[Meaningful Work] I'm glad I became an adult goods producer and brought a new shade of pink to the industry [Nothing but a sense of mission]

Recently, I see a certain number of people saying, 'I've started a new career as an AV PR person, AV actress, AV producer, or erotic manga artist!' but I think there are barely any people who say, 'I used to be an adult goods producer!' right? (If there are any, I apologize.)

If this article gets a good response, I'm thinking of drawing a manga looking back on those days, so I'd be happy if those who are interested could support me with a like or share.

I am 'Hakka,' currently living as an 'Art Director' at the Tokyo web production company fūun, but I have past experience working as an adult goods producer.

It's a story from several years ago, but when I talk about this background, many people still react to it, so I think this industry might still be shrouded in mystery or is a somewhat catchy topic.

As I left the industry and gained new experiences, I started to feel that it might be okay to look back on that stimulating world, so I would like to look back on how I got there and what it was like at the time.

Since I want to think about 'Love' and 'Death,' should I go into the adult industry?

I originally lived in the countryside of Tohoku. I grew up with photographer parents, and when I drew pictures, my parents were so happy. In fact, when I submitted my drawings to competitions, I even won awards like the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award, which made me proud, and I naturally started thinking, 'I'm going to go to an art university in Tokyo.'

At art university, I majored in product design. It's a place where you think about designing cars and home appliances, or think about corporate branding. I see.

My parents also had the intention, 'You can't make a living even if you graduate from art school, so at least choose a place where it's easy to find a job,' so that was the major I chose. Thinking back, I think the experience here led to my planning ability as an adult goods producer and my way of thinking as an art director later on.

I will omit why I wanted to think about 'Love' and 'Death' from there... but anyway, those elements were and still are major factors in explaining the beauty within me, and I wanted to take more time to think about them, not just during my four years at university, but also after graduation.

So, what kind of job would make that possible? What caught my eye was a job posting on Rikunabi or Mynavi from the industry's largest AV manufacturer. That was it.

...'Eros (Life/Love)' and 'Thanatos (Death)' are connected! If you think about Eros, that is directly thinking about love and death! I thought at the time, and applied on impulse.

The reality that my beloved girl gets hurt by crude adult goods

And, I received a job offer on the day of the interview, but everything was too smooth, and I was anxious about whether I should really step into the adult industry. That day, I said thank you and that I would give them an answer after I had the results from other companies, and went home.

Even so, an event occurred that made me think, 'As an adult goods producer, I have to do this!'

Wait, you're putting something like this into your body...?

Since it's an art university, regardless of major, there are kids who want to be artists. At art university, even if you learn how to draw, you don't learn how to promote it to society or skills that are useful in society. (This isn't the art university's fault; university is a place to 'learn,' so I think that's natural. Also, I think there's a gradation depending on the school.)

So, there were quite a few friends who 'did sex work while working as artists.' As an artist, there are production times and busy periods for exhibitions, so unless you have support from your parents or a partner who supports you after marriage... there were no kids who could finish being an artist while working a regular job.

Kids who chose regular jobs often ended up leaving production as it was.

'The toy was painful to use,' a friend who worked in the sex industry was crying

One day, a friend sent me a URL for a product, saying, 'A customer used this on me.'

When I looked, the poor quality was indeed noticeable. Looking closely, there were burrs, the movement was rough, and it had a gouging, rotating motion...

But those are the so-called 'common' toys, and I was shocked by the reality that such things are circulating in the world, and surely, because 'adult' products are a shadowy industry with a lot of money and demand, they just keep selling as they are.

I will create a super cheerful pink vibrator for 'everyone'

At the time, the colors that dominated the adult industry were limited to two choices: 'a strong, Showa-era style shocking pink' or 'a gentle baby pink like Japanese sweets'.

At the time, I felt very uncomfortable with that.

When it came to using one myself, if someone presented me with the former, I would surely be put off, and combined with the clear, inorganic texture, I would feel 'scared'.

Regarding the latter, TENGA's products, I can clearly see that as a product direction, they are making things that are less unpleasant and appeal to many people; that is precisely why I felt that way.

I was a woman who didn't feel comfortable with this kind of fluffy pink, so I thought, 'Oh, maybe there's something wrong with me...'.

I don't empathize with strong, tough-looking things, and I also have a sense of rebellion against the so-called classic products for women.

I felt that I was a cluster that wasn't being considered in the adult goods market, and that felt somehow hopelessly sad.

Since even I, a heterosexual woman with clear sexual positioning, felt that way, I wondered what 'men' and 'everyone' who are 'not women' would think. Even the term LGBTQ was just starting to appear around 2018 when I was at the company, so that's what I was thinking.

Without being dominated by a strong shocking pink that links to grotesqueness and extremity, and without taking baby pink, which evokes traditional femininity, as a model,

if there were just a naive pink that would wholeheartedly say 'That's great too!' and enjoy things together with me wherever my fun, likes, and excitement led, I thought many people might be saved while sitting in the corner of my toy room.

People feel 'I am accepted by the world' through products

What I proposed there was a concept of ' Village Vanguard-style stylish miscellaneous goods pink', 'a toy that wouldn't put off a partner if they brought it out'.

I remember my seniors at the time vehemently opposing me, saying, 'Vibrators and rotators are mainly used by men on women, so they won't sell unless they are more erotic and raw!'.

