Cutie Honey

Cutie Honey
File:Cutey honey small.jpg Cutie Honey
Genre	Magical girl
Manga
Cutey Honey
Written by	Go Nagai
Manga
Cutey Honey
Written by	Ken Ishikawa
Anime
Cutey Honey
Directed by	Tomoharu Katsumata
Studio	Toei Animation
Anime
Cutey Honey
Manga
Cutey Honey
Written by	Go Nagai
Anime
New Cutey Honey
Directed by	Yasuchika Nagaoka
Studio	Toei Video
Anime
Cutey Honey F
Directed by	Noriyo Sasaki
Studio	Toei Animation
Manga
Cutey Honey & F
Written by	Ken Ishikawa (art) Kazuyuki Sasaki (story)
Manga
Cutey Honey F
Written by	Yukako Īsaka
Published by	Shogakukan
Anime
Cutey Honey F
Studio	Toei Animation
Manga
Cutey Honey Tennyo Densetsu
Written by	Go Nagai
Anime
Cutey Honey
Directed by	Hideaki Anno
Studio	GAINAX
Anime
Re:CUTIE HONEY
Directed by	Hideaki Anno
Studio	GAINAX
Manga
Cutey Honey SEED
Manga
Cutie Honey aGoGo!
Written by	Shinpei Ito

Cutey Honey or Cutie Honey (キューティーハニー, Kyūtī Hanī) is a widely known anime and manga series created by Go Nagai in 1973. Although an android, the main character Honey is considered a prototype for the transforming magical girl character, with a few key differences.

• Being an android, Cutey Honey's powers are mechanical rather than magical (a device known as the Fixed System of Air Elements).
  • However, in the 1997-98 shōjo anime adaptation, Cutey Honey Flash, Honey Kisaragi is not an android and does transform by magical means.
  • In the live-action Cutie Honey movie and its animated adaptation, Honey's transformation powers come from the Imaginary Induction System, called the I-system for short. The English letter "I" also sounds like the Japanese for "love" (愛; ai).
• Despite its elements of nudity and sexuality, the original 1973-74 Cutey Honey was intended for all audiences in Japan.
• Cutey Honey is considered the original template for the group of magical girls who are active fighters, particularly in the "darker" magical girl series aimed at male audiences rather than female. Honey herself is referred to and parodied overtly in many manga and anime series over the years, perhaps most famously in Sailor Moon. Like Cutey Honey, Sailor Moon has a tendency to speechify before a fight in an amusing way. This would occur as a three stage speech, recapping whatever alternate forms she had taken earlier in the episode, and culminate into her transformation into Cutey Honey and announcing herself as Ai no Senshi! Cutey Honey! or "Lovely Warrior, Cutey Honey. She was also known for fighting sometimes almost attractive, yet bizarre, exclusively female monsters as well.
• In 1994, the first OVA sequel (Shin Cutey Honey, known as New Cutey Honey in English) was released. To date, this is the only version of Cutey Honey to have been licensed and released in the US. Jessica Calvello, the voice actress who plays Honey in the English-language dub was hand-picked by Go Nagai.
• In 1997, a new shōjo version of Cutey Honey assumed the timeslot that the long-running magical girl anime Sailormoon had recently vacated. Cutey Honey Flash was a cuter, gentler version aimed at the young female audience that Sailormoon had kept entertained for five years. This is the most popular version of "Cutey Honey."
• In 2004, Studio Gainax released a live-action tokusatsu film version starring Eriko Sato in the title role along with a new OVA series (Re: Cutie Honey) animated by Gainax. At Anime Expo 2006, Bandai Entertainment announced they will be releasing the live-action Cutey Honey in the US in 2007.

History

File:Champion small.jpg

The cover of Shōnen Champion volume 41.

Cutie Honey first appeared to the public on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of the manga "Shōnen Champion". Volume 41 was the October edition of the manga and was released 13 days prior to the start of the TV series.

