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It was as demented as I would expect from Hustler Video and a very interesting debut for Japan X.

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Cage

Review by Maria Lujuria

2 episode OVA series

Company: Japan X

Running Time: 60 Minutes

Region: 1

Rating: NC-17 (Scenes of nudity, graphic sex, and rape)

This DVD is preset at Parental Control Level NC-17

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW IS ONE OF AN ADULT NATURE. PARENTAL DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

EXTERNAL EXAM

Sakimi Endo is ordinary college student who finds the most handsome man on campus, Takuya Kakizaki, wanting to be close to her. Unable to hold back from her dreams coming true, Sakimi submits to him unaware of his true motives. Using her credit and bankcards located within her student i.d. card, he steals from her and leaves her with an enormous debt. Afraid and not sure what to do, she becomes a hooker, endlessly satisfying men every day.

Things change for her when she meets a man named Asamiya who says he can help her out of debt. Beginning to hope for a normal life again, she follows him. Unfortunately, she ends up as an imprisoned sex slave for Club Canary, an underground sex club where men freely do whatever they want with the women there. Will being a sex slave pay her debts? Can Sakimi save herself from becoming a sex slave forever?

DVD VISION TEST

Video: High Resolution Quality video is used for Cage and it shows in the bright and well-defined line and colors of the piece. Everything is clear and crisp for easy viewing. There are no signs of discoloration, blurriness and smudges.

Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo is used for the crisp soundtrack of the piece. All voices and sound effects are crystal clear with perfect volume to all sounds. There is hardly any flatness or saturation in order to assure easy listening. There is no English Dub version to Cage so only the Japanese language subtitled version is available.

Edits: No questionable edits.

Extras: Very few extras with only some bonus footage and preview trailers.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: Now one of the many traditions within the hardcore spectrum of hentai, another gullible woman is taken advantaged of and pays for it (many times) with her body. Sakimi Endo is a pretty college girl who finally gets the man of her dreams, Takuya Kakizaki. Unfortunately, he is the start of her nightmares when he steals money from her and Sakimi ends up in thousands of dollars in debt. It becomes predictable that she ends up quitting school and becomes a prostitute to try to pay off the debt. This is what I thought would make up the majority of Cage, Sakimi becoming a hooker and being used against her will. What makes this title so interesting is the twist toward the end of episode one, when a man simply named Asamiya offers to help her with his services. Things only end up worse for her when her freedom is taken away and is forced to become a sex slave. Then the fun truly begins.

ACTING: There is no English dubbed version available, only the Japanese language subtitled. There is also no English version of the credits as well. However, I’ve got to give credit to the voice actors for this decadent treat. The voices for Sakimi and Mana match very well to their characters and are convincing in their performances. This shows in the more tender scenes when Sakimi is trying to persuade her opposite to try to escape the club.

The voice acting for all of the men is so well done (for extras) that it becomes very eerie to even watch them. Since the women are sex slaves, the men using them are obviously not going to be the best of their gender. Twisted and severely tainted, the mostly faceless men appear truly to be the villains and their voices give them that spark that shows they don’t give a damn.

SEX SCENES: Oral sex dominates this title and is found in every scene. There is also missionary, doggie-style, reverse cowgirl, light bondage, anal, double penetration, use of toys, one threesome, and one foursome.

FINAL EXAM

When Hustler Video announced that they were going begin distributing Japan X’s hentai anime series, I got excited and curious as to what their first release would be. I was expecting many unpredictable and twisted delights with Cage, their first title, considering the reputation of Hustler within the adult entertainment world. After viewing it for the first time, all my expectations were fulfilled; perhaps too much so that some scenes were just too uncomfortable for my own enjoyment.

