JAV in Review 2024 - Part 2: Agency Wars, Taku in LA, Retirements, and More

Agency Wars

Now for some inside baseball with the hidden battles between agencies and performers behind the scenes. In the middle of 2023, there was a notice from a group of AV agencies that announced they would no longer have their talents working with events from certain agencies. These blacklisted agencies had supposedly poached talent from the other ones. The agencies Allpro and Arrows have seen a slow exodus of talent since then with high-profile exits like Rikka Ono, Riho Fujimori, Alice Nanase, Mai Nanashima, and Akane Mitani to name a few.

Samoari Bangs Ichika

Samoari has figured things out. Not only can he make whatever porn he likes while getting paid for it. He also realized he could bang the talent. The nipple man is stepping in front of his brightly lit and poorly placed cameras to live out the dream. Doing so with a few actresses now but most notable with one of the biggest names today and his personal muse, Ichika Matsumoto. He can’t be stopped. Now you might be saying “Well you’re fine when Nao Masaki has sex with her actresses. This is a double standard.” And you are absolutely right but it stands.

(Don't look in the shadows -MIH-006)

Skinny trend

Ran Kikuno, Eimi Fukada, Ai Sayama, and Suzu Matsouka. Rara Kudo slimmed down to dangerously looking at unhealthy levels for a while. Mizuki Yayoi also jumped on the skinny train which depressed her phenomenal ass. When will they realize that a lot of their fans like their weight and size? We’ve seen actresses like Umi Yatsugake and Kana Momonogi get really skinny to the point they have had to address it to their fans. Dealing with weight is difficult for women and especially so for public-facing figures, I just hope they are healthy.

Thick Trend

Not everyone has become skin and bones, some ladies have hit the fridge instead of the gym. There’s Yui Hatano in her renaissance looking thicker than a bowl of oatmeal. Tsubaki Sannomiya, Karen Kaede, and Minori Hatsune have all put on weight. Karen has filled out nicely while Tsubaki’s ass is better than ever and Minori looks extra thicc. Even Kana Momonogi who was on the skinny trend hard, seems to be putting on more weight and looking healthier. However, the biggest change of them all comes from Tina Nanami. I had to triple-check this and I’m still not sure if I have this right because Tina looks unrecognizable. I know her as this older woman type with a very skinny and boney body. Tina has gone from skinny to chubby with curves all over her new hefty body. These ladies are eating well.

The International Connection

The Taiwanese connection to JAV was stronger than ever this year. Stars are flocking over there to appear in fan events and the biggest of them all was TRE 2024 (Taipei Rex Expo) which saw many of JAV’s biggest stars and brightest new names. Taking the stage in a bigger venue to account for the event’s rising popularity. We also saw certain talents making cameos in TAV (Taiwanese Adult Video) and some TAV titles getting repacked and re-released for Japanese audiences.

FANZA I Want to Buy Porn

If you are a JAV fan from abroad, getting JAV has never been harder. Users this year felt the walls rise more and more around JAV. IP blocks to different regions from many storefronts and going further with some VPNs being blocked. Add onto that with the billing issues with major credit cards being declined. It has never been harder for fans abroad to legally acquire JAV. The workarounds and hoops you have to do to be a supporter are staggering. Occasionally we see industry members respond to questions of how international fans can buy JAV and the answers given can be more than unhelpful. More than have said that fans should come to Japan to buy the porn in person. An easy way of getting JAV would be to subscribe or purchase from ZENRA itself. You would be supporting the JAV industry as a whole, supporting the blog, and yeah getting porn. Win, win, win. 

Repealing Censorship: Is the dream close to reality?

Are we closer to a future of uncensored JAV? Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code outlaws among other things is responsible for uncensored porn. It has been under scrutiny from activists, artists, and politicians in recent years as we have covered before. Ken Akamatsu, a well-known mangaka and politician, has been a major proponent of censorship due to Article 175. He along with a small voting bloc in Parliament have taken a stand against it. Recently he was named as Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for the newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's second cabinet.

Team Freelancer Takes a Hit

Team Freelancer took a few blows this year with some high-profile names leaving or selling out. Promising upcoming freelancer Non Ohana joined the Madonna Empire as did Sumire Mizukawa and Mary Tachibana. Akari Niimura, a wild hardcore actress, surprised us by joining Fitch. The biggest freelancer to change stripes was Ichika Matsumoto. She’s been the reigning Freelance Queen for a couple of years now and how now gone corporate with a multi-exclusive deal. Big-name freelancers leaving like Mao Hamasaki and Akari we’ll cover below. 

Yui Hatano-ssance

Yui has been in the industry for 16 years now and is still grinding along. Last year we saw her infused with more vim and vigor as she celebrated her 15 anniversary alongside her friend and soul mate Hibki Otsuki. This year that energy continued with great videos and performances. Not only that Yui has packed on a few and turned into a thicc snack. Her boobs, ass, and body filling out like never before. It has renewed some fan's interest in the long-time legend and you can count me among them. A decade and half along and Yui is still finding the energy to move forward.

