Soft on Demand DVD magazine marks 99th and final issue, fans mourn
Print publishing is in dire straits, so people have said for years now, and magazines and newspapers have particularly struggled. Titles large and small have folded or seriously downsized.
Even Japan’s mammoth adult video and porn industry — often said to be the largest of its kind in the world — is not immune to this downward trend, even though DVD sales are still relatively healthy.
The eponymous magazine put out by porn giant Soft on Demand will end with the September issue. Issue 99 features a suitably commemorative cover featuring multiple eleven top Japanese porn stars in revealing swimwear — perfect for the summer. How many do you recognize?
Fine ladies featured in the issue include Mana Sakura, Asumi Yoshioka, Meru Ishihara, and recent debutant Chiharu Minagawa. It is the end of an era: the massively popular Sakura herself has appeared in the magazine 13 previous times.
The last issue also includes a “history” of all the previous covers, from June 2011 to this current and final one.
The monthly SOD DVD Magazine comes/came with a DVD for a very affordable ¥580 — the economics of this might be one reason that SOD decided it didn’t make financial sense to keep it going — and this final issue is already being snapped up quick by fans — who are mourning the loss of this AV institution.
The increasingly anti-porn situation at convenience stores may also be another factor responsible for the demise of SOD DVD Magazine. We may look back on this as a veritable golden age in which we could buy porn mags and DVDs in the local conbini. If the 2020 Olympics organizers get their way, this will all be hidden in the near future.
Otsukare and RIP, Soft on Demand DVD Magazine. You had a fine run.
