Sasa Handa

Gravure Idol - Chieri Haruyama

Under the name Chieri Haruyama she appeared in a number of wrestling catfight videos beginning in September 2003. The DVD series, Idol Fight MetoMix (アイドルファイト 女闘美X（メトミックス), was produced from full-length live wrestling tournaments with the women attired in bikinis. She appeared in volumes 1-2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 of the series released over the period from September 2003 to October 2004. She also starred in a number of "gravure" (non-nude) videos starting at least as early as December 2003 with the DVD release Computer Angels Vol. 2.

Sasa Handa and AV debut

By August 2005, she was using the name Sasa Handa and was featured in the erotic horror V-Cinema film Onna Onmyōji - Jain kakusei (女陰陽師/邪淫覚醒) directed by Shōji Tsuyoshi and released by TMC. Handa also appeared in other media including a regular role in the TV show Yarisugi kōji (やりすぎコージー) as well as appearances on the TV Asahi variety show Kusano Kid (草野キッド) and the TV Tokyo documentary Kyuuyo meisai (給与明細). In February 2006 she appeared in the movie Tōkyō Daigaku Monogatari (東京大学物語, lit. "Tokyo University Story") as the character Eri Suzuki, in what was her first nude role.

Tōkyō Daigaku Monogatari was produced by the adult video (AV) studio Soft On Demand (SOD) and soon afterwards that studio announced that Handa had signed with them as an AV actress. She made her AV debut with SOD in July 2006 with the video Debut. Despite only performing in AV for the second half of 2006, Handa received a number of awards for that year's work. At the 5th Annual SOD Awards in 2006, Handa received the SOD Award for contributions to the company's sales and images, the Best New Actress Award, and one of the Actress Awards for Excellence. She was also given one of the Best New Actress Awards for Excellence from the AV Actress Grand Prix contest in 2006. Additionally, All About AV columnist Kemuta Otsubo picked Handa as #3 on his list of the ten top AV actresses for 2006.

In addition to continuing her AV career, in 2007 Handa also appeared in the role of Koichi Omote in three V-Cinema releases of the popular erotic comedy action series Kekko Kamen: Kekko Kamen Royale, Kekko Kamen Premium and Kekko Kamen Forever. Her co-star in the series was fellow AV actress Maria Ozawa. She was also a featured player in the May 2007 theatrical movie, Zero Woman R (ゼロ・ウーマンＲ　警視庁０課の女／欲望の代償), part of the Zero Woman film series. Later in 2007, Handa starred in the V-Cinema erotic horror production Undead Pool, also known as Attack Girls Swim Team vs the Unliving Dead (女子競泳反乱軍), which was released in Japan in December 2007 and with English subtitles in the US in December 2008. One reviewer notes that "Handa ... is "beautiful in a dreamy, drugged-up kind of way (this also describes her acting style)."

Handa stayed with the SOD studio throughout 2008 and 2009 making about one original video a month including the October 2008 m Vision Injection which used Kazuhiko Matsumoto's POV camera technique. In early 2010 she was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the 2010 Adult Broadcasting Awards for her endeavours in 2009. Outside her AV work, Handa also appeared in the January 2009 mainstream drama Night King, directed by Ken'ichi Fujiwara who had also directed her in Zero Woman R. February 2009 saw the DVD release of the V-Cinema Chanbara Striptease (おっぱいチャンバラ, Oppai Chanbara) which starred Handa as a topless sword fighter. The DVD was also released in the US with English subtitles and a reviewer comments that the film "basically hangs entirely on the scenes of Sasa Handa disrobing," In June 2009 Handa had a role in the theatrical comedy-drama production Kibogaoka Marital War (希望ヶ丘夫婦戦争, Kibōgaoka Fūfu Sensō) based on the short story by Akio Jissoji.

The popularity of Japanese adult video stars extends to other parts of Asia as well and Handa (along with another SOD star, Hitomi Tanaka) represented the SOD company at the March 2009 Shanghai Adult Exhibition (上海成人展, Shanhai Seijin Ten).

Retirement from AV and later career

Handa retired from the AV industry in 2010 after four years and nearly fifty titles in order to pursue a mainstream acting career. Her retirement video set, running over 10 hours, Performer Sasa Handa – AV Retirement, was released by Soft On Demand on July 22, 2010. In December 2010, Handa starred in the dark fantasy movie Ai no Ejiki Jokyoshi Haruka no Kokuhaku (愛のえじき　女教師ハルカの告白). In 2011 she played the character Sanae Onoda in the live-action web series adaptation of the manga Futari Ecchi. Handa joined another former AV Idol, Kurumi Morishita, to co-star in the December 2012 romantic fantasy Love Me for Hundreds of Years (死んでもいいの 百年恋して, Shindemoiino hyakunen koi shite) directed by Toshirō Enomoto and written by Shinji Imaoka.