Performing Styles in JAV

Hey guys, Oppaira here. I’ve always been curious about how you rate performances and going on that I’ve long since been curious about how that converts to different styles of performances. We’ve all seen actresses perform in a variety of styles, from the kind that sit there and moan like hell to the kind that jerk you off from behind while pinching your nipples. I’ve finally figured out how to quantify a performance, and to an extent an actress as well, so sit back and let me explain how I do it.

Passionate is a style you see between two lovers. Think of it being very emotionally intense. I find I tend to notice it when you watch a pair when their faces are up close. You notice a lot of deep kissing but also a lot of things that intensify that kissing. That is, it’s not just the kissing but the other things they do like eye contact, holding onto their face, ruffling their hair, wrapping their legs around them - just anything that makes it feel more intimate. I also tend to notice it in how much they go back to the kissing, using that kissing as a conduit for intimacy.

Kiho Kanematsu surprised me with just how passionate she got in this release of hers. Even though the clip is quite short you can see everything you need to, from how she gazes into his eyes, kisses him deeply, and has her arms wrapped around him as her hands ruffle his hair. Even listening to her softly whisper daisuki (I love you) or where she manages to keep her eyes open while kissing, it’s as good of an example as I think I’ve ever come across for passionate.

Apathetic is the opposite of passionate and it’s when two people really don’t care about having sex. It’s disingenuous to call it disgust because it’s not really disgust, that doesn’t do it justice. Really, it’s someone who cares so little about what you’re doing that they simply let you do whatever and have your fun. It’s easily the least common style on the list, at least in a pure apathetic form, if only because it requires a lot of effort to get there. You have to be indifferent and stoic, which is really just not easy to do when someone’s ramming a cock in you. That being said, you more commonly see it when actresses are simply looking away or closing their eyes and not really paying attention or engaging in the action.

Aika Yumeno did a video not too long ago where she did this style perfectly. The premise was literally her internet was out so she let him have sex with her if he’d let her come over and use his internet. I know, it’s maybe a bit wild in a day and age where everyone has data but hey, it is what it is. You can see just how little she cares, glued to her phone and ignoring the fact the guy is balls deep in her (which if you know Aika you know this basically never happens, she always moans super loudly). Not a care in the world for the guy, zero emotion of any kind - if you could only see her face you’d have zero idea she was getting railed. Truly a perfect example of apathetic at its core.

Dominant is when the actress puts a guy in their place. Let Jesus take the wheel, or in this case the actress. For actresses I find that this is most often characterized by them doing unusual things during sex that make it feel like they’re in charge. Pumping their hips in positions where they’re not on top, like doggy and missionary, tend to be two very obvious things they can do to feel in charge. There’s also a lot of small things an actress can do, like slapping a dude’s butt, biting his nipples, or spitting in his face. I also find dominant to rely on an actress maintaining a certain level of control over their composure, keeping up the right amount of dialogue, energy, and facial expressions; you tend to see more vibrant smiles on their face or straight up laughter that goes a long way.

Kurea Hasumi is perhaps the epitome of dominant. She always seems to be the one in charge and has real “I’m fucking you” energy. Look no further than this clip where Kurea is in some kind of prone/face down ass up position, about the most submissive thing I can think of, and is being extremely dominant. She’s the one fucking him for sure the way she’s moving her hips here but it goes so much further than that. She keeps up the dialogue, hell she even laughs at him when he’s about to cum. Just as pure of a dominant performance I can think of where she’s not too disengaged from the content.

Submissive is perhaps the most common style of the bunch and definitely the one that most westerners think of when they think of JAV. It’s a style often categorized by male dominance but I would say it has certain particulars from the actress as well. I expect a lot of moaning and I expect them to defer to the guy while still being engaged. Not to be confused with apathetic, in the case of submissive I expect actresses to remain engaged in the scene. They might show a lot of emotion, just not the kind you would see in dominant cases. Submissive does have a fairly wide range in terms of how it can play out as the range of what can produce a submissive scene or performance varies a lot: one scene it might be sex with their disgusting boss, the next it might be a simple NTR scene where they’re just sort of doing it with their neighbour or something, even fan appreciation or a home visit can feel submissive if the actress is simply willing to let the guy take a bit of a lead.

This release from Iyo Shinohara gives you a good idea of what a proper submissive performance should look like. The dude is clearly in charge with Iyo collared up like that but despite it she’s still enaged in the scene. You see her paying attention and maintaining eye contact but also times where she looks away and feels like she’s off in her own world. Similarly you see moments where she’s moaning heavily or moaning nicely in context, and even saying kimochii toward the end. At it’s core it doesn’t feel like it leans heavily toward apathetic or passionate but remains purely submissive.

Lastly I thought it would be fun to pick a handful of actresses who have signature styles and plot where I think they belong. The chart is pretty self explanatory, but keep in mind that this by no means says an actress can’t do other things but that they more often than not fall into this style.

This has been something I’ve toyed around with for ages so I’m happy to finally share it with you. Friends of mine know I’ve tinkered a lot to get here and they’ve been super helpful as I bounce ideas of it. Some versions had three dimensions to it, some had much different categories, but this one makes sense to me.

What I’ve always found interesting is how the styles are effectively opposites of each other. It really feels like a character creation screen where going up one dimension goes down on the other, and honestly it makes sense. That’s largely what made finding the set difficult, because it’s hard to find things truly opposite of each other that also don’t feel like there’s any overlap.

At any rate I’m really curious to know which of the styles is your personal favourite. Do you like something maxed out? Do you like a little bit of everything? Maybe another time I’ll go over this again and share my own personal favourite. Until next time!