JAV Thread FAQ

Frequently asked questions for the JAV thread on 4chan’s /jp/ board.

# Contents

# General questions

# What is JAV?

JAV is short for Japanese Adult Video. Adult Video is another term for porn.
So JAV is Japanese porn.

# What makes JAV special?

JAV is generally a lot more diverse than Western porn.
Spanning a wide variety of genres, there are few niches it doesn’t fill. There is often a large focus on the scenario in which the action takes place. There are films designed to look like a television show. Others have actresses dress up and act as your favorite anime characters. Many are set in all sorts of public places. They feature policewomen, teachers, secretaries, spies, detectives, shrine maidens, and ninja. You’ll find all manner of bizarre storylines.
JAV can be incredibly innovative, and you’re sure to find something you like.

# What’s with the censorship?

As part of the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century the Emperor outlawed materials considered obscene. Although the Western world has moved on since then, this law remains in force. (Article 175 of the Japanese Penal Code) And so, any depiction of genitals in JAV must be censored. This is usually done by means of mosaic (pixelation).
Although it can be a nuisance, JAV fans usually become used to it after enough time. The censorship laws have also spurred pornographers to find ways of circumventing these laws. This led to innovations such as tentacle porn. So it’s not all bad.

Some uncensored JAV is available for purchase online. This is possible because the distribution company is registered outside of Japan.

# What is the JAV thread?

The JAV thread is a thread on the /jp/ board of the 4chan imageboard. Other boards have threads specific to certain aspects of JAV, whereas the /jp/ JAV thread is about JAV in general.
Discussion usually revolves around new releases, actresses, studios, state of the industry, and current affairs. But anything related to JAV that’s worth discussing is fine to bring up.

Remember, /jp/ is a work safe board so posting sexually explicit images, gifs or webms, spoilered or not, is strictly forbidden. Linking to sexually explicit content or posting images with nipples and genitalia photoshopped out is fine.

# How can I access the JAV thread?

You can always access the latest JAV thread with:
https://4channel.org/jp/jav

# The JAV thread has reached its bump limit

A new thread should not be created until the old thread has reached page 10.

The thread title should be:

JAV Thread #<number>

The first post should contain a link to the previous thread and a link to the latest version of this FAQ.
You may also want to link to the new thread from the previous thread if it has not yet been archived.

# Why’s the JAV thread on a blue board?

On non-blue boards this thread would drown in images.
Discussion would be second class.

# Where can I find an archive of the JAV threads?

At Fuuka.

Use their search to find specific posts.

# Obtaining JAV

# How can I legally download or stream JAV?

Most JAV can be purchased from R18.com.
This is an English language version of the Japanese Fanza (formerly DMM.R18) website. The website has a vast catalogue featuring titles from decades past to the latest releases. Be warned that R18.com does use DRM for downloads, meaning you have to use their own video player. Or, you can rent HTML5 streams. For many titles, these are the only ways you can get an HD version.
For best bang-for-buck we recommend their monthly subscriptions: R18.com channels.
Mastercard killed R18.com on October 24, 2022. (Source)

Subtitled JAV can be purchased from Zenra. This is a subscription-only website, but they do offer a mixture of censored and uncensored JAV. Their releases are DRM-free.

Uncensored JAV can be purchased from HeyDouga and some of the other websites in the D2Pass network. These are DRM-free.

# Where can I get physical copies?

Amazon.co.jp offers physical copies of JAV. They have an English version of their site. But, Amazon.co.jp does not ship JAV outside of Japan. So you would need to use a forwarder such as biginjap.com.

To save yourself the hassle of forwarding, you may alternatively order from SquarePlus. They ship internationally and accepts special order requests.

Some releases are available as limited editions exclusive to particular retailers such as Fanza (Japanese). Limited editions can come packaged with autographed instant photos of the actress, or even “used” panties!

If you are ever in Tokyo or Osaka, be sure to make a trip to Akihabara or Den Den Town, which has many JAV retailers. They are a fantastic place for getting great deals or rare gems, and frequently hold events where you can meet JAV actresses.

