REBD-495: I Want To Be Your Recommendation
Actress: Tsubaki Sannomiya (22)
Studio: REbecca
Release Date: 2020-09-24
Runtime: 96 Minutes
Introduction
Tsubaki Sannomiya is a new debut to the world of JAV and Gravure, starting off her career with S1 in August of this year. From a quick browse it appears she is doing fairly well on the JAV front, but IVs are a different beast in many ways. Tsubaki debuted first in Gravure with photoshoots for Graphis back in July and this REbecca film is the video portion of that photoshoot, which is substantial as REbecca and Graphis are viewed as the top tier Gravure producers. Let’s see how the debut turns out.
Production & Setting
The film opens with an outside preview of the filming location, in this case Fujikawaguchiko, a small town at the northern base of Mt. Fuji, a popular destination for hiking and enjoying other summer activities. From here we move on into a local hotel and are greeted by Tsubaki talking to the viewers, the music is subdued during this part so those that can understand Japanese can at least hear what she has to say. This scene has a good set of colors and natural lighting. The lobby had many contrasts and flowing themes, and the bedroom portion is aided tremendously by a large amount of natural light. Tsubaki’s movements are slow as she undresses and the music is keeping pace with her movements, increasing in complexity and volume as she gets closer to full nude. This is an excellent use of all the elements available to the production crew for this scene. The scene continues to focus on Tsubaki’s assets, mainly her shapely breasts and nothing about the closeups is fast, allowing for the viewer to enjoy and be immersed into the full scene. The whole thing goes for about 20 mins and shifts musical tone once Tsubaki is nude, but the pace doesn’t change.
The second shoot is filled with interesting contrasting colors, red chandeliers, red walls, yellow clothing, a bedroom setting with a mirror provides an additional layer of complexity to the scene. The lighting is soft, the pace is slow, allowing for more focus on Tsubaki and her interaction with herself and the environment. This contrasts with a more muted palette in the next shoot, where white is dominant save for the small amount of contrasting color on Tsubaki’s clothing. Color contrast increases in the next shoot with Tsubaki wearing a beautifully contrasting outfit with her surroundings. Having her sit next to a green plant and natural light source just aids in reinforcing her attributes and bring focus to her and where the camera goes.
The final two shoots are quite different. First up is a pool shoot with excellent use of lighting and close ups with Tsubaki’s body and the water touching it, including some solid underwater shots and the focus on her wet clothing stuck to her. She even does some “sexy” ice cream eating, so kudos to that bonus for those that like it. The soapy suds finale is a nice touch. The last shoot is where the production quality of this film reaches its peak. Shot in an abandoned warehouse/factory of sorts. Tsubaki’s outfit, the majestic and confident music, the color symmetry between Tsubaki and her surroundings, and the pace of the camera movements, it all comes together in this shot. The “mind the gap” moment with the light shining between her legs from behind is solid, and her contrasting look with the outdoors and stained windows with the natural light is nothing short of an amazing gravure shot. The complexity of this shoot sells the entire film, although the pool shoot is the sexiest.
Score: 8/10 (Production), 8/10 (Setting)
Music
The music throughout this film is solid, no real misses here. The tempo and style work flawlessly throughout each scene. Tsubaki doesn’t really go faster than the music is conveying, which is the point since you don’t want either out of sync. Majestic is likely the best word to use for the music in all instances except for the end of the 5th shoot and during the 3rd. Opening the film musically, with the exception of the scene montage that REbecca films do, the first piece begins with a mysterious eerie tone as Tsubaki moves around the room and removes clothing, but as she is doing this the music gets louder and more complex, hinting towards a climax of sorts, but then dips into a soft and subtle progression right when it sounds like it should crescendo. It repeats this pattern until Tsubaki is naked and then takes on a quieter softer streak during the finale as the viewer gets to see her full body unimpeded by clothing.
