I think the blog has gotten off to a terrific start and I wanted to thank every one who has contributed as well as to scanlover for deciding to have a community blog.

But I think there’s one area that we haven’t really discussed at all. That would be beautiful Asian women in art. By art I am referring to manga, CGI, anime, or even classical oil paintings.

There’s enough beauty in those worlds to satisfy all of us. In this post I’m going to show you some oil paintings by Chinese artist Guan Zeju. Born in 1941, he was something of a child prodigy and his early works, depicting the changes in China brought about during the days when Chairman Mao’s policies created great upheavals in society, attracted notice. But paintings depicting the changes in a society are not what we have for you today.

Our artist eventually made his way to the USA and as he took notice of the beauty in the world of ballet he discovered something that he could paint superbly.

His ballet paintings attracted serious art collectors, and his works were coveted in the international world of art. Guan Zeju published a collection of his ballet paintings in a book in 2000. The title was Guan Zeju: Selected Ballet Paintings.

But we aren’t going to show you those paintings either, okay – just one – as I’ve done a piece about those on my own blog.

What we have for you today is a series of works of art by Guan Zeju which are either exquisitely beautiful women, or beautiful women in exquisite settings.

There’s no better terms to describe these paintings beyond those that readily come to mind: breath-taking, exquisite, superb, marvelous, and wonderful.

These works are the creations of a man who simply adores women. I don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining to you why these paintings are so masterful.

Your own eyes are the only things you need. My words won’t really matter. It’s quite easy – the first painting at the top of this page is what made you read more.

The artist is Chinese as are the models. The technique has been called classic realism by some, and hyper-realism by others. However you categorize these paintings is really up to you. But since this blog is for the Appreciation of Asian Beauty; I think these paintings are a perfect topic for this blog.

Link to Guan Zeju’s Ballet Paintings –> Here

Tinacle – Tina Yuzuki (Rio)

Price: circa $45 USD

Hard to believe that this book is over two years old and it’s also as far as I know Tina’s first photobook. She has also appeared in the Chinkame series of photobooks as Rio. I saw this book some time back now but made no hesitation in purchasing it.

The book itself is nothing short of high quality, good hardback covers with glossy photo pages and the content must make it a real collector’s item. I even managed to scan one picture from it so far, hopefully I’ll get around to doing a few more.

The photography by Matsumoto Yuuji has been some of the best I’ve come across recently in comparison to other idol photographers and books. The images are pin-sharp, bright and some have dramatic lighting so the technical execution is pretty good and the subject herself seems to, judging from the photos, be reveling in modeling for the photos. None of the photos look flat, which can happen often under studio conditions.

The photos are taken on what looks like a small island, perhaps one of the many islands around Japan. We have photos taken in lush forests, to beaches, in water and in wooden huts – a pretty decent variety of surrounding to take in.

The photographer has also noticed the splendor of the surrounding also by taking landscape shots where Tina is quite small. Although I find that Tina should be the main feature of the book, the photographer hasn’t overdone the landscape shots so it doesn’t distract from her too much.

As I mentioned earlier, Tina revels in this book and looks so innocent (don’t they all…) but as many of you know from her videos she’s anything but. Most of the shots are around a beach so beachwear is pretty much the most featured items of clothing but there are a couple of school uniform shots making their way in too and there is of course full nudity, quite a bit of it too which should please her fans no end.

It easy to see why she has made such a meteoric rise in the JAV industry to become one of the most popular idols in recent memory. Looking through the book Tina does seem to be enjoying herself, sometimes you can get the impression the model just wants to get it over with in other erotic photo-shoots, but there is nothing that I see here that conveys such a impression which is good too see.

There is a good variety of shots of Tina, some close-up to her face, some full-frontal nudity, and a few shots of her perky buttocks. The ones of her in the water are a must-see in my opinion.

There is always something about putting a girl in water and she immediately becomes 10 times hotter. That’s why one of those shots is on the cover I guess.

