Ranked #1039

Sensitive Pornograph

Stangely enough, this is one of my favorites.

I'm not really sure why that is, except that everything comes together in such a way as to make me want to see the video over and over in its entirety.

The video consists of two separate stories. (That's two of the seven stories of the original manga.) Although not long, each story is set up and the plot is developed enough to establish an interest in something other than the sex--i.e., the characters and their situations. Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of sex of the male-male kind. Although explicit, it isn't so explicit that you wonder why you're concentrating on that body part so much, and the emotion of both partners before, after, and during the sex is portrayed in such a way as to be moving. The first story is told from a first person perspective, getting you more deeply into the mind of one character. In the short time allowed for plot and character development that may be beneficial, but you still get to know the other character somewhat as well. Also that means you can directly experience the emotion of that character. The plot is developed adequately, and resolves satisfyingly, but not without some plot conflict, so the path is a bit unpredictable.

The art is attractive and the men are attractive too. One other reviewer did comment that the ukes (especially) look alike, and I agree, but there is significant personality difference (and hair color!) to distinguish them. Everything is given a golden glow which has a romantic effect. The bodies look like men's bodies, even if somewhat young ones. Maybe one other problem (which is relatively minor in this video compared with other similar ones that I've seen) is the use of static images and repetitive sequences, but it's not too annoying here, and the action still moves along well enough.

I rarely find a problem with sound in these videos, maybe my ear isn't subtle enough? But there are no overt annoyances, in any case.

The characters are quite well developed for such a short time, and nobody is underage, which is a nice change of pace. All the characters are likeable as well.

Overall I get a really romantic happy feel from watching this video. It's sweet and sexy at the same time without being sappy. I'd recommend this to all Yaoi fans and anyone else with an open mind. read more

So, the infamous "Sensitive Pornograph". Here we go.

Let's be honest about one thing first off: these are certainly not stand-alone stories. By that, I mean that graphic (no invisi-penis here!) sex scenes aside, the stories, characters, etc, in this OVA are not at all strong enough to stand of their own merits. This is porn, plain and simple. It's porn blissfully devoid of rape and tentacles and bukakke and the other litany of fetishes that are not my fetishes, but it's still porn.

That aside, this is one yaoi that is, especially as compared to its contemporaries, blissfully devoid of darqueness and angst. There is no cutting, no suicide attempts, none of that bullshit that, usually, within the context of a yaoi OVA, consists of the meat and bones of a character's... character. There is a scene about ten minutes in where one of the characters indulges in typical angst (oh, he's just using me; he's just a slut), and as soon as the other character confirms that he IS loose, lightning crashes and it starts raining. And I snorted up my cranberry juice. And the second story, with the boy going to pet-sit the "rabbit"--whatever. Said "rabbit", henceforth the nubile and handcuffed Aki-chan, is a DEAD RIPOFF of Ayanami Rei from Evangelion in male form, especially at the end of the story when he is bandaged up and has the same damn head bandage. And I think there was some magical soul-affirming secks involved in there, not entirely sure, though I can see why a sex slave would find it gratifying to realize that somebody cares about HIS pleasure as well. Whatever.

Those foibles aside, I admit I have to bump the OVA up to "above average" just because despite its faults, it avoids so many of the laughably-bad yaoi cliches plaguing the genre. The characters, for the most part, don't take themselves too seriously and seem to realize that they are involved in utterly absurd situations, which I appreciate--because they are. And, for something that is blatantly porn, that ain't bad.

I do have major issues with the music. It's HORRID. It's this generic synth-acoustic crap that made me want to shut off the speakers. I know porn is not known for its original soundtracks, but DAMN this was bad. It's like a throwback to everything that was wrong with early-90s anime soundtracks.

Artwork--because let's be honest, again; in porn visuals are important--is the most solid aspect of the OVA by far. It's pretty high-quality. It looks like old-school cel-shading done right. And there's a lack of the ludicrous invisi-penis common to so much yaoi. If you're going to draw porn, dammit, draw it right. Go big or go home. All the boys look like they need to eat a sandwich or something--the rabbit-boy looks damn near anorexic--but I like slender boys, so this is okay.

All in all, this is one of the most solid titles in the genre for what it is--porn. Gay porn. Men fucking men. That is to say, it isn't gauge-your-eyes-out / laughably bad. If yaoi tickles your fancy, this is one of the best titles you can find. If it doesn't, there is absolutely nothing here to interest you. Go home and play Super Smash Bros. or something. read more