Mai Tachibana's long-awaited first photobook, I Want to Become a Cat, will be released by Tokuma Shoten on June 26.
Tokuma Shoten Co., Ltd. (head office: Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; president: Hideyuki Komiya) will release Mai Tachibana 1st Photobook: I Want to Become a Cat, the long-awaited first photobook by Mai Tachibana, who has appeared in numerous gravure features and won the Miss Young Animal 2022 Special Jury Prize and the Miss FLASH 2023 Grand Prix, from Friday, June 26.
Mai Tachibana 1st Photobook: I Want to Become a Cat cover (photography: Takeyuki Kozuka)
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Advance gravure features and preview images have already been generating a simmering buzz. Banamai, a next-generation idol talent with a packed schedule of film, stage, and drama appearances in addition to gravure in the second half of this year, has completed the first photobook she had long hoped to make.
Carrying the catchphrase, “She is already the best just being cute, but she is so very ‘mmm’ that she is the strongest!”, the book is filled with special scenes sure to make the hearts of fans who have been captivated by her cute appearances in magazines race.
Meanwhile, people encountering her for the first time who pick it up casually thinking, “This girl is nice,” will surely find their attention seized in an instant by its unexpected boldness from the moment they open the pages: “Seriously?”
The title, which makes everyone’s heart skip a beat, embodies her wish, perhaps, for those who pick up this commemorative work: “I want to become your cat.”
At times tsundere, at times affectionate, she looks at us with beautiful eyes, then the next moment opens her shirt and moves about freely. Banamai is just like a beloved cat, but in front of her favorite master she also appears in a high-exposure apron and a transformed pair of overalls.
The person who ardently wished to make these free-spirited looks into a photobook was photographer Takeyuki Kozuka, praised as “Japan’s best at close-up shots of gravure idols” for works including Yukino Kohinata’s Super Erotica series.
The pair, who met through a gravure shoot for Weekly Playboy, have created outstanding shots that go one step further than the limits one might expect from a first photobook. Please look forward to it.
For this book, the theme is a Banamai unlike her usual gravure work, with deliberately chosen outfits that reveal a large amount of skin. In a roadside shoot along the coast, she shows a bewitching side in a dress daringly open at both the chest and back. (Photography: Takeyuki Kozuka)
The apron look she said she “absolutely wanted to do” is, as expected, one of her own favorites. The only things covering her body are that single apron and shorts. Please check the main book for the many shots that make you wonder where to look. (Photography: Takeyuki Kozuka)
She is accustomed to triangular bikinis in gravure, but for the photobook she tried designs more fashionable than usual. This smiling poolside scene unexpectedly leads to a special cut. (Photography: Takeyuki Kozuka)
Banamai playing on pure white sheets spread across a bed is fully in the mood of the title, “I Want to Become a Cat.” Her round eyes and puzzled expression make it feel as though a cute pet cat is looking at you, while pure white lingerie that does not lose to the sheets makes the master’s heart race. (Photography: Takeyuki Kozuka)
The book is also filled with unusual styles unique to a photobook. At an old Okinawan house, Banamai transforms into “Banamai the farmer” in a straw hat and overalls. These old-house scenes scattered through the first and second halves are a major highlight in terms of sexiness. (Photography: Takeyuki Kozuka)
This is the first photobook I had long hoped for!
When I started gravure, one of my biggest goals was to “someday release a printed photobook.” I am truly happy to be able to make that dream come true this time, and I would be incredibly happy if people picked up this commemorative photobook and came to like Mai Tachibana even more!
Before I started gravure, I had actually never worn a bikini either at a pool or at the beach, but because this is a photobook, I have taken on many bold challenges. My particular favorite is the apron look. It was a situation I absolutely wanted to try, so I was very happy to be able to shoot it. I completely felt like a new wife, haha.
There are lots of other recommended scenes, too. Please look forward to a new Mai Tachibana who is a little different from before. I want you to look at it again and again!
To commemorate the release of Mai Tachibana 1st Photobook: I Want to Become a Cat, an event will be held at the Shosen Book Tower bookstore in Akihabara, where attendees can receive a signed photobook directly from Tachibana and take a two-shot cheki photo, among other benefits.
For participation details, please see the LivePocket Shosen event ticket sales page: https://livepocket.jp/e/oslr3
Mai Tachibana
Born in Aichi Prefecture. Born April 15. Height 164 cm; bust 89 cm, waist 61 cm, hips 85 cm.
After graduating from university and working for a company, she became a talent and began gravure activities at the same time. In 2022, she received the Special Jury Prize at Miss Young Animal 2022, and the following year, at Miss FLASH 2023, she made a dramatic comeback from the revival round to win the 17th Grand Prix.
Her acting work in stage productions and films is also going well, and she is attracting attention as a new-generation gravure idol a step above the rest, having released only one image DVD so far.
Her hobby is watching stage productions, and she is a big fan of the Takarazuka Revue.
Source: PR TIMES
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