JAV Hall of Fame - Ballot Preview - Class of 2018

Hey guys, Oppaira here back with the third ballot preview for the Hall of Fame. I hope you've been enjoying it as much as I have been in preparing all of the content for you.

If you want to see what the Hall of Fame looks like, you can always check out this post. It serves as a good reminder to see what names are already there so you don't wonder where some of the biggest names are - they might already have been inducted!

Another quick reminder on what constitutes eligibility this year. Any actress who released a video in 2006 or later (a modern era release) and was active in 2008 or earlier (10 years prior to 2018) is eligible. In short, if you released a video in 2006, 2007, or 2008 you are eligible.

With that said let's go check out some names for this year.

If ever an actress was going to be a unanimous first-ballot actress it would have to be Yui. Yui has what I would argue is the most impressive single stat of any actress in the history of the industry: most releases. The fact that Yui has a career that’s 15+ years long, still going strong, and has so many releases, it’s nothing short of incredible. How do you even argue against her? We still haven’t seen a unanimous inductee but I’m fairly confident this will change it.

Next on the list is Yui’s BFF Hibiki, or in other words, the other half to HibiHata. There’s no denying Hibiki’s success, whether alongside Yui or just on her own merit. She too counts herself among the top 10 most releases and just like Yui, has an impressive 15+ year career. You cannot go wrong with voting for her and I’d likewise be surprised if she didn’t make it in.

Hitomi is going to be a very interesting case because of how polarizing she is. She was very successful, both domestically and internationally. It’s not often you see an actress make waves in western but she managed to do softcore both for American and European companies. Domestically she still makes a strong case, with a career over a decade long with over 100 releases. She certainly doesn’t stack up domestically to the two names above, but there’s a case to be made that her international success in the west offers something unique to the table. And let’s be real, Hitomi is basically one of a kind with that bust to waist ratio, something that we probably won’t see again for a long time (even if there have been some close debuts in recent years).

Rei Mizuna is easily a household name for many JAV fans. I would say she made a name for herself by putting herself out there in a way most actresses simply would not. I’ve seen some really wild stuff from her, including her having people cum on her eyeball. Yes, it really is that out of the box, but that’s what makes her stand out so much. Will she have enough to make it in? I know one of the voters loves her like no other, so much so he is friends with her. Will he make a compelling argument and convince other voters to join the parade?

Ai continues to be top of mind for me as someone that is primed to make it in. She’s had a long career, she’s very popular, and she’s retiring later this year. While I think some people will care for her for years after she retires, including yours truly, I also think that she’s likely to see decline in voting when she’s not active. I also am not sure whether anything she does not would change any of the voting. Is she going to go out with a bang doing anal? Something tells me no, so it’s not like anything will be different. But I think maybe after people saw how close she was to making it in they might shift some votes. Or who knows, maybe 2018 is stacked and nobody is going to care.

Maki last time around was a little bit below the first place losers of Ai Sayama and Kirara Asuka. She’s had such a long and storied career that there’s a lot of support. Only question is, will she get enough? Unlike Ai and Kirara, there are no signs of her stopping, so she’s still got time to convince people. But, just like Ai, I’m not sure that there’s anything she can do that would convince people to change their mind. What more does a year or two or three at Madonna change at this point? I think more than anything it simply depends on who else is adding into the fold. I have absolutely no qualms saying that Yui is more popular than Maki and I expect the results to show, but maybe there will be off years where someone like Maki has a chance to shine. Or, if you look down the list and see others like Yumi Kazama, Chisato Shoda, Yu Kawakami, and Maki Tomoda, those milf fans will band together to get their favourite elected one year at a time. Will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

I hope everyone is still enjoying the Hall of Fame content and the previews. This year is a pretty special year since we have some of the most iconic names in history. Sure, there have been plenty of famous names from previous years, but I can't think of anyone who outshines Yui Hatano. We've also got my all-time favourite actress on the ballot, but is she iconic enough to make it in? Check back in a few weeks to see how the vote goes. Until next time!