ZENRA Exclusive Interview: AllPro

ZENRA had the opportunity to ask a few questions to AllPro, one of the largest JAV agencies out there. We had a chance to ask a few industry insider questions, an opportunity we jumped at and for which we thank the agency for their helpfulness and friendliness. From the relationship between studios and agencies to scouting for new actresses; from the problem of piracy to the competition brought by sites like OnlyFans, AllPro answered all the questions that a JAV enthusiast asks themselves at least once. You can find the agency's socials here. Enjoy! 

[ZENRA] When foreigners think of adult agencies, they think all they do is get jobs for the actresses.  While this may be true for western agencies, how does it work in Japan?  Besides getting jobs, what else do you do for the actresses?
[AllPro] Our main responsibilities are transporting actresses to and from locations, managing their overall schedules, STD testing, and day-to-day care (such as counseling if needed).  Our goal is to ensure the actresses are always in tip-top condition both physically and mentally.

[Z] I have heard from various studios that nearly all JAV star Twitters are run entirely by the agency.  Is this true?
[A] This varies based on the agency.  Some do it all, sometimes actresses will do it.

[Z]  What is the difference between a Tier 1 and Tier 2 agency?  Which is AllPro?
[A]  Not much, to tell you the truth.  Tier 1 came first, so the other agencies not in Tier 1 formed their own union: Tier 2.  AllPro is in Tier 1. 

[Z] What is the legal structure with actresses?  Are they employees?  Contractors?
[A]  They are paid out as contractors by our parent company. 

[Z]  Banks in the west sometimes will close performer and adult business accounts.  I’ve heard agencies will use alternate company names when paying actresses.  Is this the case?  Do you know of any instances where a bank closed an actress’s account solely because of her job?
[A]  We have not heard of any issues to date about bank accounts being closed.

[Z]  What is the breakdown of where actresses are recruited?  Scouting?  Application?
[A]  For us, it’s a combination of introductions and applications.
 

[Z]  Do most women who do JAV first appear in water trade jobs?
[A]  Most actually don’t have any experience there.
 

[Z]  How often is “real married woman secretly does adult video” true?  Don’t they usually have some delivery health experience first?
[A]  Once in a blue moon that trope is actually true though most of the time it’s fiction.
 

[Z] With the rise of sites like OnlyFans, are you worried future talent may want to be totally freelance?
[A] We’re not worried.  It’s pretty hard for JAV stars to know how best to communicate with fans so that’s where we step in.
 

Check out the trailer of MIDE-869, starring Rikka Ono!

[Z] Nowadays, is it standard for the agency to own the trademark for the actress's name?
[A] Yes, this is standard for most agencies.
 

[Z]  I heard that agencies will act almost like concierges for actresses.  Taxi rides to and from sets, massages, beauty treatments, and more.  Is this a free service for them or is it taken out of their pay?
[A]  Things like transportation are not subtracted from their pay.  Other types of services like massages and the like are more case-by-case affairs that we don’t always offer, but when we do, we pay for it.

[Z] Do you think there are any domestic threats to the JAV industry?  For example: legislation.
[A] We’re not worried about any upcoming laws.  Piracy is what we’re most concerned about.

[Z] We’ve all heard of the ‘5 year rule’.  May you explain how it works if an actress reached out to you and asked for all her movies to be removed?
[A] After five years, an actress can request to have those works removed.
 

[Z] Do you have to make the water bottles with the straw inserts yourselves?
[A] That responsibility belongs to staff on set.

[Z] How do agencies make the money? Is it a contract for a set amount between the agency and actress? What's the agency's biggest income source?
[A] Most of our income comes from studios paying us to film our actresses.
 

[Z] What is your pitch like to new actresses or established names? Why should they sign with you and not others?
[A] We believe we have very favorable terms that we will approach studios with.  This helps us attract more new talent as well.

[Z] Do you have any male actors signed and would you be open to doing so if the opportunity arises?
[A] There has yet to be an example of us signing on a male actor.  It’s not in our plans at the moment.

[Z] What are the day-to-day responsibilities and services that you provide to your talent?
[A] Booking and setting up jobs and maintaining their schedules.

[Z] What is your take on big-name studios like Prestige leaving R18/DMM? Do they take too big of a cut of the profits?
[A] Prestige already owns MGStage, its own popular platform, so I think they will be fine.

[Z] With regards to beauty products, treatments, etc., do you work closely with a lot of manufacturers?/are you able to get discounts?
[A] We haven’t heard much about that in terms of agency deals.

[Z] Do actresses ever get to pick who they work with? For example, Kurea Hasumi worked a lot with Yu Shinoda last year, is that because they are good friends or because the studio thinks it is a good pairing?
[A] Very rarely do actresses get to pick their costars.  This is usually entirely done by the studio.

[Z] Who decides what videos actresses work in? Is it the agency, the studio, or does the actress have a say? Do actresses give you a list of themes/genres they absolutely do not want to do? Do actresses come with ideas they want to try?
[A]  The studio will decide the theme of the shoot.  They’ll get in touch with us with what they want and we’ll provide a list of actresses who are OK doing the types of play they are looking for.  Actresses rarely come up with shooting ideas on their own.

[Z] Do agencies help prepare actresses for life after JAV? What do actresses do for income when they retire?
[A]  After retiring from JAV, actresses can still remain on our roster as we can still offer them other jobs like operating fan sites and personal photo-shoot sessions.

Check out the trailer of CADV-825 starring Sachiko, one of AllPro's actresses!

 

[Z] Does the agency keep in touch with actresses after they retire? For example, big names like Aki Sasaki and Ayumi Shinoda completely disappeared after they retired and fans are curious.
[A]  Sometimes we keep in contact with those who leave the industry, but we don’t communicate too much.

[Z] Your agency seems to employ only freelance actresses. Do you ever encourage actresses to go exclusive or do you think freelancing is better?
[A]  If an offer like that comes from a studio, sometimes we may recommend it.  However, it also may depend on the actress’s current circumstances.

[Z] Does every actress have their own agency, or only the extremely popular ones?
[A]  Very few do things totally on their own.  Almost all belong to agencies.

[Z] Does the agency ever try to help the actress improve their skills? Do you have actresses engage in a senpai/kohai relationship to help out the newer actresses?
[A]  If the actress requests it, we can all meet for dinner where she can talk about her upcoming career and receive advice from someone who has more experience.

[Z] How does the process work when an actress stars with another actress from a different agency? Do you communicate with the other agency or are everyone friends?
[A]  We don’t communicate too often with other agencies.  Most of what we do is with the studios.