Saturday, July 27, 2013

New Cutie Honey

New Cutie Honey; animated fantasy horror action comedy series, Japan, 1994; D: Yasuchika Nagaoka, S: Michiko Neya, Rica Matsumoto, Rica Fukami, Kousei Tomita

Somewhere in the future, Cosplay City is intimidated by a new villain, the strange monster Dolmeck and his sidekicks Black Maiden and Spider. The tough mayor Light tries to keep law and order in the city, but the breakthrough arrives only thanks to Cutie Honey, an android who awakens again and uses her superpowers to defeat Dolmeck and his gang. She is aided by Chokkei and his grandpa Danbei. Even after Dolmeck is gone, Honey has a lot of work to do battling remaining criminals who transform into monsters.

For the viewers who can simply tolerate a story that never tries to have a point, a meaning or be serious, and demands that you simply turn off your brain and enjoy, "New Cutie Honey", a bizarre new modern retelling of Go Nagai's eponymous '73 TV show, is a 'guilty pleasure' and an amusing anime OVA that never tries to be anything more than dumb fun. The story has no ambitions, but already in the opening act of the first episode, when Chokkei's mom and dad enter a bank to rob it, only to experience a twist of faith when some twenty seemingly harmless customers and the bank clerk all draw their guns and aim *at them*, one can forgive a lot of upcoming flaws for such humorous ideas. Filled with fan service, incredibly silly excuses for naughty erotic moments - which are sometimes so childish it is hard to regard them as adult - and as much of idealization and appreciation for big breasts as in a R. Meyer film, "New Cutie Honey" is a light and easily accessible patchwork, with numerous wacky jokes: grandpa Danbei tries to persuade Honey to transform into a ninja while trying to sneak into a building, only to secretly have a peak at her nude while she is transforming; a girl mocks Chakkei's fascination with Honey by putting her hands into her shirt to "enhance" her bra from the inside; Honey survives a bullet shot because she had a metal bra and says that her "fans would be disappointed if something happens to her". Since the main bad guy is already eliminated in the fourth episode, the remaining four simply seem like fillers, yet one has to see the first half just for Black Maiden, a strange girl piloting above a giant robot with wings instead of its head, and one of the most expressionistic villiainesses of the 90s. It's not much of an achievement from a depth perspective, but it is fun and engaging.

Grade;++

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