It feels a bit like we are back in the second half of the 2000s, with all the recent gravure comebacks: Serina of SDN48, Yuka Kosaka, busty actor Megumi Kagurazaka, and Saaya.
And now comes another! Former first-generation AKB48 idol Atsuko Maeda has returned to gravure for the first time in fourteen years.
Her "last" photo book, Beste, is due for release in mid-February next year.
Some initial preview pictures were released on December 26, showing the ex-idol's naked back and her buttocks framed by an alluring thong as she lies on a bed. Don't expect actual nudity but it looks like the ...
Former AKB48 idol Rina Hirata has announced that she will no longer release image videos. Her latest DVD, My Girl's Weird Sense of Distance, which came out on September 23.
The DVD, her first in over a year, is an incredible 190 minutes and features Hirata barely clothed throughout. The tiny bikini she wears in the cover image is stretched to the max to cover her nipples and crotch.
The 27-year-old Hirata was a member of AKB48 from 2011 to 2016. Among the legions of young women who have passed through the ranks of AKB48 and its sister groups over the years, Hirata stands out for at least ...
Marking 20 years since she entered the entertainment industry and 15 years since she made her solo debut, the former AKB48 music idol Mai Oshima has returned to gravure with an erotic shoot that emphasizes her alluring jukujo charms.
Oshima was a member of AKB48 between 2005 and 2010, and marked her graduation with a solo photo book. All that feels like a long time ago -- and it was, at least in terms of gravure idols, which are the industry equivalent of FMCG.
Now aged 37 (and turning 38 in September), the comely model is today mostly a YouTuber (she opened her first channel in 2021 ...
Former AKB48 idol Yuki Kashiwagi appears on the cover of the current issue of Weekly Young Jump, making a striking gravure comeback as she launches her latest photo book, Time Capsule.
The book went on sale on January 29 and brings together 14 years of shoots for Weekly Young Jump. Apparently it's so packed with photos that it weighs a full kilogram (about 2.2 pounds). Yukirin did her first cover shoot for the weekly magazine way back in 2010.
You'll have to get the magazine if you're a true fan, though, since the cover shoot isn't included in the new photo book, which is her fourth ...
In her new photo book, 36-year-old Haruna Kojima goes nude with some pics that are going to send her legions of fans' pulses racing.
We've been following Kojiharu's career ever since her AKB48 days and we are pretty sure this is perhaps her most explicit shoot yet, though it sadly stops short of actual nudity in terms of nipples or full butt (luckily Sayaka Nitori showed us how to do shoots with nipples well earlier this year).
Still doing lingerie modeling despite both her age (approaching 40) and success as an entrepreneur, Haruna's first photo book in nine years came out at the end of ...
How many idols find true happiness? Of course, the majority who do tend to retire and live the rest of their lives in quiet obscurity.
The ones who remain in the news often do so because their post-idol lives are filled with hiccups, personal or professional. If you just read the celebrity news, you might be forgiven for thinking that all former music and gravure idols were divorced or rocked by one scandal or other.
Nonetheless, we suspect that divorce rates among idols is a bit higher than the general populace, perhaps because their jobs and the closed nature of the idol industry means ...
On any other day, the only thing notable and newsworthy about Haruna Kojima's meet-and-greet event in Shibuya last night to promote her new photo book would have been the appearance of fellow AKB48 alum Minami Takahashi, who turned up to get a copy of the book and say hello to Kojiharu (and perhaps get away from her smelly husband).
The former music idol and model, who still looks stunning at age 36 and is now a successful fashion entrepreneur, met with fans eager to get their hands on her newly released latest photo book -- her first in nine years.
One fan, though, was eager to get his ...
Former AKB48 music idol Nana Owada has announced her marriage. The 24-year-old gravure idol and actress told fans on June 13 that she had married a 28-year-old video editor.
The pair also made a video together to share their news with her fans.
Nana joined AKB48 in 2013 and graduated in 2017.
Following her departure from the group, she has carved out a name for herself in the competitive world of gravure. She also did occasional acting and had her own YouTube channel.
She doesn't specify in her announcement but her marriage is likely to mean the end of her gravure career.
We feel ...
In early March, we reported on the exciting news that former AKB48 idol and nude model Satomi Kaneko was to make her porn debut as Kiho Kanematsu, after she had supposedly retired in 2023.
We can now share the first preview images from her debut, which comes out from Muteki, a specialist is such crossovers.
The 34-year-old's first AV, the 176-minute 18Gold (TEK00099), was released on digital formats on April 2 .
We have yet to see the AV. If you've caught it already, please let us know your assessment of the quality. From the previews, it looks quite conventional, though Kaneko/Kanematsu's ...
The former AKB48 idol Satomi Kaneko officially retired last year and we thought it was the last we would see of her.
How wrong we are. Today comes the happy news that Satomi Kaneko is to make her porn debut with the Muteki label -- which specializes in such industry crossover debuts -- and under the name Kiho Kanematsu (金松季歩).
It is common, often for contractual reasons, for idols to change their professional name when transition into porn, or even just when switching management agencies. Kaneko/Kanematsu announced her new professional name about a week ago, along with a new shoot ...
