We are excited to share more images from the comeback of former top gravure star Kumiko Takeda.
The photo book is 57-year-old Takeda's first in 23 years and the title and cover remain unannounced. It is released on September 9, about a month after Takeda turns a ripe 58 years of age.
A taste of what was to come previously appeared in Weekly Friday, when Takeda did a cover shoot in late June.
Some further images are now available, showing the legendary model in the bath, and letting us revel in her athletic, ageless body. She is lying naked in a bath or on a bed while wearing red lingerie ...
Nanoka is back.
After a two-year break, the gorgeous gravure idol has returned with a photo shoot for Weekly Playboy, published in the July 13 issue. The magazine is calling it a "miracle comeback."
The busty model is now 37 years old -- she debuted way back in 2011 -- and very much in the sexy jukujo, hot mom years, but indeed she did announce her marriage and first child in December 2024. That seemed like a de facto retirement announcement, since she had already released what was promoted as her final photo book in June that year.
Nonetheless, some of us held out hope and it seems she ...
There are comebacks and then there are comebacks. We have seen a fair few returns to gravure in recent years, but surely none are as welcome as Kumiko Takeda.
It was announced this week that the 57-year-old Takeda is to release her first photo book since 2003. The former model and actress shows off her body in preview images released this week and also featured in a 10-page cover shoot for Weekly Friday today.
The book, which is released on September 9, is shot by leading gravure photographer ND Chow and released by Kodansha. It is billed as an homage to her past shoots.
Takeda says: "I ...
We do love the gravure comeback. Sure, it's sometimes just a marketing gimmick, a manufactured framing of a return in order to generate headlines. Other times, a comeback genuinely raises a nostalgic smile as we remember when the idol (and we) were younger, and marvel at how good they still are.
Recently, comebacks have been popular, with top stars from the 2000s returning to gravure for an anniversary or career boost: Nozomi Sasaki, Megumi Kagurazaka, Erika Sawajiri, and Atsuko Maeda.
But most of these ladies are still in their forties or even late thirties. What about those stunners from ...
Nozomi Sasaki is celebrating 20 years in the industry with a new calendar out on June 9.
The Akita native was a favorite of the late 2000s. She made her debut in 2006 and established herself in gravure as well as acting roles. With her pure-looking face and waif-like body, she was one of the most eligible women in entertainment, and ultimately married comedian Ken Watabe in 2017. They have two kids together, though their marriage was rocked by scandal when Watabe's affair hit the headlines with lots of salacious detail about toilet sex in Roppongi. The scandal even inspired its own adult ...
In early March, we reported on Akari Yoshida's gravure comeback under a new name.
Now working as Akari Koda, she had just done her first shoot in about three years, appearing in the pages of Weekly Playboy.
It wasn't a one-off. Koda has leveraged that shoot to keep building momentum in the competitive world of gravure, which is always looking for the next talent as the major publications seek to keep readers interested at a time when other images are just a click or swipe away.
The 22-year-old Koda, who actually made her debut in the entertainment industry at the tender age of 13, has ...
It may seem strange that the Japanese interwebs is going mad over a single mom in her mid-thirties, but don't question the power of nostalgia. Because we are talking about Atsuko Maeda, the most famous idol in the original AKB48 lineup, who was ubiquitous in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
She left the group in 2012 to pursue a more serious acting career, leaving music and the gravure weeklies behind. For fans back in the day, her return to gravure is catnip, since they have grown older together, and it's like snuggling up to a former lover.
Maeda is now a divorced mom and has claimed that ...
Erika Sawajiri is to release her first photo book in 20 years, cementing her comeback.
Now aged 39, Day Off comes out on May 23 from Gentosha. It features over 150 images, selected from more than 10,000 taken of Sawajiri on location in an exotic beach and sea setting. Perhaps taking a cue from mature hottie Kyoko Fukuda, who loves to show off an active style for her beach body, Sawajiri is seen swimming and surfing in the upcoming release.
Her previous photo book was ERIKA, released in 2007, when she was just breaking out as a star. It's been a roller-coaster ride ever since.
Erika ...
The Japanese actor, fashion model, and gravure idol Akari Yoshida has made a comeback under a new name.
Now known as Akari Koda, she has done her first gravure shoot in about three years. The shoot appears in the current issue of Weekly Playboy.
"I had always wanted to do gravure modeling, but I was waiting for the right timing," Koda told the magazine. "I changed agencies and had decided to change my name, so I thought it would be great if more people could get to know a different side of me."
The shoot by veteran gravure photographer Chikashi Kasai puts lots of emphasis on her thighs ...
In mid-February, we shared some initial preview pics from Atsuko Maeda's comeback photo book, Beste.
The 34-year-old single mom, who was a member of the legendary first generation of AKB48 back in the day, looks ravishing in the blue and pink lingerie in the shoot.
The most explicit shots feature Acchan nude except for thong panties, while lying on her front with her hands covering her breasts, and revealing her alluring back and side boob.
It's all nice stuff in the idol-you-can-meet tradition of AKB48, though quite tamer compared to former SKE848 idol Ruka Kitano's recent photo book, ...
