#200: Unique Cutey Honey (1994-5)

 

Director: Yasuchika Nagaoka

Screenplay: Higashi Shimizu, Isao
Shizuya and Sara Uemura

In step with the Rush Nagai manga

Express Cast: Michiko Neya as Honey
Kisaragi; Junko Iwao as Natsuko; Kousei Tomita as Danbei Hayami; Rica Fukami as
Daiko Hayami; Rica Matsumoto as Chokkei Hayami; Sho Hayami as Mayor Gentle;
Taeko Yamada as Shadowy Maiden; Wataru Takagi as Akakabu Hayami; Yusaka Yara as
Dolmeck; Hirohiko Kakegawa as Peeping Spider

Seen in Eastern with English Subtitles

 

I reach an iconic personality in anime
and dad custom, and esteem her persona, of a heroine ready to transform her
costume and persona, Cutey Honey varies per adaptation since her 1973 manga.
Created by Rush Nagai, a 1973
television series co-existed on the identical time of this manga, to which Unique Cutey Honey is determined a hundred years
afterwards, with the personality turning into flexible within the kind of legend tones
you would possibly perhaps well presumably perhaps fabricate along with her. The personality is charming from the obtain-traipse as,
having the ability to own been sold to a female viewers, a stable female
heroine who can transform in a differ of costumes and personas, Honey’s manga
was as soon as for shuffle penned for a younger male viewers on the origin, with thoughts that some
of the diversifications, especially Unique Cutey Honey, emphasised the titillation of
every transformation engaging the costumes disappearing. That Honey shall be an
android is a queer contact, as she acts esteem a human being and can also for shuffle feel
effort, but she is a striking resolve who naturally stood out. In her fundamental make, a
tomboy with vivid short purple hair who fights with a sword, this personality had
the functionality to even be a stable female lead as critical as an eroticised properly-organized
heroine.

Nagai, never one to shun his kinky aspect, would own no longer minded this
OVA adaptation’s direction, which he had his involvement in including even hand
picking the English dub converse actress, Jessica
Calvello
, for the ADV Motion footage dub1.
Cutie/Cutey Honey has nevertheless had
more than one adaptations – a 2004 dwell action film directed by Hideaki Anno, one other
sci-fi dwell action film in 2016, a 2004 OVA Re: Cutie Honey produced by Gainax
and engaging Hiroyuki Imaishi, a
dwell action television series, and in 1997 a three season series Cutie Honey Flash (1997-8) which took
over the television slot the final fashioned Sailor Moon series – so this personality has sustained herself for a
prolonged time.

Unique Cutey Honey is a microscopic work, which is no longer an insult but in
thoughts that this was as soon as supposed to be pure entertainment. Eight television series
dimension episodes, perfect over twenty minutes every, here is split into two halves
with diverse opening and ending sequences. The first follows a legend of a
cabal of villains led by Dolmeck, desiring dominance over the predominant surroundings of
Cosplay Metropolis, the closing four episodic tales of Cutey Honey combating a differ
of villains, feeling esteem the OVA series was as soon as slice again off from a grander plot to
proceed. The legend’s centre is Cutey Honey herself; space a hundred years
after the fresh series, as soon as she realises who she is, Honey is ahead with
combating villains with a unique gang. A filthy frail man Danbei Hayami, a returning
personality within the franchise whose android physique nevertheless makes him a powerhouse as
properly as mild be alive in this world, and the Hayami, the oldsters two former
rival gang members, and their son Chokkei a teen who develops a crush on
Honey.

Some of the supreme factors to endure
in thoughts for this adaptation is that, juggling between seriousness and comedy, a
lot of this contains sex comedy. As an OVA title, this would possibly perhaps occasionally own as critical female
nudity as it wants, a paradox in Honey being a potentially stable personality yet
her gimmick engaging her clothes exploding off and reforming into diverse
costumes. The bigger anguish, and what has ragged, is when the comedy contains
the likes of groping or attempting to traipse seeking on somebody within the bathe. We own no longer
for shuffle improved a long time later, and these being adults is on the least more
appetizing is no longer defendable, but this in tone is something that does stand out.
Fortunately it does no longer detract entirely, and the personality’s diverse kinds over
the years diagram that even the sexual aspect of her persona has been played with
in very diverse solutions. It is miles good that here, you’re going to on the least roll your eyes
on the least as soon as or no longer for shuffle feel chuffed about just a number of the jokes, none of which is an
arena with regards to this having some critical nudity and sexual humour but just a few of
the diagram it is miles handled.

