RACA-021: Nude Art

Model: Ai Uehara (Rin Akimoto) (20)
Studio: Raven

Release Date: 2012-11-23
Runtime: 80 Minutes

7.1/10

Introduction

We are back with another Ai Uehara IV, this one being her second film with Gravure studio Raven. AiU (Ai Uehara) had not fully settled on an alias and so we have another, albeit more prominent name compared to her earlier titles, Rin Akimoto. Additionally, in the time since AiU’s first IV, her figure has changed substantially, taking on the form that the JAV industry would come to be very familiar with. Raven films tend to feature new debuts and younger models, although that’s largely just the marketing, as AiU is advertised as 18 but is not that young. Furthermore, Raven films tend to be very rapid fire, with a dozen shoots per film in short sequence, so this review will be brief on descriptions otherwise it will be quite long. Let’s see how AiU did in her second year in the industry.
 

Production & Setting

No intro montage for this film, granted, that’s normal for Raven releases. Instead, we get right to the action with AiU outside next to a colorful fence and wearing an almost cliché summer dress with floral patterns. The scene wastes no time in getting to the focus of the shoot, some panty shots. In under four minutes AiU gives the viewer a bare butt shot and its time to move indoors for the next shoot. The next shoot is more dynamic in presentation. AiU has her hair up in a ponytail and is wearing a simple white bikini. The lighting in this scene is good, AiU is positioned in front of a window, thus making her the central focus while removing any potential noise from the natural light. Off to the side is the lamp that normally illuminates the room, and it provides a warmth to what would otherwise be some dark and cold colors across the walls and railing. This scene is more playful, with AiU rubbing her body and slowly removing her bikini bottom. Some well positioned camera work teases the reveal of a bare vagina, but then AiU just does a reach around to cover it. Note, this film gets very close shots of this region and there is no censorship, just strategic camera and finger placement, something that other studios often don’t risk.
 
From there it’s the first of several bathrooms’ shoots, this one being AiU rinsing herself down in the famous bathing suit attire that is seen in JAV and Gravure, typically among schoolgirls and the like. The scene itself is basic, the colors of the room aren’t anything special, the lighting is basic and largely just present, not really utilized. Camera work is good, you get some interesting perspective shots aimed up towards AiU, who is enthusiastic and smiling throughout. There is also some focus on AiU’s butthole once she is undressed prior to the bath scene. It’s a nice-looking butthole but could be better with proper lighting. The rest of the scene is AiU playing with the suds from the bath and squishing her boobs, not a bad end even if the setting is somewhat lackluster.

Back outside and there are now different colors on the fence, this is a very interesting house paint wise. AiU does more naked posing outside. Nothing special, she looks cute but not much to the scene. Back inside the next scene is quite a bit better, AiU is wearing a polka-dot top curled up in a loveseat. The color gradient of this scene is mostly greys and greens, with even the plant leaves looking a little dull. Lighting is good, a single white light is creating some top-down rays, this gives some decent shadow textures. The scene shifts to a masturbation bit with a very weird looking vibrator that spews out UV light. Nothing much to say here, AiU makes all the sex noises, and that’s pretty much that. 

Bathroom scene number two. AiU is sucking on some weird pink rubbery sausage looking thing? She then proceeds to pee in the bathtub, so, there is that for those that are into it, although of course she is wearing underwear, so you don’t get a clear view, but the clothing obviously gets very wet. The following scene is the last non-masturbation/fake sex scene in the film. It opens with AiU wearing a striped top, her hair down, and a neutral lighting off to the side, reduced by the drapes. This set is visually basic, but the color gradient is good, with nothing standing out in any noisy way. AiU of course looks great and proceeds to undress, and the camera work and transitions are decent as well, if a bit static at times. Once AiU turns around however, the closeups to her vagina with the underwear she is wearing, 10/10. There are plenty of uncensored videos of AiU so seeing what that portion of her naked isn’t hard to find, but the outfit aspect is very appealing (and highly risky to publish). The rest of the scene is the usual pose, squeeze boobs, cover other bits, rinse repeat, nothing too special. 

Onto the final scenes, first is an interesting masturbation scene with AiU using a vibrator and a sad piano piece plays over AiU’s sounds and the vibrator hums. Guess the music makes the moment more significant. The scene ends with AiU gushing as she orgasms, a staple in later JAV works. They also did not edit out the sound of the liquid, so it sounds like it’s raining. The next scene is another masturbation scene, with some excellent classical music playing over the shoot. The set has a warmer yellow light to it, and AiU’s outfit is a nice polka dot top that is unbuttoned. She is entertaining with some of her facial expressions as she changes position. The rest of the shoot is just dildo play, so moving on. Last scene, bathroom shoot number three, and there is a dog somewhere. AiU basically has fake (maybe?) sex in this scene in the bathtub. A fake dick looking dildo is revealed and she is fingered by the cameraman (or at least, the perspective is POV). There is evidence that some penetration occurred, but they crop that bit out. Although, daring of them to film the fingering without mosaic, even though you can’t see anything but a hand. To finish off the film there is a very short BTS section, which I would have loved if it were longer.

Score: 7/10 (Production), 6.5/10 (Setting)nal

Music

The music throughout was good, essentially the soundtrack was nothing but piano and string ensembles with great percussion and winds here and there. The pacing was only off during the latter half of the first bathtub scene, where it could afford to have been a bit more energetic. In addition, the music being present, while more a critique on the production of the film, was a bit of a flop in certain parts due to the sounds being overbearing. As there are numerous scenes throughout this film and several tracks, I’ll highlight a few The first being the introductory scene. The music is a lighthearted wind piece with some jazzy elements and keytar synth action. The timing for the track is on point, for the winds reach their climax just as AiU reveals her bare butt and then the instrumentals settle down for a smoother sax piece as there is a fade out. Excellent editing and timing on that one. 

The second scene has a very slow tempo with a violin and piano duet. The music is well done, with pauses in the audio at moments in the film that required some fine tuning that’s for sure. And just because it’s such an oddball portion to add, there is indeed an entirely different musical score for the 40 second peeing scene that is just a string chord progression. Of note especially are the transitions, many IVs, even those done by much larger studios, often will just abruptly change to a different track, and while the transitions here can still be abrupt based on musical timing, the fade effect helps make it smoother.

Score: 7.5/10

Aesthetics & Performance

It’s AiU, so just being naked she looks great, and in contrast to her earlier work, she has changed her physical appearance to one that has become her staple look and to me personally, is quite appealing. Set design throughout the film was basic. Outside of some scenes with better usage of lighting and set pieces, most of the film was very standard, nothing experimental, dynamic, or complex. AiU’s outfits were overall good, but again, basic. Her scene with the beaded underwear was certainly the highlight and I can’t imagine how comfortable that would be wear (or how practical) daily. Outside of those, she has a nice butthole, and that’s about it. No SSX bush this time. 

AiU has improved performance wise compared to the last film reviewed. Just going off facial expressions she is quite a bit better on that front. She worked the poses as necessary and at times it looked as if she was having a hard time not smiling for certain changes. In JAV she is a great performer and while I do reject the idea of masturbation/fake sex in Gravure, she at least pulled off some genuine expressions, especially during her waterfall orgasm. Even her smiling wave back at the camera after she took a piss was full of energy. Given that there wasn’t a lot of variety or interaction between AiU and her environment, or even with herself (outside of masturbation), the poses were somewhat average, not much for AiU to do but undress, cover vagina, and pose for the camera. Certainly, could have done with more dynamic shoots on part of the director.

Score: 7/10 (Aesthetics), 7.5/10 (Performance)

Summary

All in all, this IV had the potential to be good. It had solid musical scores and transitions, and AiU appears to be coming into her own, although still somewhat rough around the edges. What held the film back were several factors, a generally uninspired selection of attire, set pieces that were largely average, and a sex scene that while not the worst, should be omitted. AiU’s personality and looks can certainly be better used. Even her masturbation scenes weren’t too bad. Another issue was the number of scenes, the film just blasted through set after set, some longer drawn-out content or maybe a longer BTS to substitute for those short bits between longer sets could have worked. Either way, the film was a noticeable improvement over her debut IV and a rare early non-JAV look at AiU.

Score: 7.1/10
Pros

– AiU
– AiU smile
– Music was good throughout
– Short BTS section

Cons

– Uninspired sets, attire, etc.
– Some scenes were quite noisy with music, vibrator sounds, moans, etc.
– Fake sex scene