Here's something we did not expect to be on our radar. The actress Megumi Kagurazaka has made a surprise return to gravure.
Now aged 44, the married mother is to release her first photo book in 14 years. The as-yet-untitled book will come out in Japan on December 18.
She has kicked off her return with an interview and shoot over 11 pages of the October 24/31 issue of the weekly magazine Friday.
And this isn't just a gravure comeback. It's a nude comeback -- and a full-frontal nude shoot (known as a hair nude in the industry). It almost feels like we are back in the 2000s!
Age and ...
The former gravure idol Saaya has made a comeback to the industry at the age of 31.
In recent years Saaya (whose full name is Saaya Irie) has worked outside gravure, but this years marks her 20th anniversary in the entertainment industry (she started modeling when she was just 11!) and she is commemorating the milestone with an appearance in the current issues of Weekly Playboy, which went on sale on October 6.
An industry staple for many years, Saaya is known for her sweet girl-next-door looks, though a semi-nude shoot she did in the mid-2010s did a lot to increase her mature allure.
She ...
We love to rediscovering idols and models we thought had disappeared into the mists of gravure legend. We were initially confused by the return of Sara Oshino, though, since she now writes her name with different characters (おしの沙羅 instead of the more conventional 忍野さら), and weren't sure if it was the same person. This is probably for contractual reasons with a change in agency but a new name also helps boost publicity.
In this case, it further reflects a new part of Sara's appeal -- that's she's now a calligraphy artist as well as a model -- hence the rather fancy given ...
We love a good gravure comeback.
After 37-year-old Ami Tokito's return to gravure, Reiko Kato's reappearance after many years away, and Mayumi Yamanaka's comeback after marrying and having two kids, now comes Mari Okamoto.
Best known as an impersonator who could do a good impression of Ryoko Hirosue (whom she resembles quite strikingly) and who also made past forays into gravure, Okamoto married a music producer in 2015 and had a child, but they divorced in 2018. She remarried a Saitama politician in December 2023, though divorced again the following year.
What is it about divorced models ...
Right now, gravure feels a bit like a battle between the nearly 40-year-olds, all vying to outdo each other.
Or it could be that for all the sweet charms of fresh-faced young newbies like Hina Kikuchi, Cocoro Toyoshima, Aika Sawaguchi, Ina Enohara, and Yuzuha Hongo, these older models and idols just make better stories. (And to be frank, as we get older, we can't help finding these similarly aged women the hottest.)
We recently had Yuka Iguchi showing us her age-defying beach body and bust.
Former AKB48 idol Mai Oshima is also 37 and looks amazing.
Mayumi Yamanaka is a bit younger but a ...
She might be in her mid-fifties. She might be a nearly forgotten star from the 1990s. But Reiko Kato is proving that age is no obstacle as she continues her gravure comeback.
After a shoot for Weekly Friday magazine late last year that was her first in 26 years, Kato is now set to release a photo book.
Around is her first such release in 27 years. It comes out in October from Kodansha and is shot by high-profile photographer Motofumi Sannomiya. The sensual shoot highlights Kato's slim and fit body as she poses in sensual swimwear and elegant clothing.
The Saitama native is now 56 years ...
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 ...
Mayumi Yamanaka has made a gravure comeback following marriage and motherhood.
Now aged 32 and the mother of two, Mayumi Yamanaka appears in the current issue of Weekly Playboy. The lingerie shoot also marks 20 years since her industry debut -- she began in 2005 as a junior idol and child actor.
She released her first print photo book soon after, and appeared in Weekly Playboy at the age of 14 (eww!), though hit her career peak in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
In late 2019, she announced she was married and pregnant, though continued to release image videos (her last came out in ...
Is there something in the air? Is it something about the glitz and glisten of summer?
We just shared the joyful news that slinky goddess Yuka Ogura has made a triumphant gravure comeback after an absence of about five years.
And now comes the tidings that Riho Takada has also returned to the fray.
Now aged 30, Takada has been focusing on her acting in recent years, including roles in tokusatsu series. In terms of comebacks, she has previous, making a glorious mini comeback in 2022 after many years away from gravure with a semi-nude photo book that showed off her athletic body.
She ...
Way back in 2019, in those pre-pandemic halcyon days, we lamented the departure of Yuka Ogura from gravure magazines. With the release of a hugely successful nude photo book, she announced she would no longer do swimsuit cover shoots for gravure magazines.
Well, now she's back -- older, wiser, and just as sexy.
The iyashi-kei "healing" idols with the gentle smile and girl-next-door looks has triumphantly returned to the world of gravure magazines for the first time in about five years with a cover shoot for the current issue of Kodansha's Young Magazine, which went on sale on Monday.
The ...
