While I wouldn't go so far as to call Toyosane Sanada the Doug Henning of Japan, they do share one similar characteristic -- the appearance of being at the center of magical experiences without necessarily causing them. These days, that's an unusual approach to coin magic, which, like extreme card magic, is becoming more and more the domain of "show-offs" (I mean that in the presentational sense, not the personality sense). Conversely, when a coin vanishes, changes, or otherwise defies the laws of physics in Mr. Sanada's hands, no one is more amazed than he. I mention this just to point out that his techniques and corresponding body language are to some degree incumbent upon his performing style, but all of them can be employed (or easily adapted) to serve others.

So what do you get on this DVD? More than the title "Creative Coin Sleights" would suggest. Mr. Sanada actually performs and explains 9 fully realized routines, most derived from existing plots -- Shadow Coins, Hanging Coins, International Three Fly, and the like -- but all with unique features that make them worth your attention. I particularly enjoyed "Wild Coin Deja  Vu," a technically challenging but very pretty transformation of three silver coins into Chinese coins, then back to silver coins. Mr. Sanada also tackles some of coin magic's more obscure plots, including Chad Long's Reverse Matrix using a coin box, which sets up like the standard Matrix, except that under the fourth card, you have a coin box, wherein all four coins ultimately appear. At the conclusion, the coin box, with its four coins, is closed, then tabled in the middle of the square of face-down cards, whereupon the cards are briskly moved aside, revealing a coin beneath each one. The box is opened, showing it to be empty. Mr. Sanada's handling for this produces very magical results, though admittedly the plot may be of greater interest to magicians than laymen.

Finally, Mr. Sanada performs and explains his beautiful routine, "Bottled Quicksilver," originally published in Richard Kaufman's The Looking Glass. One after the other, four coins are apparently squeezed until they're tiny enough to be dropped through the mouth of a small, opaque bottle that's on the table. Each shrunken coin, while never seen, can be heard landing inside. At the conclusion, the coins are poured out of the bottle, where they instantly revert to normal size.

There are also a few bonus items on the DVD, including some demos for other interesting magic by Japanese magicians. In short, if you're into coin magic, this collection is a no-brainer -- you'll find plenty of material to experiment with and/or employ.

David Acer