JustMeMike’s New Also on Video

Rio Natsume - Naked
For-side.com/Cutie
Catalog # FDGD-226 - Region 2 - Disc 16:9 Format
62 Minutes

The Skinny: A somewhat disappointing release. Naked is the title, and of course this is a misleading name for the DVD, as we all know that Rio Natsume is not going to be naked in this DVD. Oh well, For-side.com, the producer, has to find some way to market their products. A mistake IMHO as Rio’s titles will sell just on her name. A lure isn’t really required. Let’s have a look at the DVD.

The 1st chapter features busty Rio-chan in a floral print bikini. She’s out on the lawn of the resort playing with a water hose. The director thought we might be excited if we watched Rio at play through a doorway to begin with.

Then he over-relied on the zoom out feature meaning he started in tight than backed away over and over. The slow motion was nice for a while, but water droplets do get tiring after a while.

The second stanza is at the beach. A hazy day spoils the viewing fun, as we have an indistinct sky rather than a beautiful blue sky. Or maybe it is just the lens and exposure settings they used. At times you cannot see where the water ends and the sky begins. In short there’s no visible horizon as evidenced in the image below. Nevertheless, Rio looks cute in her bikini.

Rio next shows up in bed. She’s wearing a white camisole with black polka dots, black fishnet stockings trimmed with white lace, a black lace garter belt, and brief panties. The scene has Rio in various poses and positions on the bed. I thought the shot composition was poor.

Far too often he did not frame the subject correctly and part of her head/face would be cut off as the shot started. Again there was an over-reliance on the zoom-out technique.

Four is a swimming pool scene. Rio wears a bold red one piece bathing suit which sadly does a good job of concealing her cleavage. Let’s blame the art director for a gaffe like this. When you have a model with a terrific bust, your job is to display her figure - not obscure it. On the plus side - having the camera do a series of 360’s around Rio while she was in the water was a nice segment. During this style of shot Rio would remain in focus as the background whizzed by in a blur. See above bottom right.

Five is a bathtub scene. And this time they get great marks. This was a superb scene with Rio in a lacy bra and panties. And the bathtub setting was just marvelous too. Lots of marble and a big mirror help show off Rio. Another plus was the natural light as this bathtub had big windows to look out from while in the tub. Or maybe to look in through if one was walking by. Just kidding - this isn’t a ground floor room.

In the next scene they make up for the lack of cleavage in the pool scene. Rio wears a brief dark bikini and looks quite sexy. Though this was shot indoors, the lighting was generally good. This scene also featured an active camera as well as some intriguing angles. Well done.

Seven has Rio in a gray/green bikini. Again she shows off a huge amount of cleavage. The setting has a good amount or marble or she’s posed in front of wall. The camera again provides most of the movement.

Eight is one those director’s choice scenes wherein the director tries to go for the artistic elements in shot composition and lighting. The grill-work of a steel gate is utilized as a backdrop at times, and light and shadow for chiaroscuro effects is another theme emphasized. Some of the shots were really great, but other themes failed. For example the end has water falling from a glass held by Rio. But he kills it by having too much darkness in that shot. The images below are the high pints of this chapter.

Nine opens with Rio in a loose pajama top. She standing straddling two twin beds. She’s jumping up and down. As the camera pulls back we see an upright object between her legs. As she jumps up and down, the intent becomes clear. The object is a lamp and it is actually behind her. But the juxtaposition and angle left no down about what they wanted us to think of.

Fortunately this only opens the scene, and shortly afterward Rio opens the pajama top to show off her figure in a white bikini.

There’s a good amount of cleavage to watch in this scene, and Rio looks good. She’s energetic and flirts beautifully with us. The camera movements could have been slower as you are teased and tempted in short bursts as the camera zips around and as the editing employs many cuts.

Ten continues along in the same manner as nine. We open indoors with the light streaming in through an open portal. Rio wears an red sweater mini-dress over a black bikini. Soon the after the dress is removed, the scene becomes a dizzying, full motion adventure. Three things occur continuously - Rio is in constant motion, She turn this way, that way, bends, spins, lifts her legs again and again. Meanwhile the camera movements are non-stop. And to compound the matter, the editing is many cuts at a rapid pace. It is a breathless pace, and is difficult for the viewer. On the plus side is the fact that Rio’s great boobs are often displayed.

Eleven begins at 51 minutes and 40 seconds. Rio wears a long white tee shirt. The walls are white. The light is strong through the windows. We then see she is in a white porcelain bathtub. At the outset it looks like the scene will suffer due to the lack of contrasts. But she’ll take off the tee shirt to show off her boobs.

Yes, the camera does SLOW down enough to make some highlights. And the scene is flooded with falling soap bubbles. Rio exerts alot of playful charm in this scene, and ultimately it is very satisfying.

The last chapter of the DVD is a total waste. Rio wears a dark bikini and jeans as the scene begins. She’s straddling a chair. Her hair is frizzed up. The scene’s light sources are a few stroboscopic pin spotlights which may have been hand-held strong flashlights. The net effect is that it is hard to see, and even harder to watch. Fortunately they fade this scene out after a mere three minutes and change.

 

The credits roll by next with a background of some very nice stills images of Rio culled from the DVD. Kudos for this. We also find out that this DVD was shot at the JWB Hotel in Cebu Island in the Philippines. This was the same location where Rio’s very successful DVDs Lemon T and Milk T were shot.

Additional bonus features include a slide show, and two bonus or special movies which are really Rio behind the scenes. Nothing special here, unless you can speak Japanese and understand what Rio says.

Summary: I’ve always liked Rio Natsume on screen, and despite the flaws in this DVD and the relatively low score, I will recommend this DVD. A three point zero score isn’t a disaster. Rio is on screen with all of her beautiful body charms, and despite the directorial excesses, she is enjoyable.

There’s No need for me to recap the items I didn’t like. Though this DVD is far from the wonderful Lemon T and Milk, I’ll still suggest that all of Rio’s fans can get enjoyment from this one. Just be forewarned that this isn’t one of her best. Retail Internet outlets are below.

cdjapan.co.jp
yesasia.com
play-asia.com
Amazon.co.jp

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 26th, 2008 at 8:10 pm 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.