RavenGlamDVDCollector Aw, come on, TOPÁZU, bah! TOKYO DECADENCE. That's its name. Ai, the Japanese prostitute who gets involved in the S&M scene. TOKYO DECADENCE.The suggested retail price of this should be (on merit) about a quarter. Then you'd still be a dime and a nickel overcharged, but hey, somebody has to make a living...S&M in Japan...50 SHADES OF GREY it is not. Although you will feel yourself turning greyer and greyer if you sit there watching the damn thing which is about 10 hours long... or so it feels.Very enticing subject matter filmed entirely wrong. Very little bondage, just weird behavior. Lots and lots of weird behavior in copious streams of it. Ugly yuck. You'll wish it was over within the first few minutes.Nudity, yes. Well-filmed and exciting, no. This is the kind of thing that you really shouldn't be wasting money, time or effort on. It is a sad, bleak, morose, grim piece of junk. I've had it for a long time, never gotten around to watching it, saved it as something for a special time. Did some research recently and discovered that there are several versions of this, and scrambled to make sure I bought a worthy copy. Yes, I have the Arrow 112 minute with English subtitles version, so I do have a worthy copy... But of an entirely unworthy subject. This is junk, people. Plain junk. Badly-lit junk. It is standout only in one department, graphic use of drugs. If you wanna watch something naughty, avoid this. You'd wilt like a daisy in the desert.The only good performance is by Mistress Saki. She is very slight (like reed-thin) but plays the part of the dark-minded mistress with considerable gusto. And the way she goes on, she has to be the real thing in real-life. But overlook this paragraph, because it is heavily influenced by just how stupendously horrible the other lot are. For her to rise head and shoulders above the rest, isn't an accomplishment.There are people in this Japanese pink film that have a very, very long way still to go on the evolutionary ladder before they could be remotely called human. Right now they have to call a snail 'Sir.' They nevertheless fill the screen with faces that shouldn't be seen. It makes for embarrassing viewing even when you are alone, it is that terribly atrociously bad.I had this unreal feeling... I bought something THIS bad? THIS stupid? Maybe the wrong disk was slipped into the box? Big practical joke, somebody clowning around with video camera?So boring and utterly inane as to make THE BROWN BUNNY seem like time well spent.If anybody still buys this after having read my warning, let me just pin the tail of the donkey onto them.

Falconeer The story of Ai, a beautiful and delicate young woman who is looking for something real, or someone to rescue her from a world of dark sexuality and drugs. At the age of 22, Ai comes to the conclusion that she is completely devoid of any real talent or skill. Even though she is a quiet and shy person, she finds herself working in the sometimes brutal Tokyo sex industry, as an 'escort' for rich and decadent clients. She rarely speaks, but her facial expressions show the terror and revulsion, and lack of understanding of the bizarre things that are asked of her. 'Tokyo Decadence' is filmed in a lush and colorful style, utilizing garish colors and costumes to emphasize the bizarre and sordid world that this girl is living in. Somehow, despite being exposed to every conceivable perversion, Ai retains a kind of childlike innocence that is ultimately heartbreaking to behold. For she does eventually break under the strain, and it is what makes this film so much more than erotica. I watched this film, (the 112 minute version) recently, after not seeing it for many years. I did not remember that drug use played such a big part in the story. Cocaine, crack, heroin, Ecstasy. Many people here seem to be lost somehow, escorts and clients as well, in the steel-like metropolis of Tokyo. Ai's world is so artificial, and very intimidating; everyone around her seems to have so much money and power, and such an understanding and acceptance of any sexual practice. The film is dark and explicit from the first frame, but takes a decidedly darker turn with the introduction of a jaded and fascinating young dominatrix named 'Mistress Saki'. Following a bizarre session with a man into being humiliated, Saki invites Ai to her lavish apartment, where she repeatedly shoots heroin and shares freebase cocaine with the bewildered Ai. At first this woman seems happy and comfortable with her wealth and profession, but when you see her dissolve into a maniacal junkie, (she shoots up 3 or 4 times in the space of an evening), it is quite tragic. She speaks of finding another world, and a better life. She advises her protégé to seek out the man that she still loves, who stopped seeing her without warning. Ai does this, but makes the mortal mistake of taking a hit of Ecstasy before going to him. By the time she gets to his house, she has dissolved into a stumbling wreck, and her hopes of reuniting with her man are lost forever. 'Tokyo Decadence' is a film of great beauty and power. The sex is explicit but is never sexually stimulating, only because every encounter is mingled with so much pain. If you can relate to this lost girl, than the film will have an impact stronger than you might expect.

Jeliza Rose Very erotic and sick at the same time. This movie leads you down the dark allies of human sexuality. But it touches more than the loins. This is mostly because of the innocence of the Ai, the main character. Her quest for true love and happiness stands in a deep contrast with the dark nighttime of Tokyo, ridden with perverse sex and cocaine.This movie is a must for people interested in culture, sexuality and gender roles. It gives perfect examples of how power play somehow gets us excited, but mainly rests upon images of gender and sex we have invented inside our culture. It's a little Foucault, it's a little de Sade, it's just very interesting.

t-h-fields I've never been to Tokyo, but this movie makes me feel as if I had. The city comes across as very modern, wealthy, but beneath it all soulless and materialistic. Prostitution is just a fact of life here.Ai, the main character, is a nice person who deserves something better than being a call girl. But for now, this is the best she can do.Her employer caters to the worst type of clients--the ones who get into S&M, bondage, domination, and other things that would never appear in a mainstream movie. This film is NOT for everyone.WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILER! The best line in the entire movie is from one of the other hookers. She says that the Japanese are a very wealthy people, but not a proud one. This lack of self-respect and self-esteem explains the bizarre, often degrading behavior of their clients.Those who enjoy this movie should also check out Lizzie Borden's movie Working Girls. It's another matter-of-fact view of the sex trade.