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[series:941#628] | ||||||
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I stumbled across this three-OVA series while on E-bay, and having been an enthusiastic fan of Cutey/Cutie Honey since seeing Cutey Honey (OVA), I jumped at the chance to order them. However, I couldn't find a single mention of the exact same title as the seller had used anywhere on the internet, and began to wonder if what I'd be getting might in fact be a live-action Cutie Honey movie that I'd heard had come out recently. Fortunately, just as I'd originally hoped, this was completely new stuff--and, in my mind, completely fantastic! You would probably need to be a Cutie Honey fan to be as enthusiastic as I am, so a note of caution. The animation style seemed bizarre, almost superdeformed, compared to what I was used to (my first impression was "what the hell is going on here?"). I'm glad they reused the classic OP tune (jazzed up a bit) since it is one of the best anime theme songs ever. The accompanying animation was great, too. Honey is a bit less suave, and less serious here (but still adorable), and action seems subservient to comedy. As Panther Claw member Gold Claw puts it, "Our purpose? We don't have a purpose! As long as we have fun, that is" (see what I mean?). Where had I seen action scenes played like this?--oh yeah, FLCL! The animation of fights is pretty neat. The plot gets a little melodramatic as the Panther Claw group launches a campaign to slander Honey, and she suffers some self-doubt--but it works. The way she makes up with the estranged inspector Natsuko was, shall we say, interesting... Damn, this show is just pure fun! Ranging from Honey's bizarre opponents (my favorite is the sassy child villain Scarlet Claw) to her voracious appetite and what happens to her clothing when she gets hungry, to Inspector Natsuko acting on a tip that Honey could be found at a doujinshi convention (she wasn't there, but "Penis-Man" was!). Oh, Lordy, I was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down my cheeks. Perhaps the best indicator I can give of how much I enjoyed episode one is that I rewatched it just a couple hours later! Okay, I've done some more research and it turns out I wasn't just imagining the link between this show and FLCL. There's a page at Anime News Network about this series (called simply "Re: Cutie Honey]", which describes it as a "remake of Cutey Honey (TV) adapted from Cutie Honey (live-action movie)". Now I get it! I found a page devoted to the movie, and the credits mentioned several charachters (Inspector Natsuko, Reporter Seiji Hayami, the "Four Gods" of the Panther Claw group) who appeared on my OVAs. The movie, however, had a listed length of around 90 minutes whereas the first OVA alone was something like 45 minutes, so I wouldn't say they have exactly the same plot. Anyway, Gainax is listed as being responsible for Animation Co-production and Hideaki Anno as the Chief Director. 1/05 Last updated Thursday, April 24 2008. Created Friday, January 21 2005. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Official Site | http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/re_cutie/ |
| Gainex's official site for the series | |
