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AKA: 誘惑; Yuuwaku
Genre: Hardcore hentai
Length: OAV series, 2 episodes, 30 minutes each
Distributor: R1 DVD from Anime 18 out of print.
Content Rating: NC-17 (explicit sexual situations, nudity, some violence)
Related Series: N/A
Also Recommended: Hi.Me.Go.To, Mezzo Forte
Notes: Not to be confused with Countdown (aka Yuuwaku Countdown), and not related to the manga of the same name.
Rating:

Temptation

Synopsis

High school teacher College professor Ayabe is lured into a dark world of sexual slavery and blackmail, and must either find a way out ... or learn to enjoy getting paid for blackmailing and having sex with his charges. Of course, once a girl has a taste of the good professor, they keep coming back ... which makes leaving the business a bit difficult.


Review

*frumple*

Who writes the plots to these things? I mean, honestly -- someone really gets paid to do that?

Temptation is a bit different from much of the pack in that the character designs are decidedly well into the "moe" aesthetic, what with the locks in front of the ears and all. The characters in this often look like they've been ripped straight out of other series -- one girl for example looks a whole lot like a high school version of Yomiko Readman. The big thing about this series, which is very readily apparent, is its focus on facial expressions -- these girls have just about the most expressive o-faces I've ever seen in an anime. And, well, I must confess, that's really freaking hot. (For a cartoon, anyway.)

Technically, this series is fairly consistent to the genre -- shots that don't involve sex are bland and perfunctory, whereas the shots that do involve sex are comparatively well-animated. Background characters (particularly in the frequent train shots) are grayed out and not even colored -- it's plainly obvious what they reserved the budget for! The music is minimalistic, unobtrusive, and reasonably effective for setting tone.

And then there's the plot, which has the good professor sexually assaulting not one, not two, but three different girls on the exact same spot on the morning train. Densha Otoko this ain't -- Temptation has a perpetually dark, almost mean-spirited tone of blackmail and conspiracy through the whole show, particularly the ending. Abuse of power, sexually and socially, is definitely a very central theme here. One particular rape scene right at the beginning of episode two is definitely going to be worth fast-forwarding through even if you're a veteran of this sort of material -- it's pretty bad. (I'll just say this -- it's definitely not Ayabe.)

Most likely, if you're reading this review, you're probably going to like this film. There's only two episodes, so there's no major investment, but there is a lot of decently animated, often really freaking hot action. But some of you are going to feel decidedly dirty for having watched this, even more so than other hentai titles.

Fair warning though -- some of the girls look young, in particular, Miku and Sakura. If I'd known this before picking it up, I'd have never checked this thing out, though apart from the aforementioned characters, the majority of the girls actually look like the college students this film claims they are (just, um, inexplicably dressed up in high school uniforms).

On a final note -- ignore the damn box art, which is perhaps the worst redrawn cover I've seen come out of R1 since The EYES of Mars. This is one of the few series I've seen in recent years where the in-series art style is clearly better than what's on the box ... though this seems to be a trend in hentai releases.

A solid, action-filled hentai title with a coherent (if dark and somewhat depressing) plot. If blackmail-type storylines aren't your style, drop a star and watch something like End of Summer instead. This is clearly one of the better titles in a notoriously weak and often offensive genre.Carlos/Giancarla Ross

Recommended Audience: ADULTS ONLY. Beyond the frequent and graphic sex, there's bondage, body fluids, and several rape scenes. Miku looks fairly young and is said to be a "third-year student" (don't let the subtitles fool you, this is obviously high school).



Version(s) Viewed: R1 DVD
Review Status: Full (2/2)
Temptation © 2005 Discovery / Scoop
 
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