Cutie Honey

I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with anime. Quick flashes of artwork reconciled within the plot lines of the larger work have always felt more intrusive than they have integral to the total story, but, as could any reader, there's always something in there worth appreciating. Whether it's the personal history of the lovable lead or the angry clutter of a villain bent on destroying life, some element always gels, fueling the vicarious excitement for as long as I'm willing to suspend disbelief.

Then again … when the lead actress is an absolute knockout having the time of her life chewing scenery, slaying bad guys, and decked in spandex, who am I really kidding? The live-action (the term should be used loosely, as the film is full of heavy CGI sequences) adaptation of "Cutie Honey" feels like an idea that originated from anime but desperately desired to rise above the conventions of the literature. In this story, Honey – an ordinary office girl turned super-powerful android by magical uber-genius of her deceased scientist/father – is granted the chance of, well, her second lifetime: she can avenge dear ole dad's death by bringing an end to the notorious Panther Claw gang … but is she willing to risk the lives of her new-found friend, Detective Natsuko Aki (Mikako Ichikawa), in the process? Of course, androids have never been lovelier than this one embodied by Eriko Sato. As Honey, Eriko bears the weight of the film, delivering a performance of a visual marvel: her features strike an almost perfect balance between doe-eyed-anime-schoolgirl-cuteness and drop-dead-gorgeous-comic-book-heroine-beauty. She's perfectly cast, and it would appear that she knows it! She uses her feminine wiles and impish lunacy from start to finish with nothing short of total commitment. Such dedication should give even the most impotent Scrooge something to admire, if not a resurrection of male blood flow. Yes … she's … just … that … stunning. In her capable hands, what could have been a farce becomes a force to be reckoned with.

"Cutie Honey" is not without its flaws. The high-fashion, sparkly camp design works well most of the time, coupled with some terrific special effects work. Anime sequences – largely used for flashbacks and battlefield filler – are impressive, but these scenes don't offer much to differentiate themselves from straight anime pictures. Despite or to the advantage of the goofy feel-good banter, the actors all seem to enjoy themselves, as it's clear that no one is taking this stuff too seriously.

At some points, I couldn't suppress the "What am I watching?" effect. Normally, a film like "Cutie Honey" is not my cup of tea … but, one scene later, I was drawn up into this goofy world once more, laughing at the campy villains or admiring what little fabric the costume designer refused to waste on Eriko's ordinary-girl-alter-ego outfits.

Did I mention that Cutie is a real cutie? In the end, there's something wholesomely redeeming to watch a group of mismatched heroes take time out from saving the world to drink sake, let loose, and sing karaoke.

Taking its cue from similar movies like 'Charlie's Angels' and 'Austin Powers', Anno Hideaki's 'Cutie Honey' is a mixed bag of zany humor, outlandish action, campy acting and psychedelic animation. Based on the cult anime and manga series by iconic Japanese Manga writer Nagai Go, the movie begins with a crowd-pleasing opening sequence that really captures the essence and feel of the 1973 anime cartoon. However, the rest of the movie fails to match up with the awesome first fifteen minutes of the feature.

Sato Eriko is certainly pleasing to the eyes and is absolutely picture perfect as Kisaragi Honey/Cutie Honey, however her constant childlike innocence and carefree attitude becomes somewhat grating during the course of the film. Ichikawa Mikako is also good as Aki Natsuko but unfortunately she too is hampered by the limitations of her character's simplistic and cartoonish characterization.

The action is surprisingly top notch and the so-called 'Honey-mation' (live action footage mixed in with cartoon animation) sequences are really inventive and recalls the flawed movie 'Tank Girl' in some instances.

The movie really bogs down towards the middle with a series of candid scenes of Sato Eriko in a variety of disguises. It was totally unnecessary and was probably done to fulfill the 'Cosplay' (Costume Play) fetishes and fantasies of its target audience.