Retirements

Now for the dreaded retirement post. Another year in and another year of departures. This year saw some high-profile names leave or announce their retirements in advance. Names like Yura Kano, Moe Amatsuka, Chanyota, Kokona Asakura, Mirei Uno, Yuri Adachi, and Ria Yamate. Tsubasa Amami announced an indefinite hiatus but it seems like she is leaning towards hanging it up. We also have June Lovejoy who has not been appearing in JAV not because of a lack of desire but because of a lack of interest. Studios have not been picking her up and she has said that if the work dries up, she will be looking for work in other places.

Old Guard Out, New Faces In

Even bigger than those two might be the actor Shimiken. The bronze bad boy of JAV with too many appearances to count, announced that he would be taking a step back from performing. That pelvis has seen more action than an oil wheel, it deserves a long break. But this is a trend we are seeing with the old guard of male actors as we have noted. Big names like Shimiken alongside Genjin Moribayashi and Bokki have talked about getting older and taking on less work which I noticed on screen. We have been seeing other actors and new faces start to fill in the void. With how few male actors there are compared to the number of female actresses, the new faces are welcome. I want it to be known to the whole JAV industry that I will answer the call if needed.

Meguri: The Princess Who Promised

This entry was first written halfway into the year and was called Meguri Can’t Stop Teasing. She has been teasing a return to AV for ages since retiring 4 years ago. Here’s an excerpt: “Meguri is an all-time teaser. Not just great at riling men up in bed but her fans too and I’m not talking about with her videos.” I had all these examples of her baiting fans into a return to porn while promoting her fan sites. All of that and she shut me up by announcing her return during an interview at the Taipei Red Expo, coming back with mature maker Madonna of all places. I am glad to eat my own words and have her back. Tease away.

A Good time to Comeback

Now Meguri might have been the biggest comeback of the year but she was not alone. This year saw plenty of Fukkatsu/Revivals, big and small. Nanami Ogura, Aya Sazanami, Nana Misaki, Rin Okae, Riria Hyodou, Hanon Hinana, and Ruka Inaba all came back. Meanwhile, Aika Yumeno and Jun Kasui both came back from extended hiatuses. Ruji Saijo made her second comeback in two years but this time it looks like it might stick. Then we have Naho Ozawa who returned after a whopping 17 years off and Haruka Sanada who is back as Yao Mayuka. There’s still of case of Mahina Amane whose comeback is up in the air but the forecast looks hopeful. Whatever the case the year was good for fans of returning faces and names. Well in most cases returning faces with new names.

FSDSS-821 6287 Days After Complete Retirement... Miraculous Comeback "Re Birthday" By Naho Ozawa

Hiatus X Hiatus

We mentioned hiatuses for Aika and Jun above and they weren’t the only ones. Quite a few actresses went on hiatus for one reason or another such as Ena Koume, Ami Tokita, and Suzu Matsuoka. Recently it seems Konan Koyoi, Maki Tomoda, and Aoi Tsukasa are on break too. In Maki’s case and some others these are health hiatuses while they are on the mend. A reason that was also cited for freelancer Sora Amakawa until she broke the news that her hiatus was because she disagreed with her agency. So the reasons given for hiatus might not be what they seem in all cases.

Madonna’s Domain Expansion: The Milf Empire Expands

Now onto Madonna’s unchecked conquest. They have been giving out exclusive contracts like an ice cream store with a broken freezer handing out free ice cream. At the time of writing their roster tops out at over 60 names. Debuts, transfers, and comebacks; they are catching names from all over. The supposedly Milf maker has not let age limits stop them. Taking on younger actresses like Non Ohana, Mahiro Ichiki, Himeka Iori, and Yuki Takeuchi who are far from the mature brand they have built up. Rio Asahi is not a Milf, not even close to one, and yet they picked her up. This expansion outside of their usual territory may signal a change. That they are not moving away from Mature content but expanding outside of it.

Yui Hatan-aissance

Yui Hatano has entered her 16th year and has gotten an extra spring in her step. Fresh off of celebrating her 15th anniversary, she seems to be making a point of it that she won’t slow down. Yui has been releasing videos steadily in recent years, somewhat slower compared to her heyday, but this year saw a noticeable bump. Another noticeable bump has been in her weight. Yui is looking thicker than a $10 milkshake and all that extra heft is doing wonders for her figure. Turning that booty of hers into phat ass and her tits into a heavy pair. This newer Milfy Yui with extra size and an extra pep in her step has given her a nice jolt of energy into her very long career. Here’s to the Yui Hatano Renaissance.

Saikapaths: Saika Kawakita goes Viral for that?

Saika Kawakita is hot stuff in Japan and the Asian region. Fans have elevated the S1 star into the most popular adult actress among active performers. Not so much well-known throughout the rest of the world. However, they got a taste of Saika this November when a simple clip of hers went absolutely viral for no reason. An account shared a really short 3-second clip of her in an IV in OAE-214. Western netizens viewed and shared that clip ad infinitum. As of the time of writing the original post has garnered over 42 million views and a bunch of copycat posts. It even has its own meme page. Who would’ve thought it would be this short and grainy clip would spread like crazy? Now how will they react when they find out it’s from a softcore video or learn about mosaics.

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