Another year is in the books and as such, I thought why not take a look back and see which actresses had the best and worst year in 2020. I'll be taking into consideration the volume of films they produced as well as the quality of course. I will not hold the impact of COVID-19 against any actress here as that was completely unpredictable and out of their control. It's been an immensely difficult year but many actresses still pulled through and delivered some fantastic films. Now let's get into this and see which actresses delivered and which ones were stuck in the mud. 

Winners

8. Julia

Let me begin this by saying I don't think any of Julia's releases this year were outstanding or(spoiler alert) deserving of my best of 2020 list. But Julia going freelance has been long overdue and resulted in a plethora of variety among different studios. For so long she's been stuck under the thumb of Moodyz and Oppai. That being said she did release great films under Oppai in 2020 such as PPPD-842(her succubus video) and PPPD-830(femdom centric video). Still, though this change is a breath of fresh air. She was able to shoot with Chijo Heaven, Wanz Factory, Premium, Honnaka, and REbecca to name a few. I wasn't particularly blown away by any of these films per se but the variety is very much appreciated. Films such as HJMO-444, CJOD-205, and WANZ-989 were among the highlights. Also, Julia's acting has been improving as well which is a great sign. Now if only Rara Anzai would return and get this treatment...

Notable Releases

7. Mao Kurata

2020 was the first real year I paid attention to Mao Kurata. I always knew of her but never gave her more than a passing glance. But now, I'm a big fan. What opened my eyes up was her co-starring roles with some of my favorite actresses. I think that is a fantastic way to get introduced to new stars and it worked with Mao Kurata. I didn't watch too many 2020 solo films from Mao but I did check out CJOD-241 which was enjoyable. But her collaboration films was where she truly shined. The standout videos were MIAA-317 and MIAA-320. Both starred Kurea Hasumi with them playing very different roles from a pair of cruel and perverted detectives to slutty masseuses. Their chemistry was on full display as they were electric together. I can't forget CJOD-226 with Maki Kyoko either. While it's not an innovative plot it's executed very well. Mao is now on my "to watch" list after her excellent 2020. Let's hope she stays the course.

Notable Releases

6. Akari Mitani

Who is Akari? That's what I would've said this time last year but now, she's definitely on my radar. I initially discovered her in MIAA-251 which starred Kurea Hasumi. I was blown away by her enthusiastic performance and that booty. Funny enough Kurea actually trained her on her acting, which certainly shows. This wouldn't be the only time they star together as they also shot DASD-720 which has them giving lessons on their sexual techniques to average women. However, when she became a double exclusive to studios, Das! and Honnaka, she really took off. Some of the highlights include HND-883 which basically just lets Akari loose to fuck guys senseless with tons of creampie sex, and it's amazing. She got to take on some different roles in plot-driven films too such as a slutty schoolgirl in DASD-685 and a perverted bathhouse girl in DASD-771. The future is bright for Akari and I can't wait to see what she's got planned for 2021.

Notable Releases

5. Maria Nagai

Maria Nagai really made a splash in 2020. After re-entering the JAV scene in 2019 she quickly made a name for herself. Her tanned skin, mixed background, thick figure, and enhancements drew in a lot of fans. And while she may have taken some time off due to COVID-19 which resulted in no new releases in the final months of 2020, she still produced a buffet of brilliant films earlier in the year. The best part is just how wide the range of themes was. You had some fantastic entries in the "sexy office boss" genre along with a few great vanilla films. She also had films where she fucked some homeless guys, played a slutty tour guide, and the perverted girl-next-door. Plus she did some gameshow type plots such as WANZ-951 and HJMO-430. There was no shortage of variety. She's already got some films due to release in 2021 so let's hope she gets back on track. If her acting improves she could become a top-notch talent for sure.

Notable Releases

4. Yua Mikami

At first, I wasn't gonna include Yua on my list here. But after going back through all her 2020 releases I realized, she had a pretty great year. She had some stellar films this year such as SSNI-845 tasking her with playing a heavy femdom role which is quite refreshing. Also, SSNI-730 was a big winner for its original plot putting Yua in charge of a sports team who indulges in sex with them. SSNI-780 was terrific too with Yua inadvertently seducing random men via flaunting her tits in tight clothes. Plus she even had a VR film too which was excellent. The reason she's not higher on my list is that several of her films were incredibly vanilla with no real plots at all with very underwhelming performances such as in SSNI-888 and 939. Overall I think Yua did quite well for herself in 2020 and gave her fans plenty of satisfying films to sink their teeth into.

Notable Releases

3. Minori Hatsune

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Minori Hatsune's return to JAV early on in 2020. You just never know how a return to JAV is gonna go. But after the dust has settled a bit I think Minori's return was quite solid and even resulted in some of the best work from her entire career. Her first few films since her return were as expected, pretty vanilla and basic. Not saying that it's a bad thing but nothing that will blow you away. However, she soon released IPX-474 which casts her a seductive office boss all shot entirely in POV. It was a very refreshing film for her and gave her a new role to play. And right after she shot an intense femdom film which again is something brand her for her and it was one of her all-time best films. She even shot a softcore video with REbecca. Unfortunately she's moved to Attackers now but at least she gave us some great and memorable films. A very fine year overall.

