Top Stripper

In this irreverent take on a coming-of-age story, young man Yoichi (Kensuke Miyawaki) falls head-over-heels in love with Gloria (Kaori Okamoto), who works at the local strip joint. Innocent Yoichi attends Gloria’s shows every day as his mind is filled with images of her. Unlike many hot and heavy pink films of the time, there is a lot of levity to Top Stripper, along with profound moments of bittersweet disappointment familiar to the young love genre. Still early in his career, Yoshimitsu Morita was one of the handful of young, radical directors who were given the opportunity to explore the visual medium via the constraints of the pink genre. The creative shots, framing, and overall playfulness are a must-see. This film was the first of the pink films that Morita directed and was made one year before he directed his iconic The Family Game.