I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Takizawa Nonami is the most consistently entertaining gravure idol working today – no other idol’s releases have the same quality as the majority of Nonami’s DVDs. Of course, as the saying goes, even monkeys fall from trees, so Nonami has stumbled a few times (the nadir being the snooze-fest Nagomi) but, thankfully, Himitsu Yūgi is not one of those rare missteps. Still, compared to its sister release, Shirahada Tenshi, it does come up a little lacking.

I’ll take one of each, please.

One of the things I was actually a little surprised about the disc is that it wasn’t anywhere near as risqué as I was anticipating. Recently, Nonami released a photobook called Grand Finale and it is, by far, the most skin we’ve ever seen from her: in many of the pictures she is basically topless, giving the reader quite an eyeful (kind of like what Hanai Miri did about four years ago when she had some photos of her published where she was wearing pasties and little else). And while there is more than a generous amount of Nonami on display in Himitsu Yūgi, it’s not pushing the envelope too much from her previous releases.

The DVD runs at approximately seventy minutes and is divided into nine chapters. Unfortunately for us, the DVD starts out at a snail’s pace, with the first scene having Nonami greet the viewer at the door and invite them in. As she chats, the scene is interspersed with Nonami very slowly stripping out of her clothes (a strapless, frilly top with the appropriate amount of cleavage showing and a short, black skirt). Nonami looks great as always, but the editorial decision to interrupt the flow of the scene by alternately switching between the glamour and talking head really fractures the scene. Plus, the music changes with every cut – a minor thing, perhaps, but it doesn’t help the cohesiveness of the scene. Of course, by the time Nonami is down to her bra and panties, she cuts a sexy figure indeed and, as always, her movements are graceful and sensual, but it’s all too brief: too little, too late.

Chained up and nowhere to go

If you are the least bit familiar with gravure idol genre, there is not much to say about the following scene – Nonami’s at the beach in a bikini which is obviously a couple sizes too small to properly contain her assets (and the camera takes full advantage of that, too). Some fantastic shots of our woman as she plays and poses, with lots of fan service. The track is well done and very sexy, but nothing which hasn’t been seen before.

Scene three is where things really start to pick up though: back indoors, Nonami has one of her hands handcuffed to a four post bed, with another, unused longer pair dangling down. Wearing a matched set of purple lingerie, Nonami is just plain sexy: her garments cover just enough to keep us wanting more, with her mini-bra delightfully squishing out her boobs in all directions. Despite her limited mobility for the majority the scene (being chained up does have that effect), the way she slowly moves around her corner of the bed, longingly gazing at the camera with just a hint of playfulness, is more erotic than 99% of her contemporaries could ever hope to match.

Say hello to my little friend

If you’ve ever wondered what Nonami’s ass looks like, than the next scene will answer the majority of your questions: wearing some lace lingerie with a very generous cleavage window up top, the back is pretty much transparent. Nonami taunts and teases around a well lit building covered in graffiti. I haven’t mentioned much about the cinematography so far, because it’s been excellent, but this scene really hit perfection in giving the viewer some of the most spectacular views of Nonami on the disc. The only flaw here is the sound track – an absolutely cringe inducing disco-esque track with obnoxious lyrics kicks off the scene.

Sadly, the soundtrack issues continue with the following track: some horrid sounds (I refuse to classify it as music) completely nullify the admittedly spectacular visuals. I think they were going for some kind of R & B – suffice to say they failed miserably. Fortunately, the sonic assult only lasts for a few minutes and allows us to focus on more pleasant things, like Nonami playing around in a pool while wearing a light blue bikini and a very transparent white dress which clings deliciously to her wet curves. Lucky piece of fabric. Again, excellent work from everyone behind the camera here as it captures every sensuous movement in exquisite detail, providing excellent shots of Nonami from afar and up close, where we are allowed to see the wet, sticky fabric hug her ample curves.

Mmm. Under boob.

Next is the now cliche, rub-ice-all-over-the-idol’s-body scene. Wearing a red bra and panty set, the first part of the track has an anonymous staffer giving Nonami a hand, while the latter part has her taking over those duties directly. One of the weaker scenes on the disc due to the focus on the ice gimmick – far too much of the time the camera is following the ice around – nevertheless we are treated to shot after shot of her perfect bosoms. If you’re obsessed with Nonami’s boobs, you’ll be given plenty of drool material.

The keywords for our next look at the Goddess are under boob. Wearing a black bikini bottom and what can only be described as a short, wool vest, Nonami basically does a little posing and preening in a rundown building. Taken individually, the camera work and choreography can both be described as pedestrian, but, thankfully, this is a case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: I’m calling it the best track on the disc. Nonami is quite aware that the focus of this track is firmly on her chest and totally plays that up: she unmercifully teases the viewer by letting her hands wander all over them and squeezing them together as the camera generally shoots from above (cleavage) or below (under boob). Cold showers will be required after this.

The next theme in Nonami’s playland is exhibitionism: the track starts out with her wandering down a street in a fairly conservative flower patterned dress. She wanders up to the second floor of an apartment and unbuttons her dress, revealing an eye-popping PVC bustier. Laced tightly up at the front, the piece of lingerie pushes her already huge tits up even more, rendering them into perfect globes of pure femininity. This repeats a couple of times in a pharmacy and on the street before cutting to a rundown building for a more traditional glamour scene.

The final track has Nonami outdoors on a patio wearing some see-through, lace red lingerie (if you’ve seen Yawahada, it’s kind of similar to track 8). This is probably the closest you’re going to ever get to seeing her nude, so enjoy the moment as she looks incredible.  Due to the way her garment is very loosely draped around her, you get a very good feel of how she boobs bounce and hang naturally. The camera takes full advantage of the skin on display treats us to a virtual tour of her perfect body. Objectively, the camera work is a little on the repetitive side, but Nonami plays to the camera so well (alternating between sweet, sexy and shy) and gives the viewer what they want, that it’s hard to care.

The required under penalty of death “making of” track also makes it’s appearance, and does it’s job, giving us a little behind-the-scenes look at Nonami and the crew as they go through what must be the pretty boring process of making an idol DVD. Nothing which hasn’t been seen before if you’re a gravure idol fan.

Behind the scenes

Summary: As the DVD closes, Nonami says: “See you later! Today was fun, huh? Next time, let’s play, just us….” Certainly an offer few could refuse. Despite the few blunders at the beginning of the disc, Himitsu Yūgi is another strong entry into Nonami’s already unparallelled library. You may have noticed that I never really mentioned anything about the production side of things, but that’s because Nonami was obviously in the hands of a very capable, professional crew – the camera work was good, if not excellent throughout, wardrobe and make-up were spot-on and brought out Nonami’s best and the editing generally made the entire DVD flow nicely along. Although Shirahada Tenshi was slightly stronger due to more consistent quality, Himitsu Yūgi is still a great DVD for old and new fans of Nonami.