The only minus point I can find is there is one shot of Tina crying. I don’t really understand what the meaning behind it is and it’s not the only photo book that has these kind of shots in, Kaede Matsushima’s last photo book, The Temptation of Iris, also had a few of these shots in. Just my opinion but I don’t like such shots and I find it strange.

Other than that, I can only recommend this photo book and would be worthy in anyone’s collection. If you’re a Tina Yuzuki (Rio) fan, you should have this one already!

Zanmato’s verdict: 9/10 – Highly recommended! A definite must of all Tina Yuzuki (Rio) fans and those of you that aren’t fans you could well be converted after seeing the photos that this book has to offer.

You are unlikely to see many photo books of this level of technical quality, the beauty of the surrounding area,  and Tina herself is at times, astonishing.

I might as well start off by telling you guys what’s new with this column. Initially, I wanted to do a weekly column recapping the goings-on within ScanLover Forum. I had a feeling that it would go to a bi-weekly schedule, and going forward, this will be posted every two weeks. With that announcement out of the way, continue reading for this edition of What’s New In ScanLover for the weeks of October 25 – November 7.

You may have noticed that this column is not called What’s New In ScanLover instead of This Week In ScanLover. Now that the column will be bi-weekly, that title didn’t make much sense. So the name has been changed. The reason that the column will be bi-weekly is because there weren’t enough updates to put into a weekly column. But that’s fine though. It will also give users something to look forward to.

Congratulations to our award winners for the month of October. Make sure that you take a moment to let them know that their hard work is greatly appreciated. The recipients for October are the following:

Most Active Photo Poster of the Month: ferreterobat

Most Active Video Poster of the Month: jasonkirage

Most Active Photoset Poster of the Month: Horlicks & littlejiji

Most Active Torrent Poster of the Month: pmp

Most Active Chatter of the Month: Max-A-Mill

Most Interesting Weblinks of the Month: Garutska

Most Helpful Member of the Month: Ninespiral

Newcomer of the Month: maaya

Overall Member of the Month: kecskebeka

Power Poster of the Month: samishii

We also have a new moderator on board here at ScanLover Forum. Zanmato79, who is a moderator/admin over at Asiansthetic, has accepted our invitation to come on board and help us continue to make this forum the best one possible, and personally, I’m glad that he is now part of the team. You can go here to read his introduction.

Speaking of Asiansthetic, you may have noticed the welcome message at the top right of the forum. I don’t know how long Asiansthetic will be down for, but I do hope that the wanderers from there continue to make ScanLover Forum their home as well if it wasn’t already.

To my surprise, drilla19 took a hot second to post some pictures to his Private Stash. You can go here to check out his latest. Below is a sample of the lovely Chae Byul Lee, so make sure that you check out the rest.

This time, I don’t have any personal recommendations to end this column with. What I’m really hoping for is to get recommendations from the readers to add here. So if there’s something hot that you feel should get more attention, let me know. Send me a private message or you can email me at candyman215@gmail.com. Until next time.

“Robotrix”

What makes it so much fun is that it does not take itself seriously by trying to pretend it is more than it is: a Class III film, meaning grade B, but with sex, nudity, and soft-core elements.

I confess that the main reason I bought it was to see the beautiful Chikako Aoyama and her spectacular breasts in motion, and she does not disappoint. But it is such a quirky and action packed movie, that I found myself watching every scene, even the ones that did not include the charms of Chikako.

The movie takes place in a futuristic Hong Kong where cyborgs are now part of society, and as always, technology can be used for good or evil,  while  creating a lust for power. A mad scientist named Ryuichi wants to create an army of androids to advance his own evil intentions, but this requires a lot of capital.  He wants to partner with an Arab sheik to form his legion of cyborgs. After a gala extravaganza to demonstrate the robots’ capabilities, the sheik is still not convinced,  so Ryuichi kidnaps the sheik’s son to persuade him.

