Gah, this is bad. This is really bad. They took the awesome classic and turned it to a lukewarm mahou shoujo.
If you don’t know of Cutey Honey , let me enlighten you with some basic info. The original series was made in the 70’s by Go Nagai , the dude who didn’t give a damn about morality or politically correct characters in his works. The original was a twisted mahou shoujo with lots of violence, death, nudity, and angst. This may not sound much today but back in the 70’s all anime were about nerdy kids, too-goody heroes and kind-hearted little witches doing silly, light-hearted adventures. Go Nagai’s series were a complete contrast to all that silliness. Dark, grim, pessimistic, with battles where the good guys were losing and were even killing their enemies. Cutey Honey happens to be the first mahou shoujo aimed at teenage males and not little girls and became a legend for the impossible-to-grasp twisted and violent things it depicted. For some unknown reason, the series is nowhere to be found as of yet and all I got to see is half of the series. Still, it was more than enough for anyone to admit that the original series had content that was decades ahead of its time… Just like anime are decades ahead of cartoons.
Anyway, the years passed and some dudes decided to rekindle the legend with a remake. Nothing bad here; lots of anime get remade. Yet, they also decided to turn the remake back into a series for little girls. So, you can imagine what a disappointment it was for any fan of the original to see the pioneered series of the 70’s to revert back to the mediocrity it stirred away from in the beginning.
I must make clear that I have nothing against remakes. They are welcomed as long as they have something more to offer than the original. In this case, the remake practically killed all the magic and turned the unique story and characters into a typical Sailor Moon clone. The remake offers LESS and is not special or memorable for any given reason.
The animation looks much more lively and detailed, being 20 years younger than the original. Yet, this is where the plus stops. It is an otherwise typical-looking series, with a pretty girl using magic gizmos to defeat bad monsters and spread love and happiness to everyone. Sorry for saying this, but the original had great battle choreography, fan service, perky characters and an atmosphere that was making you feel uneasy. The animation here has none of the above. It feels generally dry. Ok, at points it is better than even Sailor Moon, for having more detailed backgrounds and less repeating scenes. It is still far from being good or special in any way. I didn’t feel the multitude of emotions the original offered.
The catchphrases of Honey and the original intro song are present; this is good. Yet, the characters don’t sound like sex-hungry teenagers, nor do they use bold words as in the original. It is all about love and romance and punishing the bad-guys we hear in all mahou shoujo. So, although voice acting and sound effects are decent, they are not spicy in any way and most of the time they are like copy-pasted from any other magical girl on the block.
The plot is what got hit the most. They took out the deaths and the spicy ecchi scenes and replaced them with that of a klutz girl looking for her father while looking for romance and a happy school life. It is simply too silly. Too fairy tale-ish. The original was partly thriller, partly erotic, partly violent martial arts. This one is… Sailor Moon. Ok, not exactly like SM but the basic formula is the same. Even if seen as a stand-alone story, it is mostly eventless, monster of the week episodes and a predictable happy ending. Very simple and basic stuff. Nothing worth remembering.
Although quite colorful and cheery, the cast is also nothing special to remember. Honey is just another klutz, silly girl looking for romance, her love interest is a mysterious hunk, and the baddies are typical generic monsters. Although even the cast in the original wasn’t any more developed than that, at least it had a dark, lustful side to it and made it far funnier or scarier than this one. Plus, there are no muscular lesbians or old hag teachers. They were to die for! And they took them out! Major bummer!
What can I say? It is far less interesting, eventful and memorable than the original. It stopped taking drugs, refused one-night relations and became a moral citizen we can all be proud of. And yet we loved it more when it was a pitiful lustful bitch. It is an average at best series if seen without prior knowledge of the Cutey Honey mythos. You won’t miss anything if you don’t watch it. Yet, you will hate it if you happen to watch any of the old episodes.
