What makes a JAV boring?

Interest can be very subjective, and we don't want to rain on anybody's party. But some things are universal, and it's the same way with JAV. There are some things in JAV that bores everybody to death, yet the producers can't stop themselves doing them. 

Toys are supposed to be for fun, right? They add spice to the usual bed rituals. 

But let's agree that they can be way overdone. Who has ever said, "Two-hour long video of guys inserting different gizmos into a girl's pussy? Sign me up!"

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind watching a girl's pussy being stretched open by a neon-colored monster dildo or some state-of-the-art orgasm machine. It also can be amusing to watch some weird gadgets. It's all about exploration and being erotically curious. 

But watching a guy graze a Hitachi on a girl's crotch as she yells "iku" 70 times in an hour can be a snoozefest.

One example of this is GMEM-048 with Kaho Imai. Here she plays a prideful spy who gets caught while on a mission. So what do her captors do to her? Waste her divine body with sex toy play. It occupies more than half of the video, and most of the sequences get maddeningly long. 

Sure, it's nice to see the divine Kaho Imai in such shameful positions, but come on. 

What makes this more annoying is that most of the actresses look like they're faking it. It's rare to see actresses genuinely enjoying an extended sex toy barrage. Which is understandable, as I'm sure many would prefer a living cock to a rubber tube.

How to fix it:

Limit the toy play scenes to 15 minutes max. Pleasure the women just enough to make them cum once or twice. More than that and theirlady parts are going to start to hurt, and they will start faking it. 

Or you can get a lesson from the masters of weird JAV, Rocket. For example, in RCTD-131, a shark-headed sex toy is rampaging the local pool. There's not much human sex here, but the sentient shark dildo's shenanigans are too hilarious to ignore. Trust me, being creative helps when coming up with dirty videos.   

In the age of OnlyFans and social media softcore, porn fans are becoming used to watching naked people touching themselves in front of a camera. They have different expectations for a JAV work. They expect more creativity and dynamism in these kinds of videos, especially since there is an entire team behind the camera in charge of keeping things interesting. 

This is why masturbation scenes shouldn't last longer than 30 minutes or so. There is nothing that says "filler" more than an hour-long jacking-off session.

Of course, masturbation scenes can have some use in certain themes and stories. But by the grace of Zeus, keep it short and sweet. 

How to fix it:

Masturbation-centric videos can be pulled off if there is enough variety and it jives with the concept. Watching girls get off can be satisfying, especially if it is not overdone. 

Take Aika Yamagishi's PRED-251. It has an excellent concept. Basically, she asked her fans on Twitter for masturbation instructions. She acted them out in the video. The 10-hour-long masturbation section was shot amateur style and we also see her doing normal stuff such as brushing her teeth or taking a nap, so it feels like we are getting a glimpse of Aika-chan's everyday life. It's genius.

Aside from that, there is a 'normal' section where Aika pleasures men and even lets them cum inside her. The entire video has a slow and meditative pace, but it is never boring. 

Read Mangochin's review of this great video. 

I don't want to get into trouble by having a thesis-length discussion on what qualities as bad acting. But generally, bad acting means acting out of place, looking uninterested or "not into it." Bad acting can pull viewers away from the scene because it breaks the illusion of something as being "real." As they say, good acting is acting like you're not acting at all. Bad acting is the opposite of that. 

This can be crucial in a porn video because (surprise!) JAV is not real. It takes a good actress to maintain the illusion that what is happening in the frame is authentic. 

Aside from that, bad acting speaks a lot about the actress' self-confidence. Viewers don't like seeing actresses treated badly, as if the actress is doing something she doesn't want to do. Bad acting can make watching JAV a guilty experience, which is never a good thing. 

Take Rara Anzai, also known as Rion and Shion Utsonomiya. She has been known for her cute face, balloon boobs, and an overall insane body. Despite having such rare goods, she is a notoriously bad actress. 

During her early years, her lack of acting charisma is brushed off by fans as cute, such as when she laughs out of character in SNIS-166. To be fair, she seems to enjoy sex, and it shows when she does like what she is doing and what is being done to her.

However, as the years go by, her lack of versatility is becoming less charming. Some of her later videos lack the authentic enthusiasm that endeared her to fans. The problem with a lack of acting skills is that fans know when you are just not feeling it. And that, of course, can be hard to watch. 

Another example is Aimi Yoshikawa. Like Rara-chan, she made a name for herself using her impossibly huge boobs and innocent face.

However, she is not very versatile in front of the camera, and some fans have attributed her to the 'dolphin squeal' stereotype among JAV actresses. Aimi-chan's moans just look artificial, so viewers are left guessing whether she's enjoying the sex or getting her toe pinned under the table. 

images you can hear

Other actresses with regrettably questionable acting skills:

• Ai Hongo
• Uta Hayano
• Koharu Suzuki
• Karen Ishida

How to fix it:

Fortunately, there are many other ways to skirt around the issue of an actress lacking acting chops. For example, I think Rara Anzai is doing a good job so far, as her management knows that her body and her authenticity are her strong suit. They choose to make videos that highlight these two points, rather than force her to act in drama-heavy videos. That is one way of dealing with it. 

