Special DVD-Box
I'm going to be upfront about this review: I am severely annoyed at the publisher I-One. They are, without a doubt, the most money-grubbing gravure idol DVD producer ever. Earlier this year, the released HaruMIX: a disc which was basically a compilation of two of her earlier releases (Shock! and Oasis) with a new sound track. Now, they've released the Special DVD-Box, which includes both Shock! and Oasis, as well as another remix DVD of the same two releases! There are marginal differences between HaruMIX and the Special DVD included with this release, but overall this was a waste of my money (but not necessarily yours). And be warned - they're about to pull the same stunt again with the release of Matsugane Yôko's Ultra Five Box. Just so you know my state of mind when reading this.
My rantings aside, how was the Special DVD? Let me put it this way - if I didn't already have HaruMIX, I'd be in love with this DVD. My growing dislike of I-One aside, they know how to do these remix discs quite well - the pacing is excellent, the soundtrack has been vastly improved from the original releases, and the choice of scenes is generally good. Honestly, the worst thing I can say about this disc is that the opening scene has really bad music and the title graphics looks amateurish.
Of the fourteen tracks, including the opening, there are definitely more hits than misses here, so let's take a look at some the highlights:
In the second scene, Harumi is in what looks like an abandoned building, walking around (again) and posing. She wears two bikinis in this one... a very simple but sexy black number and a white one which looks good except for the tassels hanging off the front. Unlike the first scene where she barely acknowledges the camera, you get lots of come-hither looks from Harumi in this one. Along with some creative camera work which shows off Harumi's unmatched beauty very nicely (along with the expected boob shots... no complaints about those!) and a decent amount of motion, this is probably the best on the disc.
Another high point shortly follows this (with only a quick photo session in between) finds Harumi lounging near the beach by an iron gate. The pacing is quite low key but never lackadaisical. It has some good camera work and with Harumi's ability to play to said camera it works surprisingly well. There is not a lot of action here - Harumi's movements are slow, graceful arcs, and the camera work itself generally consists of a lot of slow pans and fades. There's an interesting progression in this one - Harumi starts out appearing quite shy (despite the fact she's wearing a very tight, revealing bikini) and slowly becomes more aggressive as the scene progresses. It's not much of a story, but given the very limited amount one can do within the gravure idol genre and a three minute scene, this is a testament to Harumi's talents.
Following that we have Harumi in a swimming pool. The scene itself is actually pretty mundane and the lighting was too strong in some parts, but is notable simply because Harumi shakes her ample breasts around in this one. Unlike some of her contemporaries, Harumi doesn't do a lot of bouncing, so it was a rare treat for the horny thirteen-year old in me!
There were only a few drawbacks to Special-DVD: the opening scene is just plain boring - Harumi walking about the beach, occasionally stopping to play in the water or with some sand. Sure, she looks spectacular, but everything about the opening scene really generic. The aforementioned pool scene had some issues with lighting and the camera work was somewhat amateurish... a lot of static shots with little movement or panning. Finally, one of the scenes has Harumi in an unflattering one-piece, silver swimsuit. The direction is sub-par here was well - given the poses that the director asks from Harumi, he tends to get a little too close to the action, which also emphasises how shaky the camera works is in this scene.
So the final score card: two great scenes, a bunch of good ones, two or three sub-par ones, plus the inclusion Shock! and Oasis in the same case. Recommendation... well, that's a little complex. If you don't have Shock!, Oasis, or Harumix, definitely pick this up. If you own either one of the two originals, just be aware that you're getting some duplicate material in the set. If you have HaruMIX alone, I'd pass on this, simply because HaruMIX is a better remix than the Special DVD and you can probably pick up Oasis and Shock! cheaper by buying them separately. And if you have both of the originals, pass as well... Special DVD is good, but not good enough to justify the price for a single remix DVD.
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