Anime: Cutie Honey Flash
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On her sixteenth birthday, Kisaragi Honey goes to meet her father. However, he shows up injured and on the run. Out of nowhere, a group of thugs and a monster show up. A detective, Hayama Seiji, rescues Honey and her father. Unfortunately, the monster captures Honey's father. A grieving Honey goes home to find it in ruins, but a handsome man gives her hope and a device to use against the monsters who took her father. With them, Honey can transform into multiple forms and destroy Panther Zora, the evil behind this.
Source: AnimeNfo
Source: AnimeNfo
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Side story
Movie, 1997, 1 ep, ,
Alternative version
TV Series, 1973-1974, 25 eps, ,
Alternative version
OVA, 2004, 3 eps, ,
Alternative version
OVA, 1994-1995, 8 eps, ,
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by cheerios4m on 2007-05-20 18:19
Approval:
09.5% (4 votes)
**NOT A SAILOR MOON RIP-OFF, jeeez, there were other cutey honey installments way before sailor moon
First of all it's not ecchi it's shoujo so in that sense it's not like the past cutey honey installments. It is aimed at younger audience.
Second of all you CANNOT call this a sailor moon rip-off because it just isn't (plot)and it came before sailor moon (the past cutey honey installments).
The story starts off interesting with the magical girl plot with honey's father getting kidnapped by monsters and honey has to rescuce him.
In the anime Honey transforms into different clothes using some device, this famous catchprase "sometimes I'm a ___, but sometimes I'm a __, etc until she finally says she's cutey honey. It's interesting seeing so many transformations just in one ep. Probably magical girl anime with most transofmrations.
Honey has a rival who looks like her and there is a love interest. The characters are unique and interesting, especially the main character.
It's a great magical girl/shoujo anime and there is soem comedy
There really is no reason to compare this to sailor moon, it's not the same (plot, characters, everything that makes an anime), it's not a rip-off.
Of course it's not the best shoujo or the best romance but it's still good and worth watching.
I love the music in this anime, the opening is extremely catchy and it really captures the show.
Recommended to fans of magical girl/ shoujo.
First of all it's not ecchi it's shoujo so in that sense it's not like the past cutey honey installments. It is aimed at younger audience.
Second of all you CANNOT call this a sailor moon rip-off because it just isn't (plot)and it came before sailor moon (the past cutey honey installments).
The story starts off interesting with the magical girl plot with honey's father getting kidnapped by monsters and honey has to rescuce him.
In the anime Honey transforms into different clothes using some device, this famous catchprase "sometimes I'm a ___, but sometimes I'm a __, etc until she finally says she's cutey honey. It's interesting seeing so many transformations just in one ep. Probably magical girl anime with most transofmrations.
Honey has a rival who looks like her and there is a love interest. The characters are unique and interesting, especially the main character.
It's a great magical girl/shoujo anime and there is soem comedy
There really is no reason to compare this to sailor moon, it's not the same (plot, characters, everything that makes an anime), it's not a rip-off.
Of course it's not the best shoujo or the best romance but it's still good and worth watching.
I love the music in this anime, the opening is extremely catchy and it really captures the show.
Recommended to fans of magical girl/ shoujo.
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Cast
main character
female, hair ribbonHair ribbons are ribbons used both as hair decorations and as hair ties. Hair ribbons are often tied into bows. They may also be present as part of a hairband. In older anthropomorphic series, where the gender of characters was sometimes hard to tell at first glance, ribbon bows were used to indicate a female character., studentA student or pupil is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. The may be understood to mean only those enrolled in some sort of educational institution, but, in its widest use, it applies to anyone who is learning, including mid-career adults who are taking vocational education or returning to university, or younger researchers or artists learning from a more experienced colleague and mentor., twintailsTwintails are type of hairstyle where the hair is gathered into two "tails" on either side of the head. Twintails may also include a pair hair buns, one bun at the base of each tail.
