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GKIDS is bringing to the US thefirst commercial live-action moviedirected byNeon Genesis EvangelioncreatorHideaki Anno!
After being acquired by Toho, GKIDS seems to be investing even more in bringing niche stuff to American theaters – for example, its involvement inscreening the new Gundam series prologue movieis probably related to its close relation with the Japanese distributor.
The company announced on social media that it will screenLOVE & POP(1998) in North American theaters –it will premiere on Aug 02, 2025. This is the first commercial live-action movie directed by Anno.
The story is an adaptation ofLove and Pop: Topaz II, a novel by Ryu Murakami, and follows Hiromi (Asumi Miwa), a high-school girl who decides to enter the world ofenjo kosai(often called"compensated dating"in English), which is somewhat similar to the idea of sugar dating.Enjo kosaiwas a topic currently debated in Japanese media in the 1990s, and it’s typically seen in a negative light (and generally perceived as a form of prostitution, although it might not necessarily involve sexual favors).
Love & Popwas part of the2024 Fantasia Festival lineup, and was apparently previously available on MUBI.
Other Live-Action Movies By Hideaki Anno
The “Shin” Movies and the Rare Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Short
It is widely known that Hideaki Anno is a longtime tokusatsu fan – and also a fan of stuff that inspired tokusatsu series,like Thundebirds–, and his reputation with Evangelion allowed him to do a few projects for established tokusatsu franchises. Fans usually call the most important ones as the"Shin"movies.
These are movies that Anno worked on for different and unrelated franchises, but as they all have “Shin” in their titles (Shin Kamen Rider, Shin GodzillaandShin Ultraman), fans jokingly treat them as part of a universe Anno created.
It was originally a joke, but Anno indeed took the next step and created a"Shin Franchise"with all his"Shin"movies, includingShin Evangelion(Rebuild of Evangelion in English):Shin Japan Heroes, a joint project between Khara, Toei, Tsuburaya and Toho lead by Anno, featuringEvangelion, Kamen Rider, UltramanandGodzillaand uniting all the"Shin"movies.
Lesser known to the public is his 2012 productionGiant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo, orKyoshinhei Tokyo ni Arawaru(written by him and directed by Shinji Higuchi). This one is a short live-action film that serves as a prequel to Hayao Miyazaki’sNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind(1984), made with the approval of the renowned Ghibli director – one of the few times, if not the only time, Miyazaki allowed someone to make a live-action movie for one of his works.
Studio Khara, founded by Anno (who is also its president), recently acquiredtokusatsu franchises produced by P-Productions– these are mostly 1960s and 1970s series likeAmbassador Magma, SpectremanandFuu-Lion Maru. It hasn’t been revealed what the studio intends to do with these properties, as it could release remastered versions or create new productions based on them.