# How to be a pirate

# Secondary sources

Use those aggregators for easy access to latest rips.
Torrents if not noted otherwise.

# Primary sources

If you need it asap, try those.

Chinese
English / Japanese

# Streams

# Magnet search engines

# Getting information

# What is a product code?

JAV titles are usually assigned a code by the production company such as MIDE-628 to identify them. This is the product code, sometimes known as a JAV code. It usually consists of a few letters (which identify the studio), followed by a hyphen, followed by a few numbers. However there is the occasional exception to this. It is rare for two JAV titles to share the same product code, meaning they are a useful way to refer to a particular film. The product code is usually printed on the side of the DVD cover, sometimes on the back of the cover or on the disc itself.

# How can I look for and find out about JAV titles?

JAVLibrary is the best English site for that.
You can enter the product code into the search box to find the title you’re looking for.
By creating an account, you gain access to a powerful combination search that allows you to find titles based on specific criteria.

R18.com and its Japanese counterpart Fanza (formerly DMM.R18) also have powerful search engines.

Sougouwiki (Japanese) is another valuable resource for finding out about JAV titles and studios. Notably it also lists amateur titles (no DVDs), which JAVLibrary and Fanza don’t include. For example the popular amateur SIRO site from which Prestige recruits.
For just amateur titles, av_neme wiki is the best.

You can also check a studios’ websites (Japanese). For example https://www.moodyz.com/.

# Where can I find information about JAV actresses?

Minnano-AV (Japanese) has listings for many JAV actresses, featuring personal information and films.

Many popular JAV actresses have detailed articles on the Japanese Wikipedia, which is rather reliable.

Most top JAV actresses are on exclusive studio contracts (tantai actresses). To find out if they are exclusive to a studio, check their twitter. Given that, their studio’s site (Japanese) will be a good address. For example:

For actresses’ amateur titles or when they change their name, Sougouwiki (Japanese) is one of the best.

For transcribed Japanese names (Romaji) of JAV actresses such as Shoko Takahashi for 高橋しょう子 and more you can search the name on multi-lingual JAVLibrary. Or check a release of them on R18.com.

Beware: Traditional Japanese name order is family name (surname) followed by given name. R18.com and the example here use the opposite US order, JAVLibrary the traditional Japanese one.

# How do I follow a JAV actress?

You can keep up with your favorite JAV actress’s latest titles with accounts on R18.com (English; titles on releases day), JAVLibrary (English; titles ~2 weeks before) and Fanza (Japanese; titles ~4 weeks before).

Most JAV actresses also have twitter.
This blog (Japanese) lists the twitter accounts (but last update March 2018) that meet the following requirements:
(ex) JAV actress, more than 1000 followers, twitted at least once in the last 180 days.
Minnano-AV (Japanese) also lists the twitter account of an actress.

This list has some JAV-related YouTube channels and videos.

# What can you tell me about JAV studios?

A list of most studios with a short summary about them can be found on https://www.zenra.net/jav-studio-list

There are two big groups that own most studios: SOD and WILL (ex-DMM)

# Difference studio and label

A studio (sometimes badly translated as “maker”) can have multiple in-house labels.
For example the studio Moodyz has among others the label “Diva” for their exclusive actresses and the label “Everyone’s Porn Star” for random freelancers.

# When’s new JAV coming out?

Studios usually batch-release their DVD titles (not VR) on a strict schedule on specific days of a month. Digital versions usually drop a few days before.

Studios and Fanza will preview upcoming titles roughly one month into the future.
There’s also http://avdanyuwiki.com/all/ (Japanese), which filters out the lesser studios.
Beware: R18.com has no upcoming titles and JAVLibrary only late or never.

When a new DVD batch is out, Fanza News (Japanese) usually posts about it. Their English counterpart R18.com does only sometimes.

