Re:キューティーハニー / (Re): Cutie Honey

My favorite Cutie Honey version.

I'm a huge Honey Kisaragi fan. So far, I've enjoyed the original 1973 Anime, and the 90's update (Shin Cutie Honey) and frigging loved Re: Cutie Honey the coolest re-imagined version that to my liking, is the definitive work on the character.  Other incarnations include Cutie Honey Flash ( made only to cash in from Sailor Moon's popularity) a live action film from 2004 (also produced by Gainax), Cutie Honey: The Live (a 2004 live action series), Cutie Honey Tears (a 2016 cyberpunk take on the character) and last year's Cutie Honey Universe made to celebrate 50 years of Go Nagai.

Anyway, today's review is about Re:キューティーハニー which is the 2004 three episode OVA update produced by Gainax (R.I.P.) & Toei Animation. With Hideaki Anno, as the chief director, and Hiroyuki Imaishi, Masuyaki, Naoyuki Itou and Tadashi Hiramatsu as episode directors. While this team of talented workers made sure they provided enough homage to the original concept of the heroine we have inside our heads, the series features some interesting updates and what we have been looking for for ages: an ending!

She's back to save Cosplay city.

Panther Claw is also back to cause mayhem.

Cutie who?

In the original series from the 70s (aired on TV Asahi, then known as NET), Honey Kisaragi was created as a Replacement Goldfish for a scientist's dead daughter, until the criminal organization (with ties to The Legions of Hell) "Panther Claw" kills the scientist while trying to steal his other Applied Phlebotinum. Honey soon acquires a secret identity as an Ordinary High-School Student while fighting Panther Claw's forces, including an especially freaky set of Monsters of the Week in the service of Big Bad Sister Jill and her Quirky Miniboss Squad.

Honey's main power is the Phlebotinum her father was killed for — her body contains the only prototype. Most modern adaptations explain it with Nano-machines, but it's capable of assembling virtually any object from thin air (and disassembling them, too). Honey uses this to become a Voluntary Shapeshifter, able to switch between several forms with matching abilities, costumes, and hair — especially her most powerful form, the sword-wielding redhead Cutey Honey.

 

She doesn't care if her suit is destroyed...

...Just as long as she saves the day.

Cutey Honey has one of the strangest target histories around. It was originally conceived as a simultaneous manga and anime medium of the Shojo genre, focused on romance and lacking any nudity or excessive violence; in fact, Honey herself owed her transformations to a smart way to sell Barbie-inspired changing dolls merchandising. However, due to a timeslot change, the unproduced anime ended up slated to debut in a Shōnen hour show of all things, which led to Nagai and company to realize they had to change the tone to make it more appealing to a male audience. Thus, they added more action and much more nudity, especially but not limited to Honey's transformation sequences, and so the tone for Cutey Honey was set. The resultant anime ended up getting cancelled over its then-racy content, but ironically and to Nagai's surprise, it was just tame and pretty enough to attract an unexpected number of younger female fans as it had been once planned.

Cutey Honey was usually described as a superhero and not a magical girl, but her spiritual descendants have essentially melded back into the genre to produce the Magical Girl Warrior. Most anime of that ilk owe a lot to Honey: Sailor Moon's very early broadcast incarnation, in particular, owes much to the visual tropes done in Cutey Honey, right down to her In the Name of the Moon speech and her ability to transform. (Go Nagai eventually did create a "traditional" Magical Girl, the more kid-friendly and less successful Majokko Tickle, in 1978.)

Naked and ready to save the day.

Boobs used to mean something.

Review

For years fanservice, ecchi, hentai and similar concepts have been used to describe Animé, and to the untrained eye, most of these stories are strictly made for the masturbating male audience. Others have tried to add a "depth" to the story using nudity and/or sex to justify plot development. Cutie Honey, on the other hand, never gave a serious fuck about being philosophical or purely made to satisfy the male connoisseur sexual fantasies. Nevertheless, nudity is entirely casual and coincidental since Honey Kutsaragi's superpower doesn't involve having a perfect body or teasing bad guys with her bouncing knockers & tight ass. Remember, she's a super cyborg made of nano-machines that transform her body into any form she sees fit, so when we see her naked, it's basically these little robots taking a different shape in order to grant Honey new abilities.

That said, though, the uniqueness isn't apparent in the basic story. While Honey herself brings a few neat elements to the table, the storyline itself is pretty standard magical girl fare. Honey can transform into a scantily-clad warrior who fights for love and justice, and she does so to battle the mysterious forces of evil that have come to her city, eventually making it to the leader, who of course has some connection to her. The worst part of the plot is that this story has been used in every magical girl series ever. That said, it's still told well, and since the series totals to a little over two hours, it's also told more quickly than usual; those who shy away from magical girls because of the filler that's usually to be found, fear not! Another nice bonus to this typical plot is that it keeps the series from turning into completely over-the-top comedy-slash-fanservice fest. It's also important to note that Re: Cutie Honey is completely self-contained and requires neither prior knowledge of the franchise nor watching another series to understand.

Time to die Honey!

I don't think so!

Like every previous incarnation of Cutie Honey, this OVA begins with an origin episode that establishes the "science" behind Honey’s creation, and her blonde good-girl persona as Honey Kisaragi. In this incarnation, she the intern in a city government office.

We are quickly introduced to Aki Natsuko AKA Na-chan a tough-as-nails female cop, who almost instantly dislikes Honey and everything she stands for. For Na-chan, justice is not about flashy costume changes and mass destruction, but grunt work and police procedure – and she resents the damage that Honey’s “justice” leaves behind. Moreover, Na-Chan seems to be the only competent police agent around in Cosplay city, since every male cop is depicted as being basically, kids playing police officer.

