Tentai Box
Now for a Comic Book Guy moment:
Best. Yôko. DVD. Ever.
Special DVD is part of the recently released Tentai Box box set, which also includes two older releases, Taiyo no Yakudo and Tsuki no Kodo. The amazing thing about Special DVD is that it's basically a compilation of the other two DVDs in the box but manages to be better than both due to some excellent editing and a superior soundtrack. Matsugane Yoko has never looked better or more seductive than she has here - not only is this her best DVD to date, but maybe one of the best gravure idol DVDs I have ever seen.
Let's get the very minimal negatives out of the way: as is the problem with most Yoko DVDs, the costuming is generally unimaginative - mostly bikini after bikini. A little more effort with the wardrobe would have been nice. Other problems are scene specific and don't really detract from the overall DVD - one has hugely incongruous background music (having Yoko pose while some moron is rapping "I'm a motherfuckin' gangster" is just wrong), and the other makes use of an annoying fisheye lens on the camera which quickly becomes irritating. Other than that, it's all good!
The DVD segues seamlessly from scene to scene, effortlessly balancing the pace, never allowing things to become too manic or too slow. This might sound like an odd thing to say about a video which is essentially about a girl posing and alternately acting sexy or cute, but Yoko really gives a stellar performance here. Her face and eyes are very expressive, and her body language is remarkably graceful.
There are no truly bad scenes on the DVD, but some are better than others, the most amazing of which occurs in the first third. Yoko is outdoors and dressed in a very tight body suit with a zipper down the front which is barely containing her incredible breasts!)she zips and unzips, teasing the viewer and threatening to expose herself (which, of course, never happens). The great thing about this scene is that while it's incredibly erotic, it never drops to the level of the obvious pandering of a Russ Meyer film, for example. The art of the tease is not dead, at least where Yoko is concerned. A few other highlights include a very bubbly beach scene where Yoko ventures into Natsume Rio "cute" territory, and a slow moving but visually stunning scene with Yoko on a small wooden bridge wearing wet, tight-fitting, off-the-shoulder belly shirt. It goes without saying that Yoko looks incredible, but the background is quite beautiful (looks a little like a Japanese garden) and a nice change of pace from generic beaches and rooms.
Just one more note about the sound here - aside from the hardcore rap gaff, the music really helps place this DVD above a lot of others. A bad soundtrack can really destroy what otherwise would be a good production, but the music producers are dead on here - the accompanying music is always complementary to Yoko's mood. A huge thumbs up to everyone involved in the music production. In fact, a huge thumbs up to everyone involved in this project.
All that being said, if you already own both of the other DVDs included in Tentai Box, it's not really worth picking up just for Special DVD alone. However, if you only own one of the two or neither, pick up Tentai Box as fast as humanly possible.
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