Cutie Honey
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese media franchise
created by Go Nagai
. Cutie Honey first appears on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of Shōnen Champion. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist
of a shōnen
manga
series.
The franchise spans many works, including numerous manga series, two animated TV series, two OVA
series, two drama CDs, and two live action adaptations. The first anime, aired in 1973, is considered a magical girl
series in retrospect. The animated and live-action versions share a common theme song, which has been covered
many times by different performers. While Honey's exact appearance differs among the various versions, they all portray her as an outwardly ordinary girl
named Honey Kisaragi, who can transform into the busty, red or pink-haired hero
ine Cutie Honey and other specialized forms to fight against assorted villains who threaten her or her world. One of the trademarks of the character is that all of these transformations involve the temporary loss of all her clothing in the brief interim from changing from one form to the other.
Nagai's inspiration for the character of Honey comes from classic shows that featured protagonists who took seven different forms, including the Bannai Tarao
mysteries and Rainbowman
(1972). Honey is notable for being mischievous for a Japanese female hero, often teasing her male friends and mocking her enemies in combat. When transforming into Cutie Honey in the anime, she gives a brief rundown of the forms she has previously taken in that particular episode, and then declares, "But my true identity is ..." before yelling "Honey Flash!" and transforming.
. Nagai's 1973 manga was republished
in 1985 as a single volume, but no further versions of Honey were produced until 1992. While Nagai's manga was marketed as "" ("science fiction
comics"), the Toei anime is considered, at least in retrospect, a magical girl
series.
In these versions, Honey Kisaragi is a regular Catholic schoolgirl, until the day her father is murdered by the "Panther Claw" organization. After his death, she learns she is actually an android created by him and within her is . With her cry of "Honey Flash!" she can use the device to transform into the sword-wielding red-haired superhero, Cutie Honey. This device, or similar devices, have been used to explain her powers in all later Honey versions.
While attending the Saint Chapel School for Girls, Honey seeks revenge against the Panther Claw, which is ruled by an ancient primordial evil known as Panther Zora and her younger sibling Sister Jill. Zora wants "the rarest items in the world" and seeks Honey's device, while Jill, leader of the group's division in Japan, "only wants the finest riches" and has a crush
on Honey. Honey's best friend at school is the cute, freckle-faced Aki "Nat-chan" Natsuko. In the manga, Nat-chan, as well as the other students, had a crush on Honey; this crush was downplayed in the TV series.
Honey is aided in her quest by Danbei Hayami and his two sons, journalist Seiji and young Junpei. Danbei is based on the character Daemon from Go Nagai's prior work Abashiri Family. Nagai's manga also borrows the character Naojiro from that series (in a female form named Sukeban Naoko); the anime borrows the Paradise School, along with the characters Naojiro and Goeman (a teacher at the school) from the series.
Originally, Cutie Honey was meant to be a shōjo series like the later Cutie Honey Flash, focusing more on Honey and Shun Kazama (Seiji)'s relationship and lacking any nudity or excessive violence. A great deal of merchandising was initially planned, such as 'changing' dolls of Honey. The manga was slated to run in the monthly Ribbon magazine, and the series was set to air at 7:00 on NET TV, a timeslot previously held by mahō shōjo (magical girl
) series. However, the timeslot was given to Miracle Shōjo Limit-Chan (which garnered poor ratings) and Cutie Honey was going to air on the hour show, Majū Kaijin Daihenshin!!! which previously aired Micord S and Devilman
. Because of this, Cutie Honey was now going to be a shōnen (young boys') series, making it the first magical girl series for boys. To make it appeal to a young male audience, more action was added and Go Nagai proposed to draw Honey nude during her transformations.
In the series, Honey Kisaragi is a 16-year-old girl who discovers she is a super android after her father is killed by Panther Claw. The Panther Claw hopes to attain "unlimited wealth" and to steal the device within Honey created by her father, which would allow them to "create an endless supply of jewels".
At school, Honey is something of a "class clown" who enjoys teasing and pranking her teachers Alphonne and Miharu. Much of the comic relief in the original TV series comes from Honey's exploits at school. Miharu initially sees Honey as an incorrigible pest, but Alphonne is attracted to Honey and goes out of her way to be nice to her.
Honey is aided by the Hayami family in her battle. The eldest son, Seiji, is the first person to discover Honey's secret. He meets Honey by chance, and swears to help her. His father Danbei and brother Junpei also grow very fond of Honey. Later in the series, Honey meets Danbei's nephew Naojiro. He is the "boss" of Paradise School, a low-life school filled with delinquent boys. Honey joins the school and becomes the new "boss".
