The appeal and reviews of "Re♡Cutie Honey": A thorough analysis of the new world of Cutie Honey

Re♡Cutie Honey - Re Cutie Honey - All-round evaluation and recommendation

■ Public Media

OVA

■ Original Media

comics

■ Release date

September 21, 2004

■Release and sales

Toei Video

■Frequencies

46 min

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 3

■Original Story

Go Nagai

■ Director

・General Director: Hideaki Anno ・Directors: Hiroyuki Imaishi, Naoyuki Ito, Masayuki

■ Production

Animation production: Toei Animation Animation production cooperation: Gainax Production: LATERNA, Toei Animation, Gainax, Towani

■Works

©LATERNA, Toei Video, Gainax, Towani ©Go Nagai/Dynamic Planning ©"Re: Cutie Honey" Production Committee

■ Story

The time is the near future. The city is beset with acts of destruction by a mysterious armed group called the Secret Society Panther Claw. Tokyo is thrown into panic by numerous terrorist acts. Police and riot police led by Inspector Akiko of the Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Section 8 are dispatched, but are unable to arrest anyone. Meanwhile, Gold Claw, one of the four heavenly kings of Panther Claw, appears at a TV station, goes on a rampage and hijacks the airwaves. Then a mysterious beautiful girl who calls herself Cutie Honey, the Warrior of Love, appears.

Honey, clad in a battle suit, engages in a fierce battle with G. Claw. Her true identity is Kisaragi Honey, an android created by one of the world's leading scientists, Dr. Kisaragi. Normally a boring temporary office worker, she touches the heart-shaped choker around her neck and cries "Honey! Flash!" and the <I-System> activates, instantly transforming her into a super android with strength and power many times greater than that of a human. Honey's beloved father was taken away by Panther Claw, who is after the <I-System> that allows her to transform so freely, so she is fighting for revenge.

The police officers led by Natsuko join the fight between Honey and Panther. A newspaper reporter, Hayami Seiji, who is watching, knows Honey's secret. What is the purpose of Sister Jill, the leader of Panther Claw? A magnificent battle between the warrior of love, "Cutie Honey", and the Panther monsters begins.

■Explanation

The "Re:" in the title can have various meanings, such as RETURN or RENEWAL, but as a mutual response to the movie, it follows the basic setting from the extensive concept memos compiled by Hideaki Anno, but visualizes a new story that is a little different from the movie. Honey's ability, which is the Aerial Element Fixation Device in the original and the "I System" in Anno's version, and other detailed settings that could not be fully expressed in the movie are reconstructed while complementing them with depictions unique to anime.

The directors for each episode are Hiroyuki Imaishi, Naoyuki Ito, and Masayuki Masayuki, and the film is structured in three parts, just like Hideaki Anno's "Aim for the Top!". The story starts off silly and outrageous, but gradually becomes more serious and hard-hitting. The opening scene and various scenes in the film have already been animated, and there was a lot of buzz at the press previews, with people saying, "I want to see this anime version of Honey!", so there's no doubt that there are high expectations.

■Cast

・Honey Kisaragi/Yui Horie・Natsuko Aki/Junko Noda・Seijiro Hayami/Hideo Ishikawa・Silter Jill/Kazue Ikura・Gold Claw/Noriko Uemura・Cobalt Claw/Mami Kanetsuki・Scarlet Claw/Yumi Touma・Butler/Motomu Kiyokawa・Chief Permanent Section Chief/Bin Shimada・Rinko Terada/Yuka Komatsu・Mayumi Takahashi/Tomoko Kaneda・Kyoko Izumiya/Kazuko Sugiyama・Detective Tokimura/Kazumi Tanaka・Detective Mikami/Ryohei Nakao

■ Main staff

・Original work / Nagai Go・General Director / Anno Hideaki・Directors / Imaishi Hiroyuki, Ito Naoyuki, Masayuki Masayuki・Series Composition / Nakashima Kazuki・Character design, title logo / Hiramatsu Yoshifumi・Art director / Sato Masaru・Director of photography / Fukuda Takeshi・Color design / Tsujita Kunio・Music / Ueda Masu・Assistant director / Tanaka Masashi・Producers / Kitazaki Hiromi, Matsui Toshiyuki, Sato Yuki, Kawabata Motoo・Executive Producer / Higuchi Munehisa・Animation production / Toei Animation・Animation production cooperation / Gainax・Production / LATERNA, Toei Animation, Gainax, Towani

