JAV News Roundup - November Edition - Volume 1

Trapstar here, reporting live from ZENRA headquarters. Bringing you the latest buzz in the Twitter JAV space in recent days

Ai Sayama Announces Comeback

It's kinda unreal to fathom Ai Sayama's inactivity, when it was just back in July I had witnessed her be a part of Hitomi's birthday celebration. Several industry bigwigs  who had long been a part of Hitomi's inner circle attended the event in which Ai participated. Up until this point, I had hardly noticed that the 33-year-old had stayed dormant over these months, updating her SNS only when necessary. The adult star began tweeting a lot earlier this month to announce her return to AV duty for the second half of November, or more specifically the final three weeks of this year before heading onto next year.

"Only two months remain in the year 2022. I know many of you have been watching my work for a long time, but I apologize to those of you who have been worrying about me. I am sorry and thank you. Sayama is fine. Please forgive my selfishness in not wanting to say too much since this is a place where not only the fans who support me on a daily basis, but also my relatives and friends can see my work. I would appreciate it if you could just let it slide. I would like to start sending out messages again from here."

Although remaining inactive for the majority of the year had little effect on her releases, my view is that they should have been put on hold when Ai admitted to going on a hikkimori streak in which she isolated herself with her cat to the point of not socialising at all, "With winter just around the corner, which makes us want to stay indoors, Sayama, who has been living in the shadows for a year and a half, is thinking of starting over from here". However, Ai had finished filming by the earlier half, before the AV law was passed, so she wasn't hindered. Fortunately, the 33-year-old star had enough reels in her archive to last until the end of 2022. Most fans would have concluded the actress didn't take a vacation if Ai hadn't mentioned so in her testimony, but we're delighted she did. Such degree of openness with one's fans is valued in times when actresses are struggling with their mental health or are compelled to leave the industry owing to the legislation.

What must have come as a surprise to the fans, and one that would undoubtedly please them, is that the actress implied that her return as a hostess to the illustrious Red Dragon Club after almost a three-year break will likely persuade many of her fans to reserve a spot at the illustrious hostess bar to have a reunion with the actress after almost three years. "Well, I've been living as a recluse for most of my life, and I've lost all my people skills, so I'm going to come to work at Red Dragon for the first time in about three years!I'm sure I'll hear some people say, "Don't use the store as a rehabilitation center," but I'm excited because I'm sure I'll find a lot of stimulation I need right now, so please come and join me for a toast!" In fact, her most recent film, JAV, which came out earlier this month, makes it seem as though the actress is in a rut and that her script choices need to be improved.

Even though it's obvious that she couldn't have laid it all out due to obvious reasons being bound to a contract, Ai revealed that she had experimented with the visual aspects of her appearence, "By the way...the visual of Ai Sayama has been changed for a limited time. LOL.It was changed for a photo shoot, and I can't show it to you because of the information release, but you can see it if you come see me in person Probably next week I will go back to the Ai Sayama that everyone knows, so if you are interested, please come this week!" moving forward. Nevertheless, there is hope that she will improve her filming methods. The fans who are stuck with her standard AV routines will undoubtedly see this as a win-win situation. Ai's previous collaborators, FITCH, just released a teaser for her upcoming JAV, which is currently on sale this month. Given that she previously made reparations, I'd love to see what new elements she adds. "I am not good at social networking, and I am a habitual offender of updating on a whim and neglecting the site for a long period of time." To put things in perspective, Ai isn't a big fan of social media and prefers to avoid it, but being in the spotlight takes a toll, and actresses like Ai must occasionally surface to allay fans' worries.

Stay updated with Ai Sayama's Twitter

Mero Itou Transfers To A New Office

AV actress Meru Itou (as she was formerly called) made a startling announcement about her new identity as she picked NAX over her former agency within a year after debut in an effort to pay homage to her admirers. The Taiwanese-born actress disclosed in a tweet earlier this month that she would perform in AV going forward under the stage name Nia, which in her native tongue literally translates to 'near'. Some admirers speculated about the moniker, and to their surprise they soon discovered that the actress had chosen the identity in an effort to pay ode to her fans. Reminding her fans, quite literally, of how close they are to her and vice versa

Perhaps this was all a deliberate move after all, as Meru acknowledged her debt to her prior AV firm "I am pleased to announce that I will be transferring to NAX from Wish, where I have been working since my debut.We are pleased to announce that we will be transferring from Wish to NAX, a company that has been a part of our lives since our debut.In a fresh start, I will change my stage name to "Nia".With the experience I have gained as Meru ItoI would like to expand my activities even further.Thank you for your continued support." while making it apparent in her announcement that she had other endeavours she'd like to explore moving ahead under her new agency. Please share your thoughts in the comments section regarding her decision. The action was taken a few weeks after Chiharu Miyazawa attended the 22-year-old's birthday celebration at the trendy Lefkada Shinjuku venue. Fans were permitted admission, and the beverages were selling for close to 10,000 yen, which is a hefty sum, so it must have been a lively event. I've gradually come to realise that these fan meet & greet events might eventually drain your bank account.

There doesn't seem to be many pictures from the birthday celebration online, so I suppose our readers will have to make do with this image that Meru tweeted. Meru, who was born in Taiwan in the year 2000, has Taiwanese ancestry and performed several roles as an actor in daily soap operas while growing up there. She spent the majority of her childhood years in Japan and aspired to make a lasting impression. After leaving AV, the 22-year-old performer intends to pursue her ambition of working in Taiwan's mainstream sector, which she previously expressed in an interview.

