Full Photobook Details

Title: Mayu Iwatani FOTO LIBRE 72
Release: November 30th, 2019
Pages: 60
Cost: ¥2,750
Where to Buy: Depo Mart

For those not familiar, the FOTO LIBRE photobooks series has been around for several years and is not promotion specific. The photobooks generally feature one wrestler and while most are masked wrestlers, its not a hard rule and in the past many non-masked wrestlers have been featured. Popular wrestlers such as Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Prince Devitt, Ultimo Dragon, BUSHI, and Io Shirai have had a FOTO LIBRE photobook, with some being featured multiple times. Mayu Iwatani once before was in a FOTO LIBRE photobook, when she did one with her Thunder Rock teammate, Io Shirai. But this is the first time she has been featured in the series as a solo wrestler.

FOTO LIBRE photobooks are known to be quality, and Mayu’s photobook is no different. What makes the photobook special is it features pictures from throughout Mayu’s career and doesn’t stick to just one time period of her life. It focuses on 2019 of course, but also has photos from her time in Thunder Rock and of some of her earlier matches. There are a lot of pictures of Mayu holding the various titles she has won, and the photobook doesn’t ignore its roots as there are also four pages that just show the various masks that Mayu has worn over the years. For fans looking for modeling/gravure-style photos, there are a few of those included in the book as well, however the major of the pictures focus on her in the ring. Overall this is one of the better photobooks released recently, and definitely recommended to any fans of Mayu Iwatani. Here is a sample of photos from the photobook:

The post Mayu Iwatani FOTO LIBRE 72 Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Stardom Photobooks:

Series:

• ICON: Mayu Iwatani MyStar Series
• MASK: Starlight Kid MyStar Series
• WILD: Hazuki MyStar Stardom Series
• POWER: Jungle Kyona MyStar Series
• PEACH: Momo Watanabe MyStar Series
• BIG: Utami Hayashishita MyStar Series
• SHINE: Arisa Hoshiki MyStar Series
• EMBLEM: Saki Kashima MyStar Series
• FLOWER: Hana Kimura MyStar Series
• CALL: Yurie Kozakai MyStar Series
• DREAMY: Tam Nakano MyStar Series
• TCS: Tokyo Cyber Squad MyStar Series
• BOMB: AZM MyStar Series
• TWIN ANGLE: Itsuki Hoshino and Saya Kamitani MyStar Series
• ARRIVEDERCI: Giulia MyStar Series
• Stardom World Vol. 1
• Stardom World Vol. 2
• Stardom World Vol. 3
• Stardom World Vol. 4
• Stardom World Vol. 5
• Bikiniing
• Bikiniing 2
• Bikiniing 3
• Bikiniing 4
• Bikiniing 5
• Bikiniing 7
• Bikiniing 9
• Bikiniing 10
• Bikiniing Winter

Individual Releases:

• Ho-Show Tennyo (featuring Kairi Hojo and Natsumi Showzuki)
• From Stardom’s Shadow
• Kairi Hojo “Re:Wrestler”
• Candy Crush (Kairi Hojo and Chelsea)
• Stardom USA Tour 2015
• Act Yasukawa Retirement Photobook
• Kairi Hojo “Treasure Land”
• Io Shirai 10th Anniversary Data Book
• Stardom DREAM SLAM 2018 Photobook
• Stardom Santa 2018 Photobook
• Tam’s Channel “NIGHT”
• Hana Kimura “CRAZY”
• Hazuki Retirement Commemorative Photobook
• DDM “Destiny Dream Mode”
• Cosmic Angels “Delicious!!!”
• Tam Nakano “Twilight”
• Utami Hayashishita “Luxury”
• Starlight Kid “Changing Darkness”
• Miyu Amasaki “Supernova” Digital Photobook
• Miyu Amasaki 超新星な彼女 Digital Photobook

Non-Stardom Modern Photobooks:

Physical Releases:

• Stardom X Stardom FOTO LIBRE #2
• Io Shirai and Mayu Iwatani FOTO LIBRE #58
• Mayu Iwatani FOTO LIBRE #72
• Kana “kana;gravity”
• Maya Yukihi “Color of Snow”
• Saori Anou 道標 from Actwres girl’Z
• はじけちゃえ (featuring Yamashita, Mizuki, Tatsumi, and Sakazaki) from Tokyo Joshi Pro
• TABETAI SISTERS (Nodoka Tenma and Yuki Aino) from Tokyo Joshi Pro
• Io Shirai First Photobook “Natural Face”
• Riho “Prologue”
• Akane Fujita “Honey”
• Tae Honma en Mexico
• Shoko Nakajima “Piñata”
• Tokyo Joshi Pro Back Stage Pass Vol. 1
• Rika Tatsumi “DESTRUCTION BABY”
• MagiRabi in WONDERLAND (featuring Yuka Sakazaki and Mizuki)
• Maya Yukihi 6th Anniversary “All Day Long”

Digital Releases:

