Remember this photo?
This is a photoshoot by the talent agency 8MAN to celebrate its 15th anniversary, featuring eight of its top actresses. From the photo, you can tell that Aoi Tsukasa, in the center, is the agency's star, while Ono Yuko and Anzai Lala probably do nothing but film...
But 8MAN isn't the only talent agency that lines up actresses like this!
T-Powers, the industry's largest agency, updated its official website yesterday, mobilizing a large number of actresses to shoot promotional photos. The homepage features a 21-grid layout of actresses' headshots (7x3 grid), followed by photos of eight actresses in white and eight in black standing side-by-side, and finally a long image of nine actresses:
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What is the significance of these photos? First, the 21-grid headshots likely represent T-Powers' current mainstay actresses, excluding those who prefer not to be in the spotlight or seek attention. The subsequent black-and-white photos of eight actresses in formal attire, along with the long strip images, feature more important actresses. From left to right, those in black are: Hinata Marin, Sakura Momo, Arisu Hana Aka, Kawai Asuna, Nanatsumori Riri, Suzumori Remu, Miyajima Mei, and Hachigawa Umi. The white-clad group, from left to right, consists of Saito Amiri, Ninomiya Hikari, Misaki Nanami, Otsuki Hibiki, Hatano Yui, Hasaki Miharu, AIKA, and Nonoura Dan. If you include the people in the long strip, you'll also find Nakamura Miu and MINAMO…
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the strongest star team in the industry! They could be divided into two baseball teams. If you add in some actresses who couldn't make it, they could even play soccer!
(Based on the positioning in the promotional photos…) Judging from their appearance, T-Powers' most important actresses are probably the two entertainers, Nanatsumori Riri and Nakamura Miu, and the two veterans, Hatano Yui and Otsuki Hibiki. No wonder they dared to say they'd take half the spots at the next adult expo in Taiwan—they really have too many talented actresses!
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However, because there are so many talented people, some of the best in other agencies are ranked very low in T-Powers. After seeing the promotional photos, I felt that Miru (formerly Sakamichi Miru) leaving was the right decision. If she had stayed in T-Powers, she would probably have been ranked around tenth. It's different in C-More. Finally, the official website update also revealed some of the actresses' secrets, such as Kotomi Ono from IdeaPocket, and Kokone Nakamura, a startup actress from Ms.SOD who debuted as Mizusawa Mikoto. They are all from this agency:
As mentioned above, this agency manages 380 actresses, a number far exceeding expectations. However, after doing some calculations, I found that T-Powers has active actresses, retired stars, and a bunch of models who haven't debuted yet or are in the special category. Considering the situation of other agencies, this number isn't exaggerated. Being taken care of by such a large agency is a blessing for an actress; at least I haven't heard of any salary arrears or other messy issues. But because this agency has so many people to manage, the actresses inevitably feel like products on an assembly line, or they don't get much work if they don't receive the attention they deserve… Regardless, this agency has an enormous influence in the industry; they not only produce actresses, but they can even influence the rise and fall of production companies.
