Re: Cutie Honey

Like most of you, I found this show/anime from watching the OP on Youtube, and I loved it. The fantastic animation quality of the opening intro, paired with an amazing cover of an iconic song to fit the modern age actually bloody worked, for some reason. It's just magical how an intro actually made me want to watch this bloody thing. Now, this isn't the first Cutie Honey iteration I have watched. I managed to watch Cutie Honey Flash (Cutie Honey F) before this. It was lame and average. I didn't like it. It had a great story but it was waaaaaay too melodramatic and way too cheesy, and the animation is really dated. Episode 1 was just plain garbage. Episode 2 was slightly better, although it wasn't enough to make me watch more episodes. I give it a 5/10. Despite my disappointment with Cutie Honey F, I still wanted to watch the other versions due to my anticipation of the upcoming Cutie Honey Universe, I went out my may to watch Re: Cutie Honey. This version. This anime..... oh my goodness. The first out of the three episodes of this short, but satisfying OVA is one of those things you HAVE to watch for yourself. It is... insane, and bloody hilarious, and I mean that. If there's anything that created the birth of Studio Trigger, it is this. First of all, art direction is absolutely fantastic. The show begins with a cartoonish art-style that is extremely exaggerated up to the point where it is done on purpose, until the show suddenly becomes the joke itself. There is... a lot of innuendo humor in this show, but unlike a large majority of stuff like this, the jokes are genuinely written in ways I didn't expect. Realistic consequence is actually present within the character's actions, and it makes the presentation of the jokes a whole lot better. Even Ren and Stimpy couldn't write better innuendo humor than what this has to offer, in my opinion. But there's more than that. The animation drastically changes by around episode 2 and completely in the third and final episode, from comically exaggerated to super realistic, as Honey is gradually unlocking more and more of her heart. It's such a purposeful decision that literally made my jaw drop. I'm not kidding. I wasn't surprised with how immaculate the framing is, considering that this was directed by Hideaki Anno, the guy behind Neon Genesis Evangelion. The show looks great and still holds up 14 years after its release, and this is extremely impressive for an OVA. In fact, when I was watching it, it didn't have the impression that this was direct-to-video quality, especially during a large bunch of the last episode. I was at awe with how attached I was to the characters as the final episode ended. I only have minor issues with this show, with the most glaring one being the President of The United States speaking in Japanese for no reason. But besides those, this is truly animation as an art form. Now I know what you're thinking, "this is another one of those fanservice anime with no substance, isn't it?". Well, that's what I thought before watching it, but I'm telling you right now. It's not. It's a wild, but thoughtful story about the depths of the human heart, and it worked for me. This show really struck me. I'd even go as far as saying that I personally like it more than the first animated Ghost In The Shell movie. So please, do yourself a favor and give this a shot. It's not fanservice, it's an experience. Just let me warn you that there's a lot of boobs.

I don't watch a lot of movies, but I was intrigued to find this flick as an accompaniment to the Cutie Honey 12" action figure. I thought it was a fun movie -- silly, cheesy and musical, lighthearted. I liked the fact that there was so much music. There are quite a few typos in the subtitles, and I'd love to know what the literal translations would be -- I bet there are some little jokes in there. Sure it was grating in parts, but I also found some bits a little creepy. I think it fills its niche well... as the heir apparent to "Barbarella" with some Sailor Moon (wink and peace sign as well as sweet snacks) and Power Rangers (bad guy costuming) thrown in. Now I really want to find the original cartoons and/or graphic novels! (OK, now where do I click to give it a bunch of stars?)

Loud, gaudy and camp, 'Re: Cutie Honey' is an assault on the senses.

Taking its cue possibly from American shows like 'Powerpuff Girls', 'South Park' and 'Samurai Jack', the animation is very much simplified to the point of resembling crude graffiti art.

The animation style is also similar and reminiscent of that used in the 'New Getter Robo' OVA series (2004).

While the fantastic title animation promises stylish animation harking back to shows like 'Cowboy Beboy', 'Lupin III' and the original 'Cutey Honey' series of the 70's, the rest of the show disappoints with distorted and garish animation that is sub par and truly unsettling.

Even the animation of shows like 'The Big O' and the American series 'Justice League Unlimited' seem better by comparison.

I can only suspect that part of the intention was to mimic and pay tribute to Nagai Go's original manga work but what worked for series like 'Kikaider: The Animation' may not necessarily work for all shows.

However, while the animation suffers, the story is actually quite good. A very different approach to the Nagai Go story that puts a bit of a modern spin on the tale and yet is still familiar enough so as not to put off fans of the original series.

The music is another bright spot for this series. Koda Kumi's rendition of 'Cutie Honey' is quite good as is the ending theme 'Into Your Heart'. It does help that J-Pop Music Powerhouse, Avex-Group helped with the music arrangement.

'Re: Cutie Honey' is not a bad series, just not a very good one. Long time fans of Cutey Honey like myself, will find this a unique and quite different take on the character and story. While not on the same level as 'Cutey Honey Flash', I still recommend it to fans. First time viewers to the show should hold off and wait for the live-action movie before investing in the series.

Being a long time Gainax fan & an anime lover I found this 3 episode series quite intriguing. Kind of a perverted comedy/action type thing. For the most part it stays fairly light & silly. Gets a bit heavier in the last episode.

The opening credits are excellent. A combination of slickness & silliness. Very cool. The j-pop theme might put some people off a bit, but it suits the show to come.

Episode 1 is directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi who you'll know as the director of the wild & crazy Dead Leaves & Gurren Lagann. This episode does a good job of setting up the campy vibe of the show & Imaishi maintains his manic style! The animation is crude & loose, but vibrant & expressive too. Later in the episode there's some really well composed action sequences.

Episode 2 is a pile of poo. This is what I'm referring to in the summary. It's very poorly done.

Thankfully Episode 3 is AWESOME! From what I can tell it is directed by Masayuki & Hideaki Anno. Great shot choices & execution - really good animation throughout. Lots of action. A satisfying end to this short series.

So there you go!