Jiyuu

Jiyuu is a Japanese streaming service specialized in uncensored content intended for adult audiences. It was created in 2014 and it quickly became a success in Japan. In 2018, it began its international expansion, offering services in several Asian countries. In 2020, it took the definitive step towards becoming one of the world’s biggest streaming providers, becoming available in 100 countries in all six inhabited continents.

In just a few months, Jiyuu became an international success. How did they manage to accomplish that? Well, their slogan says it all: We give you what you want. While Western providers were hostages of neo-puritanism and cancel culture, Jiyuu specialized in uncensored and controversial programs, from gore to nudity and sexually explicit content.

Jiyuu’s catalog is huge and includes a wide range of products, both self-created and acquired from Japanese and international producers. The most popular sections of their inventory are:

1 - A repository of 1000 films (500 Japanese and 500 international). Many of them are available permanently, while others are in stock for a limited time. Every month a few changes are introduced to the roster. They are divided in 10 categories, each including 100 movies: Comedy, Drama, Action, Martial Arts, Kaiju, Sci-Fi, Horror, Sexploitation, Erotic and Pornographic.

2 - The world’s biggest inventory of anime and hentai, extending to all kinds of subgenres.

3 - Action and martial arts series, both Japanese and international.

4 - Comedy programs, characterized by their focus on controversial content, either because of their non-PC humor or for featuring nudity.

5 - A big repository of wacky Japanese game shows, from classics like Takeshi’s Castle to the latest examples of the genre.

6 - International game shows, characterized by containing different amounts of nudity. These include, among many others: Naked Attraction (original British program and spin-offs from Germany, Denmark and Finland); Undress for Love (Netherlands); Distraction (original from the UK and editions from USA, Canada, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, India, Israel, Greece, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Czech Republic and Serbia).

7 - A documentary section, characterized by its focus on nudity and graphic images (from naturist lifestyle in Europe or North America to nude tribes in Africa or Amazonia).

8 - Reality TV, both Japanese and international, specializing in shows containing nudity. Some popular programs that can be found in this section are: Adam seeks Eve (original from the Netherlands and spin-off editions from Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Norway, Finland and Denmark); Embarrassing Bodies (original from the UK and editions from Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia and Australia); The Sex Clinic (UK); How To Look Good Naked (UK); SeXXXy Tats (UK); Life Stripped Bare (UK); Naked Beach (UK); Nacktes Österreich (Austria); El Contenedor (Spain); Golaya Pravda (Russia); Cooking in the Raw (Australia); Dating Naked (USA); Buying Naked (USA); Naked Vegas (USA).

Prior to their world expansion in 2020, Jiyuu made two operations that attracted many subscribers:

-They acquired exclusive rights for the international distribution of the new British TV show Embarrassing Celebrity Bodies, that had just started production and would begin airing in 2020. With this deal, all episodes of ECB would be available on Jiyuu a few minutes after their original broadcast in the UK by Channel 4.

-They purchased the Canadian company Naked Broadcasting Network (producers of the popular Naked News) and the Venezuelan channel DLN (creators of Desnudando La Noticia). Both would continue to operate locally, but exclusively for Jiyuu. With these acquisitions, they would have three naked news programs: one in Japanese (produced in Tokyo by Jiyuu), one in English (made in Toronto by NBN) and one in Spanish (made in Venezuela by DLN).

But Jiyuu’s worldwide success could not be explained without their self-produced programs. In order to attract subscribers in the 100 countries where it would operate after 2020, they invested a huge budget in the production of a variety of shows and films featuring international celebrities. These products would be characterized by their unapologetic focus on nudity and eroticism, and for pushing the boundaries of what can be done in a mainstream medium.

Let’s have a look at their most celebrated and controversial projects: