Review: TEK-067 Princess Peach Yua Mikami

ID: TEK-067
Actress: Yua Mikami
Release Date: 2015-06-01
Label: Muteki
Genres: AV Debut, Fallen Idol
Reviewer: Mr. Tan 

Introduction

Among the many interesting Japanese subcultures, idoru culture is probably the most familiar, yet confusing, for Westerners.  Currently, a massive number of idol groups compete for the hollow adulation of a limited fan base, a battle royale of who can come up with the gimmick that best appeals to the shrinking Japanese population (gaijin fans generally don’t count). The music is extremely varied, whether it’s a dependable J-pop stalwart like Morning Musume, the atrocity that is BABYMETAL, or remarkably niche 80s ambient synth pop like Tentenko. There’s something for everyone.

However, the one thing that all idols, solo or in groups, have in common is that they sell a fantasy. It’s a common fantasy, one attractive people have sold to their mundane peers since time immemorial: “you have a chance with me.” It goes one step further for idols, who have a “no relationship clause” printed in font size 72 on their contracts. Man or woman, so long as you’re an idol, you sell that fantasy like it’s the last Coca Cola in the desert. Getting caught breaking that clause results in severe consequences, ranging from quiet demotion to public humiliation right down to unemployment.

Kito Momona was a member of SKE48, a sister group to the best-selling female idol group AKB48. In contrast to its sister group, SKE48 was scandal-free…. except for her. She was abruptly busted down from the mid-tier “KII” team (read as K2, since AKB has the original K team) down to “student trainee,” then after year and a half of shame, she was allowed into the headline “S” team. Eight months later, she was "transferred" to the bottom “E” team, only one step removed from “student trainee” status. The reasons for her frequent (and unexplained) demotions became apparent in the summer of 2013, as she was publicly caught on film breaking that unbreakable clause twice in three months. Things died down, she was supposed to be allowed back into the “S” team, but was abruptly “graduated” out before the promotion went into effect. One wonders what she was caught doing that delivered the finishing blow.

About a year after her departure, we got this, her AV debut as Yua Mikami.

The Actress

SKE48 is an idol group designed with girl-next-door appeal, with most performances at the “home” concert hall to truly sell the idea that these are “idols you can meet,” instead of the more unattainable members of acts like Morning Musume. That does not mean that an SKE48 girl lacks media training. From the moment the movie opens, you’re made aware that Yua Mikami is an expert at playing to the camera and the audience watching her behind it. There’s a hint of innocence in her persona, or perhaps more accurately, purity. This purity is that of sensuality, one that does not aim for the slatternly sloppiness that Mr. White adores. Rather, Yua Mikami embodies the pleasure of sex.

Physically, she’s as pretty as the nickname she carried while she was an SKE48 idol, peach princess. She’s a flower in bloom, one the viewer will desire to pick. Her face is oval-shaped, with sweet features that compel the audience to want to kiss her. Frankly, it seems a waste that the directors chose not place a flower in hair during this film. Her body is long and slender, with a pair of lovely breasts on her petite frame perfectly sized to cup, one in each hand. Vocally, she has a breathy little voice the viewer cannot help but like, particularly during sex.

Rating 4.0

The Performance

Technically, this is an AV Debut, but it’s hard to call it such when the actress herself is a pro of the entertainment industry. She already knows what the audience wants; it’s the same thing they’ve wanted from her for her entire career. She has spent years toying with that audience, using innuendo, hints, flirtations. There is nothing she needs to build up anymore. She can deliver what’s been begged from her, but she will do it at her own pace.

It’s fairly clear that even when she was under her contract in her SKE48 days, Yua Mikami did not live like a Catholic nun. Or perhaps the metaphor works better if I say shrine maiden? It would not be surprising if her promotion back to the “S” team involved frequent encounters with senior executives and her demotions involved liaisons with those in her own age group.

Digression aside, Yua Mikami knows what she’s about. Even as she plays the ingénue and flutters her eyelashes at the viewer, she demonstrates good sexual skills and excellent audience appeal. She might not be a pro on Yuma Asami’s tier, but she’s a natural, giving a performance far better than the average AV Debut. It makes me wonder if Anri Okita did as well in her debut. Hmm…

Before I forget, on the strength of her debut film, she acquired the Best Newcomer of the Year Award at the 2016 DMM.R18 Adult Awards. Let me repeat: Yua Mikami managed to secure the award despite possessing only one AV during the time frame considered by the award committee.

Rating 4.0 

Story/Theme/Setting

Initially, I was going to call the setting the least impressive part of the film, but I reconsidered when I did a quick review of the debuts of other fallen idols. Those films usually involve only references to their past careers while following the well-trodden steps of the standard debut film, but this one tosses that idea. Instead, the movie embraces the conventions of the typical non-nude gravure and idol videos and gives them a definitive JAV twist.

The film opens with a false press conference, which my rudimentary grasp of the Japanese language suggests is about as lewd and provocative as you’d expect from JAV. Yua Mikami plays along and never loses her smile as she provides the combination of bemusement and mild disbelief a girl next door would feel at being accosted in such manner. Then comes the first of the idol/gravure homages, which serve as breaks in between the sexual scenes. The first of these is a normal “flirting idol” run, where the girl smiles and flirts with the camera, bringing a smile to the viewer’s face, which makes sense as the idol hasn’t gotten to work yet, so to speak. The second continues off from the first, only this time, Yua Mikami gradually gets naked. Once she’s down to her underwear, she hides behind a translucent window shade which tantalizes with hints of her body without revealing it completely until she’s ready to emerge. The third scene involves a fun bathing scene, where the soap bubbles are removed and reapplied to tease the viewer with her body, and then concludes with a popsicle blowjob which is very hot. Last scene involves her playing around with a hula hoop (during her SKE48 days, hula hoop was her “special skill”) and jumping rope in a swimsuit at least two sizes too big for her, which revels in plenty of nipple slips.

Rating 4.0

Sexual Content

After a great deal of thought, I think I’ve figured out why this film is so highly rated. To borrow an idiom from Mr. White, its success stems from successful blue-balling. It’s over a half-hour before you see Yua Mikami naked, and another half-hour before you finally see penetration, yet the entire time, you’re kept on-edge, lustful, and in need of relief. The first sexual interaction takes place about twenty minutes in, with a pretty decent exercise in fellatio, but Yua Mikami is fully-clothed throughout, so there’s a concession, but it’s still not everything. For those willing to delay gratification, the succeeding scene results in pay-off, as Yua Mikami delivers her first time... being recorded having sex. It’s a pleasurable scene to watch.

The scene after this is a bit more direct. The setting is a rather minimalist room, something you might see in a brothel or massage parlor, and the scene itself seems rather like a showcase, as she demonstrates above-average skill with paizuri (titjob), footjob, intercrural, and cowgirl. The scene after this is a threesome… the wrong kind of threesome. I did not mention this in my Yuma Asami review, but for me, the minimum boob to penis ratio is 2 to 1, so the higher the latter number gets, the less I enjoy it. Still, when required, Yua Mikami does a good job of giving pleasure to both her partners at the same time. It makes you wonder how often she was forced to do that in her previous job.

Rating 3.5

Overall

Our review criteria require me to round to the nearest tenth, so a bit of nuance is lost here. Still, I have to acknowledge that this film is near-perfect and does justify the hype that Yua Mikami received as a result. This one-off became the start of an AV career, which I think may be longer-lived than those of her fallen idol sempais. Yua Mikami was trained in how to play to the camera, so when this skill is combined with her pure sexuality, the resulting movie hits the right buttons at the right times. With Anri Okita’s retirement, I am bereft of an active favorite, but I think I will take a closer look at Yua Mikami’s new films and see if she’s a contender for that spot.

Rating: 3.9 B+(+)

Highly Recommended