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Rating: 
Summary: School Girls in Bondage
Review: Honestly when i first purchased this book i did not know that I was buying a photography book. I had never heard of the photographer before so I did not know what to expect. I was interested in Japanese pornography though not as the role of a pervert, but as a researcher in the Japanese male preocupation with young girls even sexually. I do not mean to peg all Japanese males like this but it is quite common for the starletes of japanese porno films to be dressed in grade school uniforms or gym clothes. This book has very vivid pictures of that Genre of Japanese pornography. Good book all the way. Many of the girls in it are quite attractive, but some one would believe the only reason they have a career in pornography because they are willing to do anything.
Rating: 
Summary: underwhelming
Review: I'm not sure whom these people are who are calling this sorry excuse for a book a masterpiece, but, let me tell you, it's far from. First of all, the photos are poor, grainy, amateurish, rather than stark and beautiful. The reader is given no frame of context. Instead of a book of pictures telling a story, you're given a lot of random images, which apparently aim to get by on shock value alone. Problem being, if it is your desire to see these types of images, you can probably find them somewhere on the Internet for free, with better photography and better sense of place--and in color. Therefore, Tokyo Sex Underground fails on that level. It offers nothing we haven't seen before. My hope from this book was to learn something about a world that I would probably never see, to get the sense that I'm a voyeur in a place I could never have access to. Instead I felt like a sucker who just wasted money on cheap, crappy pseudo porn. Honestly, I saw more Tokyo sex underground wandering the streets of Shinjuku. It was far more interesting and I didn't have to drop 16 bones to see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Give this guy his pencils back!
Review: Like many of the reviewers for this type of book, I too am not interested in the subject of Japanese pornography because of any personal sexual proclivities - I am merely RESEARCHING the sexual ethos of the Japanese male. I might even write something about it some day.
Mr. Slocombe is, in all seriousness, a truly gifted illustrator but his photography is not compelling. Unlike many of his other projects, the concept for this work is nothing new so it's not worth getting just because of a fascinating main idea. Some of the B&W "snapshots" (it's all B&W) are interesting in that they document the environment these women work in but none are compelling or exciting. The photographer adds nothing of value to the scenes captured and often detracts. As another reviewer stated, the subjects more often than not look like they don't really want to be photographed and I doubt he was trying to capture that feeling (or to raise the issue of photographers affecting the subject or shame at being involved in the sex industry) because about a third of the photos don't have that type of atmosphere at all. Whatever his idea was, he should have drawn it.
Rating: 
Summary: - SEX - UNDERGROUND - TOKYO - FANTASTIC -
Review: Not as inspiring as the the 'City of the Broken Dolls,' but still as deeply motivating. That is to say it encompases the question: What is art? To present a portfolio of life 'unseen' in a documented way as many of the photos appear - leads one to question their reaction to the piece: Are you stimulated? Are you reacting in shock or disgust? Is your reaction an endorsment? Eitherway, Romain Slocombe has presented a beautiful portfolio - that raises many questions - the answers lie with the reader. The photography is stunning and if you like this then I would suggest descovering the work of Japanese photographer Araki (recently exhibited at the Hayward Gallery - London).
Rating:
Summary: - SEX - UNDERGROUND - TOKYO - FANTASTIC -
Review: Not as inspiring as the the 'City of the Broken Dolls,' but still as deeply motivating. That is to say it encompases the question: What is art? To present a portfolio of life 'unseen' in a documented way as many of the photos appear - leads one to question their reaction to the piece: Are you stimulated? Are you reacting in shock or disgust? Is your reaction an endorsment? Eitherway, Romain Slocombe has presented a beautiful portfolio - that raises many questions - the answers lie with the reader. The photography is stunning and if you like this then I would suggest descovering the work of Japanese photographer Araki (recently exhibited at the Hayward Gallery - London).