Having confidence and charisma also works. Say what you want about what Aika has been doing to her body and face, but you've got to admit that she has some stage presence. While not the best in the acting department, her self-assured aura is what kept her in the business for such a long time. She has personified her 'gyaru' (gal) persona from the beginning. She appears confident, self-assured, and candid in front of the camera. This confidence allowed her to work in a wide variety of genres. She has a commanding presence that translates into all videos she is in. 

One great actress is Nozomi Nishihara. Not exactly the hottest actress around, but her performances are always top-notch. What makes her a very capable actress is her wide variety of facial expressions. That is easy to overdo, but somehow Nozomi-chan just knows how much spice to put into a scene. 

Nonetheless, I still think actresses would benefit from some serious acting workshops if they need to. They're actresses, after all. It all boils down to how serious they are with their craft. 

What qualifies as cliche is rather debatable. Some plots and themes, such as maid service and nurse costumes, are also considered undying classics.

However, some JAV producers and actresses just do that same thing over and over again. It becomes worse when producers copy each other, stretching the trend even further. 

Just take for example the "missing the last train and sharing a hotel room with my colleague" trope. Almost every big studio has jumped on the train and flooded the market with these kinds of videos. 

screenshot from VideoMeister

Fortunately, some directors made it a point to change things up a bit. Some made the actresses into the dominatrix boss or put in a bit of romance to add some elements to the basic plot. 

FSDSS-245, After a Drinking Party, I Missed The Last Train And Was Alone With My Big Tits Subordinate At The Hotel,  with Yuko Ono

PPPD-910, When I Missed The Last Train With A Company Drink And Stayed At The House Of A Boss With Huge Breasts, with Hitomi

How to fix it:

Coming up with new themes and concepts is difficult in porn. There is only so much you can do to preface an intimate act. But there are still many ways to keep it interesting. 

For example, take the bukkake genre. It is perhaps one of the most popular genres in JAV, so it's natural that studios will keep releasing these kinds of videos. But how do you separate a run-of-the-mill bukkake video from a great one? 

Look at SSNI-326, which is one of Arina Hashimoto's earliest videos wherein she did full-on bukkake. Aside from the actual bukkake shots, which were excellently shot (no pun intended), they included a slow-mo reel at the end as a treat for the fans. A small and simple gesture, but it makes the video very special. 

The plots and themes can be made with more twists and variety. There is no need to copy and paste the stories. Shuffle the timeline, add new side characters, and sprinkle some character development. My god, make a satisfying ending rather than end the video with a fade to black after the guy has nutted. 

A great example is ATID-207 featuring Shou Nishino with Attackers, back when they were still doing videos with proper stories. Here, Shou-chan is kind of a lab rat who is working on a top-secret chemical. She has a dedicated assistant, Ryoichi, who is very loyal to her. 

One day, the government pulled the plug on the project, leaving Shou-chan devastated. Ryoichi, feeling chivalric, decided to develop the chemical on his own. 

However, one night, Shou-chan was attacked by a rabid assailant. It turns out to be Ryoichi, who has tested the chemical on himself, making him a sex addict who can't control himself. Shou eventually realizes that it was Ryoichi who jumped on her and thus instructed him to test the chemical only when she is with her. 

Thus start their nightly sex "experiments." Shou eventually becomes addicted to Ryoichi's animalistic fucking.

Finally, one day, Ryoichi discovers footage of their "experiments" and realizes that Shou-chan is using him for her own sexual gratification. He then decided to take his revenge and fuck Shou sober. Shou-chan, of course, enjoyed it. 

See? A story that is full of twists and intrigue. Impressive work for such a simple premise. 

Everybody used to gang up on S1 because their main thing is getting the hottest actresses and making them do the same old videos. But at least S1 had some history of doing less than typical videos, and they make some finely-produced videos from time to time. 

But then Faleno came into the scene, selling a brand of JAV that is at par with S1's production quality, and hogging the best-looking actresses. They entered the industry while strutting their huge capital like a big wiener. They even grabbed the biggest actresses at the time such as Arina Hashimoto, Nene Yoshitaka, Moe Amatsuka, and others. 

Having such huge talents mean they can offer bigger pay (and better contracts) to their actresses. Which is a good thing in general, but not if you have unimaginative writers who are more afraid of their managers than they are willing to please their fans. 

We know that we JAV fans can be shallow creatures. Sometimes all we need to get ourselves off is a beautiful face and two naked bodies doing sex stuff. And Faleno knows this, so they do not feel compelled to up their game. They know goddesses such as Ai Hongo (Ai Nikaido), Rin Natsuki, Kaname Momojiri, and the like will continue to rake in profits even by selling the most boring videos ever.

FSDSS-503, with Kaname Momojiri

We get it. They have one of the best image qualities in the industry, the hottest costumes, the most professional-looking camera work and whatnot. But we cannot expect them to do anything beyond an overly-produced debut, the obligatory "hard sex" initiation, maid service POV videos, hot spring themes, and little variations of the most typical themes. 

Faleno is all about playing it safe, which is another way of saying that they are all about being mid, bare-minimum, and ultimately boring. 

How to fix it:

Deal with it.