Notable Releases

2. Hitomi

It should come as no surprise that Hitomi made my list somehow. While her 2020 wasn't quite as good as 2019 she still released plenty of quality films. Her year began remarkably strong with PPPD-818 which is one of the best timestop videos ever. Then we got PPPD-824 with Hitomi playing a seductive lingerie saleswoman. However, after that, it was very hit-or-miss. PPPD-835 was a great take on the "sharing a room with my female boss" trope but beyond that, her other films were bland and forgettable. Thankfully though she ended on a relatively high note with PPPD-867, her best film of the year PPPD-881, and the solid PPPD-888. Near the end of the year, she even started to gain back some mass in her breasts which is definitely a good thing. All in all, she had a very good year and with no signs of slowing down, she'll hopefully give us an even better year in 2021.

Notable Releases

1. Kurea Hasumi

Like there was any doubt that Kurea Hasumi wouldn't make my list. I mean it's not like I recently gave her the title of "Star of the year" or anything. Anyway, it's no secret that 2020 was a magnificent year for her. Her 2019 was already showing signs of a return to form after a rather disappointing 2017 and 2018. All her films during that period were with lesser-known studios that really didn't take advantage of Kurea's strengths. Plus the production values were very low quality for the most part. But in 2019 she started to shoot with bigger studios and began to recapture that spark that made her such a household name. Even so, I never expected her to dominate 2020 the way she did.

2020 was quite possibly Kurea at her finest. It seemed like every month we were treated to a stellar new film from her. She kept up this rate all year. Whether you're into vanilla videos, plot-driven films or collaboration releases she's got you covered. If you're a fan of Kurea Hasumi then it's safe to assume you're watching for two main reasons which are her explosive dominant performances and of course her amazing booty. Some highlights include MIAA-317 and 320 for her electric chemistry with Mao Kurata making for a perfect ass sandwich. And DVAJ-450 for Kurea unleashing her inner nympho. Also CJOD-267 for giving us Kurea as a dominant prison warden. Kurea absolutely spoiled us this year and is my choice for top actress of 2020.

Notable Releases

Losers

3. Marina Shiraishi

This one hurts. Marina Shiraishi is one of my all-time favorite actresses. I adore her bubbly personality, upbeat performances, and of course her chubby but still terrific body. She spent 6 years as an exclusive with SOD Create. During that time her releases under SOD were pretty hit-or-miss honestly. But no matter what there was always a great variety to her films so whatever your favorite fetishes or themes were, you'd find something to enjoy. Now take everything I just said and toss it out the window because that's exactly what happened with Marina's switch to Madonna in early 2020. No more variety, no more bubbly and cheerful Marina, and no more enthusiastic performances. Every single film of hers with Madonna is the exact same thing casting her as a married woman having an affair. Sometimes there's a little difference but not much. Madonna may boast great production values but there's zero variety here. If you're not into that type of plot(like myself for the most part) then there's little reason to care about these films. Marina was truly better off with SOD Create.

Notable Releases

2. Nanami Matsumoto

Just what the hell happened? Nanami was easily one of the best actresses in 2019 releasing hit after hit. It seemed like she couldn't be stopped and then 2020 happened. She's gotta be one of the biggest rises and falls I've ever seen in JAV. After Nanami made her debut with S1 she became a freelance actress working with some of the biggest studios such as Moodyz, Wanz Factory, and Honnaka just to name a few. It seemed like she was everywhere with a new release nearly every week. She had a rather large variety to her films as well allowing her to flex her performance skills. So coming into 2021 I had high hopes for Nanami.

What I didn't expect was for her career to fall this hard. Not only were all her releases with relatively lesser-known studios but the number of films dropped massively. No more Moodyz or Oppai or Chijo Heaven. All her films from 2020 were very bland and forgettable besides maybe one or two. The production values for these films were less than stellar and her acting skills were never really given a chance to shine. Maybe changing agencies led to this. Whatever the case is, I sincerely hope she turns it around in 2021 because she's too talented of an actress to squander her career like this.

Notable Releases

1. Nami Hoshino

Ah, Nami Hoshino. A frustrating case for sure. She has one of the best overall bodies in JAV with a great figure, a pretty face, and of course a phat ass. However, her acting is terrible and devoid of any real enthusiasm whatsoever. Perhaps she was held back by S1 all this time and with a studio change, she could stretch her wings. Well, be careful what you wish for. After spending 6 years as an exclusive to S1 she transferred to Attackers. Now I know some of you out there probably enjoy Attackers and for that, I'm happy for you. But for many of us, this was the literal worst outcome. All her releases with Attackers felt the exact same and featured similar plots all mainly casting her as a married woman having sex against her will. There's no variety at all. This is especially bad since it seems like she may be close to retiring. Ending her career somberly with Attackers is just depressing to watch. Nami deserved better than this. Perhaps this isn't the end of her career but it's looking rather bleak at the moment.

Notable Releases

Honestly, I have nothing. None of her films from 2020 are worth watching at all. Just don't bother.