voiced by:
Oomoto Makiko
voiced by:
Nagano Ai
female, earringAn earring is a piece of jewellery attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings are worn by both sexes, although more common among women, and have been used by different civilizations in different times., transfer studentA transfer student is a student who changes from one institution or course to another at the same level. Their arrival, when not at the beginning of the school year, tends to cause a stir.
voiced by:
Hiramatsu Akiko
16, female, bloodtype: AB, , adolescentAn adolescent (teenager) is 13 to 19 years old., chokerA choker is a necklace, narrow strip of cloth, ribbon, or other object that fits very closely around the neck. It is not to be confused with a collar, which, for humans and other human-like entities, is generally a collar-like accessory serving a restraint, identification, and/or display of submissiveness usage. Please see the description of the collar tag for more information on the distinction. Please also see this tag`s full description for other information on how to use it., hairbandA hairband is a flexible plastic or metal band or strip of cloth worn over the top of the head to hold the hair back and maintain a certain hairstyle. A hairband that includes ribbons or has bows along its length should be also tagged hair ribbon. For a similar band worn across the forehead primarily for athletic purposes, see sweatband., high heelsHigh heels are a type of shoe in which the heel, compared to the toe, is significantly higher off of the ground. These shoes make the wearer taller, accentuating the calf muscle and the length of the leg overall. There are many types of high heels, which come in different styles, colours, and materials, and can be found all over the world. They have significant cultural and fashionable meanings attached to them, which have been largely shaped by historical contexts over the past thousand years., knee bootsKneehigh boots are boots that rise up to, but not including, the knee, or slightly thereunder; they leave the knee exposed. Boots that partly cover the knees, or fully cover and extend above the knees, are thigh boots / over-the-knee boots. Boots at a trouser length (or shorter) are half boots (or lower)., long hairLong hair is hair from (but not including) shoulder-length, up to (but not including) waist length hair. Sidelocks do NOT count as long hair., minidressA one-piece dress, with a hemline well above the knees similar to a miniskirt. Often worn together with knee boots., orange hairThe character has orange hair.
voiced by:
Nagano Ai
female, absolute cleavageAn absolute cleavage is a complete exposure of the separation between a woman`s breasts by an article of clothing; aside from narrow strings of fabric to hold the piece of clothing together, the view of the cleavage is otherwise fully unobstructed. Complete exposure of breasts doesn`t count;, e.g. topless or wearing guimpe without a dress. Bikinis and other similar items also do not count., very long hairVery long hair is hair from (and including) waist-length hair or longer., whipA whip is a tool designed to strike animals or people to aid guidance or exert control over them through pain compliance or fear of pain, though they can be used without pain as additional pressure aid or visual directional cue in equestrianism. Whips can be either firm and more precise or flexible and more powerful; some, such as hunting whips, combine a firm handle and a flexible lash. Most are designed for use on animals, but some were specifically developed for flagellation of human targets.
voiced by:
Ookawa Chiho
secondary cast
Group status
| Last Update | Name | State | N | Episodes | HE | SP | Languages | Source | Rating | Cmts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.01.2024 | Sadame no Fansub | complete | 39 | 0 | ja it | www | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 18.01.2023 | Majorasam-Theo | complete | 39 | 0 | x-unk ja de en | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 14.11.2019 | Imperial | complete | 39 | 0 | ja de en | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 19.09.2015 | Mr.Mew | complete | 39 | 0 | ja de de | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 16.06.2015 | Bunny Hat Raw | complete | 39 | 4 | ja | DVD | N/A (1) | 0 | ||
| 30.12.2014 | MY-RAW | complete | 39 | 2 | ja | DVD | N/A (1) | 0 | ||
| 10.03.2013 | Simu | complete | 39 | 3 | ja ko | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 25.06.2010 | Reza [RZ] | stalled | 38 | 0 | ja en | DVD | N/A (0) | 0 | ||
| 16.11.2007 | Spork | dropped | 9 | 0 | ja en | DVD | N/A (3) | 0 | ||
| no group |
