I am not usually a sucker for moves that look like this, mostly because they usually do not fit my style, but this one is addictive! Noboyuki Nojima has come up with a fantastic move that is visual, very magical and very entertaining to practice. It is hard to stop practicing this or put it down.

If you watch the trailer, you will see exactly what you get - no gimmicks, no special cards, no special anything. This looks like a Mark Mason gimmick without the gimmick - it looks that good in person!

The ad copy is 100% honest - no hype necessary (the visual nature is hype enough!), the menu is very well-laid out and easy to navigate and the video and audio quality are top-notch.

You get a choice to watch the DVD in English or Japanese, which will then take you to the appropriate menu. This DVD is 100% no-talk instruction using text with background music. You can Play All or watch each chapter one at a time. If you watch one at a time, the video continues forward from that point without returning to the menu. At the start of each section, the titles of the chapter are shown so you know exactly where you are.

The move itself, which is called C3 (which stands for Center Color Change), is broken up into several sections and every part is very well covered in detail using freeze-framing, diagrams and other graphics to show you what you should and should not do. A lot of people often find it hard, or at the very least annoying, to learn from videos using text. In this case, it is made much easier because of the freeze-framing. Also, the text is not jumbled together - the sentences are kept short (though precise) and the text is easy to read. Further, the translation for the English side was very well done, to the point where you might think it was done by a professional - perhaps it was but at any rate, it was darn near perfect, which is a rarity in things like this. There are also certain moves which are shown from a different angle or perspective so that you can clearly see what is going on, how it should look or what needs to happen.

The move itself has been touted by some as a "knuckle-buster". I would say that is far from true. This is not really a knuckle-busting move as much as it is very, very knacky. Nojima shows you how to hold, position, grip, move and slide the cards in almost minute detail, but due to the nature of biology, the positions given are an approximation of what you will need to do. If you follow his instructions, you will be 90% of the way there, the rest of the 10% is playing around with the small adjustments that your hands will require because of your hand size, finger length, etc. Again, the move is not really that hard, just knacky and it will take plenty of practice to make it consistent but boy is it worth it! Also, if you cannot get the hang of the move right away (some people will get it faster than others), Nojima gives you an alternate way of doing the move that is less visual, though it does the same thing.

Another great point about this move: There are many very good and useful sleights out there that can only be performed in one way, but not another; for example: at chest level or at waist level (a.k.a. crotch level). C3 can be done/used in both positions.

This move is very visual and very versatile. Nojima gives you no less than 11 effects to use it in and you will undoubtedly come up with your own uses for this. This move is almost a utility too because depending on how you use it, for certain changes you can immediately show the spread front and back both before and after the change and everything will appear as it should. For other moves, you will not be able to show both sides immediately, but any necessary clean-up will be very easy.

I particularly like the way he uses the move for his Oil % Water, Three-Card Monte and Homing Card effects. The C3 move makes certain parts of those effects very visual but also makes them even more magical - you just have to see them to understand it.

Each effect starts with a performance - you mostly see his hands throughout the video but occasionally shots open by showing his face and then panning down to his hands. Next comes the detailed explanation, which, if there are any, is followed by alternative points/ideas for that particular effect. Every effect is explained in detail just like every step of the basic move and nothing is left to the imagination. Occasionally where necessary, text credits pop up on the screen and the video freezes long enough for you to read it.

Overall this is an excellent, high-quality DVD with wonderful instruction on a visual, magical, not-too-difficult (though knacky) move. I cannot wait to see what else Mr. Nojima releases because if his future releases are anything like this one, they are sure to be a hit!

If you like what you see in the ad trailer, GET THIS! If you are the kind of person that does not like to put a lot of work into their magic, this video is not for you. If, on the other hand, you like to put time and practice into a move that is worthy of your time, I think you will get a lot of mileage out of this one.

Very, very highly recommended!

5 Stars.

PROS

What an awesome technique! This looks like real magic with ungimmicked cards. The instruction is excellent, but be aware that it is done to music with subtitle explanations.

Not only are several variations of the moves explained, several routines, ranging from sandwich to oil&water to monte and a few other routines are taught using these moves. The result is stunning visual magic. For example, with oil&water, instead of turning the cards over to reveal they have separated, you visually see one card turn into another.

CONS

This is going to take some practice. Even the beginner moves are not easy. However, with practice, these moves are doable.

VERDICT

A most awesome technique that can be applied to some very powerful magic.