HONG KONG — Erena So’s debut in Japan is being hailed across Asia as a groundbreaking phenomenon for Chinese performers unapologetically promoting their sex content in the region’s premier adult video market.
So, also known as Erena So Hoi-lam, is being touted as the first Hong Kong-born porn performer to star in a Japanese AV production.
Her first title, released by the studio Faleno, co-stars noted Japanese male talent Ken Shimizu and was unveiled on the evening of April 1 after a lengthy build-up.
“The film premiered to a large number of netizens, who eagerly waited in front of their computers at 11 p.m. to witness the historic event,” a mainstream Chinese pop culture site reported. “After Erena So’s debut work was released, she joyfully announced on her Instagram Story that her work had topped the sales charts on Amazon Japan in the AV category. She expressed gratitude for the support of her fans, and her figure in the film sparked discussion among netizens.”
Amazon.co.jp sells and ranks AV content much more openly than its U.S. counterpart.
The 24-year-old So spent the weeks leading up to the film’s launch in an unusual, high-profile media push, giving several interviews across Asia about the novelty of an adult performer hailing from a territory that is currently part of the People’s Republic of China.
This culminated in an Instagram Live Q&A with her fans an hour after the film’s release. So told her fans during the session that her desire to become a Japanese AV actress stemmed from “wanting to break through as a woman and genuinely enjoy the process.”
"I genuinely love sex so I'm turning my interest into a career," So told Hong Kong media last month.
A 2-Year Road to Japanese AV Stardom
So was candid about her time in Japan shooting her first two AV titles. Following the customary schedule of Japanese productions, So stayed in Japan for nine days. She was on set for six of those days, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and spoke Cantonese during her scenes.
So said she was hired after a two-year process, in which she was very proactive.
“I e-mailed my CV to Japanese porn production companies and they either ignored or rejected me,” she explained. “Then I approached production companies in Taiwan, asking if they could help me contact their Japanese counterparts.”
After she finally got the gig as a JAV "idol" — the pop-music-derived term used to describe adult performers who work for the Japanese studio system — So remained enthusiastic about the experience.
"There is one thing I really love about the Japanese production team,” So added. “They paid much respect and were attentive to me.”
So stressed that the Japanese production team “did not force her to do anything she did not want and kept telling her that she could pause the filming if she felt uncomfortable,” the Hong Kong Standard newspaper noted.
So told the Standard that she plans to work in AV films for at least three years and hopes later to transition to mainstream acting.
A Proactive Approach to Promotion
According to the paper, So organized her fans through Instagram campaigns, encouraging them to support her burgeoning career by pre-ordering DVDs, which retail at 350 Hong Kong dollars (approximately $45).
Some of her fans reportedly spent 7,000 Hong Kong dollars (almost $900) bulk-ordering 20 copies of the DVD before the release date.
Another source of notoriety in Hong Kong was a forged press release that purported to be from the city’s Secretary of Culture Kelvin Yeung Yun-hung, congratulating So on her debut, but which turned out to be a doctored copy of Yeung’s congratulations to Michelle Yeoh upon her recent Oscar win.
So is planning a signing event in Japan next month, and told her fans during the Q&A that she has no plans to shoot any uncensored videos without “mosaic” blurring, as they are illegal in that market.