JAV Battle: What is Better - Realism or Fantasy?

When I talk about JAV that are "realistic", I mean ones that try to imitate how actual humans would behave. They present scenarios that anyone could potentially experience in reality, along with the associated emotional dynamics that come with them. There might be an inevitable amount of made-up elements (JAV are man-made creations after all), but these are typically kept at a minimum. The typical sub-genres you might see would be cheating situations, amateur sex, coworker sex, sex between a student and teacher - things that are set in everyday settings that, again, can be something an everyday person could be subjected to.

Fantasy, however, is anything the mind can come up with: maybe a man gets isekai'ed to a fantasy world and there are elves and beautiful, otherworldly women. Cosplay characters, supernatural beings, as well as fictional elements like magic or invisibility - all these would count as "fantasy". Though, it should be noted that fantasy is not solely restricted to things that don't exist (like magic). Fantasy just implies a scenario that isn't realistic, so, decisions made by a person that don't make sense (like say, agreeing to a 100-man orgy when the woman is in a happy relationship), exaggerated reactions, or something like a news anchor sex segment, or a sex game show, all still qualify as fantasy - at least in my opinion. Such scenarios bear resemble to hentai/anime plots, and/or better cater to erotic fetishes - existing merely to satiate sexual desire.

The appeal to emotions is one of realism's greatest strengths, and a lot of "realistic" JAV make use of buildup - be it a brief talk with the woman, or a segment where the woman and the man go outside, or go on a date. It gets the viewer in the mood and helps them to establish a "relationship" or bond with the woman themselves, which will hopefully make the more erotic aspects of the movie more powerful and meaningful. It makes it feel as if the watcher is going through a romantic buildup themselves, going through the standard process of attraction, before eventually having sex. A watcher is meant to relate with the actors or project themselves into the depicted scenario. It’s the kind of porn that asks the viewer to stay patient and watch things unfold “naturally,” whether at some sort of home or an office.

These sorts of JAV also appeal more to a viewer's perspective - the watcher feels like a fly on the wall, as they observe other people get intimate, and that's a bit of a fetish, for some. The fact that the JAV is essentially still a production, with specific camera angles and subtle lighting used, along with sound and music, this all contributes to the "perversion" of watching romance unfold, when they honestly "shouldn't be". It’s a genre where less is more, where authenticity, even if simulated, carries erotic power.

Actresses: Honoka Tsujii:

A realistic JAV has some negative aspects to it too, of course. Like I mentioned previously, there is usually "buildup" to these sorts of JAV, and not every watcher is patient enough to wait for the actors to build a bond with each other (or the audience themselves). Some would rather get right into the perversion, and fantasy-type JAV are usually best for that need. Realistic JAV also usually rely on rather formulaic scenarios, making it really easy for the watcher to become bored by the same concept over and over. The novelty is lost as the stories start to become interchangeable, and a lack of fresh ideas will end up losing the interest of watchers.

Not to mention, with the repetitive nature of realistic JAV, they start to become predictable as well, making the romance and intimacy feel fake and less impactful. In a way, the more realistic JAV that is watched by a person, the more easily the JAV start to lose their magic.

Fantasy on the other hand, doesn't seem to be fettered by anything. Anything the mind can think of can apply to a JAV reliant on fantasy. Logic and realism are both suspended for the sake of pure stimulation - a fantasy JAV can get into the sex and perversion right away, as well. Sex with elves, cosplay, sex with an invisible woman, sex with an anchor on the news, a sex game show - whatever twisted idea a person can come up with is "allowed". The more absurd an idea even, the more welcome, as it will likely cater to some person's fetish, or even cause a new one to flourish within someone. A fantasy-based JAV is the easiest way to gauge a JAV creator's sense of creativity, so long as the idea isn't too expensive.

Even things like exaggerated expressions or situations could qualify as fantasy, so long as it is something unlikely to happen in reality. Take for example, a man walks in on a woman changing - he has an overly exaggerated look on his face, and starts bowing in apology, only for his head to bump into her chest. Then, afterwards, the woman agrees to sex - naturally this is beyond the realm of reality, but the absurdity present not only serves as a sexual fantasy, it also has great entertainment value. We know the subject matter is clearly not something that would happen in reality, and we enjoy it for that reason. Because of this, fantasy also goes hand-in-hand with comedy.

TMA'ss prolific anime parodies of franchises like Demon Slayer, Attack on Titan, and Sailor Moon, also fall under the category of fantasy, as these parodies tend to also act out scenarios with a story, as opposed to just having actresses bounce around in hot cosplay outfits. JAV with some sort of outlandish premise or plot (much like the aforementioned anime parodies) are a prime example of peak fantasy.

Part of the attractiveness of fantasy is its ability to normalize things that would otherwise be considered abnormal. It allows niche or possibly questionable concepts a chance to thrive via a ridiculous premise. This takes away the morality aspect of the idea, which would be present in a realistic scenario. For example, ethics and morality are less of an issue for questionable fetishes when they are set in an obviously artificial context with exaggerated acting and cartoon logic.

Actresses: Minamo:

Fantasy-type JAV can have bad aspects too though, as the worst ones are typically visually cheap, poorly acted, and have laughable scripts. Props like tentacles or costumes for monsters can look horrendous and not very convincing, taking away from the fantasy element of a JAV (though, they could add more to the comedy element, at least). Such failure to convince the viewer that the movie has fantasy elements can be devastating, as it relies on the viewer to surrender to its logic. If a viewer's sense of disbelief is broken, the product usually becomes comedic instead of erotic.

Some fantasy-type JAV might focus too much on the fantasy aspect and stray away from the actual erotica, which is more important. While this is rare, this does happen on occasion, and such a movie can be dreadfully boring to sit through.

There's also the fact that fancy visual effects, costumes, sets, and other elements needed to properly portray the fantasy are often quite expensive, and as such, they can frequently look rather cheap. Again, if such props aren't convincing, then the viewer can't really immerse themselves in the fantasy.