Now the plot thickens.  Chikako Aoyama plays Linda, a police officer assigned to protect the sheik. She is shot and killed by Ryuichi during the kidnapping. A cyborg is made from her body by Dr. Sara (Hui Hsio-Dan) and her colleague Anna (Amy Yip).

In the meantime, the evil Ryuichi has killed himself, and transplanted his twisted brain into a homicidal android, played by Billy Chow,who goes on a violent rampage. The police department enlists Dr. Sara, Anna,and the now robotic Linda(Eve-27 is her cyborg name) to assist them in stopping the murderous Billy Chow.

This is an entertaining movie, and a strange one too. Extreme violence is juxtaposed over campy fun.  So while some scenes are brutal, it is hard to be offended by them in such an unreal environment, though they’re likely to be shocking against a light-hearted background as well.  However, the CSI franchise on TV, has more violence in the beginning of every one hour episode,than this movie has throughout it’s entirety.

The lovemaking scene with Chikako Aoyama and David Wu was tasteful and erotic, though it could have been more comprehensive and longer. But it was intriguing because by this point, Chikako Aoyama was a cyborg,and she  seduced David Wu with her robotic body.  He thought he was making love to her as a human. This was ironic too, because it was their first time.

There is another scene, a funny one, where Amy Yip is recruited by the police to pose as a prostitute to lure the evil Billy Chow into a trap. But some of the police got word of  Amy’s assignment, so they pose as customers, because they all want to make love to the sexy android Amy Yip. As you might imagine, the news spreads like wildfire, that there is a great time to be had upstairs, so the line of customers grows so long, that had she not been a robot, she never would have been able to handle so much business.

This was funny in another way too, because while the police wanted to make it with the super Amy Yip, she wanted to know what it felt like to have sex with a human!

All in all, an enjoyable film, and it is available at Amazon,Yesasia, and other outlets, and I think it is available for download too.

If “Charlie’s Angels” met “Robocop”,  and was directed by Russ Meyer, this might be the result, but better, because of Chikako Aoyama and Amy Yip,who were making this movie a  Robotreat!

Stats:
Birthdate: June 12, 1982
Blood Type: A
Height: 157cm
Bust: 85cm
Waist: 56cm
Hip: 82cm
Hometown: Hiroshima

When I first found out about Anri Sugihara, it took me a matter of about two seconds to become an instant fan of her. How could you not be with a cute face and a body like hers? I love women with slim waists and large busts, so when I am checking her out, I have to make sure to pick my jaw off of the floor. She truly is an amazing beauty.

My initial plan was to do a review of her in the IV that just came out called BIG LOVE. I don’t watch that many idol videos, but when I checked out the cover for this one, I had to check it out. I recommend checking out JustMeMike’s review if you want more detail, but in a nutshell, it should be required viewing for those who are a fan of her.

The other reason why I chose to do a full article instead of just a review is because idol videos are not really my area of expertise. I like to stay with what I am good at which is photo collecting. I just created a thread within Image Sets for Anri which contains a few photosets to get you started. I will leave you guys with some video and some more pictures to check out. Make sure you pick your jaw up after viewing.

Links:
Anri Sugihara Photo Thread
Anri Sugihara – BIG LOVE
Anri Sugihara @ Image Sets

This idol feature page is a “live” article and may be updated regularly. If you have additional relevant content that you think should go into this article, please post it here as comments. If deemed suitable, the article author or editors will update this page with your contribution.

Lost in Beijing

The film has been steeped in controversy due to the realistic tone and with its roots in a censor-heavy China.

Trouble started even before its premiere with Chinese censors demanding multiple cuts of the sex and gambling portrayed as well as scenes in slum-like settings. And despite the film acquiring international distribution, it still had problems being released in its own country.

Director Li Yu

On January 4, 2008, not only was the film officially banned in China by SARFT but the director Li Yu along with the Laurel Films production company were prohibited from filmmaking for two years.

LIB stars Fan Bingbing as Liu Pingguo, a struggling foot masseuse living in a rundown section with her window-washer husband An Kun (Tong Dawei).

