NSFS-416 - New Atonement 18 ~Between irresistible sin and pleasure~ Mika Sumikawa

This whole ‘once you have your needs met, you learn manners’ thing really hits home, doesn’t it? I think Sumikawa Miku looks a lot like Takahata Miki, anyone else agree? The accidental encounter during a dispute is just like the Ashina Honoka version. Her husband exposes the corruption, and Ozawa Toru gets fired. It all spirals from there. It all starts with Ozawa’s childish demands, and Miku’s ‘atonement’ begins. ‘Is licking all you want?’ It’s a painful choice for Miku, but from an outside perspective, it’s just a terrible decision. She ends up getting… well, you know. She resisted, but she also felt something. Was her love for her husband wavering? Could another ‘feeling’ have blossomed? The next day, she goes back to Ozawa’s place to take care of him, knowing full well what will happen… He embraces her, but she doesn’t resist like she did yesterday… When she gets home, she finds herself fantasizing about Ozawa and masturbating. I just don’t get why Miku won’t tell her husband. Is she afraid of losing her comfortable life? Or is she trying to protect his feelings? ‘Consideration’ and ‘honesty’ aren’t about this, are they?

This work is impressive for Sumikawa Miku's dedication to acting, particularly in expressing sadness. Her appearance – face, body, hairstyle, and clothing – is a perfect 100. However, the overall work feels a bit lacking in dynamism. It would have been even better if the 'fall' had been deepened further towards the end, with more time devoted to scenes where she actively uses her tongue.

The original with Onoue Wakaba was really something. It’s been a while, so I don’t remember all the details, but Onoue’s performance – that delicate balance between madness and saintly devotion – really awakened the sadism in the victim (I think it was Ozawa). She’d get completely taken, but her expression wouldn’t change. The way the fluid stretched like taffy, hinting at her pleasure, was brilliant. It reminded me of Buñuel’s ‘Viridiana’ and the hidden desires of a saint. But the later installments in this series just didn’t hit the same. The whole ‘wife atoning for her husband’s sins’ thing felt weak, and the heroine’s descent and the male character felt half-baked. But I had high hopes for this one because it had the same cast as ‘Kiss Rape,’ which was fantastic. In that one, Sumikawa played a naive young wife who couldn’t feel her husband’s love and fell for her brother-in-law’s tricks. Here, she’s a more mature wife, with a strong and established marriage. So, the sex with Ozawa shouldn’t be overtly passionate, especially the final scene where her husband is in the next room. Sumikawa is doing her best with the difficult acting, but honestly, it doesn’t quite live up to the hype of the previous film. The masturbation scene is also too explanatory and drawn out. However, Sumikawa’s refined speech in the scenes with her brother-in-law in the previous film was impressive, and this time, her sultry narration voice is really captivating. She’s a true talent. Honestly, with Ozawa’s sleazy character, this would have been better as a story about a boss and his employee’s wife instead of ‘atonement’.