Cutie Honey

Director
Hiroshi ShitaraHiroshi Shitara, Tomoharu Katsumata
Production
NET, Toei
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
25 episodes
Year
1973

Cutie Honey TV Boxset (Japanese Region 2 set)

By Stephen Lerch
10th Jun 04

Cutie Honey is a 25 episode TV series that ran on Japanese TV from October 13, 1973 until March 30, 1974.

I suppose this could be classified as Magical Girl Anime...

Short Synopsis:

Kisaragi Honey is your average teenage girl, or so you are led to believe during the first couple of minutes of this series. It is quickly learned that Honey isn't a normal human girl, but an android.

Honey witnesses the death of her father, who is also her creator, Kisaragi Takeshi, at the hands of an evil criminal organization known as Panther Claw. Honey vows to seek revenge upon Panther Claw in the name of her father. Upon his death bed (actually via a voice recording from an android built in his likeness), Dr.Kisaragi tells Honey of her origin and how she has the ability to transform her appearance at will by touching the heart shaped necklace on her neck and shouting 'Honey Flash!' Her appearance can range from a camera 'man', pop idol to Charlie Chaplan. Her ultimate form is Cutie Honey, the sword wielding pink haired beauty who always slays the bad guy (girls actually).

Panther Claw is an all female crime organization, run by Panther Zora with Sister Jill as her second in command. They are intent on capturing/killing Honey to learn the secret of her creation and to commit various crimes along the way. Sister Jill is in charge of the capture efforts directed towards Honey with directional support occasionally given by Panther Zora.

In every episode Honey encounters a different Panther Claw goon, from Snake Claw to Puma Claw to Great Claw.

Will Honey prevail and avenge her father's death?

Video:

Being a show from 1973, I was expecting grainy, dirty, washed out film. When I put the first disc in the player and saw the opening, I was literally FLOORED. The video is anything other than what I expected. There is a little dirt here and there, though some of it I believe is where the cel wasn't painted properly to begin with. The picture is crisp and clear, most likely it looks better than when it originally aired. The colour is bright and spot on. New master prints were created specifically for the DVD release. They did a TREMENDOUS job with this release.

There is no compression blocking. No Edge Enhancement. No authoring issues at all.

There are 2 versions of each episode on the discs. The version that is defaulted to is the 'key' version. In this version, the opening animation is shorter and there is no next episode preview or end credits. The other version, which is I believe the 'local' version, contains a longer opening, end credits/animation and a next episode preview. The menus are minimal, with you choosing the key or local version, then you are taken to the episode listing where you choose the chapter you wish to view. Once an episode/chapter is chosen, the disc continues on through the DVD.

On the animation side of things, it's what is expected of a 1973 release. It's well done and the style fits the show perfectly, a bit minimal. Because Honey transforms into the same personas at different times, I had expected an over use of recycled animation, but thankfully they didn't fall into this trap. There is some recycling, though it is acceptable.

Audio:

You have one option for audio here, Japanese Dolby Digital Mono. There are no subtitles on this release, being the Japanese R2 release.

There are no drop outs or any other encoding issues to be found here.

One complaint is that the audio is a bit 'scratchy.' This is due to the original medium and I would guess that this sounds just as it did when it originally aired, so my complaint is merely something I can point out, but likely something that can't be helped, and I don't really want it to be changed.

The music is typical 1970's stuff and given the style of the show and the era, it fits perfectly. The opening theme is quite catchy and quite enjoyable.

Extras:

There were two versions of this release in Japan. You could buy all three keep cases (5 discs) individually, or you could pay the same price as the 3 individual releases and receive a very nice box and an extra keep case containing the soundtrack CD and a DVD full of extras. I, of course, sprung for the box set.

On the extra DVD here is what you get:

An introduction to Cutie Honey (about 3 minutes)
Audio from 2 Drama records (also includes the pops from the record, since that's the only medium on which they were available) These clips each last about 3-4 minutes and have images and text to go along with them, though they are not animated per se.
Audio from a Radio Drama (I believe this to be what it is)
TV Spot (commercial)
A first episode preview (imagine a 'coming in the next episode' bit, but for the first episode)
Clean Opening (1:30)
Clean Closing (2:45)

Pretty impressive, considering when the series was created.

Included on the CD is all of the tracks from the TV show, including both the short 'key version' and 'local version' of the opening song. Inside the 'extras' keep case is a booklet for the CD which includes descriptions of each track.

Packaging:

This is where this release really shines. The artwork on each keep case insert is outstanding. The front contains text which let what set it is in the series along with high quality pictures of things that occur in that volume. On the back is the episode listing with the name of the Claw in that episode.

In each keep case we are given a booklet that includes character sketches and descriptions.

The back side of the inserts (the discs are in clear keep cases) contain warnings and usage guidelines on one side and a very nice picture of Cutie Honey on the other.

The limited edition box is a work of art. One side contains Kisaragi Honey in her normal outfit, the other side has Cutie Honey. The box is covered with a clear pink plastic cover. When you remove the plastic cover from the box, Kisaragi Honey's and Cutie Honey's clothes are taken with it, leaving them exposed. The spine has a heart shape on it and the name of the show.

Also included in the special box is a booklet describing different aspects of the show that you do not get with the individual releases.

Final Analysis:

I love this show! Nagai Gou shines in nearly everything he has ever done, and this is no exception. This is one of the few shows that once the final episode was upon me, I was a bit saddened, knowing that there were no more episodes in this series. I honestly can't wait to go back to watch it again, nor can I wait for the other discs for the other Cutey Honey shows (Shin and F)!

I thought I would be bored with the 'enemy of the day' formula, but they mix it up enough to keep you interested. There is enough humour to keep the action from becoming too serious, and more than a little fan service.

It should be noted that most, if not all, of the Panther Claw members, other than Sister Jill and Panther Zora, are all voiced by the same actress. Another note is that, like Super Man, even though it's blatantly obvious to the viewer (most times) that Honey is the one behind the personas, no one really knows Cutie Honey's true identity is that of Kisaragi Honey.

Another thing that really hit me was some of the 'angles' they used when creating this masterpiece. They use a couple of techniques you would expect to see in a film, but not necessarily Anime. There are two scenes that come to mind. The first scene is a scene where the scenery and a person are reflected in Honey's eyes, instead of giving the direct view. The second is a set of scenes where Honey is pulling bombs out of different places in the school. In this set of scenes you have 2 to 3 'windows' with one window showing off the room the Panther Claw is placing the bombs, the other window has a close up of the actual location they place the bomb, like inside a cupboard. These techniques work really well and are well done.

The Chaplan Honey (I believe is what they called it), where Honey changes her appearance into that of a Charlie Chaplan look alike, had me laughing hysterically for some unknown reason, and was totally unexpected.

The ending leaves the story open, though it is my understanding that it doesn't continue much past where the TV series ended, until the Shin Cutey Honey 90s Manga was written.

I honestly hope that someone sees fit to release this series in the US as this show deserves to be seen (and understood). Unfortunately with it's age and style, I doubt there would be much of an audience here, and that is a sad fact indeed.

Score: 10

-- Stephen Lerch 10th Jun 04

Cutie Honey Images