# Why did some title get removed from Fanza/R18.com?

In 2016 there was a scandal about coercion in JAV. In the fallout the Adult Video Human Rights & Ethics Organization was created in 2018. They enable JAV actresses to stop the sale of their titles. Legit shops such as Fanza and R18.com obey.
For an example take Chinami Itou. A random title of hers like MIDE-612 from 2019-01-13 is still on JAVLibrary and Sougouwiki. But it’s not on Fanza and R18.com anymore since around July 2019.

# What are some notable JAV awards?

# I do not understand Japanese

Use machine translation services such as Google Translate or DeepL.

# What are some useful JAV terms?

See this list.

# Fanza blocks non-Japanese IPs, how do I get past it?

Update: Since ~July 2020 Fanza doesn’t seem to block any non-Japanese IPs.

  1. Get uBlock Origin

  2. Add these to My filters in uBlock Origin:

    www.dmm.co.jp##DIV#welcome
||dmm.com/images/welcome/*
www.dmm.com##DIV#welcome

  3. Delete any existing cookies and block cookies from:

    dmm.com
dmm.co.jp
dmm.112.2o7.net

# How can I quickly switch between R18 and Fanza?

Use this bookmarklet to quickly switch between sites starting with https://www.r18.dev/videos/vod/movies/ or https://www.dmm.co.jp/digital/videoa/-/.
Wikipedia tells you how to install a bookmarklet.

javascript:(() => {
  const i = location.href;
  const site = [
    "https://www.r18.dev/videos/vod/movies/",
    "https://www.dmm.co.jp/digital/videoa/-/",
  ];
  const view = [
    ["detail/-/id=", "detail/=/cid="],
    ["list", "list/="],
  ];
  const types = [
    ["/type=category/", "/article=keyword/"],
    ["/type=actress/", "/article=actress/"],
    ["/type=series/", "/article=series/"],
    ["/type=studio/", "/article=maker/"],
  ];
  function switchBoard(src, trg) {
    const id = i.match(/id=(\w+)/)[1];
    if (i.startsWith(view[0][src], site[src].length)) {
      location.assign(`${site[trg]}${view[0][trg]}${id}/`);
    } else if (i.startsWith(view[1][src], site[src].length)) {
      types.forEach((type) => {
        if (i.includes(type[src])) {
          location.assign(`${site[trg]}${view[1][trg]}${type[trg]}id=${id}/`);
        }
      });
    }
  }
  if (i.startsWith(site[0])) {
    switchBoard(0, 1);
  } else if (i.startsWith(site[1])) {
    switchBoard(1, 0);
  }
})();

# How can I get high resolution cover images?

  1. Find the product page on Amazon.co.jp

  2. Click on the cover image. A pop-up appears

  3. Right-click the image in the pop-up and select Copy Image Location or similar

  4. URL should look like this (from SSNI-378):

    https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91GuavLAtML._AC_SL1500_.jpg

  5. Remove the last part before .jpg like ._AC_SL1500_ in our example to get the highest resolution:

    https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91GuavLAtML.jpg

If not on Amazon, try other websites such as Xcity, AV Channel or the studio’s own site.

# Miscellaneous

# Inside: JAV actress

# Hierarchy

# JAV actress career options

C-more, one of the best JAV actress agencies, shows the options a potential actress has on their recruitment page (Japanese).

# Interviews

# JAV actress’s NG list

A JAV actress’s NG list says what acts she is willing to do. NG is literally “No Good,” a translation of 駄目. It’s a wasei-eigo term used as an antonym to OK.

For an example look on https://warosu.org/jp/thread/21156509#p21172909 (Japanese).
Translation:

Another list can be found on https://warosu.org/jp/thread/30373258#p30412577 (Japanese). No translation.

# JAV STD testing

https://warosu.org/jp/thread/S19697919#p19721545

# Notable JAV actress agencies

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/FANZAアダルトアワード#所属プロダクション別 (Japanese)
Click on [表示] to expand.

# Inside: JAV actor

Last updated 2022-11-07 | Contact | Site generated from this Markdown | This work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0