The movie really gets weird and offbeat when Oikawa Mitsuhiro as Black Claw breaks out in a song and dance number towards the end of the movie for no apparent reason. Perhaps this might have been appropriate in a spoof movie like 'Team America: World Police' but seems totally out-of-place here. In fact Koda Kumi's cameo earlier in film screamed out blatant 'product placement' as she also sings most of the songs for the film soundtrack.

The ending was the biggest disappoint. As with Anno's 'Evangelion' finale, the promise of an exciting, slam-bang finale are quickly dashed and instead we are treated to metaphysical ramblings and pretentious lecturing about the 'meaning of love' and how 'Sister Jill' should embrace love and evolve to the next level.

Being a fan of the 1973 anime series, I really wanted to like 'Cutie Honey' more. It's not a bad film and is at times quite enjoyable. However, I just wish that the movie followed through with the promising beginning opening few minutes and delivered something a bit more rousing and original.

I remember seeing posters for this in the weeks leading to the cinema release, and well ... Cutey Honey's outfit is pretty darn cute .. I have a figurine on my window that I got with a box of fizzy candy - much to my girlfriend's ire.

Next to ninja's, cute chic's in revealing armour highly rate with me, so I was instantly intrigued. I was familiar with the source material, and the the director (of Evangellion and Nadia fame) and I knew that this film had a very unique visual style, but I still wasn't prepared for what I witnessed when I finally put the disc in the slot and hit play.

This film IS Live Action Anime to the Nth degree! It lives and breaths anime craziness, and over the top silliness. Honey's facial expressions are something straight out of an SD anime. From the opening scene this film is an anime joy - yet live action.

It's a nutty film, and it had me chuckling constantly. I would love to show this to friends of mine, but I know they'd look at me strangely and try and lock me away. Cutey Honey won't be appreciated by everyone, but I think that anime fans, with an open mind will really dig this film.In the back of my mind a voice told me that I was not supposed to like this film, but try as it did, it couldn't pull me away. I was hooked .. right until the end.

It's strange that .. on first look, and without proper perspective, this film look bad. Everyone over-acts, and there are more butt and cleavage shots than you can shake a stick at - very much an exploitative fan service vehicle. Many viewers I assume would get so many bad Power Ranger flash backs that it'd hard for them to keep watching.

Watch it in the right context however and you will see genius! Well maybe that is taking it too far, but Hideaki Anno and the team that worked on this film should be praised for creating the closest live-action rendition of anime I have ever seen. It has all the ingredients, crazy over the top expressions, a VERY cute scantily clad girl, and ultra-surreal bad-guys, including bondage'ish outfits and an androgynous male villain.

It's all there. Until I find out later down the track that the film contained subliminal hypnotising messages, I will say that I really liked this film, but that I still can't really work out why I did so much. Cutey Honey is for anime fans, and I think anyone else would struggle a little to accept this film's wild personality.

Killion

And I agree with the other reviewer, i think James totally missed the point! The idea as far as I can tell was to make a live action anime, it was a parody not a serious movie. The way the characters are posed, in particular the journalist, and one scene where a character has a megaphone covering her mouth was a nod to the way animation is shot-ie exaggerated poses, and objects over mouths to save on animation costs.It was supposed to be a large poke of fun at the silliness of magic girl anime series and anime standards, like a live action version of excel saga! I enjoyed it greatly, and laughed the whole way through, i suppose if you have seen the original series its difficult not to get precious about it. But for someone who has watched a lot of anime, it was enjoyable for all the references to other series and the way a master of the medium can poke fun at his own creations.The performances were good and in a way perfectly studied, they all acted like anime characters, which was the point, Anno was having a dig at how simplistic a lot of characters in anime are and in particular female characters. I agree the end with Sister Jill was a bit sappy but again i thought he was trying to make a point about soppy endings to anime series, as well as obviously trying to fill his need to have some comment on human nature in all his productions! All in all a highly enjoyable film!

