Nonami Takizawa – Yura-Yura – Nonami in Japan (December 15, 2008)
Line Communications/I-One
Catalog # 40350 – Region 2 Disc – 4:3 Aspect
Running Time: 73 Minutes

The Skinny: This is the 2nd, or companion DVD of Line Communication’s I-One double release starring Nonami Takizawa. The first was called Kura-Kura, and this one is entitled Yura-Yura (Nonami in Japan). Right now, in my opinion, Nonami is the reigning Goddess of Gravure. She is the Numero Uno, the Ichiban, the Number One, the top of the heap, or anything else you want to use for a label as long as it conveys the same thought. While Kura-Kura was shot in Hawaii, Yura-Yura is in Japan; so let’s have a look.

The menu says there are 15 chapters but that includes the opening montage and the closing chapter is actually a preview for Kura-Kura, so that knocks us back to 13 regular content chapters. Chapter 14 is actually the I-One Series signature scene that they have in all their gravure idol videos – the autographing of a tee shirt, so that takes us back to 12 real Chapters. On the plus side there’s a lengthy (8 minutes) behind the scene segment which is called ‘Special Movie’ on the menu which can count as an additional chapter. But the reality is that you’ll be so involved in watching Nonami (trust me on this) that you won’t be counting the chapters.

Nonami shows up in a red or maybe it is orange bikini in the first of the main chapters. There’s not a lot of activity or motion. The camera after first setting the scene – Nonami is lying on a bed – seemingly alternates between facial close-ups before pulling back to show some cleavage then another facial close-up, and so forth. If you disregard that the model is Nonami, and just think of the technical side, this wasn’t an impressive opening main chapter.

In the next one, we open to a virtually empty school classroom. There’s just one student and she appears to be sleeping (head down on the desk). Well we know that it is going to be Nonami. But what we don’t expect is that we hear a door open, and a teacher walks into the room. This too is Nonami as the teacher. She’s dressed in a lady’s business suit and eye glasses with no lenses. The teacher notices the sleeping student and noisily clears her throat. Nonami the student awakens and says Good morning (Ohayo gozaimas). The teacher says something and turns to write something on the blackboard.

When she’s done, she turns to find Nonami, the student, sitting there in bra and panties. Cut back to the teacher who has shocked expression on her face. Cut back to student Nonami who is now fully dressed with a shocked expression on her face. Cut back to the teacher who is now clad in just bra and panties. That’s how the chapter begins. Of course this was done with a lot of edits. A double cos-play in one chapter – quite clever in my opinion.

Do you remember the popular standard “I Wish You Love”, written by French composer Charles Trenet with English lyrics by Albert Beach. This song was made popular by Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and Natalie Cole among others.

And in July a lemonade
To cool you in some leafy glade
I wish you health
But more than wealth
I wish you love

In this chapter we don’t get the lemonade, but we do get a red bikini clad Nonami Takizawa in the ‘leafy glade’. Again, the director focuses his lens on closeups and cleavage as Nonami lovingly walks a path through the greenery.

In the next chapter, a chatty Nonami gets exercise on the gym floor – a beach ball, a badminton racquet’s and shuttlecock, and a jump rope are her props.

A low level direct lighting scene follows. Your background is mostly dark. Nonami is lit by a soft pin handheld spotlight. It’s more cleavage on review.

This is followed by a trip to shore. Nonami prances and crawls around on a beautiful beach. There’s no thought whatsoever of going into the water. Maybe this scene was shot in the fall and the water was a bit on the cold side.

However we get a wonderful water scene next. Only it’s not the beach. No this is a indoor spa. First Nonami will need a good scrub. In all Japanese spas and public baths, you soap up, wash, and rinse before going into the water. This is usually done as you sit on a small low stool. You’ll have access to a hand held shower nozzle for the rinsing part.

For some reason, they chose to shoot this scene as if someone was surreptitiously spying on Nonami from behind a partly opened door. The camera is continually ducking behind the doorway. I guess this is for cover. Despite this puzzling scenario, Nonami looks breathtakingly busty.

Eventually she does go for a soak and then seats herself on the tank’s edges. She’ll relax for a while looking heavenly. Then she decides that the steamy tank has made her hot so she’ll shower off to cool down. Only then does she does she discover that someone is peeping.

All good things must come to an end. She jumps up screaming at us while rushing towards the doorway. The peeping tom camera then does a quick disappearing act as he must rush away. As I said – puzzling but nonetheless, the looks at Nonami are inspirational.

A short interlude foll0ws with Nonami being seating on one of those electronic machines that provide the motion up/down and side to side – What it produces for us is a good amount of jiggle. ‘Nuf said?

Nonami next wears a black and white one-piece that shows off huge amounts of cleavage. Nonami is seated before a window, but the light whites out the view. There’s also a prop. A globe of the earth. It’s there just for show and as an intellectual metaphor. Globe, globes…get it?

The next-to-last of the main chapters will begin with Nonami in a yukata, which is an informal kimono, or more  likely viewed as an after bath wrap rather than a bathrobe. She’ll be outside and it is night. She lights a sparkler for us, so we can see the fireworks. It’s really not needed as Nonami herself provides plenty of fireworks.

Later she’s in a wood paneled room which turns out to have a round wooden barrel in which one can get a good soak. As this chapter winds down we are treated to more of the Takizawa cleavage. Fade out.

The last scene seems to be presented backwards. Not backward motion but seemingly in reverse order. Nonami is dressed in a red-track suit and she rushes in for a drink of water from a faucet to cool down. Then she is in a school corridor. We hear the sounds of school students at play (outside for recess) but the school corridor is empty. Nonami will slowly but eventually take off the track suit to reveal the blue bikini that she sports on the cover of the DVD. Which leads directly into the credits which also show Nonami in the track suit running around and pantomiming playing baseball – she fields, bats, pitches, and circles the bases arriving at home plate to (imaginary) raucous cheering.

Summary: a decent Takizawa video but it seemed a much weaker DVD than Kura-Kura or some of Nonami’s other releases like Itazura na Shisen and My Darling that I’ve written sparkling reviews about. It’s not the least bit bad, and it does have some very creative aspects to it. However when a production company does a double release, specifically timed for the Christmas and end of the Year holiday markets, there’s always the possibility of a mixed review for one of the two releases.

But if you are Nonami Takizawa, even a mixed review gets a good score. Four point zero is the rating. And while I do recommend this video, I also think that she’s done better videos.

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