Half Japanese, half Canadian and all gorgeous, Maria Ozawa took the Japanese AV world by storm for five years, her looks and performances are treats that can be seen over and over that will last generations. She was one of the first half Japanese girls in the Japanese adult video industry to achieve worldwide fame.
Before Maria Ozawa, other half Japanese actresses who graced the small screen were big bust Anna Ohura (who is half French) and the exotic Emily (or Emiri) Yoshikawa (who is half Dominican). However, the prime of these two lovely half Japanese girls were just shortly before the era of broadband internet and widespread porno sites such as xvideos.com and pornhub.com.
Since her official departure from JAV, Maria has used her world wide fame by accepting roles in the film industries in Japan’s neighboring countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines. She has also done some strip show performances in Shinjuku in the past.
TNS: How did whole Philippines endeavour all start?
Maria: My ex-boyfriend's boss who's wife was married to a Filipino national contacted my boyfriend at the time saying that his boss had "Royal Family" from the Philippines visiting Japan. The royal visitors had an interest in me, asking "Where's Maria Ozawa" , "We want to meet her." I didn't know I was known in the Philippines, which made me think "Why do they even know about me?", "Do I have to have go meet them?" In the end I agreed on meeting them as long as my ex-boyfriend's boss and wife were with me.
At the initial meeting they convinced me I was well known in the Philippines and that I should go see for myself!
I flew over the following month with them as a group, around 10 of us? After landing, it was so crazy, everybody I met knew who I was. It was such a weird sensation as I had already been in the industry for over a decade and nothing like this had happened before! Proposals were given whether I wanted to do a photo shoot with a magazine or do some business. The question was "how serious are you for business?" I've been into business since I was 15 so I thought making moves in the Philippines would be another chance for me.
Prior to debuting in AV, Maria actually co-starred in a chocolate commercial with pop duo, Kinki Kids, while she was still a teenager. In the commercial, it is shown she is dating one of the members and by the end, it is revealed that she is secret lovers with the other member of the duo. Could this have been a foreshadowing of her future career?
Though many AV idols are scouted off the streets or transition from gravure modeling. Maria claims she joined the industry out of her own free will. She grew up watching JAVs, was sexually active since her teenage years and wanted to try it first hand. Thankfully, her bi-racial beauty allowed her to be a success and the producers probably saw that.
October 2005, Maria Ozawa made her mainstream debut under the title “New Face – Number One Style,” which became an instant hit. By the end of 2006, she was an international star and an award winning AV idol. Eventually, she would grace the covers of FHM magazine in other Asian countries.
TNS: Tell me about your experience with FHM Philipines?
Maria: I had previously done a FHM shoot 6 years prior which the Royal family knew about so they asked "why don't I do it in the Philippines as well?" at the time I was kind of chubby so I didn't know if it would sell well. Nonetheless I went ahead with the shoot which ended up breaking the sales record for FHM Philippines. At that point they persuaded me, "you have to stay in the Philipines!". I agreed, "Okay, I'll try my best to stay famous and do whatever I can". They hooked me up with their daughter who works for TV5 who I signed on with for a one year contact which I just renewed!
TNS: Do you plan to live in the Philippines for good?
Maria: I want to!
TNS: How are the guys in the Philippines?
Maria: They are super, super gentlemanly; super nice. They have a ladies first mindset; giving roses, opening doors, they're so sweet! It reminds me of my Dad who was like that to my mother. But since she was too Japanese, she didn't like that style of affection. Growing up, my dad would be saying, "I love you, I love you!" but she would tell him to "go away."
Philippine men do everything for you; cook, pick up the bill, drive you around... overall they're nice guys, that's why I like them. They try to understand you! In the Philippines they are very family orientated, family before business. When I first went over my first priority was always just doing business, getting calls from my acquaintances saying "My xxx family member isn't well, I have to take care of her, sorry". In Japan it's the total opposite don' you think?
It was hard for me to understand at first as I wanted to go out partying all the time, but my friends here were always like, "we have to attend family matters first." It made me think twice about family and how important it is. Taking care of your family is a big priority! That's one of the very good things I learned about from the culture there and is one of the reasons I would like to marry a guy from the Philippines. I can rest assure that my family and kids will be taken care of in the future, unlike Japan where family isn't such a big issue.
TNS: At the peak of your career, what was your schedule like?
Maria: During the first few years of my career I was a "Tantai", doing only 1 film a month. Filming would only take a day or two which meant I had a lot of free time to do whatever I liked on my days off. My managers insisted I wouldn't be busy until I was "known" in the industry, the popular you get the more "work" you will have to do doing meet and greet events, magazine shoots, appearances overseas etc. After my 3rd year in AV things really kicked off, my schedule was almost full every day! I got even busier as I transitioned from "Tantai" to "Kikatan" appearing on set with other female AV actresses as support, eventually becoming a "Kikaku" where I appeared with even more girls on orgy sets.
TNS: Did you enjoy your AV career?
Maria: Of course! I wasn't in the industry because I like sex, but more because I saw it as a stepping stone to my next career. The more you work you put in, the more your fans appreciate it. The fans at the meet and greet events treated me like a goddess. That made me happy because I felt that I was helping these people out. They would come up to saying "I really look up to you", the fans happiness was the driving force in keeping me in the industry for such a long time.
TNS: What was the initial reaction after your first DVD release?
Maria: My managers went to Akihabara to check out the retail sales on the day of release. It was all sold out! "Halfs" were still taboo subject in Japan's AV industry back when I debut, I felt that I changed it with my successful AV career. I'm "gaijin" on the outside but Japanese on the inside and fans noticed this. It motivated me to work even harder! My bosses at the time were very strict, making it clear that "if you ever get too cocky it's easy to cut you out, so just remember we all helped you become famous." It worked though, I thank my fans and managers dearly. It was a reciprocal business relationship; we benefitted from each other. My boss was smart enough to control me in that way!
TNS: Would you consider doing AV again?
Maria: I wanted to do a retirement AV film but now that I'm working in the Philippines, it would be impossible for me to do so as it would conflict with the work I'm doing as a talent there.
"If you ever do porn ever again, we cannot work with you."
It was hard for me but that's why I had to just fade out of Japan's AV industry.
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