• Wakana Uehara Fighting Woman Graffiti Digital Gravure #1

Playboy/Playboy Net Extra Spreads:

• Joshi Wrestlers in Weekly Playboy Magazine on 5/29/17
• Joshi Wrestlers in Weekly Playboy Magazine on 4/16/18
• Io Shirai in Weekly Playboy Magazine (2017)
• Maya Yukihi in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra”
• Natsumi Maki in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra”
• Mika Shirahime (aka Mika Iwata) in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra”
• Io Shirai in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra”
• Riho in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra”
• Hana Kimura in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra”
• Kairi Hojo in Weekly Playboy Magazine “Net Extra”

Magazine, Mook, and Guide Book Reviews:

• Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. I
• Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. II
• Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. III
• Weekly Pro EXTRA: Women’s Wrestling Erokawa Vol. VII
• LADYS RING Magazine Vol. 6
• LADYS RING Magazine Vol. 7
• LADYS RING Magazine Vol. 11
• Stardom Guide Book #100
• Stardom Guide Book #129
• Weekly Pro Wrestling Magazine on 6/10/20
• VISUALIST Women’s Pro Wrestling Mook

Classic Photobooks:

• Akira Hokuto “Uno”
• Visual Shocks!! (ビジュアルショックス!!) Sakura Mook 70

Gravure DVD Reviews

• Kana “Manifesto Final”
• Konami “小波”

The post Joshi Photobook and Magazine Reviews appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Details

Title: 『TABETAI SISTERS』 天満のどか＆愛野ユキPHOTOBOOK
Release: January 2019
Pages: 36
Cost: ¥2,500
Where to Buy: DDT Shop

Even though the book is only 36 pages, they pack a lot of content into it with a variety of set changes and unique situations. The majority of the pictures have both wrestlers, however Nodoka and Yuki also have plenty of solo pictures as well. The body painting pictures have gotten the biggest buzz online but those pictures only cover 20% of the photobook, making the photos a bit more varied than the marketing may imply. Just based on the quality of the pictures (the photobook is A4 size and all in color) along with the photo selections I am sure it will be a hit with anyone that is a fan of either wrestler; they did not hold back as its one of the sexier photobooks in recent memory. Here is a sample of pictures from the photobook:

The post TABETAI SISTERS Tokyo Joshi Pro Photobook Review appeared first on Joshi City.

Akira Hokuto is one of the most famous Joshi wrestlers of all time. She is known to many as one of the “strongest” Joshi wrestlers not only for her actions in the ring, but outside of it as well. Hokuto never did any of the gravure photobooks, as that wasn’t her style, however she did have a few photobooks with pictures of her wrestling and from her personal life. This one, titled UNO (her real name), focuses on her wrestling matches the year prior as well as casual pictures of Hokuto outside the ring. It also covers her career in Mexico, with many pictures of her as Reina Jubuki with the CMLL World Women’s Championship.

The book is hard cover and has an outside sleeve, making it one of the better quality photobooks I have ever owned. Below are a sampling of some of the pictures in the photobook:

The post Akira Hokuto Photobook “Uno” appeared first on Joshi City.

This is the first ever photobook release from Joshi promotion Tokyo Joshi Pro. TJP is under the DDT umbrella, so some fans may recognize the wrestlers as they also take part on the bigger DDT events. For their first photobook, TJP focused on four wrestlers: Miyu Yamashita, Mizuki, Rika Tatsumi, and Yuka Sakazaki.

As far as photobooks go, this offering by TJP is one of the higher quality ones I have seen. It is 108 pages, full sized, and is strictly photos with no text. It has a lot of weight to it as the pages are of high quality stock, and was very professionally created. Each of the four wrestlers has pictures in each setting and most settings also have group pictures with multiple wrestlers as well. The settings are as follows: beach attire, formal attire, topless (still tastefully done of course), and casual attire. Miyu Yamashita is focused on the most, however all four wrestlers get a fair representation. Below is a sample of the pictures included:

The post Tokyo Joshi Pro Photobook はじけちゃえ！ Review appeared first on Joshi City.

 

Full Details:

Title: Kairi Hojo “Treasure Land”
Release : August 5th, 2016
Producer: Stardom
Photographer: Nobuyuki Sasaki
Wrestlers Featured: Kairi Hojo (with a few smaller combo pictures with Io Shirai, Chelsea, and Yoko Bito)
Total Pages: 125
Cost: 2,500 yen
Where to Buy: Currently Unavailable

The main thing that sets this photobook apart from other Stardom photobooks is it has an extensive interview-style section. The section includes Kairi Hojo talking to different people in a four part series (one with Yoko Bito, Chelsea, Rossy Ogawa, and Hiromi Mimura/Jungle Kyouna), plus there is a section where Kairi Hojo answers 100 fan questions. This sounds fantastically interesting since Joshi wrestlers don’t give a lot of interview of this length in publications and probably has lots of good information, but since I can’t read Japanese it doesn’t do me personally a lot of good. But it is still a very welcome feature and doesn’t take away from the pictures.

