Urotsuidoji
New Machine
Mac & PC

This is a truly fine CD-ROM release of the the Japanese animated Overfiend film trilogy. These films are familiar and beloved to fans of anime because of the technical skill of their creation and production values; and not just because there are hours and hour of multiple-orifice tentacle-sex with overhung demons.

Fortunately, the possible excruciating banality of the aforesaid hours of tentacle-sex is alleviated by a number of things; a fairly light plot that plays well, a number of entertaining if not likable characters and a fair hit of humor. (Watch for the female demon. See what happens when her date refuses to spring for a movie.)

There’s one somewhat complex reason that I found these discs/films fascinating. You can learn a lot about a country or culture by examining the stories its people tell. These discs are a weird mix of demon mythology, technology, humor, utterly demented sex, car chases, and the occasional panty shot; and so it’s extremely interesting watching these as a sort of cross-section of what’s floating on Japan’s pop culture collective unconsciousness. However, I realize that it’s not fair in any way, shape, or form to draw general judgements about the sociology of Japan just from watching this disc. That would be like boning up for a doctoral thesis on the history of Great Britain by examining old Monty Python episodes. I wouldn't want anyone judging us by Geraldo, Gilligan’s Island, or MTV, for god's sake.

This batch of tentacle-sex came courtesy of Sweet Sensations.

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The Black Book
Arus Media Group
Mac & PC

I had a lot of fun looking at this month's disc. It's got a slick-looking interface that actually works, takes up absolutely no hard drive space to speak of, has a surprising amount of still and animated erotica of equally surprising high quality, and a no-nonsense, solidly built feel all around.

While you may feel that those technical considerations, combined with the talents of Ona Zee, Jeanna Fine, Nikki Dial, Diedre Holland, and Lisa Ann could not possibly be anything short of perfect, I have to admit that there are a few minor flaws.

While the still photos are quite good, in many cases there is absolutely no correlation between them and the video. But what's wrong with getting more variety for your money?

My second, extremely small, complaint is that the disc seemed heavily weighed towards female-female scenes in the videos. There's nothing wrong, of course, with two women savoring the joys of Lesbos; but, with this much female-only content, it might be a good idea to make it obvious on the cover for those who have a particular fetish for (or aversion to) that kind of thing.

Finally, this disc has an excellent fast-forward button for the films, but for some reason, there's no rewind function. If you want to go backward and see just exactly what it was that Ona Zee did with her tongue (just as a pointer for Sunday night, if you know what I mean) you've got to restart the show right from the beginning.

On the whole, this is a terrific disc, worth every penny. I may want to purchase a copy for myself! Thanks to DK Wilds for the loan.