What also stands out nevertheless is
how spirited this mild was as soon as. Here’s a spectacle, a pure vivid share of
pop, a monster/villain of the week legend but allowed to be more lewd and
adult. The playfulness of a Saturday morning cool titillating film is here, with slapstick
and background pedestrians that stand out in opposition to the regular characters for
absurd dwell, but also tonal whiplash as, as a result of be adult, you would possibly perhaps well presumably additionally mild own
deaths. It is miles seriously alarming and unpredictable, in an even system to the
articulate here, that a villainess, despite taking half in to a dated predatory lesbian
undertone, has been capturing and turning harmless younger girls into decorations
in her lair, all preserved in a system that they’ll no longer be brought wait on except
magic had existed in this world. The reveal does obtain important at moments, but this
is unquestionably an exaggerated stress-free share but one that jogs my reminiscence that here is
mild a Rush Nagai property, the
creator of Devil Man and Violence Jack. Even just a few of its dated
articulate can all straight away pull out something surprising, comparable to that villainess
being taken aback by Honey turning trusty into a dominatrix and that clearly being
played out in a system that will presumably well also merely subvert the ragged aspects drastically.

It shall be properly made. Here’s a
huge, intellectual production, even in spite of a central position of a huge grey
dystopian city, where its theme tune relating to the lead personality is a fetch
earworm to admire, and the reveal has sufficient within the wait on of its production to manufacture
the total lot shine. Here’s a case of spectacle taking precedence, which is no longer
for shuffle a express here as, for the criticisms you would possibly perhaps well presumably additionally own especially relating to the
dated aspects, nothing here was as soon as terrifying. No terrifying episodes, no tiring patches, one
episode the highlight where of a female pupper master who, whisking the forged to
a feudal Japan surroundings and armed with human marionettes from samurai fiction,
also permits for the result in costume up as pop cultural figures of mature Japan. That
one episode has Cutey Honey dressed as Jushin
Order Liger
, a legendary expert wrestler who appears to be like to be esteem a condominium
alien crossed with a Energy Rangers
villain in his clear horned conceal with white and purple dazzling, for shuffle goes
to reveal how critical of the reveal is gleefully indulging itself.

That the episode where that
visual reference appears to be like to be shall be about a prison island, where a effort fixated
female chief forces gangs to fight her minions to the demise for her sadist
pleasures, reminds you the diagram ridiculous this reveal is but knows. Rush Nagai also created Kekko Kamen, which was as soon as him perfect looking out
to manufacture a prank personality, an with regards to all-nude heroine, and here especially by
the final episode, a kid’s reveal personality of a gold obsessed female thief
who stole a dimensional teleporter, you search that this franchise personality is
allowed to perfect be a sportive farce. One that is as substantial and exaggerated with
more sexual humour than would possibly perhaps presumably well also merely be possible for a weekend morning television
reveal. Unique Cutey Honey does own a
unfamiliar construction in that its most dynamic legend ends in episode four, simplest
to growth with a differ of episodes which fluctuate between the important to this
closing one, ending on a gang of disgruntled police attempting to power a taxi driver
to ship all of them wait on to the city.  For the
DVD liberate in Japan, the closest thing to a continuation of this adaptation
was as soon as a CD drama, successfully a Christmas based fully episode, which does counsel this
had plans to proceed on the least for just a few more episodes. What we got was as soon as
nonetheless memorable, and all as soon as more, this esteem many iconic characters from manga
and anime address to closing as a result of how her world would possibly perhaps presumably well also merely be altered and
reinterpreted, so Cutey Honey is a resolve I will salvage spicy directions
with as the diversifications proceed to exist.

 

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1) As referenced within the following.