Summary
- GKIDS brings the first US screening of Hideaki Anno’s first commercial live-action film LOVE & POP.
- Anno’s other “Shin” movies joke about existing in the same universe, leading up to Shin Japan Heroes.
- Studio Khara acquiring tokusatsu franchises hints at potential remastered works or new productions.
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GKIDS is bringing to the US the first commercial live-action movie directed by Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno!
After being acquired by Toho, GKIDS seems to be investing even more in bringing niche stuff to American theaters – for example, its involvement in screening the new Gundam series prologue movie is probably related to its close relation with the Japanese distributor.
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The company announced on social media that it will screen LOVE & POP (1998) in North American theaters – it will premiere on February 21, 2025. This is the first commercial live-action movie directed by Anno.
The story is an adaptation of Love and Pop: Topaz II, a novel by Ryu Murakami, and follows Hiromi (Asumi Miwa), a high-school girl who decides to enter the world of enjo kosai (often called “compensated dating” in English), which is somewhat similar to the idea of sugar dating. Enjo kosai was 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).
GKIDS is proud to announce the first-ever North American theatrical release for Hideaki Anno’s 1998 live action feature debut LOVE & POP.⭐️ NYC – IFC Center starting Feb 21⭐️ LA – American Cinematheque’s Los Feliz 3 starting Feb 23⭐️ More cities coming soon!🔞 Recommended age 18+
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— GKIDS Films (@gkids.com) 3 de fevereiro de 2025 às 17:00
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 Godzilla and Shin 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, including Shin Evangelion (Rebuild of Evangelion in English): Shin Japan Heroes, a joint project between Khara, Toei, Tsuburaya and Toho lead by Anno, featuring Evangelion, Kamen Rider, Ultraman and Godzilla and uniting all the “Shin” movies.
Lesser known to the public is his 2012 production Giant God Warrior Appears in Tokyo, or Kyoshinhei 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’s Nausicaä 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 acquired tokusatsu franchises produced by P-Productions – these are mostly 1960s and 1970s series like Ambassador Magma, Spectreman and Fuu-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.