EXCLUSIVE: Riko Hoshino Left DEVASTATED After a Fraught Discovery!

In one of the most bizarre incidents in my recent JAV memory, I came across a tweet so horrific that it would have you on the edge of your seats. Most of you’ve heard of Riko Hoshino by now; you’ve probably seen her post selfies on X, participating in overseas events, and those occasional snaps from SOD LAND. But lately, the 23-year-old seemed bothered by something, and it had everything to do with her close pal, Hoshino Ayane.

Yeah, the name might give you the idea that they both are related, but let’s be clear right off the bat: no, they’re not related—just close pals.

And that isn’t even her real name. Like most of her previous stage names, this one is also adopted. During my research, I got to know that she had one of the most tangled career graphs in the industry. Misaki Hinano. Or maybe as Himemiya Sumire. Or Himeshiro Meru, if any of these names ring a bell? Congrats, they are all literally the same person. Ayane used to go by these names earlier. Over the past four years, she’s worked under many names but always stayed a little under the radar; her JAV output was insignificant to say the least.

Here’s where things start to get a little messed up. Behind the scenes, she had a close knit relationship with our idol Riko. The two were once represented by the same agency, JET, and apparently, it Mao Hamasaki had a less than pleasant time at her agency, theirs was worse.

After the incident, Riko Hoshino cut ties and moved to Hanaya Project, a decision that was quietly praised by those in the know. Meanwhile, the other Hoshino, her pal, in a discreet attempt, eventually transitioned to a softer career as a gravure model and began to appear regularly as a hostess at SOD LAND, JAV studio SOD’s multi-floored adult theme cafe. This is when she started working under the stage name Hoshino Ayane, inspired by a friend she called her “sworn partner.” The gesture didn’t go unnoticed as Ayane announced on X, "As of now, Himeshiro Meru will be coming to an end. From now on, I will be active as Hoshino Ayane. I had many discussions with my life partner, Riko-chan, and I chose this name with a lot of feelings in mind. As for returning to AV activities, I don't think so. I hope you will continue to love my past works and my new name."

So when Ayane found herself amid a crisis, Riko’s existence was about to topple.

I remember refreshing Riko’s X handle that night. Her tweets struck like lightning, full of worry, "Are you okay?" "Please answer..." "We’re all here for you." Right at that moment, it felt like it wasn’t just a casual check-in. This was someone watching their best friend fall off a cliff and not being able to stop it.

And how the events unfolded in the following hours were not so great to say the least.

On the night of July 1st, perhaps not thinking it over well enough, Ayane tweeted a set of images to her X handle that resembled the aftermath of an eyebrow-raising attempt that shook her viewers to the core. Till the morning of July 2nd, those photos were still up. And while this is an adult blog, we're going to respect her dignity by not posting the material.

But don't worry: Ayane was in a bad state, but she pulled through.

Roughly an hour after the act to unalive herself, Ayane woke up and posted a long, emotionally raw message from the same X handle. To be honest, it wasn’t a PR-filtered apology. Something even more than that, a cry for help. Through her tweet, she explained what had pushed her over the edge.

Ayane apologized for posting such photos and scaring everyone. "I don't know where to start apologizing, but I'm sorry for worrying you. I was worried that I might be a nuisance to those around me, who told me I could rely on them when I was in trouble, but I ended up causing them so much trouble. I'm sorry for posting photos on social media when there was no need to.

While admitting that she had thought about it for a long time."I was soaked as I went for behind my ears and my neck. A few years ago, I decided to stop doing similar things, so I stopped for awhile, but I really couldn't do anything about it, so went back to behind my ears and neck. I couldn't control myself. Thank you for the phone calls, LINE messages, and DMs. I'll reply slowly. I don't think an apology will make you forgive me, but I'm sorry."

But she was smart enough to not lock her phone on purpose, leaving it accessible with a list of people she wanted contacted. "I don't know how much detail I should write, but I thought I'd write about it, so I unlocked my phone and made a list of people I wanted to contact in the notes section of my iPhone."

Apparently, she didn’t want to live anymore because bad things had kept piling up. She said she felt like she had nothing left, no confidence, no purpose. "I had a lot of things I had to think about, like plans to play and the future, but the unpleasant things piled up and I could only think about drifting away to the next life, so I did what I thought needed to be done, but I failed and here I am now, I'm sorry. Every time everyone told me they loved me, I wondered what was so good about me, and since my lack of confidence can only be cured by deleting myself, I thought I might as well just end it. That's not the only reason, but it's the biggest one."

And perhaps the most devastating revelation of it all, as she lay in the aftermath of her attempt, her phone still buzzed with hateful messages from strangers. “You should just leave already,” one said. “You’re crazy, enough already,” read another. The kind of cruelty you could expect from online trolls!

But what amazed me was that Riko stood through it all, never leaving her side emotionally. Always kept in touch. She even kept posting, pleading for understanding, for kindness, for Ayane’s privacy, constantly through her X handle.

As she tweeted, "Regarding Ayane's attempt, I apologize for the fuss caused by the recent incident involving her. It is entirely my fault that I was with her and was unable to prevent the attempted action or the SNS post beforehand. I have therefore promised her that if she does the same thing again in the future, I will cut off all ties with her and that she will quit Twitter as soon as she finishes her currently scheduled shifts at SODLAND. I would like to extend my deepest apologies to everyone I contacted to gather information and to all the fans I have worried. Furthermore, we ask for your understanding."

I know what you’re thinking. Why does this matter? Why are we talking about someone who barely made five solo films in four years?

Because this isn’t just about one individual in a sea of talent in an industry like JAV. This is more of a reality about the underbelly of a dog-eat-dog industry where girls constantly push hard to stay relevant.

At times, among all these faces, they get blurred, and trauma is buried under layers of manufactured fantasy. This particular incident sheds light on friendship in an industry that doesn’t always have room for it. It’s about two best friends bound by trauma, trying to survive in a cutthroat industry.

Riko’s fans often call her “the smiling star,” and I get it. Her charm is unshakable. But after this week, I’ll never look at that smile the same way again. Because behind it is a woman who’s just watched someone she loves barely survive something unspeakable and still found the strength to stay there for her. If this isn't empathy in an industry obsessed with exposure, I don't know what is!

Riko is still holding events. For Ayane, it's business as usual at SODLAND while she plans to cease activities by the end of this month. But this incident reminded us that even in a cutthroat industry like JAV, some bonds go deeper than reel life.

And sometimes, the bravest thing one can do is stay.