Ultra 5 Box
Well, I-One has kinda redeemed themselves. After the stunt they pulled with Nemoto Harumi's HaruMIX and Special DVD-Box, Matsugane Yôko's Ultra 5 Box is slightly more on the up-and-up. Slightly. Ultra 5 Box contains two of the same DVDs as Tentai Box (Taiyo no Yakudo and Tsuki no Kodo), as well as two of Yoko's other earlier releases, Melon and Suika. Aside from the four previous released DVDs, you also get another DVD entitled Special DVD, which is not the same as the Special DVD that was bundled with Tentai Box despite the same name. Got all that?
In any case, unlike Harumi's remix disc in Special DVD-Box, the remix disc included in Ultra 5 Box does not directly duplicate any of the material which was included in the Special DVD included in Tentai Box. Good news. Even better news is that this Special DVD is quite good in its own right: drawing on material from all four other discs included in the box set, Special DVD mixes and matches various scenes and adds a new soundtrack. Overall, everything works great, but there are a few drawbacks.
Once the opening montage finishes, we have Yoko in red bikini at the beach looking as sexy as she's ever been. The camera is a little shaky here, but is used rather creatively, giving the viewer lots of slow pans across Yoko's incredible body from different angles - a very strong opening scene. Following this, we have Yoko in two different pieces of lingerie posing in a patio. If you've ever been interested in getting a really good glimpse as to what Yoko would look like nude, this scene is probably going to be as close as you're ever going to get... the first lace bikini really hugs her body but never constricts it, so you get a very good idea who incredibly curvy she is. The second piece of lingerie she near falls out of several times... as a definite breast man, this had me mesmerised! Next, we have Yoko in a shaped bra and some panties posing indoors. While this was competent, I felt the wardrobe was a little unflattering... if there's one thing Yoko does not need help with, it's her figure, so the bra was something of an eyesore.
Yoko's lying around on some stairs next in a black bikini. I'm not sure what the director was going for here, but Yoko looks a bit bored. In addition, there is an obnoxious fish eye lens which is used for most of the scene which creates some odd distortions. Definitely one of the weaker tracks here. Once we're done on the stairs, Yoko's in a bedroom, and lounging on a bed wearing a very feminine, pink bustier. We get a lot of shots of Yoko hugging her arms around her torso, causing her breasts to form that impossibly deep cleavage which she's known for. Good stuff, but some of the camera angles are a little awkward. Then we get a photo shoot scene which actually works quite well. Although it's often possible to tell that Yoko is listening to the photographer's directions and definitely looking at a different camera in some shots, the camera work and music here make this appear less awkward than many other photo shoot scenes. Good work on the part of the editors and director.
Unfortunately, the fish eye lens makes its return next and causes problems with a scene which otherwise would have been spectacular - Yoko's in a hallway wearing a very small bikini. Very sensual, graceful moves on Yoko's part along with some inventive camera work and dramatic lighting make for some breathtaking shots (when Yoko arched her back for one shot I think my eyeballs nearly popped out of my head!). Unfortunately, he fish eye lens often totally destroys the framing and creates an almost surreal atmosphere which doesn't really suit the scene.
The next four scenes are all photo shoots. Don't get me wrong, Yoko never fails to look spectacular or sexy, but as the scenes are primarily photo shoots, they lack the cohesiveness of a scene that is meant for motion, not static images. Given that we've already had one photo session track, and there are still two more to come, the editors could have done something better with the space on the disc. After the pack of photo shoots, we get a little behind-the-scenes action, as Yoko has lunch and goes shopping for fresh fish at a night market.
Following Yoko's shopping trip, we get a spectacular scene in which she wears a strapless bikini which really struggles to contain her huge boobs. Yoko mostly poses on a chair in a seductive manner and gives the camera soulful looks while it zooms and pans around her at different angles. There's not a lot of motion her for one very obvious reason... any major movement would cause Yoko to fall out of her bikini top! The final two tracks are the aforementioned photo shoot scenes... like the previous ones; they're well done for what they are, but really lack the polish of a scene which is designed for video and not still photography.
One other problem with this Special DVD is the pacing, which stays almost exactly the same through out the DVD. It would have been nice to a little variation. Due to this, some of the scenes often seem to blend together. Nevertheless, the Special DVD which comes with Ultra 5 Box is still a good Yoko DVD overall - it doesn't reach the spectacular levels of it's predecessor included in Tentai Box, but is enjoyable on it's own merits. As whether to purchase... well, Ultra 5 Box is a little pricey, but you do get five Yoko-chan DVDs (including Melon, which is one of my favourites), so it's a great place to start your Yoko collection. On the other hand, owners of some of the content included in Ultra 5 Box, may want to give this a pass, simply because of all the duplicated material included.
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