The Cutie Honey That Changed The Formula
This is a review that should point out the obvious. And that is that RE: Cutie Honey breaks the mold a bit. What it does maintain is the Seiji and Natsuko characters as allies and friends. It changes their roles and ultimately their "character". Seiji is repainted as an agent for the NSA who was sent to watch over Cutie Honey and determine her "threat level". If he determines she IS a threat to mankind, or in this case, a threat to Japan and America, he is supposed to use a device on her that will eliminate her "I-System", which is the source of her power and life. Natsuko is depicted as a detective level police officer, who is determined at her job and wants nothing to do with Honey Kisaragi, or her alter ego Cutie Honey. Natsuko is usually used as a girlfriend type character for Honey, and depending on the series iteration, she is either pushed to the side or directly involved in Honey's life and romance. This particular iteration starts her out as HOSTILE towards Honey. Things change over the course of the three episodes, and some emotionally interesting things happen between them, but always this show grants you empathy for her. Honey just loves life, people, and desires friends above all else. And she can't understand cruelty, and when despite her yearning and puppy dog attempts to bring friendship between her and Natsuko, she is rejected in the harshest way, and is completely shattered. It's a great way to remind us all as viewers of how we may have done the same to someone desiring friendship from us, at some point in our lives.
The villain characters presented here are various small Panther Claw thugs, slightly more evolved things like Surgeon Claw, but the real villain threats come in the form of Gold Claw, Scarlet Claw, Black Claw, and Cobalt Claw. All of them headed up by the undisputed leader of Panther Claw, named Sister Jill. These characters have been among a wide array of villains over the years, but this series changes the game a bit, considering that Hideaki Anno spearheaded not only the three animation OVA's here, but a live action theatrical Cutie Honey movie that was released simultaneously with the home videos. The live action film was approximately 98 minutes long and was slightly different in its story. The characters and designs were all shared, however. Re: Cutie Honey is unique in that characters like the old janitor lady have different roles, but if you view the animation first, the extra character stuff actually enhances the film experience by not necessarily clashing with the in depth layers presented with the OVA's. The old janitor lady is presented as another secret agent character who watches over Honey at her job, and actually cares for her from the get go. She actually has battle prowess as well, but in the theatrical film, she only has a few scenes and seemingly comes off as a dowdy old lady who is harmless, but one can transpose the back story from the animation onto her easily, and it enriches the experience of the film version. I recommend doing this with the OVA's and film.
Overall, the animation is strikingly different from episode to episode, and the reason for that was that each episode was directed by a different prominent animation film director. The third being directed by Hideaki Anno who produced and lead the production for all three, also. All in all this version of Cutie Honey was unique and will never be done this way, ever again. Get copies of both and enjoy. I prefer to enjoy the theatrical film with a 32 oz of Sapporo beer and Saki. When I watch the animation episodes, I tend to not drink, as it's a bit more in depth and requires some thinking in order to process the hero and the villain Jill. The story is brilliant, and complex. It not just another fun romp with Cutie Honey. The film feels like Japan's response to the Austin Powers series of movies. Very similar in tone, and simple to follow. Try them out, and you won't be disappointed.
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