quite a few of them. To sum up we have J cups like Ren Gojo, Mitsuki Momota, Haru Shinonome, and Karen Yanagi/ Reika Takeda. K cups like Momoka Kagura and Haru Minato with the giant L cupped Yuki Nitta. Then there are the groups of H like Miyu Kiyohara, Erika Ichigo, Rei Kimura, and more. So much more. Has chest enhancements gotten cheaper/better, have AV scouts been holding back these debuts in case of emergency, or is the flagging global economy causing more women consider AV as a career with the busty ones catching the most attention. Either way big boob fans are real happy with the debuts this year. All that’s left is to choose your New Busty Starter.

New Male Meat

Speaking of new talent and it is not all about the ladies. There has been an influx of newer and younger male talent showing out with the bigger studios taking on bigger roles. We are seeing a lot newer faces and dicks now taking over for the older names which was a long time coming. The male actor pool is already small and relies a lot on aging men. Guys like Genjin have talked about taking on less work because of how harder it is to perform as frequently he gets older. It is more than the right time for some new guns to take over. These newer male meat are also younger and better looking too on average. Maybe this will be the end of the Old Dirty Bastard genre too when all those senior actors leave the industry. You don't see many newer "Old man" actors debuting. Anyways for now it seems JAV is highlighting newer talent and all for the better. Get these beautiful actresses some hunks and pretty boys to play with I say.

Except for Black Guys – JAV IR Slows Down

Sadly this does not extend to our Black JAV actors. Interracial JAV has trickled down to a tiny stream in 2023 and it may be due to the retirement of JAV IR legend Magnum aka Victor who was keeping the whole genre on his back. I counted roughly around 30 IR titles for the whole year so things are looking pretty dire for JAV IR fans. Is this the coming end for IR or will a new hero take his place? Can this be the new face of JAV IR?

The Good, The Bad, The 8Manpro

8manpro the agency known for swiping up actresses from other studios or from retirement hit a snag this year with quite a bit of their talent. Talent like Karen Kaede/Lemon Tanaka moving over to them only to leave them quite soon later. Or girls like Mahina Amane/Maria Hoshi who was supposed to come back only to go completely MIA shortly after changing over with her new name. Name changes being quite a recurring trend for many of their girls including An Mitsumi to Raran Fuji and best of all Aka Asuka becoming Shiose and later on to Nagi Hikaru. I have not hard data that says 8manpro is responsible for 50% of the name changes in JAV. However it's not all bad news for them, the year also saw 8man rollout the final part to their popular 8Woman photo series. A great photobook series with multiple parts and editions featuring their remaining star studded cast in creative and high quality sets.

The Last Mahina Amane Fan Holds Out

Speaking of Mahina Amane there is one fan still holding out for hope for her return. Either it’s automated without anyone at the helm but there has been a fan account for Mahina that has been posting about her almost every day. Posting old pictures, clips, and whenever she still pops up on the storefronts with old releases. Mahina has been gone for about a year now and here they are still posting on her behalf. Bless them.

Karen Kaede is Back!

And she’s Gone and she’s back?!

While we are still on the 8man train there is also the case of Karen/Lemon. Karen made a shocking exit from well-known maker Idea Pocket and just when fans thought she would be done with porn for good she went on and signed with Faleno. Only this new Lemon didn’t stay fresh for long. Only a handful of titles with her new studio before dipping out and coming back with her old studio all in about a year. Giving fans a real case of the snip-snap-snip-snap reversals. I imagine the behind the scenes discussions between studios and agencies were really interesting. Anyways Karen is back at home with Idea Pocket. For now…

Samoari’s Great 2023

Love him or hate him, and most of us at ZENRA hate him, but director Samoari had an incredible 2023. We saw him start multiple labels based on his style like with Madonna and the sub-label Achijo or with Attackers and the sub-label Yujo. He even started an account with Myfans, an OnlyFans like, producing homoerotic content called "samoariboys". To top things off he even got to star in his own porn video for his birthday. Getting to fuck or more accurately get fucked by girls like Ichika Matsumoto, Sumire Kuramoto, and even retired performers with Rena Aoi and Nao Masaki. The Nipple Master had an incredible year personally. All of which he’s earned. His videos are somewhat popular, studios like working with him, and most major actresses want a piece of him. Samoari has earned that celebratory pegging. I could almost be jealous of him if not for the fact that Rena and Nao fucked him in the ass like a runaway train with no stops.

