Max-A
IndustryPornography
Founded1992
Headquarters
Japan
ProductsPornographic films
Websitehttp://www.max-a.co.jp/top.php

MAX-A (マックス・エー, Makkusu Ē) is a Japanese adult video (AV) studio which is especially known for videos made under its Samansa ("Samantha") and Calen ("Karen") labels which produced a number of innovative and quality AVs in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[1][2]

Company information

The Max-A studio released its first video May 23, 1992 on the Calen label (with the code XC-1001), Calen Falls in Love (恋するカレン), featuring Saori Kawana and directed by Hajime Kitano.[3][4] A week later, the first Samansa label video, Witch-Wife (白石ひとみの奥様は魔女), directed by Kunihiro Hasegawa and starring AV Idol Hitomi Shiraishi, came out with the production code XS-2001 on May 30, 1992.[5]

Max-A has had a long association dating back to at least 1997 with the Kuki group of companies,[6] at one time the largest family of AV companies in Japan, comprising Kuki, Alice Japan, Atlas21, Media Station (Cosmos Plan), Big Morkal and Sexia.[7] The companies in this group all belonged to the voluntary ethics organization called in English the Nihon Ethics of Video Association (NEVA) or in Japanese 日本ビデオ倫理協会 (Nippon Bideo Rinri Kyoukai or Japan Video Morality Association) usually abbreviated as ビデ倫 (Biderin or Viderin).[8] As with other members of the Kuki group, the emphasis at Max-A has been on making videos featuring a single popular actress.[9] The company reported that for 2003, the leading actresses in sales were Maria Takagi, Ryōko Mitake, Sora Aoi, and Akiho Yoshizawa.[10] Among the actresses who have made their AV debut with Max-A are Hitomi Hayasaka in 2001,[11] Yua Aida in 2004,[12] and Rio (Tina Yuzuki) in 2005.[13]

Max-A operates its official website at www.max-a.co.jp where it has videos available for download via subscription. The studio also has a site on the X City webpage along with other members of the Kuki group of companies where on-demand videos are featured.[14] About 16 new videos are issued monthly by Max-A under its various labels.[15]

Labels

In addition to the Samansa, Calen and MAX-A labels, the company has also used several other labels over its history. VHS videos made under the Calen label used production codes of the series type XC-1001 and Samansa-labeled VHS works used the XS-2001 type series. Gash VHS videos utilized the XG-3001 series. When DVDs came into production, the company used production codes of the XV-001 type under the MAX-A label and when VHS tapes were discontinued, the Calen and Samansa labels were no longer used. DVDs "for rental only" were issued with the code type SRXV-001.[1][2][16][17]

Directors

The following are among the directors who have worked with Max-A:[18]

Actresses

Actresses who have performed in Max-A videos include:

X City Awards

Max-A was one of the Kuki group of companies which participated in the X City Adult Video Grand Prix Awards which were held from 1998 to 2004. In the 2003 contest, the Max-A cosplay video Welcome to Max Cafe!: Maria Takagi (Max Cafeへようこそ！ 高樹マリア) starring Maria Takagi won the Best Video Title Award.[19]

Series

A list of some popular Max-A video series:[20][21]

References

  1. ^ a b "Max-A Calen". Japanese Idol Directory. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  2. ^ a b "Max-A Samansa". Japanese Idol Directory. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  3. ^ 恋するカレン (in Japanese). www.arzon.jp. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  4. ^ "Calen Falls in Love". Urabon Navigator. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  5. ^ 白石ひとみの奥様は魔女 (in Japanese). www.arzon.jp. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  6. ^ "-THE CITY Participants". Archived from the original on 1997-01-08. Retrieved 2010-05-10.
  7. ^ "JAV Production Companies". memweb.newsguy.com. Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  8. ^ "Fix for Japan Pop-Culture Addicts". Wired. April 12, 2004. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
  9. ^ Otsubo, Kemuta. "日映審系AVメーカー（た～わ行）" (in Japanese). All About. Archived from the original on 2009-11-26. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  10. ^ "MAX-A: Talk About 2004". xxx.xcity.jp. Archived from the original on 2004-12-24. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  11. ^ "2002" (in Japanese). AV 研究所 (AV Research Laboratory). Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  12. ^ "2004" (in Japanese). AV 研究所 (AV Research Laboratory). Archived from the original on 2010-03-27. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  13. ^ "2005" (in Japanese). AV 研究所 (AV Research Laboratory). Archived from the original on 2010-04-02. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
  14. ^ "MAX-A". xxx.xcity.jp. Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  15. ^ "Videos By Release Date" (in Japanese). www.max-a.co.jp. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  16. ^ "Movie Makers MaxA". Urabon Navigator. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  17. ^ "Narrow By Series" (in Japanese). max-a.co.jp. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  18. ^ "Studio Max-A". Urabon Navigator. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
  19. ^ "X City AVGP 2003" (in Japanese). X City. Archived from the original on 2005-02-11. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
  20. ^ "JAV Film Series: Max-A". Urabon Navigator. Archived from the original on 2010-12-02. Retrieved 2009-10-27.
  21. ^ "シリーズ (Series)" (in Japanese). .max-a.co.jp. Retrieved 2009-10-27.

External links

Japanese pornographic film studios
Japanese erotic cinema
Categories