BREAKING: Has Ai Hongo FINALLY Quit JAV?

Catch up on the most trending gossip that we had our eyes on in December

Seems like it’s finally over for Ai Hongo.

This isn’t one of those “temporary hiatuses” we’ve all learned to roll our eyes at. Ai Hongo has heartbreakingly retired from the JAV industry.

I almost didn’t believe it myself. Even when she suddenly stopped actively filming last year, even when she vanished from the regular release timeline, a part of me stubbornly clung to hope. After all, she still showed up occasionally at agency events, hardly the behavior of someone ready to disappear forever, right?

But then, out of the blue, a final release - a retirement compilation.

Since her hiatus last year, this “retirement” work naturally contains no new footage. Studio S1 simply edited together 19 of Hongo Ai's previous works into a compilation for this farewell release. After dragging this out for so long, this is the outcome.

I was expecting at least a farewell JAV, but a 19-title mash-up of her old work, repackaged to close the chapter, was quite a dealbreaker for me, honestly.

And as I sat through the JAV, I wondered what compelled her to bow out this way.

Her agent finally said what everyone already suspected but no one wanted to say out loud. As noted, the affair with a married man destroyed her.

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Not like those gossip-magazine flings involving Jun Suehiro or Ayaka Kawakita, tangled with pro athletes yet somehow surviving the scandals. No, Ai Hongo didn’t escape with a slap on the wrist or a temporary dip in bookings; it was her career that was ruined.

As more time passed, the picture became clearer. Even if she had wanted to return and maybe deep down she did the timing couldn’t be worse. Her studio S1 is in the midst of a generational shift. A year away in this industry might as well be a decade. Agencies don’t wait forever, and audiences move on even faster.

Add to that the widespread rumors of her coming from a wealthy background, that her time abroad wasn’t just education but privilege, and suddenly the silence makes too much sense. After a scandal that size, maybe her peers didn’t want her anywhere near the spotlight again.

And so here we are.

We didn’t lose Ai to age or burnout, but simply put,

We lost her to scandal.

We lost her to a world that wasn’t ready to forgive her.

As I went through these slides, it wasn’t nostalgia that hurt the most; it was the emptiness around it. Ai Hongo didn’t even get to bid us goodbye herself. No final livestream, no long message, no statement written in her own words. Just her face and her past work slapped into a digital DVD.

I don’t know where she is now. I don’t know what she’s doing or who she’s with. But I do know this: she deserved better than to vanish without a final message.

And maybe just maybe she still remembers her social media passwords.

Maybe she’ll speak, even once.

Because it would be nice to hear her say goodbye… instead of hearing the industry say it for her.

You must be aware of those actresses who disappear suddenly only to reappear just as quickly, as if nothing happened.

Well… Riko Hoshino was addicted to that lifestyle.

And she almost got us with a comeback selfie.

But this time?

Something feels different. And I can’t shake it.

Riko has officially announced that she’s “taking a break” on X. As a result, the actress will no longer be participating in JAV shoots or running between sets for the time being. Just rest. And before you roll your eyes and say “we’ve heard this before,” let me stop you. Because she didn’t leave room for speculation. She spelled out the reason herself,

“I’m taking a break from my main job (AV filming). I’m exhausted.”

That right there is enough to signal that she might have run out of fuel.

And then, in true Riko fashion, she tried to lighten the mood with a joke:

“I’ll be back after about 3 months of playing pachinko 🙋‍♀️ See you at the pachinko parlor!”

A wink, a peace-sign emoji, and the usual humor. Still, when someone jokes that much, something is hidden beneath.

Because buried beneath the humor lies a fact that this break is not optional. She pushed herself to the edge.

And here’s what made me realise that she might be serious about this whole affair after all. She actually has a plan for life without JAV.

For the unversed, Riko dropped a tweet expressing her interest in photo sessions & photo shoots, short audio and video work, activities at the “little steel ball store”, her beloved pachinko side-gig

And she didn’t even hesitate to open the door to independent studios or contractors.

“If you want to collaborate with Riko Hoshino, just DM me on Instagram.”

Tell me that doesn’t sound like someone preparing a backup career.

Here’s the part I can’t ignore: the industry knows exactly how good she is. Among the current SOD STAR roster, many of us agreed, somewhat secretly, somewhat loudly that Riko was the total package: face, figure, acting skill, and an undefinable spark.

And yet, she’s stepping away right when she could’ve made it big.

So what is really draining her?

Is it burnout?

Office politics?

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Too many projects, too fast?

Fans call this a three-month break. But when an actress builds a side hustle during her pause, she’s likely considering a bigger move.

And yet I hope I’m wrong. Because the thought of not seeing her for months already stings. Riko is magnetic in a way that can’t be replicated or manufactured. Even if she does return, the time she’s gone will feel like forever.

She left us with a playful tease.

“See you at the pachinko parlor!”

As if she’ll just be casually sitting there, spinning steel balls while the world waits.

Meanwhile, I hope she returns in three months.

Or will three months quietly become forever?

You never know!

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