July 1997. Tokyo schoolgirl Hiromi and her friends spend the summer going on dates with older men for money. Armed with only a cellphone, Hiromi sets out to date her way to ¥128,000 in order to purchase an expensive topaz ring before the mall closes for the day.
Based on the novel by Ryu Murakami, LOVE & POP is the live action feature debut from Hideaki Anno, creator of NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, one of the most celebrated anime series of all time. The film is radical in its stylistic approach to teenage ennui, taking to the seedy streets of Shibuya with handheld digicams, distorted lenses, and a barrage of unconventional camera angles. Criminally underseen for years, LOVE & POP remains a singular portrait of Japanese youth coming of age in the approach to the 21st century.