Captain's "SAKI" Image Video preview

Uploaded to the official Berryz Koubou channel earlier today was a two minute preview clip of Captain's upcoming IV DVD titled SAKI.



This DVD is not to be confused with the DVD that will be packaged with Captain's 1st photobook. The difference between SAKI and the DVD that will come with the photobook is that the latter will be about 15 minutes and will feature nothing more than a making of the photobook. The former will contain the making of as well as 40 or so extra minutes of footage of Captain doing random activities in whatever city the photobook was shot in, as well as an ending interview.

I honestly don't mind if this is another virtual date/staring into the camera type IV DVD. We've never really seen Captain like this; it's only natural to stare.

The preview starts with Captain peeking out from a column.

Seems pretty tame so far. You can see what looks like a standard swimsuit. Then Captain steps out.

We've kinda seen Captain in a swimsuit before, but there is something quite nice about seeing her doing gravure work. Must be the awesome body.

Next we are given some nice closeup shots.

And finally some more full body shots.

Captain appears to be admiring some plants.

 Oh look, you interrupted her.

But all is good.

Next we take a trip outside.

Hide-and-seek in the woods with Captain.

 Admiring the sunshine.

That is such a lovely look on Captain's face.

Here we get a look at another one of her outfits while she walks along the sidewalk.

Oh hello there.

 Sup?

A typical Captain smile. Actually I just realized something. Captain has an excellent smile. Probably one of my favorites in Hello! Project.

She also can make some of the cutest facial expressions.

Now onto the climax of the preview. It starts off pretty normal. Just Captain in a nice dress on the beach.

 She does a brief stretch,

 and stands up to feel the wind. Nothing special right?

oh my god

moar

 this is going to be a great dvd

Captain then walks around the beach for a while, strutting her stuff.

 Unlike most first H!P IVs (and really H!P IVs in general), the cameraman isn't afraid to show off all of Captain's features. I would like to congratulate that person.

 And finally my favorite shot of the bunch.

Just in case you didn't have enough hotness, here is a bonus gif (not made by me)

And there you have it. A very generous preview of what is to come when this DVD releases January 12th.

I haven't bought a photobook since Sayu's Love Letter released in 2008, but I think I'll have to cave in and buy this one if I can scrape together some money. After all, Captain did hold the #1 spot in favorite Hello! Project member ranking for a while. And in the three years that I've been a fan I can't remember a single time where she's dropped out of my top three.

While the actual photobook can be purchased from regular Japanese online stores, unfortunately, this IV DVD can only be purchased from one of UFA's partner stores, e-LineUP, which (to my knowledge) doesn't ship abroad. So then how can foreign fans like me buy this DVD?

There are quite a few online companies that specialize in helping remedy this exact situation. My website of choice is Celga. I've used them for a couple of years now and I find them to be the best as far as price and service goes.

There is also ohta (Japanese wota guy who started his business on ebay. Can be expensive but it's nice to support a fellow fan), JIGS (never tried them but prices seem to be okay), and Rinkya (probably the most professional of the bunch, but also the most expensive) to name a few.

The service works as follows:

1. Celga buys the item for you
2. UFA store ships it to Celga's address in Japan
3. Celga ships it from their address in Japan to your house

It's a pretty simple process, but it can get to be expensive. The DVD may only cost 3000 yen (about $34), but after you pay for shipping x2 (from e-lineUP to Celga Japan, then from Celga Japan to you), as well as random other fees (you have to pay for their service), it will end up costing about 6000 yen (about $64).

But still, it's not that expensive. Concert DVDs are about 4000 yen and after shipping from whatever online store you buy it from, it'll end up being about $50. This is a special DVD for a special occasion (Captain's first PB!) and it's unlikely this DVD will ever be sold anywhere else, so I'd say it's worth it.

Whatever you decide to do, you'd better hurry. Orders are only accepted from e-LineUP until the 10th.