和
~Nagomi~
Well, Takizawa Nonami had a pretty solid run. Aside from her most recent experiments with acting and drama, which are not really classified as gravure releases, her last two DVDs were excellent. But what goes up must come down, and compared to its predecessor, Nagomi is a big letdown. Being shot out in rural Japan is an appropriate setting for the video, as it definitely captures the boredom of being trapped in the countryside with nothing to do. … Okay, that might be a little harsh (if I was trapped in the country with Nonami, I don’t think I’d be bored, although I can’t say the same for her), but Nagomi is simply boring for a variety of reasons.
The main problem with the DVD is pacing, or lack thereof – it shifts into first and never really makes it into any higher gears. You can almost hear the chorus of “Are we there yet?” from the back seat. Speaking in purely technical aspects, there’s nothing really wrong with anything; the camera work is competent, but uninspired, as is the direction. The soundtrack tends to be very slow, which contributes to the lackadaisical feeling which permeates the proceedings.
The wardrobe also seemed to have problems finding decent clothes for Nonami to wear. If you’re familiar with Nonami, you know that her weight tends to fluctuate between an hourglass shape and slightly chubby at times, and she was definitely in the latter phase when filming this. Don’t misunderstand: she has a little more meat on her than in Anata To…, but she’s not pig-cow-gouge-my-eyes-out-Fûko fat. The point being that many of her outfits did not really accentuate the positive. That being said, a little extra weight on her doesn’t detract from her natural beauty at all.
Aside from changes in costume and setting, each track plods along at the same methodical pace and has essentially the same camera work. Slow pans along Nonami’s body and lots of zoomed-in and mid-range work. Even though each track is only about five minutes in length, it just feels so much longer because of the mediocrity of it all.
Was there anything good about Nagomi at all? Nonami herself is always a wonder to behold when she’s on screen, and that’s true here as well. Unlike many idols, Nonami never really falls prey to the deer-in-headlights syndrome where the idol just stares at the camera with a sort of blank expression, as if waiting for something to happen (a lot of Rio’s early stuff suffered from this, and Yôko still lets it happen occasionally). Not a problem for Nonami though… she has great eye contact with the camera, a very graceful, feminine way of moving and creates the illusion of a connection with the viewer, whether smiling shyly at the camera or creating a sultry bombshell persona, Nonami just clicks. Further, although she might be a little heavier than normal, some of that weight has gone to her already big boobs, making them appear even bigger…. Yummy.
A brief listing of the contents of each track: the opening and second track take place in a large, wooden, open room – the first has Nonami wearing a sweating which is totally open at the front, and she proceed to clean some of the windows and the floor. In the second, a school desk has mysteriously appeared and has Nonami in a silver bikini posing on it. The next track appears to be outside the same building and has Nonami dressing in a see-through lace-op with a leopard pattern on it… actually quite a sexy little bit of wardrobe here. Then for unknown reasons, Nonami cooks a yakiimo (a kind of Japanese sweet potato) outdoors by a fire. Despite the obligator appearance by Nonami’s impressive cleavage, this is as boring as it sounds.
Track 6 takes place in a tatami room and has Nonami posing on a futon in a yukata and some lingerie. Following that, Nonami takes a bath in a sento in a very abbreviated bikini – one of the better scenes on the disc. Then she’s taking a shower outdoors (yes, the editors decided two water-themed scenes in a row would be a good idea,) and vamps it up in a wet, clingy top and bikini. Track 9 is takes place in the same tatami room as track six, and is essentially the same thing, minus the yukata and futon. This one beats out its spiritual predecessor due to some great cleavage close ups. Another indoor track has Nonami in a huge, white sweater and nothing else (that the viewer can see, anyways). Nice, but nothing really to differentiate it from any of the other tracks on the disc.
Track 11 features Nonami, some oranges and a kotatsu. This is a POV sequence where the camera is supposed to be Nonami’s boyfriend, and they feed each other food then play around, with Nonami making small talk all the while. The penultimate track has us back in the same tatami room as seen previously, with Nonami wearing a colourful kimono. Finally, a track with almost seems out of place on the disc, as this one takes place on the shore with Nonami wearing a very low-cut red dress and slinks around on the beach as the credits roll.
Of course, there is also a behind the scene track as is the industry standard. I actually found this one to be a little more interesting than most, simply because it follows Nonami and the crew over the course of the three days that the DVD was shot in chronological order. Your mileage will vary, however, depending on how much Japanese you understand, as there isn’t a lot of cheesecake on display here to ogle.
While I have definitely seen worse DVDs than Nagomi, there’s not really a lot to recommend it over some of Nonami’s much better releases. There are a few bright spots here and there, but definitely not enough to be worth the purchase of the DVD. Unless you’re a die-hard Nonami collector who has to have everything she releases, give this one a pass.
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