The film’s output is instantly jarring with a passionate love scene between Liu and her husband in the shower. The scene, while it feels gratuitous, is actually an important plot point and sets the mood for later debauchery.

The last shot of the scene has the couple continuing their affair in the shower fading out as the Beijing  skyline comes into view.

After work, she shares some drinks with a recently fired co-worker Xiao Mei (Zeng Meihuizi) and in a literal blur of drunkenness she unknowingly comes on to her boss Lin Dong (Tony Leung Ka Fai). The cinematography is very effective and innovative in this sequence with the use of an unfocused camera and quick cutting.

Tony Leung Ka Fai

Her boss, a known womanizer welcomes the attention and begins to force himself on her. I’ll admit, I found the beginning of this scene comedic but it quickly turns unsavory. Liu midway realizes her mistake and tries to fend off Lin who eventually ends up raping her.

And in an absurd coincidence, An Kun witnesses the crime while dangling outside washing the window. The exceptional cinematography and editing continues with some nice POV and frantic cuts of an engraged An Kun out for blood.

Now this is where the main dispute of the film is set. Liu becomes pregnant and is unaware of who fathered the child. Lin along with his wife Wang Mei (Elaine Jin) who is unable to bear offspring, offer a deal to An Kun.

Elaine Jin

If Lin is the father, he will keep the child and pay off An Kun. While this premise is an intriguing one, the subsequent events of the story kept me from enjoying the film.

My prime objection is the complete lack of moral substance within any of the characters. While the young couple have hopes for a better life in agreeing to it, the contract just feels unethical and wrong, which degrades my opinion of everyone involved.

Another aspect of the film that turned me off were the random shots of the local humanity and setting. I understand what the director was going for, but these would be more appropriate for a documentary than a drama as they didn’t involve any of the cast.

And overall the performances were the high point of the film, but there were some scenes near the end with characters just staring off in the distance, contemplating. They added nothing and slowed down the pace to a standstill.

While I enjoyed the look and feel of film as well as the performances, the characters’ actions were what inevitably left me with a bad taste. It’s very hard to watch a film from start to finish when midway through you lose all hope for the characters and the faith in their future outcomes.

I’ve since watched this film again and again. The reality is that Koyuki was so mesmerizing, that I’ve wanted to see her in other roles. I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve been able to see Koyuki in a good number of Television drama series.

In this article, we will take a look at a number of those series as well as a look at her brand new film, Watashi Dasu Wa (above) or in English – It’s On Me or I Will Give, which opens in theaters in Japan, October 31st, today.

We’ll do this chronologically rather than in the order that I saw them. in 2002, Fuji TV broadcast Antique. The big picture is that this series was a tale about 4 men who worked in a confectionary – a place where people went to buy and or eat the most delicious cakes. One of these men was a former professional boxer. Koyuki had the role of Izuka Momoko, a writer, who was on the trail of a story about this boxer. Koyuki’s role was written for her to be mousy, timid and shy, but she did sparkle nonetheless.

From 2003, Kimi Wa Petto (You are My Pet): Koyuki plays Sumire Iwaya, a smart career woman whose personal life is the exact opposite of what you might expect. She is hated at work because she’s so good. She was even demoted after punching out her boss, after he complained that she was too perfect.

So, she’s lonely, depressed, and cannot express her true feelings to any man. Except one – Jun Matsumoto as Goda. She had discovered him asleep in cardboard box outside of her apartment building. It was to be for one night but they soon strike up an agreement. He agrees to live in her apartment as her ‘pet’ Momo, and because he has about as many rights in the apartment as a dog, he becomes Sumire’s confidant.

Boku to Kanojo to Kanajo no ikuru michi aka The Way We Live was broadcast in 2004. One day a salary-man is told by his wife that she’s divorcing him. She leaves both her husband and her little daughter.

Koyuki plays Yura Kitajima, a teacher who is hired to be a tutor for the little girl. It is a heartwarming family drama about what life and Love are about.

