Love & Pop

An unflinching look at societal sexual exploitation and materialism and a stirring and unique coming-of-age movie, shot as if nobody has ever gotten to hold a camera before this and never will again. Beautiful, kinetic, disturbing, and meaningful in all the same ways as Anno’s other big 90s work.

"You put a camera in/on WHAT?!" - a must-watch just for the camerawork. As for the story, it seems strong at first, but winds down to deliver its message. The ending feels off. Hideaki Anno pops in as a character to set the protagonist straight, but the pleading feels paternalistic and dishonest. Why doesn't the movie feel timeless? After looking into the background: because enjo-kôsai was a big deal in the media in '97-98 and many filmmakers felt obligated to deliver their take on it.

It was smart of Anno to take up a camcorder instead of film - it gave him the same visual flexibility he's used to in his animation, and made easier that signature editing cadence, which is remarkably fluid and singular for a live-action feature. Its full technique allows Anno's wonderfully perverse sociopathy to run wild. Hell, it's practically streaking.

Fascinating camerawork.

Difficult to get into the camerawork at first, the script helped me pull through.

This was Anno's first venture into live action territory, and you can tell he was experimenting with the medium. Interesting camerawork to say the least.