The Cutie Honey TV series began on the 13th October 1973 and ran until 30th March 1974. The series was aired in France in the late 1980s under the title Cherry Miel (Cherry Honey).

Plot details

Template:Spoiler Honey is an android girl created by an elderly scientist to be his "daughter". She had no idea she was an artificial being, and she also attended a Catholic school. She found the truth about herself on the day her "father" was killed by members of a villanous organization called the "Panther Claw". She discovered that by saying "Honey Flash!" she could transform into a red-haired female superhero, with great strength and agility, as well as a sword. In fact, she had several other forms, all beautiful women with different abilities. (Her "real" form has long blonde hair.) She was able to transform with the device in her body, Fixed System of Air Elements. Honey continued to get revenge against the Panther Claw (and its woman-android agents) while attending school, until defeating them. Aiding Honey in her quest for revenge is the Hayami family. Hayami Danbei, his two sons Seiji, Junpei, and later on his nephew Naojiro. The organization "Panther Claw" is ruled by Panther Zora, and her younger sibling Sister Jill. Their main goal is unlimited wealth, and obtaining the Fixed System of Air Elements Device. The original series ending leaves the story open-ended, with Honey defeating Sister Jill and discovering Panther Zora is the true leader of Panther Claw.

The OVA continued the story several years later, with Honey not having aged, but having forgotten her true identity. Once she recovers her memory, she continues to battle evil. In this stage, her shapeshifting powers have increased to the point of being able to imitate any person's form (but not to change gender, curiously, even when mimicking a man). The notion of a shape-shifting android can, of course, be traced back as far as Hirai and Kuwata's science fiction manga series, 8 Man. In some respects, Cutie Honey was an overtly sexualized version of the earlier character; significantly, Honey's deceased father is a dead ringer for 8-Man's creator, Doctor Tani.

The manga contains even more violence, gross out humor, and nudity. In the manga the whole Saint Chapel School was lesbian, including Honey's best friend Aki Natsuko. While the Panther Claw were andriods in the anime (excluding Sister Jill and Panther Zora), they are referred as cyborgs in the manga. Honey does not join Paradise School, nor does Danbei have a nephew Naojiro in the manga. The idea of Paradise School, and the characters Naojiro and Goeman (a teacher at Paradise School) were borrowed from other Go Nagai manga, Abashiri Family. However there is a female character in the manga that looks like Naojiro, named Naoko. She was the "boss" of Saint Chapel, while Naojiro was the "boss" of Paradise School. The manga ends in a similar (although a bit more comecial) way. However, the story completely ended in Cutie Honey 90's.

The Ken Ishikawa manga follows a more episodic formula like the TV series. The art work is quite crude, and inconsistent. Unlike the TV series or original manga, Honey always knew Panther Zora was the leader of Panther Claw. Sister Jill does not even show up until the last chapter of Ishikawa's version. Like the original manga, and TV series the manga ends with Honey defeating Sister Jill, and continuning her battle with Zora.

Also notable is that creator Go Nagai based Cutey Honey off of two classic tokusatsu superhero shows, 7-Color Mask (1959) and Rainbowman (1972), which both featured superheroes with 7 different forms (7-Color Mask had 7 disugises and Rainbowman had 7 different superhero forms). Both shows were created by Yasunori Kawauchi (who also created Japan's first superhero TV show, Moonlight Mask, which Nagai spoofed as Kekko Kamen).

Honey is notable for being mischievous for a Japanese female hero, often teasing her male friends and mocking her enemies in combat.

New Cutey Honey (1994-95)

Many years after the events of the first series, the citizens of Cosplay City are struggling with the criminals attacking it. Into this chaos, a new mayor, Light, has vowed to reign in the criminal element and bring back peace. However, the dark lord Dolmeck, along with his sidekicks Black Maiden (actually Panther Zora) and Peeping Spider seek to derail his efforts. However, when it is learned that his secretary Honey Kisaragi is the legendary Cutey Honey, she resumes her campaign to save the city with the power of love.

