Soon, tomorrow (May 7th) at 12 PM (Japan time, 11 AM here), voting for the FANZA Adult Awards will close.
Because monster-level actresses like Shoko Takahashi and Yua Mikami are not participating, this year's competition is unprecedentedly fierce. Actresses are not only going all out to garner votes at events and online, but they're also buying copies of Weekly PlayBoy and even trying to win media awards. Seeing the actresses fighting so fiercely, I know many of my friends also have crushes on them, but I'm still worried:
Is it because the actresses are so ruthless that they can't even remain friends? No way, I don't care. That's just how Japanese people are; no matter how unhappy they are, they'll still smile when they meet. My concern is that while this event seems enthusiastic, it's somewhat different from previous years, which makes me a little apprehensive about this year's FANZA Adult Expo...
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First, this year's event wasn't streamed live, meaning those not in attendance couldn't find out the winners immediately. Also, the event venue cancelled merchandise sales featuring actresses this year, meaning you couldn't pay to take a photo with them…
This is quite strange. Was it because they were worried about too many people wanting photos after the awards ceremony, making it too late for the actresses to go home? I don't quite understand the broadcasting company's decision to cancel the live stream. Although it incurs significant costs, it's the best way to increase the event's visibility and the actresses' fame. Thanks to previous live streams, we saw Kaname Ootori not only with a shocking appearance but also boldly subverting the image of a beautiful girl, and we also saw Tsumugi Akari's adorable reaction when she panicked and put on high heels after being called, thinking she wouldn't win an award. But now, all of that is gone.
If it's not a cost consideration, then it's probably because they don't want the event to be too big. But regardless, as the best promotional tool in the AV industry, the FANZA Adult Awards' scaled-down event is definitely not a good thing, especially considering next year's 2020... The 2020 Olympics are just around the corner, and I'm really worried this might be the last event of its kind…
As for the AV Open on the other hand, needless to say, very few people probably know they're having their awards ceremony on May 23rd, right? But knowing this is useless, because JAE (Japan Adult Expo) is definitely gone, and AV Open won't be open to fans either. The awards ceremony will just be a closed-door affair for AV industry insiders.
With this going on, there probably won't be an AV Open next year, so you can understand why I'm so worried. Although this year's FANZA Adult Awards was probably the best ever, there were many aspects that made me increasingly uneasy. I hope it's just a low-key pre-Olympic event.
