LOS ANGELES — Japanese porn is traditionally offbeat to the western viewer but a new company is betting that the latest trend from Tokyo — “gravure idol/pink film” movies — will resonate in the U.S.
The niche is described as enticing young magazine/video models who tease the viewer in swimsuits, lingerie or various states of undress, presented in an imaginative, visually stimulating way.
Tokyo-based Studio Happy Chicken Pink has been in business for only a year and is bringing this niche product to the U.S. and creating international stars in the process, according to the company.
The first releases are “Sundae Girl” and “Ayaka Is Your Angel,” both available on May 18. Ayaka’s second DVD, “Thai Relax,” will arrive June 29.
Founder Charlie Maib, an American service member living in Japan, envisioned the national gravure idol obsession — a pop culture phenomenon relatively unknown beyond Japan — exploding into the rest of the world. Maib assembled a multicultural team of like-minded individuals with similar creative vision, and began production on “Sundae Girl” starring 18 year-old ingénue Natsuki Kojima.
“Response to ‘Sundae Girl’ was immediate and undeniable: The 30-minute DVD, which includes a ‘making of’ featurette plus 16-page full color photo book presented in digibook style packaging, was a hit,” said Maib. Gold GT Magazine in Japan proclaimed the film would ‘change the look of (Japan’s) pink cinema forever,’ and declared new sensation Natsuki the ‘rising star rookie of 2010.’”
The studio immediately followed up with “Ayaka Is Your Angel,” starring sultry newcomer Ayaka Uchiyama. The company said the ultra-erotic visual style of this film single-handedly grabbed the attention of gravure idol fans around the world, launching Ayaka as a superstar.
“When we started out, a lot of people said that Americans couldn’t possibly be able to capture the soul of Asian beauty on film, that there was too much of a cultural divide. However, the reaction of fans both in Japan and worldwide has proven them wrong. Not only were our girls able to capture people’s hearts in Japan, but soon they will be capturing hearts all over the world!,” Maib said.
Studio Happy Chicken Pink said it is the first Japanese studio of its kind to secure a distribution deal outside of Japan, covering the United States and Canada through an agreement with MVD Entertainment.
More information at HCKPINK.