After her return, Honey moves into the home of Danbei Hayami, a cyborg guardian and "dirty old man," as well as Danbei's grandson Chokkei, and his parents Daiko and Akakabu.

The series, originally intended to be a 12-part series ended at episode 8. While the first 4 episode which contains a complete story was considered a success, the second set of 4 episodes which sets up for the final 4 episodes failed to generate new interest in 1995. Toei did not fund the production of the last 4 episodes and the series concluded without a true ending. In 2004, when this OAV series was released in DVD in Japan, the scripted but not filmed episode 9, a Christmas story, was turned into a CD drama. The remaining three episodes were never scripted.

The series is full of nods to Go Nagai's other work; many of Danbei's weapons are based on those used by Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and Grendizer, the scientist who created him is a Dr. Kabuto (cf. the creator of Mazinger Z, and his appearance in Shin Cutey Honey matches how he looks in the Mazinkaiser OAV, and Mazinger Z manga), the villains stand behind a Devilman gargoyle at the end of the first episode, one of the villains' captives in the second episde looks like Sayaka from Mazinger Z, and in a prison episode Honey turns herself into an inmate who looks exactly like Koji Kabuto. She also teams up with Akira from Devilman in the same episode. The designs for Chokkei's parents, Daiko and Akakabu are based off the parents from Go Nagai's Deliquent in Drag. The original series also references quite a few times. In episode 2, a picture of Prof. Kisaragi is seen in Honey's room (as well as a bust of Mazinger Z on her nightstand). During her battle with Dolmeck, Honey flashbacks to various Panther Claw minions, as well as Sister Jill. She also makes reference to her friend, Aki Natsuko from the original series and manga. She was burned to death by Sister Jill. (Dragon Panther in the manga)

Cutey Honey Flash (1997-98)

The title is often shortened to Cutey Honey F.

In this series, considered by some to be more "toned down" and "family-friendly" than the previous versions, Honey can also be anyone she wishes, but prefers 7 forms:

• Scoop Honey - Paparazzi. A woman who is ready with her film and camera acting as a reporter.
• Stage Honey - Singer. A woman who has her microphone and her formal dress ready for an audience.
• Nurse Honey - Nurse. A woman who knows all medical needs necessary.
• Elegance Honey - Bride. A woman who wears a beautiful white wedding dress. The bouquet is used when she's in danger.
• Hurricane Honey - Rider. A woman who is "cool" with her motorcycle. Anytime she needs to escape.
• Escort Honey - Tour guide. A woman who is always there when needed. A disguise as a flight attendant.
• Cutey Honey - Heroine. A woman who has a perfect body and saves the day.

This series introduces Cutey Honey's sister and rival: Misty Honey. Misty Honey, unlike Cutey Honey, cannot turn into anyone she wants; she can only change from Seira to Misty Honey. She has a band around her leg that resembles Honey's choker, which she to transform with the words "Honey Flash." She even looks like the reverse version of her sister, since she has long blue hair and a less revealing outfit, while Honey has short pink hair and a more revealing outfit. Misty Honey was stolen by Panther Claw and dubbed "The Warrior of Hate," in contrast with Cutey Honey, "The Warrior of Love." Her alter ego is Seira Hazuki.

There are quite a lot of Go Nagai references in CHF much like Shin Cutey Honey. One of the villains, Freddy Claw is a female mix of Dr. Hell and Count Brocken from Mazinger Z. Another villain, Gorgon Claw is a female version of Duke Gorgon from Mazinger Z, and Great Mazinger. Various villains of the day are inspired from monsters of the original Cutie Honey, and the Devilman series. Two boys from Kisaragi Honey's school are based off pliots from Getter Robo.