As with many young women in hentai, especially in the hardcore spectrum, they are forced to do things they wouldn’t normally do. This comes in the example of Sakimi Endo. She is a very pretty college girl who finally gets the attention of the crush of her dreams, Takuya Kakizaki. Naturally, they have a few sexual encounters until she finds out the true motives of her boyfriend. Using her student ID, which contains her credit card and bank information (can we say dumb move?); Takuya leaves her thousands of dollars in debt. Thanks to bill collectors and phone calls from credit card companies, Sakimi finds out and tries to find him. She fails. With no choice but to pay off the money she now owes, she quits college and becomes a hooker. This is the start of Sakimi’s long journey into sexual slavery. She ends up as a sex slave at a secret club run by a man just called Asamiya, the owner of the Club Canary. Along the way she meets another sex slave, the pretty blonde Mana Todo, who is at the club for reasons unlike Sakimi. The two end up doing many things they never thought they would do. It gets to a point where both girls don’t want to do certain things when approached by clients. However, under the strict mastery of Asamiya, they find out the hard way what happens to slaves who disobey.

As expected, the sex is hardcore and very graphic with all of the details emphasized with clarity. Nothing is spared and it is amazing how not just the women’s bodies but the men’s bodies are produced with such detail. Some of the best private parts I have ever seen in hentai are in this title, foreskin and all. Since the setting is a sex club, many fetishes are fulfilled, from the maid, to a schoolgirl, to a nurse, to even a nun. This leads to the most disturbing scene at the end of episode one where a priest is an actual customer.

It is obvious where a scene containing a priest is going to go next. Nonconsensual sex combined with consistent references to religious symbols results in a very creepy segment. It is hard to begin to get into an arousing mood then see a cross on a wall and then cut back to a penetration scene. Think of this happening for a good four to five minutes. I can see now why Hustler was interested in this title. Though I love material that ruffles the edges and truly makes a statement, it has to be done carefully in order to be fulfilling as erotica. Then again, that particular scene is vague enough to almost become erotic drama as Sakimi realizes how low she has sunk at this point. I watched the rest of the “church” scene but didn’t do anything else but watch. For the rest of the sex scenes, all of them were executed pretty well with little to no recycling of positions, plenty of moist close ups, and some very happy endings.

In the second episode, there is more emphasis on the relationship between the two women. As soon as they begin to actually talk to each other (Mana is quiet through the first episode) it is expected that there will be some action between the two. Though the two do have sex (with another customer in the room); the relationship doesn’t go toward any desire and love. Instead it points more toward an actual friendship. I was surprised at how motherly Sakimi was toward her counterpart. She was so convincing that even passive Mana changed her mind about being a sex slave and wanted to be free too. The ending was unexpected and actually landed a smile on my face. Something that is rare in the usual tragedy of hardcore hentai endings.

Character designs are attractive, especially with Sakimi, who obviously received the most attention. The male character designs are surprisingly done with more detail than I thought. Their faces are designed with such line work that though Sakimi and Mana’s pimp is detestable, the jons who use them are even worse. Their appearance truly made me hate them for what they were doing to the women (though Sakimi admits that there are times when she does enjoy it). The overall look of the piece is sharp and color is done subtly. The animation is fairly smooth with the exception of a few choppy moments. The sex scenes show that most of the focus during production was on them so it’s smooth where it counts. Since the setting is a sex club, it is expected that the environment is rather plain. However, it’s nothing too much to take away from the viewing experience.

In the end, I did enjoy Cage. It was as demented as I would expect from Hustler Video and a very interesting debut for Japan X. However, this title didn’t go into Night Shift Nurses territory or even into the more vile titles such as Bondage Game or Alie Maniax as I was expecting (though I can now see that those titles would be perfect for Hustler distribution). There isn’t much here to even achieve a gross factor. However, on the ethics factor, the “church scene” is definitely going to be offensive to a few people and serves as a shock in more ways than being gross. Hot sex, voluptuous women, fairly decent story, and a happy ending(s) give not too bad an offering for a hardcore hentai series. And pushing the limit doesn’t hurt it either.

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