We recently wrote about ex-AKB48 idol Satomi Kaneko's retirement, noting how she had carved out quite a striking career as a sexploitation actress and nude model after her brief stint with the group.
In general, after leaving one of the AKB or Sakamichi groups, or any idol group for that matter, the surest way to cement your status is to do more provocative shoots in gravure magazines, release photo books, and branch out into fashion modeling and TV gigs, either acting or presenting.
Only a lucky few land "serious" acting roles (perhaps only Atsuko Maeda and Yuko Oshima spring to mind), but ...
Yesterday, we blogged about Rio Teramoto's teasing nude scene in Netflix drama Sanctuary. As we noted, she also had a sexy scene (but not a sex scene) in the first season of anthology show Tonight, I Will Fall in Love With My Body last year.
That got us thinking about the second season that aired earlier this year but passed us by.
Each episode of the show, which is broadcast on TV Asahi and the streamer Abema, focuses on the love life of a different female character. It's a bit erotic but not explicit. As far as we know, the show doesn't feature actual nudity, though there are plenty of ...
The afterlives of idols is an ongoing theme of this blog. What happens to those music and gravure stars after they call it quits?
Some, of course, go into porn, like Yotsuha Kominato (Rikako Inoue).
Others, like AKB48's Risa Naruse (Haruna Aisaka), marry a celebrity.
Many go on to do ordinary jobs.
Here's a slightly more unusual take on that: Manaka Shida, formerly of Keyakizaka46 (now called Sakurazaka46 since 2020), is now a Ginza hostess.
Of course, it's well known that many adult video and gravure idols are doing hostessing on the side anyway. Some have also announced this publicly ...
In a bid to contain the second wave of the coronavirus around Japan, people are now being encouraged to have "online nomikai" (drinking parties) rather than meeting in person for food and booze at the usual izakaya or restaurant.
Thankfully, technology now makes this possible, though the idea has a fatal flaw. One of the major appeals of a nomikai is that it gives you the chance to hook up with that friend of a friend who tags along, or that cutie at the next table. Zoom is great but it removes that from the equation, hence dating will really suffer in these coronavirus times.
How can you ...
It's something of an open secret these days that all the commercial excitement comes from Nogizaka46, not AKB or its direct sister groups.
Photo books by the likes of Mai Shiraishi and Nanami Hashimoto have become runaway bestsellers, or photo shoots by Misa Eto have dazzled. Even more minor members such as Yumi Wakatsuki, Mai Shinuchi, Kazumi Takayama, and Miona Hori have established their reputations in recent times -- at least in our consciousness.
But let's not forget the official AKB48 sister groups. NMB48's Miru Shiroma, for example, is a true star on the rise.
And now the Nogizaka46 ...
Another one bites the dust.
Mayu Harada has announced she is officially leaving Keyakizaka46.
Of course, we are sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the 17-year-old was featured in leaked photos showing her kissing and embracing an older man.
It is rumored that the man was her junior high school teacher. The school where he works in Ota ward, Tokyo, has apparently been flooded with phone calls from angry parents. After all, who is next on his hit list of underage kids?
The idol industry's response? Nothing to see here, keep moving along, nothing to see ...
In the latest example of how the "sex ban" on AKB-affiliated idol groups does not work in practice (er, these are young women with legions of male admirers) and is just a ruse to appease certain otaku, images have leaked showing Keyakizaka46's Mayu Harada apparently kissing a man.
The much older male is shown kissing Mayu Harada on the lips and groping her breasts in what appears to be Puri Kura photo-booth images.
The 17-year-old Mayu may be in a relationship with the older man, who some suspect is her former junior high teacher. If true, a physical courtship between the two ...
