Another AV actress tells us that the AV industry is lucrative!
Who is it this time? It's "Watanabe Mao," an exclusive debut actress from the SOD Group. She's a very controversial actress—first, she cut her hair short and said she's a huge fan of Sakura Mana, successfully riding on her popularity; next, she revealed that she's a student at Naka-Inada University. Although many university students are making AVs now, Waseda is a prestigious university, further attracting attention.
Then comes the ultimate trick: she said that not only the university but even her family knows she's an AV actress!
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The result? Watanabe Mao's parents were naturally outraged, but she felt much relieved no longer having to hide her AV actress status. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic and Tokyo's state of emergency provided an excuse for her to distance herself from her parents, hoping time would ease their unhappiness.
So, how much money did she actually earn?
The answer is that after taxes, she received 1.63 million yen (approximately 100,000 RMB)!
Frankly, that's beyond my imagination.
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Why? Because while Watanabe Mao (渡辺まお) generates a lot of buzz, her level isn't considered very high—because she's not an exclusive actress for SOD's top-tier production company "STAR," I don't think she earns a very high salary; but I know what's coming next is terrifying for her, both her agency and she herself have said that many, many more works will be released. Perhaps what she's showing us is her payslip after transitioning to a project actress?
As for how this figure compares to other actresses in the industry? Judging from past appearances on television, it's not bad. For example, Mizukawa Sumire said she earned 2 million yen for 10 films; Mizuno Asahi said her highest monthly income was around 1.8 million yen; and I heard that Amano Miyu earned roughly the same amount before her retirement. If everyone is being honest, then this is probably the income level for mid-to-high-tier production actresses in the industry?
But is that enough? That depends on what the actresses themselves think.
