Actresses changing studios is an inevitability in JAV. Sometimes it's dictated by the actress themselves but most often it's decided by their agency or the studio itself. Whatever the reason may be, it happens to every actress at some point in their career. It can a great opportunity for an actress to branch out and possibly breathe new life into her career. However, sometimes it just doesn't work out for one reason or another. Maybe the studio isn't a good fit or gives the actress some lousy themes. I'm here to discuss my top 5 disappointing career changes throughout JAV. Now that the introduction is out of the way, let's begin!

5. Shunka Ayami

Prestige > S1

Ah, Shunka Ayami. By far the biggest name Prestige has had under their belt in the past decade. She had a rather solid career with them before jumping ship to S1. While the move wasn't terrible and did result in some fine titles it wound up being less than stellar. Shunka launched her career with Prestige back in 2012. She quickly rose to fame and became one of the most notable actresses in their lineup thanks to her pretty face, great figure, and perky breasts. While she didn't explore too many genres under Prestige and played it relatively safe she still had a fruitful career with them. However, in 2018 she graduated from Prestige and moved on to S1. A move that seemed pretty reasonable as someone like her makes perfect sense in S1's lineup. But as you'll see the move left something to be desired.

In May of 2018, she made her debut with S1 with a surprisingly solid film that while pretty tame was backed by solid production values and spotlighted her stunning figure. It was a promising start but that hype was diminished soon after. Her next several films featured "dark" themes and heavyh sex which is something that I personally believe doesn't cater to her strengths at all. However, after those films, she released a few solid videos such as SSNI-340. But as soon as the ship seemed to be steering in the right direction she returned to dark themes once again. And then before you know it she retired with her final film in April 2019. All in all, this was a frustrating transfer as it seemed promising and showed hints of it at times but she got stuck to doing one particular theme that is rather niche. Definitely not the best sendoff for a star like her. 

4. Minori Hatsune

IdeaPocket > Moodyz

One of my personal favorite actresses who had a slightly bumpy ride throughout her career that led to an underwhelming venture with Moodyz. Minori originally got her career started with S1 studio back in 2007. A few years later she transitioned to IdeaPocket where she really made a name for herself and became one of the top actresses for them. In those 6 years, she spent with IdeaPocket she released dozens of titles spanning a wide range of genres and themes. She was known for her cute and youthful appearance which is something IdeaPocket capitalized on during her time. However in early 2016, her time was up with IdeaPocket and she went on hiatus until December where she became exclusive with Moodyz, with disappointing results. Her stint with Moodyz was relatively short-lived with only eight releases ending in September 2016.

Moodyz is really one of the best studios around with top-notch productions and great directors so the expectations were high for Minori but ultimately failed to deliver. Her initial debut was typical and vanilla offering up nothing new but just a safe first outing to test the waters. But what followed afterward did nothing to capture her strengths as the rest of the films were still incredibly vanilla with no plot or a more "dark" plot with heavy sex. One of her better films, MIDE-329, where she plays a lewd teacher was solid but even then was a letdown compared to the standards of Moodyz as the execution and camerawork left a lot to be desired. It was a real shame as it looked like this was the end of her career as she silently vanished from the JAV scene until late 2019 when she came back to IdeaPocket and since then has released some really fantastic films and has returned to her former glory. However, her time at Moodyz really fell flat given the pedigree of such a talented studio.

3. Jessica Kizaki

IdeaPocket > S1

Following up on a disappointing IdeaPocket transfer with yet another one. This is one that on paper could have worked out but oddly enough didn't pan out at all. Unlike Minori, Jessica made her debuted under IdeaPocket back in 2008. While she never achieved "elite" status there per se she was always one of the more reliable actresses that they had constantly churning out a new release every month. After spending 8 years with them she made a transfer to S1 studio in 2016. A move that seemed like a good fit for someone like Jessica but proved to be short-lived and vastly underwhelming. Her debut film with S1 was in September 2016, which is oddly enough at the same time Minori Hatsune's career with IdeaPocket came to an end. Perhaps just a coincidence but I think not

Anyway, her debut was exactly what you'd expect offering up a tame but safe film to give the general JAV audience a taste of what she is all about. However, that taste didn't last long as after just 5 releases her run with S1 was over. And those 5 films were, to be honest, complete trash. After the debut video, she had a vanilla sex video, a boring documentary dating type film, a squirt centered film, and a fake cum video that I featured as one of my least favorite series ever in one of my previous posts. These films did not take advantage of her strengths at all and wasted her talent. Thankfully, it wasn't long after this run that she returned to IdeaPocket and ultimately ended her career there as well in late 2019. In the end, I still think back to this transfer and just wonder "why?"

2. Nami Hoshino

S1 > Attackers

One of the more frustrating inclusions on my list. Nami Hoshino was ripe with potential if steered in the right direction but unfortunately, that ship went directly south. She began her career in 2012 back with H.M.P actually, not S1. She didn't transition to S1 until a year later in 2013. While she never quite reached the top of the charts or became one of S1's best-selling actresses she did maintain a very stable career there. She was notable for her terrific and slender figure, pretty face, and her amazing booty. At the same time, her acting was, to be blunt, terrible but perhaps with a transition to a new studio that could maybe push her to improve. Maybe being contracted with Moodyz or becoming a freelance actress could do the trick. But no so as she moved to perhaps the worst possible choice. She released her final film with S1 in late 2019 before quickly becoming an exclusive actress for Attackers in December.

Personally, I despise Attackers for many reasons. For one, their plots are all identical. They each feature the same type of themes including heavy sex, drama, and cuckolding. Not to mention that each film generally incorporates the same moody atmosphere making for a rather somber film. Now I know some are into that and I understand but it's a rather niche genre. The problem is that it kneecaps Nami in regards to her acting. Her lackluster performances are only encouraged here as these films generally demand the actress to be whiny and submissive, never taking the lead. It's always the same thing in every video with little differences in-between. There's a reason why the term "Attackers prison" exists. It feels like a graveyard for AV actresses careers and I, unfortunately, don't see Nami being let free any time soon. Actually, at the time of this post, she currently has no videos on the horizon. Truly a sad way to end your career.

1. Marina Shiraishi

SOD Create > Madonna

One of my most beloved actresses. Her time spent with SOD Create was pretty great all around but a change was welcomed. However, while I understand the rationale behind moving to Madonna I don't think it has panned out at all. Marina entered the AV industry back in 2013 as an exclusive under SOD Create. During her time she became one of their most talented actresses backed by her bubbly personality, unique figure, and pretty face. She enjoyed a span of five years under them until late 2018 before she quietly disappeared from the AV scene. With no announcement whatsoever this led people to speculate. One rumor was that she was ordered to lose weight before she could resume filming. No one knows for sure but after a long year of relative silence, she returned to SOD Create for one last film in January 2020. We didn't have to wait long as in March 2020 she debuted with Madonna.

For what it's worth her debut film wasn't too bad. While it wasn't groundbreaking it did its job and served as a solid introduction to Marina under Madonna studio. What has transpired since then though has been underwhelming, to say the least. Now personally I feel slightly torn about Madonna as a studio. They boast great production values no doubt about that. But every single film follows a very similar theme and plot making it hard to tell any of their films apart. As of this post, she has about 8 films released and is still shooting. My main issue here is that all the films feature identical plots involving cheating, drama. affairs and some NTR. It all gets incredibly repetitive. At least with SOD, there was a variety but here it's all the same. Plus Marina's signature bubbly personality isn't given a chance to shine. There's a chance her career can turn around but at the moment it's vastly disappointing.