Complicating matters, Honey and Na-chan are next-door neighbors. Honey tries to make amends, and desperately wants to be liked by Na-chan, but the policewoman has worked too hard and long to see Honey’s point of view. Here's where there's a new unexplored plot in the previous versions of Honey: Lesbian love. In the past we'd see men heavily breathing for Cutie's perfect body, yet in the Gainax version, Honey legitimately falls in love with Na-Chan, and not in the usual hentai way you could expect.

Can love have room in these heroines lives?

The answer is...

Episode 1 passes with nary a shared look between the two, but in Episode 2, Na-chan and Honey have a blowup, as Na-chan totally rejects Honey’s overture of friendship, which included a massive dinner made by Honey. The two spend a night separated by a single physical wall (they're neighbors, remember) and a huge emotional one. Honey, feeling completely rejected and torn apart, shuts down in the middle of her next battle, but Na-chan, realizing that Honey actually needs love to survive, strips down (yes, you read that right) and brings her back to life in one of the most original uses fan service has seen in all time. 

Episode 3 concludes the highly charged arc between them, as baddie Sister Jill (we’ve lost the original Panther Claw and her gang of mask-wearing baddies) tries to take over the town. Sister Jill desires to possess Honey (as well as, of course, the rest of the world.) It turns out that Sister Jill was... [DELETED FOR SPOILER REASONS]... thus making it very difficult for Honey to decide whether she has what it takes to take down Sister Jill, while dealing with the most unexpected betrayal from her past.

Quoting Lynn Minmey, love conquers all , and Na-chan takes on Sister Jill  with every weapon available in town, allowing her to give Honey the will to survive through a very expected kiss. The battle ends with a big bang, but we obviously know Cutie Honey is just too powerful to die.

Go naked!

Go now!

It's fair to say that characters are vital in setting a clichéd story apart from the crowd, and Re: Cutey Honey knows exactly how to do that. Honey, despite being the idol of rabid fanboys everywhere, is one of the coolest magical girls you'll ever see. She's smart, she's strong, she's cool, she can take care of herself, and she's not afraid to be sexy. Because of the latter aspect of her personality, then, the fanservice elements of the series are significantly less intrusive than those of other series; Honey would rather kick butt while half-naked than panic and scream when her clothes get ripped off. As for other characters, the only truly significant one is Aki, a police officer that will stop at nothing to capture Honey at first but eventually becomes her closest friend. It's a pretty predictable way for her to develop, but she's still a lot of fun to watch bounce off (literally and not) of Honey; honestly, it's one of the best parts of the series.

Meanwhile, Re: Cutie Honey's music doesn't disappoint. The legendary opening theme song, used in some variety for every Cutie Honey series to date (except Cutie Honey Universe), is a peppy J-pop tune that is guaranteed to be stuck in your head for the rest of your life. This is not an exaggeration, by the way. The ending song, meanwhile, is cute but more forgettable. The background music, however, is top-notch; while it has  been accurately compared to that of His and Her Circumstances, that's in the best possible way. The happy scenes in particularly have BGM that's both appropriate for the scene and well-composed on its own merit. Overall, the music, while not perfect, is in general a blast to listen to. The same can be said for the art, perhaps to an even greater degree. No matter what you look for in a good character design: cute, sexy, or just unique and stylish & Re: Cutie Honey has it in its characters. The most impressive element of the art, however, is the animation: loose, fun, and with perfect flow; it's perfect for such a fun OVA.

Who's the real Honey?

Hygiene is very important.

And in the end, that's what Re: Cutie Honey is: a lot of fun. Despite having a serious overlaying plot and good character development, almost every minute of every episode is packed with action and energy, and it rarely gets dull. It's hard to find a series with more relentless energy. It might not be what you might expect from a short magical girl OVA, but this one's special in that it's more focused on making you laugh and just have a good time than anything else, and that's what really makes it special. Even the large amounts of fanservice don't distract from this: if you're not interested in topless girls, it's easy to look at the silly excuses for fanservice as just that: silly. I for, one was not bothered by it at all &; I just looked at it as another of the series' unique elements. If you're looking for a quick, easy to watch anime series that won't ask anything of you but to enjoy it, look no further than Re: Cutie Honey.

She survives the most dangerous situations.

She fights till the end!

Moreover, the Blu Ray release (Japanese only) delivers high definition colors and animation, providing not only a colorful & entertaining story, but also a nod to nostalgia and the long gone days of psychedelia. On the other the out of print DVD release by Toei Animation, provides the much needed English subtitles while not looking as pristine as the Blu Ray transfer, the video & audio quality is still top notch for what a DVD can do. If I were you, I'd buy an official copy to add to your personal collection for I was incredibly and positively surprised when this new version came out in 2004. Back then I used to think nothing would top the original 1973 series, but Gainax and Toei proved me wrong with this brand new take on a classic that doesn't really feel that new. Moreover, the new twists are light enough as to protect old school fans from going slightly mad (Queen reference). 

Show me your heart cause I've already seen everything else!

Fighting the fight.

Cosplay city is now a safe place for nude babes.

So that's it for this week in Animé reviewing. Stay tuned as we still have a long way to go bringing you some of the coolest series/OVAs from past decades back to life. Animé is a fantastic world of entertainment and art, and the most original came out in the 70's, 80's and early 90's, and yes, that was a biased but, informed opinion.

Now let's move on to the video section of the review:

 Here's the opening, featuring the song we love so much:

Here's the opening (creditless):

Here's the ending:

The Cutie Honey theme by Kuda Komi (used for the live action movie released the same year, and also produced by Gainax):

Four Cutie Honey openings played at the same time!