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: Of my vast collection of photographer collections, this has to be my top shelf favorate. This was given to me by my photography instructor (an accomplished nude photographer herself) hoping it would inspire me to photograph nudes. While I've haven't done so, it has inspired me as a photographer and an enthusiast of the Tokyo underground. Each photo is a true work of art; bold, exciting, and provocitive. While this type of work won't appeal to most people, those who yearn for somthing new will want to own it. I was very happy to see that Amazon has made it available to decerning collectors.
Rating:
Summary: Comes as close to a vanity book as it could get
Review: so I can tell you I was really surprised that the best picture in the book, and, the only picture in the book that is in colour is the cover ... for goodness sake ... Look if you are going to flog a book as an art work in BW only, then the pictures better say something .... not in this book ... I think the photog used black and white to hide flaws .... In this book the scenery is seedy, not because the author looked for it but because the areas where the girls practice their trade is seedy, the surprise here was that there is no surprise .... I think that no matter what the trade the girls aren't exactly too pleased in having their pictures taken since most of them have that 'deer in the headlights' kind of look and not the 'come hither' look one would have expected as requirement for the work .... Instead of the eroticism of 'Tokyo Sex Underground' which I consider as vibrant and fun filled we just got some seedy sad dark BW stills of unwilling subjects ....
Rating: 
Summary: The Medium is the Message
Review: Those who purchased TOKYO SEX UNDERGROUND by Romaine Slocumbe probably expected a titillating photo expose of the raunchy side of Tokyo at night. The majority of the reviewers listed above were clearly disappointed by what was admittedly a grainy set of pictures of women who seemed unwilling or unhappy about being included. The reviewer for Amazon.Com called this book 'stunning.' Stunning is not the right word although I saw a running theme that the other reviewers may have overlooked. What I did see was not porn although some of the women were porn actresses. The collective image that built over over the course of the pictures was one of sadness and distress. The smiling colorful face of the model on the front cover was obviously a marketing ploy, and I realized that even before I bought it. What interested me was a call for help that I could sense from nearly each woman. The harsh nightlife of Tokyo sex women can not be materially different from women employed in any other sex capital of the world. The stereotyped image of prostitutes as glamorous comes mostly from Hollywood sanitized versions of celluloid hookers like Julia Roberts. The women in this book truly were pretty women, but they were sadfaced women too. The scarcity of accompanying text accentuated rather than hid this subtext of women caught in forces beyond their ken. It is not likely that any reader seeking arousal will find such feelings here. What he might find instead is the more sobering realization that the sex industry is shiny only on the exterior, and even then the grim faces of the women pictured give the lie to that canard as well.
Rating:
Summary: The Medium is the Message
Review: Those who purchased TOKYO SEX UNDERGROUND by Romaine Slocumbe probably expected a titillating photo expose of the raunchy side of Tokyo at night. The majority of the reviewers listed above were clearly disappointed by what was admittedly a grainy set of pictures of women who seemed unwilling or unhappy about being included. The reviewer for Amazon.Com called this book 'stunning.' Stunning is not the right word although I saw a running theme that the other reviewers may have overlooked. What I did see was not porn although some of the women were porn actresses. The collective image that built over over the course of the pictures was one of sadness and distress. The smiling colorful face of the model on the front cover was obviously a marketing ploy, and I realized that even before I bought it. What interested me was a call for help that I could sense from nearly each woman. The harsh nightlife of Tokyo sex women can not be materially different from women employed in any other sex capital of the world. The stereotyped image of prostitutes as glamorous comes mostly from Hollywood sanitized versions of celluloid hookers like Julia Roberts. The women in this book truly were pretty women, but they were sadfaced women too. The scarcity of accompanying text accentuated rather than hid this subtext of women caught in forces beyond their ken. It is not likely that any reader seeking arousal will find such feelings here. What he might find instead is the more sobering realization that the sex industry is shiny only on the exterior, and even then the grim faces of the women pictured give the lie to that canard as well.
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