What is Gravure?
Gravure is Japanese softcore, the term originating from the English “rotogravure”, which in the past was a method of magazine production, and given that many Gravure idols get their start via magazines, the term was co-opted. Image Video (IV for short) or Idol Video in some translations, is the shortened term for the video format. Gravure comes in many forms and is used for a variety of purposes, from advertising products to showcasing a model as seen in the western glamour counterpart. Gravure content is predominantly non-nude if one includes all of the advertising and mainstream usage of the genre, however, within the erotica/adult entertainment field, it does delve into more sexualized or nude representations, even resulting in crossover from actresses involved in JAV (Japanese Adult Video). Within the context of the erotic content, generally, the intent is to display women in an aesthetically pleasing manner, with sexual undertones or full nudity being used to further compliment a particular artistic direction (sometimes even simulated sex shoots are done). The typical gravure film consists of several scenes with different outfits, settings, and background music, similar to JAV in a sense. However, these are used to amplify the characteristics of the woman featured and will attempt to work together to convey an idea, such as a light hearted walk on the beach or a darker sultry exploration in an abandoned warehouse.
How does Gravure differ from JAV (aside from the lack of full on sex)?
Besides the music, the style and focus is often more on the woman, attempting to convey to the viewer her personality through her interaction with her environment, and the music serves to compliment this goal (assuming there is music and it was a well chosen piece). In JAV, while many would say the woman is the focus since she is the one people watch having sex, the sexual acts themselves are the focus, and so the filming styles are different and the interaction and intentions between the camera and the actor(s) involved will differ as a result.
Let’s look at a quick example featuring two films from both a Gravure and JAV industry vet, JULIA. PPPD-670 released in 2018 by Oppai, and REBD-501, an IV by REbecca and Graphis in 2020. Let’s look at the covers first, as the film intentions can often be determined here before you watch the film.
As we can see with the covers, with the exception of the words giving away the plot of the film, both look like they could be Gravure, modelling films with nudity in different outfits, but the back covers clearly indicate that the content in the film on the left is entirely sexual in its focus, with various sexual acts depicted and the photos focusing on the acts in conjunction with the actors. The film on the right however displays photos that focus on the woman in a variety of settings and outfits, with JULIA being the central focus and not what sex position she is currently in.
In addition, while there could be photoshoots of PPPD-670, it’s generally not the focus as people watch these films for sexual gratification and the photoshoot aspect is often left for companies that are better equipped to tackle this different art style (although exceptions as always do exist from time to time). Despite this difference and the lack of proper JAV photoshoots, we can compare the aesthetic and production quality of a photoshoot from an IV company with that of the filming quality of a JAV company to a certain extent. While videos are different than photos, photos are often just still shots of the same backdrop the film is taking place, so those parts can be compared.
As seen in these preview stills for PPPD-670 on the left and photoshoot examples from REBD-501 on the right, nudity is certainly an aspect, but the filming styles are vastly different. The focus of the IV is on JULIA and the background and set design is used to amplify her characteristics, be that personality or body, and the music which is not apparent in photos aids in the execution of this focus. In PPPD-670, the focus is on JULIA as she participates in various sexual acts, but the room is a simple backdrop to provide context, such as having sex in the kitchen or the bedroom, it does not amplify JULIA’s properties, it just serves as the foundation for the scene. Furthermore, IV’s tend to pay more attention to lighting and color gradients in shoots in order to create a higher quality image of the model and amplify her figure in certain scenes. Natural light for example, exists in JAV but its not that common given that public shoots aren’t really a thing anymore and you can only get so much from a bedroom window vs a beach. Not to mention the manipulation of lighting is quite different between the two genres. Clothing in both films would be on equal terms in this regard but the success rate in their executions vary enough to be a little harder to generalize. Music in JAV? This isn’t the 90s anymore.
This was just a sample, some JAV films are closer to IV in execution but the majority are not due to the central focus being sexual acts. Likewise there are IVs that feature simulated or full on sex scenes (very rare for the latter). During these portions you can see the differences in filming style and focus within the same film, thus allowing for a better comparison in certain respects. Genre crossover leads to an interesting duality between what is generally considered a field lacking of artistic qualities (i.e. JAV or just porn), and softcore content that tries to portray itself as erotica. Although, even that statement is in itself a generalization of sorts as there certainly exists very artistic pornography, albeit it is more rare in contrast to glamour material.
Below are trailers for the respective sample films, you can see the differences between the two styles even more than in photo format.