The Arcane & JAVs — Esoteric Meets Porn

Hello everybody! vienna here, with quite an out of the ordinary article to present you today. If you have ever played any of the entries of the popular Japanese videogame series Persona, which itself is a spinoff of Shin Megami Tensei, created by the same company, then you surely do know about tarot cards. Tarots are a key component in the Persona franchise, generally representing the state of one’s life (eg. The Fool – the first of the 22-card tarot deck – represents the “start of the journey of life”), or a combination of values and morals. Used in divination and cartomancy in real life, and generally associated with the occult and the esoteric, I’ve recently questioned myself on how to link tarots and the occult in general to pornography, and the JAV universe in particular – which is a weird question indeed; why would I even do that? Well, as you know very well if you follow my blog posts, I love to look for JAVs even where there’s absolutely no connection to Japanese porn whatsoever. So, I did a bit of research here and there, played some Persona games, and came to a conclusion: we can definitely link some of the tarots to some actresses or specific movies – and I did it! Here, exclusively on ZENRA, JAVs meet the esoteric in the form of tarot cards! But enough with the chit-chat, and let’s dive right into the occult.

THE EMPRESS
JULIA in WANZ-956

The Empress has everything she could wish for: her crown, earned after years of hard work, and her scepter, the reward for the sacrifices made to get where she is now, and which symbolizes her position of importance, a figure of reverence, esteem and respect for everyone. This is exactly the case with Julia. I could never have failed to associate this tarot with another person. To me, Julia is the eternal face of Japanese porn. With numerous years of career behind her, she has fought fiercely and cunningly to come to shape the name she has today, film after film, studio after studio. It is more than natural to associate the entire industry with her person - she symbolizes it, but not only: she manages to represent it despite the years, which instead of dampening it, strengthen it, refining its edges. And the Empress card represents this as well, that is, the fertility and growth of the natural world; or rather, growth as a symptom of life and flourishing of ideas. Julia, even if she doesn't always manage to reach the top of the sales charts, is still today a milestone of the Japanese pornographic industry, having conquered the hearts of hundreds of thousands of viewers from all over the world. And the film I'm proposing today provides a perfect representation of what Julia is and will always be, that is, a pornographic actress with remarkable acting and technical skills completely over the top, amplified in unison by a killer body and an angelic face. This film, produced by Studio Wanz Factory, embodies her as a goddess by making the most of her image with traditional Japanese clothes, kimonos, that lend themselves well to revealing a certain cleavage of fantastic and wonderful breasts. The sex scenes are crazy and it's all made better by the chemistry that Julia, divine more than ever in this recent production, has with the male cast. Always passionate and never tired, the Empress will enjoy her throne for much longer.  But who will be able to succeed her?

Check out the trailer of the movie here:

THE HERMIT
Rin Miyazaki in GVH-282

I wasn't sure whether to include Hitomi or Rin Miyazaki as The Hermit. Both are present in this mystical and occult list, but for completely different reasons; however, both would make sense as selections for Lust cards. In any case, I chose to include Rin Miyazaki as The Hermit not because of any particular character trait she has, anything she has done in the past, or any particular reason - I decided to include her as a hermit because of a particular performance she has in a film, namely the one you see the images of around here. It's a production by Studio Glory Quest, also quite recent, which depicts her as a cock-hungry woman who welcomes gallons of bukkake cum left and right. By day a simple white collector, the classic office worker, and by night she transforms into a sex-starved woman, ready to go all out to get as much as possible - but then, you may be wondering, why not enter her as Lust? The reason is simple and lies in the nature of the actress's acting. Rin Miyazaki is not simply greedy for sex or hungry for men (The Lust can also be referred to as The Hunger); on the contrary, her overdoing it is indicative of a much deeper and rooted outlet, or at least this was the interpretation I got from watching this film carefully, which I admit I liked very much. Think about this: a person who is generally solitary, who doesn't leave the house much - a hermit, in fact - with few social interactions and a great desire to live, what does he do as soon as he has the chance to have sexual relations? He entertains them, of course, but it's more of an outlet: an outlet dictated by the myriad of factors that led the hermit and become such in the first place. And Rin Miyazaki's performance reminded me of just such a sexual outlet. Sex becomes a therapeutic healing tool, and she continues to perform it to feel better and wash away the agony her morning work causes her. Or maybe I'm just over-reading the plot.

