Bleach-blonde wannabe rocker Wendy (Carrie Hamilton) is disillusioned with her life in New York City. After receiving a postcard from Japan saying “wish you were here,” she spontaneously hops on a plane to Tokyo with dreams of making it big as a singer. Quickly finding herself broke and a fish out of water, she moves into a youth hostel for gaijin (foreigners) and takes up work as a hostess at a karaoke bar. Just when she’s at her breaking point, she meets Hiro (Diamond Yukai), a rock ‘n’ roller whose band is looking for their big break. They form a romantic and musical connection and Hiro convinces Wendy to become their lead singer. Through a combination of hustle and luck, they stumble into their 15 minutes of fame, but Wendy soon comes to realize that being a gaijin rocker may be nothing more than a passing fad. An underseen gem of ‘80s American independent cinema by Fran Rubel Kuzui (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Tokyo Pop takes us on a breezy tour through bubble era Tokyo, replete with knowing nods to the city’s vibrant pop culture.

For thoughts on Tokyo Pop, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/XVdHVOn5xZ0?si=2RZCovUyhjfiZ1av&t=3490]

Video Quality

Tokyo Pop debuts on Blu-Ray with a digital AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1 from a new 4K restoration performed by Kino Lorber and IndieCollect in collaboration with Fran Kuzui. The new presentation provides a sterling transfer that displays the film with the care you would hope any film could receive. Black levels are strong with crush never becoming an issue within the enclaves of the city. Clarity and detail are grand, and skin tones are consistent and natural with some distinct qualities apparent in closeup. Colors stand out as you would expect with some fetching hues featured. The source has been restored well to eliminate virtually all nicks and scratches. The natural film grain of the presentation appears with all the qualities that it should. This Blu-Ray disc earns top marks.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that captures the material exactly as necessary. This is a narrative that is driven by music, and it takes prominence on screen when it should while falling back when other elements deserve the spotlight. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear as it never becomes overshadowed out by environmental elements. These competing sounds are careful within the sonic ambitions, as this track treats the material well. No moments display signs of age-related wear and tear or distortion that typically accompany films of this era. The audio track keeps this one in top shape. There are two optional English subtitle options for this feature: one English track that only subtitles Japanese dialogue and an English SDH track that subtitles all dialogue and other descriptors.

Special Features

Trailer: A minute-and-a-half-long re-release trailer for the film is provided.

Final Thoughts

Tokyo Pop is an immensely charming feature that is both a fish-out-of-water tale along with a coming-of-age narrative that throws in a baseline romance. The connection between Carrie Hamilton and Diamond Yukai is apparent from the first time you see them on screen together, but the layers of the narrative go beyond romantic intentions. This was not on our radar at all until the new release, and we are so glad it got the restoration it deserved. Kino Lorber and IndieCollect have brought this one to Blu-Ray with a nice A/V presentation and not much in the way of special features. This is not very well known, but we hope this release changes that. Recommended

Tokyo Pop will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on December 5, 2023.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.