Riasu Mizutani: The Most Interesting Debut

Some debuts are quite honestly not all that interesting and that’s fine. Its hard to find 20 something year olds that have interesting backgrounds. Not in the case for Riasu Mizutani. Born in the US and later moved to Japan she is one of a kind. Fluent in English and Japanese she also splits her time now as a University student and part time translator too. Not just an AV actress she’s subtitled for an AV film too. A self-starter she has also worked at a BDSM club as an “M girl” (which I want to know more about this job title) and at a soapland for a short while. Very sexually free and open minded; Riasu is outspoken, articulate, and well versed in sex and porn which se watches. While I can’t say she’s a fantastic newcomer in JAV, she is the most interesting debut I’ve seen. An interesting individual with a unique perspective, you can read more about Riasu in our interview with her here below.

https://www.zenra.net/blog/zenra-exclusive-interview-riasu-mizutani

The Cross Cultural Exchange Continues Worldwide

Traveling abroad is back on the menu well for many pornstars and AV actresses at least. We last talked about the worldwide cross cultural exchange with Angela White x Hitomi’s collab, Violet Myers and Vixen going to Japan, and even Johnny Sinns himself going to the Land of the Rising Sun. More recently we saw Kazumi from western porn come over to Japan not just to visit but with play/work with the local male and female amateur talent. We saw more of Sumire all over western porn even netting a contract with sites like Hentaied. More on Sumire’s fun 2023 below.

https://twitter.com/kazumisworld/status/1723537538865152377

Sumire Mizukawa’s Fun 2023

Sumire Mizukawa as we mentioned is living her best life right now. After going on a worldwide tour traveling and shooting porn she seems to have settled down just a bit. Netting two contracts; one abroad in Europe with Hentaied/Parasite and one at home with Madonna. I don’t know how that works out probably lots of traveling. She is still also active on her personal accounts like Onlyfans shooting with a few amateurs in Japan. I would call it a grind if not for the fact that Sumire seems to be having an absolute blast. Make your job your passion and you’ll never have to work a day in your life. However that saying goes I don’t think it was meant to be applied to porn. 

Yua Mikami’s Baseball Headache

Yua Mikami hasn’t lost much steam since retiring. After her terrific farewell tour in JAV she has begun work outside in various promotional events. She even got to throw out the first pitch for a baseball game in Taiwan with the Wei Chuan Dragons and even helped the cheer squad during the game. Cute sports fluff but it got nothing but grief. Many were not happy about the sight of a former adult actress being brought out to the field. Yua and the team got nothing but griping about the little promotional stunt. My thinking is; if you find her doing porn so repugnant, shouldn’t you be happy she isn’t doing it anymore? She’s trying to move on from that part of her career. It’s not like she went out there to blow the home team and trust me a lot of people would find baseball much more enjoyable as a sport if that was normal.

AVTuber/AI IDol: The Future of Porn?

There’s been a lot of talk in the wider world about AI coming to take people’s jobs and now that can include porn in the discussion. S1 debut the most baffling debut of 2023 with a 3D actress called Raremi Sato. 3D porn has been around for ages but it was pretty funny to see the famous AV maker “debut” one. Are they testing the waters for more 3D models? VTuber style actresses where they act out the scenes but a 3D model is only shown? Fully modeled and acted porn with AI? The possibilities are limitless according to porn futurists. And it may already be here with AI debut Ai Kihana (木花あい) coming up. For now I’ll stick with human porn with the occasional hentai.

Faleno Failing?

If Faleno was a sports team we would say they have overhauled their roster. They say big name losses with Karen Kaede/Lemon Tanaka, Arina Arata/Hashimoto, and biggest of all Ai Hongo/Yume Nikaidou leaving. They also got a big get with Eimi Fukada joining them and with a new chest to boot. They also added a host of new and pretty promising rookies but right now they are hoping Eimi and her sizable new war chest can fill in the void for the other three. Personally I value team depth over star power.

Everyone’s going to Theme Parks

Tickets must’ve gotten cheaper or something because everyone’s going to theme parks. Maybe it’s a desire to go out in crowded places now because of the pandemic but tons of actresses have been going to theme parks. Tokyo does have a bunch even two Disneylands parks in the greater area alone. The biggest theme park addict is easily Kana Momonogi with her spending all her free time at one park or another. Cosplaying as different characters when she goes too. She even went over to America to visit the Magic Kingdom in Florida. At this point she can quit AV and just become a Disney influencer and yes this is a thing. This girl has it down bad for the House of Mouse.