But, at the time, in the daily email report seen by all employees, I wrote so many rebuttals to that, and across departments, people said 'She's crazy,' so I remember this too, but

'The existence of a product aimed at a specific segment is a declaration of intent that society sees you, and is trying to think about you, to that extent.' I think.

That's why,even if it's predicted not to sell, as the toy division of the industry's largest AV manufacturer, we have to do it!!! is what I insisted on at the time.

A pink toy dedicated to 'that girl' was born, and it started being imitated by other companies.

And after various things happened,a product that felt pop, a bit laid-back, yet somehow innocent, stylish, and like 'Hey, this is actually pretty cool, right?' was released.

Roughly speaking, it ended up selling a lot, many derivative products in this series were created within the brand, and it was my long-cherished wish to have it handled by“Village Vanguard” andCondomania in Shibuya PARCO”, and it was featured in various stylish media outlets.

And,many toys with that kind of direction were released by other companies as well.Personally, I didn't mind being ripped off at all,“I'm just glad it gained citizenship!” is how I feel.

It was the moment a 'new pink' was born in the adult goods industry.

Development story ~I was making this while listening to this song by Seiko Oomori~

There are many development stories, butas something that supported me when I felt like giving up after being told 'it won't sell,' there is the song by Seiko Oomori.

Speaking of Seiko Oomori, she is known as apassionate singer-songwritercharacterized by lyrics that affirm a clumsy way of living and a sense of speed.

That fighting-like music wasfitting for 'dedicating to those girls who were hurt by pink/couldn't fit in with pink,' including my friends from art school and myself, and I often listened to it as my number one cheering song back then.

Unpatriotic Hero

Actually,as the first female employee at the time, I was quite tense about various things. I thought about adult goods day and night, and there were times when I was slightly unwell and taking medicine.

The reason I stubbornly kept coming to work even when my boss told me I could take a leave of absence and not to push myself was becauseas an artist and as a friend, while 'that girl' I loved and respected was falling apart, I was thinking, 'Is there nothing I can do? Is there something I can do?' because of that.

Every time I released a product andan AV actress or a user said, 'It was good,' I was very saved.

Dramatic JOY! Before After

This song, in particular,I remember listening to it while working late at night on the copywriting and color proofing for this product's packaging~ is a memory I have.

A writer friend of mine had her visuals used on Mr. Omori's CD jackets, and even those who weren't writers, while getting married and having children, would think, 'I'm really coming to the office earlier than anyone else, working so much overtime, what am I even doing... I really have no talent at all...' and at the same time,

even so, like this song, I remembered wanting to present a hopelessly bright pink to my hated self, to this unreasonable present, to that girl, and to society, saying 'Shut up!! You're the best!!!' I remember that.

Even listening to it now, it makes me cry, and it's a song that makes me think, 'I really want to live by creating things, and I want to love the world with all my heart and soul.'

Let's live with confidence, because someone is watching

After various things, I left that adult manufacturer and reached where I am now, but as for the lessons I learned during my adult era, there were things like this.

The one who leaves a mark wins

In branding, it's expressed as 'The one who acquires a new territory and keeps it wins,' but that's probably the correct answer.

I felt that way when I pioneered 'stylish adult goods' and saw that successors kept appearing even after I left the manufacturer.

Creating a new territory is 'heretical' and tends to be perceived as such, but that's fine. In a sense, I think that means leaving a trace that can be either poison or medicine to people.

It's important to keep shouting

My adult goods production also, if I hadn't written in my daily report, 'An approach to a demographic that isn't even looked at as a target is what is needed now as an adult manufacturer,' my boss and seniors wouldn't have given up and given the OK to the project proposal.(In the end, my boss gave the OK while saying, 'We pay based on sales, so if you make it and it doesn't sell, you're the one who will be in trouble.')

The 'Shouldn't it be like this?' attitude is something you should always have, and it is definitely better to have a stance of sharing it with the world.

Surely someone is watching

This is really true, and a peer AV producer in another department who saw my daily report said, 'I want people to know more about this product,' and used the product in their work, and the sales staff selling the toys said, 'You're always working hard, so I want to sell it,' and supported me by selling a lot of them, and many other people supported me.

The fact that the products I released sold and still exist today is thanks to those people who 'were watching without me knowing.' Thank you... I still think that now. Looking at the product reviews, it seems there were users who were saved by the products.

Besides this, there are many events that happened at the adult manufacturer and lessons I learned, so if the article seems to have a response, I'd like to write about them.

Recently, I'm trying to leave a mark with things like this

Earlier, I said 'The one who acquires a new territory and keeps it wins,' but recently, I'm leaving a mark with 'Architecture' x 'Gag,' shouting, and ultimately aiming for a manga serialization in an architecture magazine.

As for why I arrived at 'Architecture' x 'Gag', please read each article.

Well, I've written quite freely up to this point, but actually, this note is the official corporate note for a web production company called fūun.

If you've become interested in the company, I'd be happy if you checked out our current campaign or followed our official X account.

■ Current Campaign

■ Official X

That's all for now, this was brought to you by 'Hakka'!

If anyone has used or seen those toys, please let me know. Those products should still be in the 18+ section of Don Quijote.

Love you!