Engine was broadcast in 2005. It starred Takuya Kimura as a race car driver who was fired from his job, and he has to return home and work in an orphanage run by his father. Koyuki plays a teacher at the orphanage. She’s well meant, and has the right intentions, but she’s somewhat inept. Koyuki was cast to be the love interest for Kimura, but the romantic element seemed to sputter and misfire.

Always – Sunset on Third Street II (Always zoku san-chome no yuhi, was released in November, 2007.  This film was a sequel to the original from 2005 that was set at the end of the 1950’s. There’s really not a large time gap between the original and the sequel. Maybe a year.

The story is was about life in a small neighborhood that was virtually in the shadow of the Tokyo Tower as it was being built in 1958. Koyuki plays Hiromi Ishizaki, an exotic dancer in a small burlesque theater who wants to change her life.

In 2008 TBS broadcast the series called The Sasaki Couple’s Merciless Battle (Sasaki Fusai no Jingi Naki Tataki). Inagaki Goro and Koyuki play a husband and wife (Norimichi and Ritsuko Sasaki) who are not only married but are partners in a law firm. 

Their fights reach such proportions that they take on each other in a fierce courtroom battle contesting the terms of the divorce. It’s funny, its wild, and often over-the-top. Koyuki looks great and we never see her in the same outfit twice.

In the spring of 2009, Koyuki did a guest appearance (to the left) on the detective show, Mr. Brain.

She’s in Episode 2 as Kumiko Miyase, who  might be a murderer. And it will take all of Mr. Brain’s sleuthing ability to discover the truth.

Opening on screens all over Japan today is It’s On Me or I Will Give (Watashi Dasu Wa). Koyuki plays Maya Yamabuki, a woman who wants help people fulfill their dreams and hopes.

She returns to her hometown, in Hokkaido, now a very rich woman, to find that not much has changed at all since the day she left. She looks up her friends from her high school days. Yes, that is Eiko Koike with Koyuki above.

To help them, she will offer each of them a huge sum of money, Many doubt her sincerity, and are suspicious of the offer But they each take the money. Where did the money come from, and why is she giving it away are the questions we hope are answered in this film.

This film opens tomorrow, ( but in Japan it is already tomorrow) and at this time I don’t even have a poster, for this movie, but I do have some stills. Enjoy.

Yes, thank you Koyuki – your beauty and your grace continue to be wondrous. We will see you again I’m sure.

Edit: a new image of Koyuki:

Lust, Caution

It stars Wei Tang as the foolhardy young student Wong Chia Chi who poses undercover as Mak Tai Tai in a resistance effort to assassinate Mr. Yee (Tony Leung Chiu Wai), a high-ranking official of the Wang Jinwei Regime.

The film starts out in 1942 Japanese occupied Shanghai with Wong Chia Chi already knee deep undercover as Mak Tai Tai. She befriends Mr. Yee’s wife Yee Tai Tai (Joan Chen) and becomes a part of her inner circle of friends, thus ensnaring Mr. Yee with her beauty.

The first scene is a game of mahjong, which becomes an important center piece to the film.  Much like the ongoings of war and espionage, the game takes strategy and with each match the stakes behind each player’s motives increase. Also a great amount of subtle acting takes places within these scenes, mostly using gestures and eye movements. It’s really a chess match.

The next act of the film takes place when it flashes back to 1938 Hong Kong where we see the first transformations of Wong Chia Chi from a shy freshman at Lingnan University to the confident elegance of Mak Tai Tai. With this metamorphosis I would like to commend not only the production value of the film but also the costume design.

It’s incredible to see street scenes with hundreds of extras all in appropriate 1940s garb. Mak Tai Tai’s outfits especially fit her for they emulate the films of the era. And what is she but acting in a role of espionage. This also brings me to the use of mirrors throughout the film. Not only do they represent analytical reflection but each time we see a character doubled in a mirror, it’s as if we’re seeing their other selves. With Wong Chia Chi we see Mak Tai Tai (and vice versa) and with Mr. Yee we see the man, not the figure.