The next set of music is more complex right off the bat, but that’s in part due to the piano. The tempo is a little faster, focusing on a little more lighthearted depiction of Tsubaki as she plays with her surroundings and works on undressing. However, it shifts gears to create a melancholic tone of sorts as we get closer to the undressing part, finishing off with a slow nostalgic sound. The third scene is very lighthearted, light piano strokes attempt to convey the idea of playfulness and innocence in the white bedroom, only changing in tone and pace in the latter half of the undressing period where added percussion speeds up the pace.
The fourth set is very contrasting in many ways, not just visually, but the music is lighthearted and upbeat in parts, but slower and somber in the latter half as the focus is back to Tsubaki’s body and not as much on the setting as a whole. The pool shoot is interesting, its more in the middle, not too lighthearted, but not all somber and slow. This is where the majestic label could come into play as we see Tsubaki work her body in and around the water element. It takes a short break to do a nice guitar solo during the food session and then culminates in a finale feeling sound before jumping into an upbeat rhythm that wouldn’t be a stranger in early 2000s pop track beats. It makes the scene more fun, not that the soapy breasts needed help with that.
And last but not least, the final scene, this music can basically be described as a perfectly paced combination of melancholic, nostalgic, and majestic elements. The complexity adds an incredible amount of depth to the scene, as if the contrasting lighting and colors needed help with that to begin with. This scene and all it’s elements basically make the film, a perfect musical finale to what the previous hour had been building up to.
Score: 8/10
Aesthetic & Performance
Solid choices all the way around in this film. As previously mentioned, Tsubaki’s outfits work seamlessly with every scene and the contrasting colors helps to increase the effectiveness of the shots. Not all scenes have contrasting elements, the pool scene in particular is pretty mellow in this regard, but it works given it’s an indoor pool with a muted palette. Starting with the opening scene, Tsubaki walking into the hotel, addressing the viewers, and then off to the first shot in a room is what the viewer should expect. Gravure is about the actress and their uniqueness, having them just walk in and start taking clothing off while nice, isn’t what this sort of medium should aspire to be. Having some interaction goes a long way.
Tsubaki’s performance is good, she works well with a slower tempo and doesn’t display many flow issues in terms of working with the camera. The music is likely chosen afterwards but as previously stated, it matched her performance well. Aesthetically, beyond the outfits, Tsubaki’s looks are great. I’m not a huge fan of short hair but it works with her, and of course, the main centerpiece can’t be ignored; her breasts. Are they enhanced? Who cares, they look great, and are front and center throughout the film, mainly because there are virtually no undercarriage shots unless clothed, which is somewhat interesting given her presence in the JAV industry as well. Now because the atmosphere portrayed by this film was rather slow and subdued to a point, not like some energetic romp down a beach, the performance while solid, won’t quite reach into the upper ratings that I would give to other IVs that fit into that fun and entertaining category, but that’s alright, it’s still a good show.
Score: 8.5/10 (Aesthetic), 7.5/10 (performance)
Summary
A solid IV overall and a well-done debut for Tsubaki. Every aspect of this film was done well, not perfection level, but solid, nonetheless. I look forward to seeing more of her in future IVs, either for REbecca or other labels. The movie lacks a simulated sex scene which is good as those tend to be fairly hit and miss and often don’t do the production any favors. Tsubaki has a few JAV releases that are good enough for those interested to lookup as well if a more sexual side of Tsubaki is desired. The scenes were well done, the music well selected, Tsubaki’s performance was in keeping with the themes and it worked well. If she is aiming for a more subdued presence in Gravure in contrast to a high energy actress, then that’s fine, so long as she and her producers can keep up this level of quality in future productions.
Final Score: 8/10
Pros
– Music selection was solid
– Settings and backdrops were well done and matched the other elements
– Tsubaki looked great, her outfits worked in every scene, and her performance was well done
– Tsubaki spoke to the viewers and wasn’t dubbed over
Cons
– Not energetic enough for my tastes