The book measures at approximately 6 inches by 8 inches so its smaller than past Stardom photobooks such as Candy Crush, which may be a disappointment to long time fans of Stardom photobooks. But it does make up for it with a wide variety of photos for Kairi, ranging from the beach to the bathtub to the ring. Below is just a very small sample of the pictures available, my photobook is autographed as you can see below however that is not standard when the photobooks are sold.

The post Kairi Hojo Treasure Land: A Stardom Photobook appeared first on Joshi City.

Full Details:

Title: From Stardom’s Shadow
Release : November 3rd, 2014
Producer: Stardom
Photographer: Kris Wolf (on Twitter @wolfinjapan)
Wrestlers Featured: Nanae Takahashi, Kairi Hojo, Miho Wakizawa, Koguma, Yuna Manase, Io Shirai, Yoshiko, Mayu Iwatani, Takumi Iroha, Hazuki Reo, Act Yasukawa, Star Fire, Mystique, and Fuka
Total Pages: 90
Cost: 2,500 yen
Where to Buy: Currently Unavailable

There are a number of reasons why this is my favorite Stardom photobook to date. First, just for a personal reason, the photobook is signed by none other than Kris Wolf herself. Kris is one of my favorite wrestlers not only because she is a lot of fun in the ring, but also just a great person in general, so having a signed version of her photobook is very special to me. But the main reason I love this photobook is simply because Kris is a great photographer. This isn’t a situation where a random person happens to have a nice camera, the pictures are taken very well and the wrestlers look completely natural, like they are enjoying themselves and not posing for pictures. The natural poses and easy going nature of the pictures makes them feel more real and less staged.

It is also the most in-depth Stardom photobook, as even though it is not full size, it has a very impressive number of wrestlers that participated. Every Stardom wrestler at the time is in the book, plus some gaijin that were in town such as Star Fire and Mystique. Another plus is that the photos are tasteful and don’t use sexuality to make the photos stand out. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy scantily clad women as well, but the fact the photos are so compelling without that shows both the skill level of the photographer and the natural beauty of the wrestlers. Yuna Manase couldn’t help herself, but all the other wrestlers were dressed in either their wrestling attire, casual attire, or business attire.

If you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend picking it up. I can’t sell mine since it is autographed, so you are on your own Below I have a very small sample of the pictures available in the photobook.

The post From Stardom’s Shadow: A Stardom Photobook appeared first on Joshi City.

As in the USA, one aspect of women’s wrestling in Japan is the beauty that some wrestlers emphasize to enhance their wrestling characters or popularity.  This is not a requirement of Joshi of course as the majority of wrestlers do not sexualize themselves in any way, but many wrestlers over the years have released gravure videos, photobooks, and other modeling-type media to show a different side than what fans see in the ring.

Io Shirai started her wrestling career in 2007, but it wasn’t until she joined World Wonder Ring Stardom in 2011 that her career really took off. Stardom is a promotion that not only has great in-ring wrestlers, but also wrestlers comfortable with doing photo shoots and DVDs that emphasize their beauty. This goes back to the “Idol” days from early Joshi, and Stardom is the main active Joshi promotion that still capitalizes on both the skill and the appearance of their wrestlers. Io Shirai, being the Ace of the promotion for the last several years, has done over a dozen magazines and photobooks for Stardom. She has also been featured in other magazines outside of Stardom, and is perhaps the most visible Joshi wrestler currently active in Japan.

The pictures below are just a very small sampling from Io’s career.

The post Io Shirai: Beautiful and Deadly appeared first on Joshi City.

First up we have one of the newest photo books from Stardom, called Candy Crush.

Kairi Hojo is of course no slouch either, as she is not only one of the most talented wrestlers in Stardom in the ring, but is also very alluring as well.  Hojo has been in many photo books since her debut in 2012, including one with former teammate Natsumi Showzuki (which I also own). Hojo and Chelsea have great chemistry both in and out of the ring, which leads to entertaining matches as well as quality photo books.

Official Details:

Title: Candy Crush
Release:  Summer of 2015
Producer: Stardom
Photographer: Yusuke Yanagihara
Wrestlers Featured: Kairi Hojo and Chelsea
Total Pages: 57
Cost: 2,500 yen
Where to Buy: Stardom Official Site

Of the half-dozen or so Joshi photo books I have purchased in the last few months, Candy Crush is one of my favorites. First of all, it has a lot of content as it contains more photos than most other photo books I have purchased (it also doesn’t have any pages with just text, which doesn’t do a lot for me personally anyway since I don’t know Japanese). Also, even though it has only two wrestlers in it they are two of the more photogenic wrestlers currently in Japan so every page is enjoyable.

Overall if you are a fan of Stardom or either of these wrestlers, I can definitely recommend Candy Crush, as long as you are able to track it down for a reasonable price. You will not be disappointed.

The post Review: Candy Crush Photo Book by Stardom appeared first on Joshi City.