■ Main Characters

Honey Kisaragi is the ultimate android created by Professor Kisaragi using the cells of his beloved daughter, who was seriously injured in an accident and was near death. However, since she has only been born a year ago, she still has a lot of immature tendencies. Her favorite food is rice balls made by Kyoko Izumiya.
・Cutie Honey A beautiful android created by Professor Kisaragi, an authority on nanomachines. Created from the cells of the professor's daughter Honey, who died in an accident one year ago, she has a human heart. In addition to fighting with the Honey Boomerang that comes from her left arm and the Silver Fleur that slices through enemies, she can also activate the I System (Imaginary Induction System), which has the power to transform thoughts into form, by touching the choker around her neck and shouting "Honey Flash!", allowing her to freely change her appearance.
Natsuko Aki is an elite police inspector in the Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Section 8. She is currently also the head of the Panther Claw Temporary Task Force. Although she is competent, she is not good at expressing her emotions and is an individualist. Because of this, she is completely isolated within the organization. She has maintained a stubborn attitude towards Honey and Aoji from the beginning, but...
A mysterious man who at first glance seems frivolous and calls himself a newspaper reporter. He keeps an eye on Honey and Natsuko's movements, and appears out of nowhere when they are in trouble, but he is often of no use. He learns the secret of the I-System and calls himself "Honey's guardian," but what is his purpose in doing so...?
Gold Claw: One of the four heavenly kings of the secret society Panther Claw, he excels at hand-to-hand combat. His main weapons are his golden hammer that creates shock waves, and his pigtail with a tomahawk at the end. He can also fly by spinning it at high speed. Perhaps due to a complex common among sportsmen, he has a habit of using a lot of four-character idioms.
Cobalt Claw: One of the four heavenly kings of Panther Claw, he is a sadist who has a twisted love for Honey. He is swift and can change his skeletal structure like a mollusc, giving him great fighting ability. In addition, the ornaments that extend from his head can become tentacles that emit electric shocks.
Scarlet Claw: Although he looks young, he is one of the four heavenly kings of Panther Claw. He has a ruthless personality, and his special moves are the destructive ray that he fires from the tip of his umbrella and the scarlet beam that he fires from his mouth. He psychologically corners Honey with underhanded methods.
Black Claw Panther The last of the four heavenly kings of Claw. A ruthless narcissist, he is also the one who killed Dr. Kisaragi. His special moves are the Black Beam and the Black Tornado. Modeled after Baron Ashura and Colonel Brocken from "Mazinger Z"!?
・He is a faithful servant of the butler Sister Jill and always follows her like a shadow. He looks just like the murdered Dr. Kisaragi and urges Honey to surrender, but...
The leader of the Siltergill secret society, Panther Claw. Her true identity is the ultimate biological weapon that went out of control during development and was abandoned. Using the functions of her built-in I-System, she has created countless subordinates, but they are all merely puppets to comfort her loneliness.

■Subtitle

Episode 1: Heaven (2004/09/21)
Episode 2: Earth (2004/10/21)
Episode 3: People (2004/12/21)

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・Cutie Honey ・Lyrics by Claude Q
・Composition: Takeo Watanabe ・Arrangement: h-wonder
・Song: Kumi Koda

・ED1
・Into your heart
Lyrics: Miki Watanabe Composition: Miki Watanabe Arrangement: h-wonder
・Song: Kumi Koda

Ratings and Recommendations

"Re♡Cutie Honey" is an OVA based on the original work by Go Nagai, and was produced under the general direction of Hideaki Anno. The OVA is made up of three episodes, each of which is directed by a different director. The work is directed by a stellar team of directors, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Naoyuki Ito, and Masayuki Masayuki, and each episode has a different feel and depth.

The story is set in the near future in Tokyo and follows Cutie Honey as she fights against the secret organization Panther Claw. Cutie Honey's true identity is Kisaragi Honey, an android created by Professor Kisaragi, and her revenge and growth are at the center of the story. In particular, the scene where Kisaragi Honey transforms using the I System and fights against Panther Claw is spectacular and has a strong visual impact.

The character settings are also attractive, and in addition to Kisaragi Honey, there are other unique characters such as Aki Natsuko of the Metropolitan Police Department's Public Security Section 8 and newspaper reporter Hayami Seiji. Aki Natsuko in particular is charming in the contrast between her calm and competent personality and her difficulty in expressing her emotions, and her growth is also a point not to be missed. In addition, the four heavenly kings of Panther Claw each have their own unique personalities and fighting styles, making them attractive enough as enemy characters.

In terms of music, the opening theme "Cutie Honey" and the ending theme "Into your heart" sung by Kumi Koda add to the atmosphere of the work. The opening theme in particular has a modern arrangement while retaining the atmosphere of the original work, making it a song that will capture the hearts of viewers.

This work has been highly praised, and has been supported by not only fans of the original work, but also anime fans. In particular, Hideaki Anno's skill as general director and the way the director's individuality shines through in each episode have been highly praised. Another point not to be missed is the high-quality visuals and story development that make the most of the OVA format.

The recommended points are as follows:

• Fans of the original work will be able to enjoy a new Cutie Honey story interpreted by Anno Hideaki.
• Anime fans can enjoy the unique direction and high-quality visuals from a stellar team of directors.
• For viewers who enjoy character development and human drama, the relationship between Honey Kisaragi and Natsuko Aki and the battle with Panther Claw are worth watching.
• For music-loving viewers, the theme song sung by Kumi Koda helps to enhance the atmosphere of the film.

As mentioned above, "Re♡Cutie Honey" is a work that inherits the charm of the original while adding a new interpretation, making it enjoyable for a wide range of viewers. The high-quality visuals and story development that make the most of the OVA format, the unique characters, and the rich music make this work even more appealing. Please watch it at least once and experience its charm for yourself.