Oppai Volleyball – Film Review
November 23rd, 2009
8 comments
he idea was a good one. Market a film by employing the lustfull thoughts of teen-age boys; you know what I mean – raging hormones combined with a healthy obsession with boobs (the Japanese word for breasts is oppai). This is a rather common state in boys all over the world,and has been for about as long as there has been boys and girls.
Mix that with one of the prettiest and most popular actresses in all of Japan – Haruka Ayase, a former gravure idol.
Add in a rags to riches sports angle – you know what I mean here as well: a team of inept and incompetent players (could be any team sport – in this case it was volley) who rise to the occasion.
If this seems like a can’t miss proposition, you are right. I’m not even close to being a teen-ager, and I was eager to see this film after it was announced.
Just one thing – this wasn’t a concept cooked up in the mind of an imaginative screenwriter. No, this was a real event that happened in Japan when a female teacher promised to show her boobs to her adoring team of volleyball players. At least that’s what they tell us.
This film is supposed to be based on a true story set in 1979. But more likely it is based upon a novel on the same subject by Munenori Muzuno.
Okay back to the film. After that kind of build up, and that kind of marketing ploy; if you were to think that this seems almost too good to be true, you would be right.
Not only does Ms Ayase NOT show her oppai (breasts) to the boys, to us, or to anyone else, but there’s almost no volleyball either. And even the boys’ stash of girlie magazines seems quite tame.
No, the reality is that this a feel good, coming of age story for both the students and Ayase’s character of the teacher Mikako Terashima.
Since coming of age films usually depict some sort of involvement With a member of the opposite sex, you’d be right if you thought we might see something like that. Only in this film, all those expected and hoped for best parts never happen.
Now before you say, what’s the point or why should I even bother to watch this – please note that Haruka Ayase is very nice to look at. Even though they take care to not emphasize her curvy figure, we are left with many shots of Haruka’s wide open eyed beauty. There’s no denying she’s quite attractive and beautiful.
Besides that, this type of scenario (coming of age) will no doubt trigger some memories of events that happened in your own lives. Or maybe you had a severe crush on one of your teachers.
So I’ll leave you with this thought – you’re not going to see what you thought you might see. But in the last minute or so of the film, you will see something like what you hoped to see. Almost. But by then, you won’t really mind.
The idea was a good one. Market a film by employing the lustful thoughts of teen-age boys; you know what I mean – raging hormones combined with a healthy obsession with boobs (the Japanese word for breasts is oppai).
This state of affairs is a rather common state in boys all over the world, and has been for about as long as there has been boys and girls.
Mix that with one of the prettiest and most popular actresses in all of Japan – Haruka Ayase, a former gravure idol.
Add in a rags to riches sports angle – you know what I mean here as well: a team of inept and incompetent players (could be any team sport – in this case it was volleyball) who will try to rise to the occasion.