There is simply no way to start this review without stating one simple fact. Cutie Honey absolutely, positively should not work as a movie on any kind of level. It has all the ingredients of celluloid disaster stamped across its hot pink exterior. Let's run off the checklist shall we? Live action version of a popular cartoon? Check. A model turned actress cast in the lead role? Check. Heavy usage of cheap looking CG throughout? Check. Outrageous levels of camp? Check.Acting that belongs in a Loony Toons cartoon? Check.

Yes, Cutie Honey should not work, but much to my surprise and resulting delight, it does on almost every level. Based on ageing anime and manga property that dates back to the 1970's, the movie tells the ludicrous tale of Honey Kisaragi, an almost unbearably cute office worker who leads a double life as the titular spandex clad Cutie Honey, self proclaimed 'warrior of love' and arch nemesis of the evil Panther Claw gang.

Opening with a bizarre sequence that sees Honey sprinting through the streets clad only in her underwear, a bin liner and scoffing Onigiri before leaping into battle against a strangely androgynous warrior in golden armour, the movie starts as it means to go on, namely in as silly a manner as possible. The movie is pure parody from start to finish and was clearly never intended as a straight piece in any way, shape or form. Everything from the costume and set design, through to the special effects and carefully studied but nevertheless broad performances work together surprisingly well. Indeed it is the performances that truly elevate the movie way beyond its early promise of being a big budget Power Rangers knockoff.

The lead trio of Eriko Sato (who I first saw in the TV version of Densha Otoko), Mikako Ichikawa and Jun Murakami as Honey, Detective Natsuko and shady photojournalist Seiji respectively deserve the biggest credit here which is fortunate as they have the lion's share of the screen time.

Sato's performance in particular comes as a surprise considering her relatively short acting career at this point. While the somewhat two dimensional Honey was never going to be a stretch for most actresses, the characters brainless manner and relentless optimism could easily have ruled her and turned our heroine into an excruciatingly annoying one note joke. Instead Sato turns Honey into a staunch and heroic fighter of evil one minute, and adorably dimwitted office girl the next with a steady through line of heart-warming kindness and optimism that ties the two characters together.

Visually Cutie Honey is something of a treat as well, being one of the closest things you will ever see to a live action anime. It even manages to go so far as including several knowing tips of the hat to its animated forefathers, including characters flying through the air, millions of rockets hurtling toward their targets and backgrounds giving way to speed lines when the action shifts into high gear. Even the cheap looking CG effects fit well within the movie. Since the reality of this film is quite plainly not our own, occasionally plastic looking CG characters or lapses in animation standards are more excusable and in their own way, prove to be as charming as the performances.

Of course not to mention the director of this inspired lunacy would be a crime unto itself. Hideaki Anno once again proves to be possessed of unique insight into the emotions of his characters. Some of the emotional beats the movie strums along to are curiously similar to his most famous (or infamous depending on your point of view) work in Neon Genesis Evangelion, although the tone of Honey is infinitely lighter than that of Evangelion. Anno's direction is confident and his playful, sometimes biting sense of humour is clear for all to see. The movie relentlessly mocks not only anime conventions and stereotypes but its own silliness at the same time, coming to a head in a very entertaining drunken Karaoke session involving our three leads.

Flaws are present though. The narrative, while hardly the movie's driving purpose, could still have been clearer and a little more focused. The Claws themselves make fun, if shallow villains, though they lack substantial motivation. The biggest drawback is the chief villain of Sister Jill, who feels more like a plot point presented as a full stop than a truly fun character in keeping with the spirit of the rest of the film. While the narrative does justify this personality (or lack thereof), it still makes for a staid and lacklustre final confrontation.

Overall though, Cutie Honey is such a relentlessly cheerful movie it is hard not to get swept up by its boundless optimism. As an antidote to the countless dour Hollywood action flicks of the near decade since the release of the first Matrix movie, it serves its purpose admirably, and as a movie guaranteed to put a smile on your face there is none better.