Rara Anzai's recent return to AV has been very mediocre over the past several releases. But this film with a more interesting plot may have the potential to be her best film of the year so far. Does it have what it takes to leave a lasting impact or is it another film best left behind? Let's break it down!

Plot

The general premise centers around a man who is a recent hire at a convenience store. There he meets Rara Anzai who is a fellow employee. The two hit it off, go out for a drink, and proceed to get a little more intimate. The film then follows the pair having sex both in and outside the store. Near the end of the video, it is eventually revealed that Rara is/was a soapland worker(hence the "dark past" part of the title). I enjoyed the plot for the most part. I'm not a big fan of drama-type themes so some parts of it I didn't care for but as a whole, it was a refreshing premise with an interesting location. At the very least it gives Rara something to build off of for her acting instead of plain vanilla concepts.

Sex

For a film with just an average runtime of two hours, it manages to fit a surprising number of scenes in. It features 3 sex scenes alongside 2 paizuri scenes and a handjob scene. As a whole, the action is very good. One of the nicer aspects is that several scenes feature an element of risk as they get it on in the store behind a shelf with customers around. The cumshots are generally pretty great and the position variety is solid. The film never feels too repetitive either as it mixes up the scenes quite well. I will say that one of the sex scenes is way too short and one of the paizuri scenes is quite bad. Other than that the action is superb.

Production Quality

The technical aspects fare pretty well but it does have a few slight issues. On the positive side, the lighting and camerawork are all top-notch. The lighting fits the scenes and tone of the film wonderfully while the camerawork captures some truly terrific shots all around making for a very polished effort. The pacing was a bit hit-or-miss though. I appreciate how dense the film is with a high number of scenes but it comes at the cost of a few scenes feeling way too brief and half-baked. The set design variety is pretty decent although I would've liked to have seen more from inside the store.

Overall Satisfaction

My expectations were pretty mild coming into this given her recent track record of mediocrity. But I was somewhat pleasantly surprised. I'd say this is probably her best film since her most recent comeback(although that's not saying much). The premise is refreshing, unique, and provides an opportunity for Rara to demonstrate some acting ability. But does it work in practice? Well, not so much. She steps up a bit from her previous films but still leaves you feeling underwhelmed. Most notably in the paizuri scenes which are outright laughable given her terrible skills She has no control or nuance at all despite having huge tits. Very clumsy overall. But despite a lackluster performance, this is still a very enjoyable film. Rara looks amazing as always and I don't know if it's just me but it does seem like she's slimming down a little bit, at least since her past release. Anyway, the action is superb along with the well-executed production values. SSIS-124 is a can't miss video for any Rara fan but even for those who have passed on her since she's come back to AV I say it's worth a watch.