As the story progresses Mak Tai Tai eventually entraps Mr. Yee with the use of her beauty and flirtation and becomes his mistress. The following love/hate relationship between them is the real meat of the film.

And as featured as Wei Tang’s beautiful physiognomy is, her naked body is given more of a role in this section. The film boasts more than a few sex scenes, with each one more revealing and lengthier than the last. And this is why the film received a NC-17 rating in the U.S.

There are many high points to this film such as the epic tale that it depicts, but with this comes one of its downfalls. The story is extremely specific and anyone not familiar with the history behind the setting can become lost very easily.

While it’s difficult to fully understand the backdrop of the film, at the same time it’s very easy to relate to the character of Wong Chia Chi and her motives behind her actions.

Wei Tang in her first film role masterfully illustrates not only the turmoil but the determination of such a brave and cunning woman. It’s also amazing how she holds her own against the prolific  Tony Leung and his subtle and humanizing portrayal of such a callous figure.

Though it also holds true that no matter how many sexy girls we might meet,our first encounter will always be the one we remember most fondly, and this is how I feel about Yuko Aoki, my first guilty pleasure! She’s the girl who first got me hooked on Asian models and actresses for life.

I first came across her about 13 years ago, while perusing Muzi,the “English-Chinese Bilingual Portal” for news and celebrities. I forget my reason for first going there, because when I set eyes on Yuko Aoki, she had it all, a cute face and voluptuous body, naturally endowed.

She was built like a woman, not like a twig. Her air of accessibility made her even more appealing, beautiful and sexy, yet friendly and approachable.

She was born February 5th,1977 in Takahata, Yamagata prefecture, and began modeling professionally in 1995. Considering her popularity and her volume of work, her career is remarkably short, spanning only from 1995-1998, though she did not officially retire until 2000. She was the Fuji TV Visual Queen of 1996, and graced the cover of the Weekly Playboy for March 12th of the same year.

As with many celebrities, her first love is not what she is most famous for. Yuko Aoki’s heart is in music, she is the lead vocalist in the band Icy Blue, and she has performed in some benefits and charitable concerts.

I have not heard her sing, but if her singing is even a fraction as beautiful as her appearance, then I am all ears! 

Her physical attributes measure B-37,W-23,H-34, in inches,and 5′3″ in height. In cm, she measures B-93,W-57,H-87,and 163 cm tall.

Would there be a Yoko Matsugane without a Yuko Aoki? Probably so, however, Yuko Aoki set the standard,and raised the bar higher for the girls who followed her.

Though her swimsuits seem modest by today’s standards, she fills them as beautifully as any of today’s girls, in fact, better, because these days, there is less swimsuit to fill! There were pretty girls before her and will be pretty girls after her, but in my eyes, none as adorable as Yuko Aoki, the “Visual Queen” for all time!

One of the great things about ScanLover having its own blog is that I can take a particular news article and go into more detail about it.

Chiaki Takahashi, who is the voice of Litchi Faye Ling for the fighting game BlazBlue, will be getting her own mouse pad. I remember seeing an article on her a while back stating that she was lending her voice talents to the game, but it really didn’t click in my head until I decided to perform a search and see if there was a thread for her within the forum. And lo and behold, there is.

BlazBlue is a 2D fighter that I actually have for the PS3 and still play every now and then. After checking out the thread for Chiaki, I wish I was aware of her sooner because she is one sexy 32-year-old. Maybe this post will bring some more attention to her thread within the Mature Wing. And who knows, she may have been part of the inspiration behind the “boobie lady” in the game.

As for the mouse pads, they appear to be a regular mouse pad using her image with her boobs or her butt positioned on the gelled wrist supporter. I wouldn’t mind using one for work, but I doubt I could get away with having a mouse pad with some breasts on it.

And to those who also play BlazBlue: always remember, hands off the panda.

Links
Chiaki Takahashi @ Mature Wing
Kotaku Article
BlazBlue | Trailer | Official Site