Check out the trailer of the movie here:

THE  JESTER
Karen Kaede in IPX-264

If The Empress is best embodied by the figure of Julia, who with her successful career and natural talent manages to shine in the ocean overflowing with fish that is the pornographic industry, and if The Hermit is best embodied by Rin Miyazaki who - through her spectacular and popular interpretation - manages to give shape and substance to the concept of sexual release, then we can only continue this list with the same consistency, embodying the tarot of The Jester in Karen Kaede. The actress in question is, as everyone who reads me well knows, one of my absolute favorites. With a petite body and enviable stage presence, Karen Kaede manages to make her presence evident in every film she is involved in, emphasizing that she is not simply there to watch, but more importantly to act. Each film starring the enthusiastic actress is full of motion, energy and life force. It's as if her mere presence is enough to make everyone more energetic and happy, as well as satisfied, which is why I decided to give her the role of the Jester. Even if you're not a huge Karen Kaede fan, you can perfectly notice her unguarded smile, that smirk that in a flash reaches the viewer, binding him and dragging him by force into her world - a world in which you feel alive, in which you are entertained and from which you would never want to escape. The works in which Karen Kaede is involved are generally recognized as good productions, worthy of the ranks in which they appear, elevating the actress to a regal, rather than tavern, court jester. My appreciation for the actress could go on and on, but I know it is now clear why I decided to entrust her with this tarot. The suggested film is one of my favorite works by Karen Kaede: in fact, the production studio, Idea Pocket, manages to highlight the actress' energy and vital momentum in a proverbial way. Give it a look.

Check out the trailer of the movie here:

THE LUST
Hitomi in PPPD-112

You knew it was coming. You knew with religious certainty; and indeed, you suspected it. It was literally impossible for Hitomi not to be associated with The Lust tarot, which, as we mentioned earlier, is sometimes replaced (or merged) with the Hunger tarot. What can you say about Hitomi that Panking hasn't already said in his numerous annual recaps on her (which, by the way, I recommend you catch up on)? Well, there's a lot more to say. The reason I decided to embody her in Lust is blatantly due to her extremely abundant forms: her curvy, fleshy body is - for many - the ultimate sexual expression, the idol of eroticism, literally the unattainable body and a standard for all actresses approaching the world of pornography. Although I'm not a huge fan of Hitomi, while appreciating most of her work, I recognize in the actress not only a technical competence not to be underestimated, but industry knowledge and natural talent not at all secondary to her popularity. The majesty of Hitomi's breasts is an object of reverence by many. Her boobs, perfectly embedded in her physiognomy - as technically and artistically constructed as it is ideal for an adult entertainment worker - automatically enhance any film in which they are placed. It is a natural plus value, a bit like adding salt to pasta: it simply is. Although many don't like the overabundance of breasts and butt in actresses, I think Hitomi manages to show a certain restraint even in her abundance, as can be seen in many of the films in which she is involved, such as the one you see associated, produced by Studio OPPAI. It's a very popular film that you've probably already watched, but I'd like to recommend it anyway. The combo that includes Hitomi in a nurse's uniform is seriously at the height of lust and is beaten by very few.

THE DEVIL
Ren Mitsuki in HBAD-368

The Devil, dear friends. A tarot that I knew I was going to put on this list no matter what, but didn't realize until the last minute who I wanted to trust with it. I promised myself that I would embody the devil in some actress who was particularly accustomed to bondage-themed films or BDSM in general. It was a tough choice, and in the end I preferred to select one performance in particular as it was for some of the entries on this list, and in the end my choice fell on the beautiful Ren Mitsuki who, with her mind-blowing and evil performance in the suggested film of which you can watch images and trailer around here and produced by Studio Hibino, deservedly earned her position on this mystical and arcane list. The Devil is an enigmatic figure: she is not a trivially evil being, but an entity that hides behind the agonies she makes his neighbors (subordinates, in the case of the film in question) suffer an underlying desire far more intense than those coveted by Lust, which has the ability and possibility to constantly enjoy the best pleasures of life. Ren Mitsuki plays a teacher who shows up in class with a whip in hand, torments her students, and forces them to get naked in front of her. At first it might seem like a trite B-movie plot that has already been seen over and over again a thousand times, but as the plot progresses - which I won't spoil for you - we explore the weaknesses of the character played by the actress who, at the end of the day, sexually surrenders to her superior, who will treat her as she has treated her students before. A story that feels like a circle, in short, but that leaves a lot of food for thought and that I could not help but consider as a perfect candidate for the much-coveted role of the devil. Despite the fact that this is a film from 2017, which is therefore beginning to show its years, Ren Mitsuki's performance remains exemplary.

Check out the trailer of the movie here:

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope you liked this article! It was a lot of fun researching about tarot cards and their meaning, and somewhat intertwining it with porn – truly a great experience. Still, please let me know in the comments what you think, and I’ll see you next time!