Cutey Honey in the 21st century

In 2004, Gainax produced a live-action Cutey Honey film, starring popular Japanese model Eriko Sato as Honey Kisaragi/Cutey Honey. Directed by Hideaki Anno, the film loosely retells the classic story of Cutey Honey's battle to defend humanity and avenge her father against Panther Claw. Due to budget constraints, and a desire to exploit the popularity of Eriko Sato, the film places more emphasis on Honey's many changes of costume, and contains only a few action sequences. Villains Honey faces include Sister Jill, Gold Claw, Cobalt Claw, Scarlet Claw and Black Claw.

Simultaneous to the release of the Cutey Honey live action film, Gainax also produced a new three-part OAV (Original Animated Video) series entitled Re: Cutey Honey. The OAV tells the same story as the film, although with significantly more detail and plot elements added. A radical departure from the style of previous Cutey Honey incarnations, Re: Cutie Honey uses simplistic animation and bold lines that are heavily influenced by the original Cutie Honey TV series. The simplicity of many of the backgrounds and characters creates a distinct visual style that has its supporters and detractors, like the original.

Nudity

Cutey Honey is one of the originators of the fan service trend in anime and manga, a practice by animators that gives the audience brief glimpes of nudity or sexually titillating images without becoming full blown hentai or pornography. In Cutey Honey, fan service exists whenever Honey changes into one of her many forms; she is seen nude briefly while the transformation takes place. The series also contains a number of panty shots when Honey is in her normal human form.

The degree of fan service in the different Cutey Honey series has varied over the years. While the all-ages Cutey Honey Flash featured the least nudity (and what little there was featured no detail), New Cutey Honey contained the most openly graphic sexual content, and was probably the closest to border on hentai of any of the series. Because New Cutey Honey is the only Cutey Honey series to have been released in the United States (or indeed, in the English language), Cutey Honey often has an undeserved reputation in the English-speaking world as a hentai title.

Despite the presence of fan service in Cutey Honey, most of the nudity is done in a tongue-in-cheek manner, and there are no explicit scenes of sexual intercourse. Honey deals with lecherous old men, hormone-driven teenagers, and even beautiful, lesbian women in a humorous context. However, the franchise was parodied in hentai fashion in Angel Blade, part of the Vanilla Series.

The Theme Song

The Cutie Honey theme song, titled simply "Cutie Honey," is considered by many fans to be one of the classic anime theme songs of all time. In the original 1973 television series, it was sung by Yoko Maekawa, who also performed the ending theme, Yogiri no Honey (Foggy Night of Honey). Other vocalists to have sung the Cutie Honey theme include Among the other vocalists to have sung the Cutie Honey theme include les-5-4-3-2-1, mayukiss, Salia, Koda Kumi, and Ahyoomee of Sugar. The Mayukiss version (the second opening theme to the Shin Cutey Honey OAV) was sung in English, although its lyrics were not a direct translation of the Japanese lyrics.

The original Japanese lyrics (in Romaji) and a closer (though still loose) English translation can be viewed at this site.

One thing that many of the versions of the theme song (including the original TV series version and Shin Cutie Honey) is Honey's playful declaration, "Kawaru wa yo!" ("I'm about to change!" or "I'm changing now!") at the end of the song. In the English dubbed version of Shin Cutie Honey, the line was spoken by voice actress Jessica Calvello as, "All right, it's time to change!"

The theme song showed up again in the 1974 Toei mahou shoujo TV series Majokko Megu-chan, in a scene in which the heroine, Megu, watches Misty Honey (the pop idol form of Cutie Honey) on TV performing the song. Interestingly, Yoko Maekawa also sang the opening and ending theme songs to Majokko Megu-chan, a series which itself made heavy use of "panchira" and fan service humor.

External links

• Template:Ja icon Cutey Honey anime (original) at Toei Animation
• Template:Ja icon Cutey Honey F (anime) at Toei Animation
• Template:Ja icon Re:CUTIE HONEY at Toei Video
• Cutie Honey ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Cutie Honey ({{{type}}}) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Anime Web Turnpike Cutie Honey Links -a list of links to various Cutie Honey themed sites