Hey everyone, today I've got a list of actresses for you that's a bit of a different spin on retired actresses. Rather than simply listing out my favourites who I want to see return, I'm going to look at some whose careers were not quite that fulfilling. Actresses who retired way too early, had a lot more in the tank to give, or left me unsatisfied with their career for some reason or another. Some of them you may be familiar with and some of them may be names you've never even heard of. I hope I don't make anyone too saddened by dredging up some of these names. Anyway let's jump into it.

10. Mia Masuzaka

Mia Masuzaka was my kind of debut. 100cm J cup titties is everything I want. Especially working for Idea Pocket, who typically doesn't get actresses this busty... very reminiscent of Rara Anzai at S1 (who also stands out amongst her fellow actresses). Mia's career definitely didn't last long enough, being under 1.5 years long. For me, I felt like I had only just started to really get into her when she disappeared. Her video IPX-324 impressed me quite a bit and it turned out to be her second last standard release. Exclusive actresses tend to take a long time to really find their stride and Mia was just getting to it. Who knows what could have been with Mia but one thing is for certain that I wish there was more.

9. Chiharu Minagawa

Chiharu was a 2019 debut that I praised very highly, just one step behind actresses who are major names right now like Ruka Inaba and Kaho Imai. She had a lot going for her: pretty face, slim body, nice boobs, great ass. If there is anyone from 2019 who would compare to 2018 debut Touka Rinne or 2020 debut Moa Maeda, it was certainly Chiharu. Chiharu released a handful of videos and seemed to have a promising career ahead of her at SOD, only to vanish rather suddenly. While disappointed, what made it all the more disappointing was her tepid redebut. She came back a few months later under the name Himari Imai, released three videos, and vanished again. One has to wonder what causes people to make such decisions, to come back for a short stint like that. Regardless, as a fan it's really disappointing to see them give only a halfhearted return. I get my hopes up that we could get something good only for my dreams to be dashed once again. There are certainly other actresses to check out if you wanted someone similar to Chiharu, but I certainly would have loved for her second wind to be be much stronger.

8. Marina Yuzuki

Marina Yuzuki is probably a fairly well known name. Her debut went off fairly well and she blossomed into a pretty solid actress. In fact, in 2018 she managed to make the top 50 actresses on the physical sales chart. Marina might not seem like someone who should be on this list but if you've been following her career lately then you know exactly why she's on the list. From someone who's career looked really promising, Marina has flat out fizzled out. She had appearances on my top videos of the year in both 2018 and 2019, and in 2020 she had only around a dozen releases as a freelance actress. Don't even get me started on this year, where she hasn't released anything in the past five months. Marina's fall from grace is pretty big in my opinion, she was on top of the world starring alongside super hyped up debuts like Yuria Yoshine and then vanished into thin air. Some might say she's still technically active but she might as well be retired, she's been out of it for several months and nothing appears to be on the horizon. I definitely feel like Marina had more to give and it just doesn't sit right with me when I see how her career basically ended.

7. Saeko Matsushita

As I pointed out recently in one of my sales posts, Saeko is an actress who is still very popular today, even despite being retired for a year. As I've scratched my head over it, the answer that I've come up with is that she only barely made it to Idea Pocket toward the end of her career. Saeko was someone who was only getting better over time, and her last IP video was the best release of her career. There's a good reason the industry didn't want to let her retire, she was a diamond in the rough that was just waiting to become the next big thing. I definitely feel that Saeko could have had a lengthy career at IP had she been interested in staying. While certainly her career wasn't as short as some of the names on the list, absolutely it felt like she left long before she realistically should have. The sales figures don't lie, Saeko is still every bit as popular as she was when she left. I could definitely have seen Saeko staying for a few years at IP and then transitioning over to Madonna, much the way Minori Hatsune recently did. Either way, Saeko's career is one that screams lost potential and who knows how popular she could have become.

6. Kyoko Yuzuki

Kyoko debuted back in 2017 and after just four videos she retired. What made Kyoko unique was that she was in her early 20s but already had a kid and was lactating. Lactating actresses are so hard to come by and especially at that age, it's pretty close to non-existent. Actresses are normally much older and more mature looking, so Kyoko at her age was a huge thing. That made her so unique and it made a lot of people really excited about her, myself included. While I have no illusions about where her career would have gone (probably nowhere) there was still a lot of options for her. The fact of the matter is, someone with her maturity lactating could have presented all sorts of interesting videos. Anyway, between how much I liked Kyoko and how much I like lactation, her particularly unique combination would have been great to see more of.

