The annual “sex issue” of Anan has been published since 1989 and achieved significant impact on pop culture.
This month the 2018 sex issue has come out, featuring the male singer Takahiro Nishijima (Nissy) of AAA and creating a lot of buzz as always.
Nishijima poses for a series of erotic, though not actual revealing, shots with a non-Japanese model.
Previous editions of the sex issue featuring famous Japanese male models have also got around the problem of how not to make female readers jealous by using foreign women. For example, there was Tori Matsuzaka in 2014 and You Yokoyama in 2013. Is it also a deliberate choice that the foreign female this time is quite androgynous?
Actually, the “sexiest” part of the 2018 sex issue is not the Nishijima shoot, but another spread in the magazine with a couple demonstrating various positions with detailed advice about sex. Toe-sucking? Sex from behind while standing up? Yes, ladies, get your guidance in Anan!
This is not an uncommon part of the annual sex issue. Here’s a pretty nice example from a prior issue.
As we have written before, the fashion magazine Anan has a long history of sexy photo shoots, which often challenge the likes of Weekly Playboy and the other tabloids that always feature gravure models and adult video idols.
Past successes include Minami Tanaka, Rino Sashihara, Yui Ichikawa, and Nanao.
We also believe that Anan’s engagement with sex topics and making efforts to appeal to female readers has also paved the way for the current (if belated) boom in sophisticated adult toys for women in Japan, not least the Tenga Iroha series of vibrators.