Akari Mitani Dances Her Ass Off

Akari Mitani had a great and memorable 2023. She made a lot of great titles this year and she also changed agencies and names and is now going by Akane Mitani officially. Reunited with her BFF Aika/Ayaka Yamagishi the two even have an upcoming title together but the most memorable part of her year was her brief residency at Tokyo Burlesque. A dance troupe that puts on racy dances and is no stranger to bringing on AV talent. Anna Kami had her turn with them and so did Akari. She has long had an interest in dancing and fans of hers are regularly treated with bits of her dancing here and there. Here are a few snippets of her sexy dances and the secret to her tight bottom.

Social Media Restrictions

The JAV industry works in some pretty old fashioned and backwards ways. One trend I’m seeing is them wanting to control the social media use from fans. Some agencies have asked that fans not publish photos of actresses at in person event. A baffling decision that punishes fans supporting actresses under the guise of protecting them from unflattering photos. There has also been a growing use of watermarks on social media photos. A poor solution to a problem that they can't control in the first place.

TAV and more are coming for JAV

As I covered in my site review for Media Model Asia; Taiwanese Adult Video is coming for JAV. The overall quality of their porn is getting better and better. MMA in particular is shooting for studio quality porn while taking a lot of inspiration from JAV as a whole. There also have a growing amateur and glamour scene. However they aren’t limited to Asia region with Delphine Films is affiliated with them in the western market. A newer studio that is growing in name and reputation with nominations at AVN already for their high quality scenes. Meanwhile underground scene and interest in Korean porn grows despite it being not exactly on the up and up. Either way there is competition coming to JAV nearby while they are the top game for porn in the Asian region that could change in the future. They just need to do something about these watermarks.

Everyone’s going to Taiwan

Which may be why everyone’s going to Taiwan. They aren’t just making their own stuff but bringing girls for promotional events with loads of actresses traveling to Taiwan this year. The Taiwan Adult Expo (TAE) and Taipei Red Expo (TRE) were two events the biggest events of them all. They brought on big names and small with stars like Yua Mikami, Saika Kawakita, Ai Hongo, Alice Otsu, Aika Yamagishi, Momo Sakura, Rei Kamiki, Suzu Honjo, Remu Suzumori, Mio Ishikawa, and so many more. With how big Asia is as a market for them it’s no surprise but it was wild to see so many come over at once like this. More events are scheduled next year and the next TAE and TRE should be a star studded event with more actresses clamoring to get onto the big stage. Where is the future of Asian porn heading; will the domestic (JAV) or foreign (TAV) industry win out in the long run?

An End to Censorship thanks to Love Hina?

Now don’t get your hopes up JAV fans just yet from the headline. There has been more discussion and calls to repeal or amend Article 175 which deals with censorship. Ken Akamatsu has been one leading voice looking to fight against censorship in the National Diet. That is Ken Akamatsu the mangaka of Love Hina and Negima! Magister Negi Magi. His fight has more to do with freedom of expression for arts like manga and doujin. He and other fellow politicians have been trying to change Article 175 recently. There is finally real movement within the system to change things. However I wouldn’t get your hopes up because even if they do change things there is a good chance that AV could be explicitly left out. It’s one thing to fight and get support for change for arts like manga and another thing to allow fully uncensored porn. Lot of people love porn but no one goes to bat for it, I could see JAV getting shafted in an amended Article 175. But the hope is there and it’s not just a dream; wheels are in motion, discussions are being made, public opinions are being formed. The future of a mosaic-less, pixel blurring free porn looks possible. I for one am prepared for uncensored JAV in the year 2100.

https://twitter.com/usaminoriya/status/1683705175800967168 (explainer)

https://twitter.com/KenAkamatsu/status/1530080292081647616

The Planckstars Make their JAV Debut

The fun loving pranking idol unit Planckstars crashed the filming of a Magic Mirror title to make their JAV Debut in. SDMM-138 which stars An Komatsu is your normal Magic Mirror video except for some very obvious bystanders outside that pop up in the movie. The Planckstars are no jokesters unfamiliar with porn. They even held a fake popularity contest in which the losing member would have sign up to do a porn video.

Madonna’s New Jeans

We saved the most important story for last; Madonna and Jeans. Madonna has finally figured out the power of jeans. I’ve seen a lot of their videos this year and there has been an uptick in the denim. Slipping their mature talent into those tight and form fitting jeans in all sorts of videos. I am a big believer in denim in all things and this was the pleasant surprise to see. Milfs, tight jeans, and butts; it goes together like peanut butter and chocolate. Now I just need them to take it a step further and make a whole series based on jeans.