5. Ai Uehara

Okay hear me out on this one before you cast your judgement on whether she deserves to be on this list or not. Ai Uehara is one of the most memorable names in all of JAV and she's easily one of the best / most popular actresses we've ever seen. That being said, Ai's career was only five years long, and she retired while she was still insanely popular. Ai retired when she was just 23 years old, and when you think about how many big names are at the 10+ year mark now and in their 30s... especially when a lot of them are some of her best friends, like Hibiki and Yui, you just have to wonder what could have been. When I look at other actresses who are among the best actresses of all time, their careers are way more impressive than Ai's: Acky at 16 years, Tsubomi at 15 years, Yui Hatano at 13 years, Julia at 11  years, or Yumi Kazama at a whopping 23 years, it's insane to think about what Ai accomplished in just a fraction of the time. Saying Ai could have been the greatest of all time is not an understatement at all when Ai remains the only actress to achieve the triple crown in sales. Ai has burned too many bridges to ever come back (removing almost all of her videos) but I will always wonder what the industry would be like if she was still active today instead of hanging out on Instagram.

4. Nana Fukada

Nana is someone I, at one point, heralded as the next Rara Anzai. She was really very attractive with such amazing natural breasts - truly a sight to behold. Like Rara, she was not quite a performer yet, but it was still early on in her career, especially given her being an S1 exclusive. Unfortunately she retired after just under a couple dozen releases total. It's not every day you get an actress that can compete with Rara, and I suspect you get maybe one or two per year, and even then they aren't quite as nice as Rara is. Nana was definitely Rara 2.0, even more so than Aka Asuka (a debut from last year heralded the same). Nana was every bit as nice as Rara, so much so that I've seen almost all of her videos despite her having the same mediocre performing skills as Rara. While Nana isn't as high on the list simply because she likely wouldn't have become a good performer, I certainly would have loved to see her again.

3. China Matsuoka

China is a name that needs no introduction in hardcore JAV circles. She was way up at the top of the industry when she suddenly retired. I won't go into the unfortunate details surrounding her retirement but suffice to say that it came suddenly and everyone was saddened by it. I've heard that, today, she's doing some part time work, nowhere near her former glory of one of the favourites of the industry. China has around 30 releases to her name and was definitely one of the major actresses working for SOD when she left. In fact, China is the one actress that has touched Julia's boobs on camera and perhaps might have been the one to pop her lesbian cherry. Anyway, China was a big deal and definitely she left us way too soon. Would she be competing with Mana Sakura for the top dog at SOD? Would she have gone over to S1? All I know is that the world was her oyster and I would have loved to see where it took her.

2. Fuko

Fuko is a name that might need some introduction because she was barely here and then left. However, Fuko is someone who is still very popular in busty Asian communities. It's insane to think how much of an impression she made despite a career that lasted just ten videos. Oh what Fuko could have gone on to become had she stuck it out, especially at a time where Hitomi had just debuted and huge tits were on the rise. She might not have become the next Hitomi but she easily could have been the next Hana Haruna, or perhaps I should say the first Hana Haruna since she debuted a year prior. It's really rare to get actresses quite as busty as Fuko, who debuted at 120cm P cup, which is absolutely mindboggling. That really is a size that can compare to Hitomi and Hitomi feels like a once in a lifetime actress. Even crazier was the fact she debuted at S1 which is a hell of a lot better than some of the big titty studios we've seen over the years (looking at you Bon Bon Cherry). Anyway, Fuko's career is definitely one I would have loved to see play out.

1. Anna Ohura

Fun fact, Anna was the first actress I watched and what sent me spiraling down the JAV-rabbit hole. Anna was also from a long, long time ago, when VHS was a thing and the quality of videos was pretty abysmal. Anyway, back then careers were extremely short; what we today would call a one-and-done career was just what careers were like. Anna Ohura was in the industry for only a handful of videos and still managed to be a big name. We've come a long way from such a time and I'm really glad the industry has come to where it is today. No doubt that in today's day and age, Anna would have had a much lengthier career and prospered; busty, slim, pretty - what's not to love? It was honestly only a couple of years between when Anna retired and the industry transformed to what it is today, with exclusive actresses releasing a monthly DVD. Again, no doubt that if she had stayed the couple of years she could have become a major player and been a much bigger name. Certainly there's some part of me that thinks so highly of her because she was the first actress I ever saw, but definitely the modern era of JAV gives so many opportunities to excel compared to the days of renting VHS. Regardless, I wish there had been more of Anna.

With that we have my Top 10 Gone Too Soon in the books. I hope you've enjoyed seeing all the names and the variety, from actresses who had lengthy careers and could have been the best, all the way down to actresses who are just a memory. I would love to hear from others which actresses they would pick or if they agree with my choices. Until next time!