FANZA’s Actress Rankings Throughout the Years – Part 1

Most Top Appearances on the List

Yui Hatano is the Queen with 3 Number 1 spots in 2014, 2016, and 2019. Saika comes close with 2 top spots 2021, 2022, and a top ranking for the second half of 2024. Most appearances in the Top 5 go to Yui with 7 showings, Akiho Yoshizawa with 5, and Yuma Asami with 6. Most total appearances in the Top 20 rankings go to Julia and Akiho, with 10 showings total. Julia’s been the golden girl ever since she started her career. Even in 2022 and 2023 when she was much older and well past her prime, she ranked within the Top 30. Who cares about a prime, when you are aging finely. Tsubomi sits behind them with 9 appearances, and Yua Mikami with 8.

Freelancers vs Exclusives

2013-2018 was when freelancers, aka Kikatan actresses, really broke through to the top en masse. Names like AiU, Tsubomi, Yui Hatano, and Ayumi Shinoda established freelancers as the most popular names in JAV at the time. Makes sense since they can work in more titles than exclusives and in more hardcore and diverse genres, however star exclusives always had more reach and still do. The trend continues in the recent past with the popularity of Eimi Fukada, Ichika Matsumoto, Kana Morisawa, and Non Ohana. By my quick count, freelancers edge out exclusives, but more complete and recent data might skew even better for freelancers overall.

Early Acky and Yuma Dominance

Yuma shows up on the list 7 times with a number one spot in 2005. Mind you she was only active for about 8 years and the early data is spotty. A massively popular name during her era, with it lasting far after she had to retire due to her cancer diagnosis. While her popularity would slowly fade on the charts over the years, re-releases of her titles still do well today. AI remasters of her old movies still pop up on the charts from time to time. One of which even made a little appearance on the Top 100 Digital sales.

Shoko Takahashi: Yua’s Forgotten Rival

I was surprised to learn that Shoko Takahashi was more popular than Yua at the start, with a number 1 and 2 standing in 2016 and 2017 ahead of her. Just like Yua, she was a celebrity debut as a former Gravure mode. But not just any Gravure model but a well-known one whose jump to porn was a bit of a shock. As Shoko started to tail off, then did Yua began to gain more and more steam as the years went on. Today, Yua is head and shoulders above Shoko in lasting popularity in and out of JAV. Yua had great popularity, but it took time to peak. She’s the holder of the most #2 spots with 3. In fact, it wasn’t until 2023 that she finally got her first number 1 ranking. Her last chance to do so, and no doubt gotten thanks to her retirement boost. So, whose team are you on: Shoko or Yua?

Turnaround Queens

Kana Morisawa reached elite status in 2014 with a #15 showing and followed it up with a #10 spot in 2015. After that, she faded from the Top rankings until coming back in 2022 with #16, and in 2023 she netted the #4 spot. She got the number 1 spot in the top half of 2024 a decade after her first peak. I think she can credit her Milfy turn in recent years for her new boost. Kana’s finding life sweeter as she ages, maybe we’ll see another resurgence from her years later.

Busty vs Small

Now for something fun: the busty vs the small-chested appearances. Let’s see how the girls we would consider busty (around G cup and up) compare to the smaller and flat-chested girls. By my very rough count, and it is very rough, the lesser endowed just edged out the busty ladies by 74-71. I’m honestly not all that familiar with the older actresses, so don’t take this for hard data. However, you can see that there’s not a massive divide between the two groups. I personally would’ve expected the bustier chicks to dominate the rankings, but that’s not the case. It’s quite nice to see that there’s a lot of smaller and even flat-chested women on the lists year by year. The tastes of JAV fans cover a large range and when you consider the average bust and size of Japanese women, it makes sense.

One Hit Wonders

Now, to look at actresses who hit the big time only to fade out. Momoka Nishina was a surprise name to see at the top in 2011, over names like Akiho and Yuma. I knew she was a relatively popular actress during her time, but I wasn’t expecting number one worthy. This came in her second year when she released tons of videos. Momoka had a great body with an incredible pair of tits; big milky breasts with a supple softness. She was only be around JAV for three years before fading out. She’s still around online, going by the name Yuuki Eve as a musical artist. Here she is hanging out with some fellow JAV girls.

2024 and 2025: The Ranking Change

I need to note that FANZA has changed how they release their rankings now. For the last 2 years, they have split them up by the first and second half of the year. Not only that, they have locked the information behind their paid monthly magazine series. We can expect the second half rankings of 2025 to come out around late April.

That is it for part 1, look out for the rest soon