Jmovie review: Legend of the Doll

Where has Kijima Noriko been all my life?

Legend of the doll is the first of the Akihabara trilogy of films and the last one in the series that I watched. I wasn't expecting much since its the first one but as long as it was not as bad as Sundome, I would be happy.

This makes me want to buy on of those pillows shaped like Airu's legs in the above picture. Look them up on j-list if you're interest.

From the name of the movie, it is easy to surmise that it is about a doll that comes to life. It is a really popular shounen genre and encompasses robot girls and video girls. It is the classic shounen romance of a generic guy and not so human being. If you have always wished someone would make a jdorama out of Video Girl Ai or even Chobits, this movie is for you.

I wish I had this great a view everytime I came home.

Ryota, our generic main dude one day gets his hand on this model kit and proceeds to craft this figure out of it. Waking up, he discovers that the figure has become a living doll, Airu, played by gravure idol Noriko Kijima. She addresses him as goushujin-sama and seems more like a robot aka Chobits. Ryota tries to get her to talk more normally and through the power of television, it is easily achieved. If I have learned anything from this Akihabara trilogy, its that if a living doll/catgirl/maid/succubus etc shows up in your room without communication skills, just turn on the tv and she'll be talking normally in a day.

What lovely eyes you have.....

There's no need to say how moe Noriko Kijima is. The abundant screencaps speak for themselves. She is the best of the three gravure actresses in terms looks. She looks absolutely stunning for her front and side angles and has a great body to boot. If you're looking for acting skills, go watch Okuribito or something. Though I must say I really hate the crappy overacting by the obligatory otaku friend.

Moe~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Its funny how being the first of the trilogy, Legend of the Doll has more cosplay than the other two. I would think that they would push the envelope more in the latter movies but clearly Legend of the Doll is the most superior one in terms of fanservice. While Pretty Maid Cafe was more of a gravure video and Catgirl Kiki more of a story based movie with some fanservice, Legend of the Doll, achieves the right balance of both. The ending is kinda similar to Catgirl Kiki. Its pretty obvious they cast the girlfriend for nudity.

This screencap cannot do justice to the Kijima Noriko bikini scene....

I didn't like the WTF ending but it did add some poignancy to the movie. I'd much rather they went simple and straightforward like Video Girl Ai because the movie was too short to develop the relationship between Airu and Ryota. In the end, I had a lot of fun watching this cheaply made movie about your typical otaku fantasy and if you're interested in the Akihabara trilogy, watch Catgirl Kiki or Pretty Maid Cafe first and save the best for last.

I'm still waiting for one of my figures to come to life, as long as its not my Kazuma Kiryu, Guts or Geese Howard figures.