JustMeMike’s New Also on Video

Hiroko Sato - Pure Smile (April 19, 2003)
Takeshobo
Catalog # TSDV-11841 - Region 2 Disc - 4:3 Standard Aspect
47 Minutes plus bonus chapter

The Skinny: This is an early release (April 19, 2003) in Hiroko Sato’s career. Given that these days, it is much more likely that Hiroko will be seen in a TV Series or a movie than an Idol dvd, we thought it was appropriate at this time to share this one with you.

 

Hiroko Sato and the crew are off to Cairns, in Queensland, Australia, for the DVD from Takeshobo’s Pure Smile series. While strictly speaking it is a gravure idol DVD which means lots of water based scenes - pool, ocean, forest stream - I must say it more than just bikinis or bathing suits. A lot of care and planning went into this DVD.

Hiroko visits a zoo and get up close with a cute and cuddly koala bear. She plays on the beach and near the pool. She jogs and talks to us while doing so.

And in some scenes she just stands or sits with minimal action as the camera brings her beautiful features into focus. Most of the time I would complain if a DVD had scenes without action, but Hiroko beauty is able to overcome this to make this style work.

I wasn’t thrilled with a lot of the soft focus employed at times, but the reality is that this style was very easy on the eyes. Except for a be-wigged scene where Hiroko is set up in an off-the shoulder kimono, and the scene is flooded with soap bubbles, in all of all of the rest, Hiroko wore contemporary casual clothing.

The music was an intriguing mix of ballads, surfing, and other softer styles. In fact, this really was a very effective DVD, not because of the fact of Hiroko’s smiles, but because the tone of all the scenes was gentle and romantic, even when our model was at play.

Summary: Despite being released nearly five years ago, with this DVD, you can easily see how Hiroko Sato was going to be a popular gravure idol. Fortunately for us, she’s lived up to the promise shown in this DVD.

As I write this I see that Hiroko has appeared in two prime time Japanese TV series which will be released soon. Until these are released with subtitles you may want to pass. Any Region 2 disc is made for the Japanese market and would not have subtitles.

However let’s remember that Hiroko is very beautiful, and very pleasing to watch, therefore you’ll be quite pleased if you add this DVD to your collection. I’ll score this one at three point seven with a recommendation. The lowered score has nothing to due with Hiroko; instead think of soft focus and only 47 minutes of main chapter footage.

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/detailview.html?KEY=TSDV-11841

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 10:14 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.