Despite the fact that she is still relatively new to the adult industry, her propensity for taking on hard jobs may end up being advantageous for her in the long run, serving as more of a stepping stone for her future endeavours. Plus, who can resist that endearing face? She was created from the ground up for daily soaps. Speaking of daily soap artists, we have a surprise debutante who was recently teased by S1 who you might want to keep an eye on in the future. She has a slender frame and is a goddess who you might want to watch. Given that it's quite uncommon for a mainstream figure to shift into AV, the makers teased her as coming from a similar background but we shouldn't forget that this industry has shocked us when we least expected it to. Additionally, it will be interesting to see what Meru, who recently finished a dozen or so AVs for her former agency, which surprisingly lent her the MIA (Most Intelligent Actress) accolade in March, has in store for the fans in future.

Stay updated with Nia's Twitter

Shiose Re-emerges As Nagi Hikaru

Proceeding with the column, Shiose (as she was formerly known) doesn't seem to gel along with her former agency TPower's. Although her intent behind leaving the agency is fairly vague, a move like this was long overdue for an actress of her caliber. Although the announcement seems fairly recent, since Eightman started teasing the packed J-cup on their Twitter, it's obvious that the deal had been finalised preceding a month or two. Amid much speculation in adultboards pertaining to a striking resemblance of Shiose to the mystery girl being teased by the office, the 25 year old made a public announcement from her new handle earlier this month addressing her fans on the recent developments in her career.

 While pulling the wraps off of her latest gravure issue, the 25 year old took the opportunity to state that she had finalised a deal with Rara Anzai's office. "Nice to meet you and long time no see. I am back at Eightman. From now on, I will continue my acting career as Hikaru Nagi, so please support me. My gravure is in today's issue of Weekly Post. Take a look!" On record, this might be the third time she has changed her name. For an actress who debuted a couple years earlier it's rather startling and if the trend persists she might give some heat to her colleague Rara, who almost had a similar trajectory as that of the 25 year old, going through multiple name changes and having worked predominantly with S1 throughout her ten year run. With the new deal, Eightman surely came out looking like a winner for an office that boasts a portfolio of some of the top talents in the industry and now with Nagi adding a feather to the cap alongside their longstanding affiliation with Rara. 

"In "Shukan Post" (Shogakukan)...Both 105cm J-cup. Two legendary actresses appeared side by side"

They know this for a fact, as Eightman started hyping the pair for a future collab. It hasn't even been a month since the transfer and  the actress's fans have become speculative of her future prospects. Few from the adultboard Scanlover took a biased approach incling solely towards studios that aren't S1, since the H-cup goddess who made her debut earlier in 2020 had predominantly been marketed as a S1 girl and remained exclusive to the makers. However, with the recent transfer, fans find themselves in a state of conflict while predicting about her next move considering the 25 year old has remained inactive in the recent past without any further release. This just fuels her fans suspicion that she might be headed for a change.

Although, it's too early to judge whether Nagi stays with her existing S1 or makes a leap is a possibility that'd only present itself by the end of this year. Personally, I think her stance remains unchanged since she's one of the top tier talents for them, added to the fact that it's hard to beat how much S1 spends to keep her on their payroll. If in the future, any studio wants to come for Nagi, they might have to flush a bag load of yen to secure that deal on paper. It seems like a fair possibility because the industry surprises you in ways you can't comprehend. The 25 year old heads to her third month without a release but despite that she knows a thing or two about keeping her followers entertained. Nagi recently released a photobook in to keep them indulged while she and her office decides upon her fate in the adult business.

Stay updated with Nagi's Twitter

S1 Teases A Former Celebrity

Saving the best for the last, I guess finally the AV fans have something to cheer for in the recent debut cycle, all thanks to S1. The makers recently pulled off the wraps of a 24 year old from Hokkaido who they're hyping up as some sort of a celebrity. On my investigation, I found certain facts that approve this particular claim made by the makers. While I'm convinced that back in 2014 she had participated as a talent in a variety show under the alias of Riona Yuuki and had her fair share of fame & popularity being in the public eye, it's no biggie as S1 claims it to be so a sensible thing would be to refrain from digging up her old archives since we're unaware of what her age might have been when she appeared in those shows.

"Arisu Shinomiya will debut from S1 in December. She will start posting everyday from now on! Please support her"

I'd have been hyped if by mainstream they meant her being a part of a popular daily soap but since that's not the case, since it's not the case I'll assume it's more of a marketing gimmick by S1 to sell out her debut release. The studio's PR team announced the AV specifically as a non-nude release, which may have already killed half the buzz before its scheduled release next month. What on earth were they thinking? S1 has committed some blunders in the past but that doesn't take from the fact that this could either way for the actress. The several minute trailer expands on the creators' claim that a see-through AV is capable of most things, including penetration, with the exception of a non-naked JAV.

Whether it is a gimmick or simply a run of the mill experiment by a 24-year-old who, presumably, doesn't have much going on with her mainstream acting career so she did some gravure shoots before dipping her toes in the adult industry is beyond my comprehension. For a fact, I could tell that with those features best suited for the mainstream industry while being affiliated with an agency, that manages a portfolio of mainstream celebrities, it might turn out to be a possibility in the near future. Considering her intention is to gain some notoriety filming AV and reach a certain level of fame to be approached for mainstream shows, she might be in it for the long run.

According to several sources, prior to pursuing AV the Hokkaido based cutie had a failed attempt at gravure. While I couldn't verify it for a fact, it certainly makes for a possibility for her to jump into the adult business when things headed south. In terms of S1 already packed to the brim with fresh faces, it'd be interesting to see how the 24 year old copes with the challenge at hand. Whether she thrives or succumbs to  the pressures of the industry remains a topic to be debated for some other day. But I might be downplaying her here, since she certainly has the wits to monetize her fanbase even before debut.

With S1 allowing their actresses to have FANTIA, will that affect their business? Curious to know our readers thoughts on this, comment down below.

Stay updated with Alice's Twitter

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