After meeting single mom Haraku and her son Yuichiro, the freeloading Hiroshi unabashedly squeezes himself into their life by starting a sexual relationship with the former. the two lovers spend their days partaking in some odd sexual practices, even getting so vigorous as to cause mini earthquakes. While staying with the family, Hiroshi becomes a big part of Yuichiro's life, acting as a sort of father figure in taking care of the young boy while the mother is absent.
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While spending time with Yuichiro, Hiroshi is introduced to neighbors and friends of the family, including a group of men who idle away the days betting on bug fights by the river where they catch their contenders. Furthermore, the group plays an integral part in the lives of the family and Hiroshi with both Yuichiro's biological farther present along with an older business man who provides financial support in return for sexual favors. However turbulent this group of odd personalities is outside of the matches, the squabbles and playfulness of the group as they talk the finer art of insect melee create some of the most sincere and memorable interactions in the film.
The cinematography in “Hiroshi” serves the films premise well, with well executed comedic timing via close-ups on contorted facial expressions and a playful way of capturing many group interactions. As a result, the cinematography is geared more towards a playful relationship with the audience, instead of the more stylized format often found in the Pink genre. In regards to the sexual content, the film carries levity through sex scenes, which often makes them too absurd to be considered erotic. Overall, fans of more stylized and erotic pink cinema will be deterred by this approach, but to comedy fans the visual approach creates an abundance memorable/absurd sequences.
Mutsuo Yoshika does a phenomenal job as the lovable loser that is Hiroshi. This is expected, with the actor having a rich history in the exploitation genre, including films such as “Deco-Truck Gal Nami” , “Underwater Love: A Pink Musical” and “Uncle's Paradise.” Consequently, Yoshika seems to have a knack at playing the over the top sexualized male trope, a performance which in the hands of lesser performers would be more annoying than humorous. The rest of the cast works well with Hiroshi, but none really reach the same comedic brilliance as Yoshika.
“The Strange Saga of Hiroshi the Freeloading Sex Machine” is as fun as its title is long, offering many sequences to chuckle at as the aloof Hiroshi forces his existence onto others in a perverse manner. However, that is not to say that the character is without redeeming quality, as the production contains a lot of heart despite the protagonists lecherous nature. Even in such a flawed character pushed by sexual desire, a greater understanding and compassion in the films conclusion offers some depth not reflected in early hijinks.
“Hiroshi the Freeloading Sex Machine” is a fun/sexy comedic romp, whose only major fault lies in being too short in duration. It would have been nice to see more of the ‘adventures' of the character, but fans of pink/comedy should still get a kick out of this hidden gem.