Honey has a large array of transformations in this series, her most common personae including:
In 1992, Nagai wrote that the idea to create the "Seven Transformations" hero was pitched by a Toei
producer; he notes that his decision to make the protagonist a "female android
" came from female characters from his previous works, Harenchi Gakuen
and Abashiri Family, and from the character Maria from Metropolis
.
Outside of Japan, the only country in which the original Cutie Honey TV series was released was France
, where it aired under the title Cherry Miel ("Cherry Honey") from August 1988 to February 1989.
For a television anime series, the original Cutie Honey achieved respectable ratings in Japan, and some of its cast and crew have worked on other major titles. The series achieved a peak rating of 11.6% for episode 18 (broadcast February 11, 1974) and generally scored ratings of around 8-10%. Shingo Araki
, the character designer and animation director
for the series, would later work on Saint Seiya
and many others. Eiko Masuyama
, who voices
Honey in this series, has also worked in Lupin III
series and films, voicing Lupin
's associate and love (or lust) interest Fujiko Mine
. Masaki Tsuji
, the series' chief writer, scripted episodes of numerous other filmed works (both anime and otherwise), including Attack No. 1
, Urusei Yatsura
, Go Nagai's previous Devilman
, Sally, the Witch
, and Dr. Slump
, and is also a published science-fiction writer.
The first new versions of Cutie Honey since the 1970s include the New Cutie Honey OVA and the Cutie Honey Flash TV series. The OVA is set after the events of the original versions, while the TV series is a re-imagining of those events.
A 1992 manga series was also created by Nagai; set 30 years after the originals, it was released in the United States in 1997 by the now-defunct Studio Ironcat
, as Cutie Honey '90. It has received criticism for having "bad quality" and "clumsy"-looking characters.
In 1995 a Honey game, , was developed by Datawest and released by NEC
.
, the voice of Honey in the English language
version, was hand-picked by Nagai. The series, which ended with eight episodes in 1995, pays homage
to some of Nagai's other works, including the Mazinger
and Devilman
series. While the first four episodes contain a complete story, the last four episodes take a monster of the week approach. When the series was released on DVD in 2004, a scripted but unfilmed episode 9, a Christmas story, was released as a drama CD. The eight filmed episodes were released by ADV Films in the United States; the series remains the only Cutie Honey anime to be commercially released in the US.
Cutie Honey series, known as Cutie Honey Flash or Cutie Honey F, assumed the timeslot of Sailor Stars
, the final story arc
of the long-running Sailor Moon
anime. Employing many of the same animation staff, including Stars animation director
Miho Shimagasa, Flash features very similar character designs and fits the more traditional mold of magical girl
series, aimed at the Moon demographic. The series was also broadcast in Germany
.
Honey has a large array of transformations in this series as well, including versions of her original forms Hurricane Honey and Cutie Honey. All the characters from the original TV series return, with the exception of Junpei, Naojiro, and the staff of Paradise School. The anime also introduces Misty Honey, a rival and self-proclaimed younger sister of Cutie Honey, whose name was chosen through a contest in Japan. Cutie Honey Flash uses hand-drawn
animation; according to Shimagasa, the use of digitally-animated
characters on hand-painted backgrounds was planned and tested, but later rejected.
Several new manga versions have also been produced. The first, , ran from 2001 to 2003. The second, , ran from 2003 to 2005; it was not fully released until October 2007. The third, , ran from 2004 to 2006; it was "written by Go Nagai, but not drawn by him", and tells the story of a boy named Yuuta, a Cutie Honey fan, who meets an alien with powers similar to those of Honey.
, stars popular Japanese model Eriko Sato
as Honey. The tokusatsu
(live-action) film loosely retells the story of Cutie Honey's battle against the Panther Claw to defend humanity and avenge her father. The movie was released direct-to-DVD in the United States on April 17, 2007 by Bandai Entertainment. Previously, the New Cutie Honey OVA was the only incarnation of Cutie Honey to have been commercially released in the US. It is very popular in Thai culture, and was distributed by Sutida Inc media conglomerate.
, with the first episode airing on July 24, 2004, two months after the live-action film was released. DVD releases for each episode followed, with the first on September 21. The OVA tells the same story as the film, but contains nudity
and additional character development. While Hideaki Anno directed the series in general, each episode also had its own director and the three episodes differed in style.
as Honey, the series focuses on a set of three transforming girls with different personalities, and a Panther Claw run by four leaders.
to perform, was sung by Yoko Maekawa. In Cutie Honey Flash, it is performed by SALIA. In the New Cutie Honey OVA, the original song is performed by les-5-4-3-2-1, and the English language
version by Mayukiss. Kumi Koda
performed it for the Re: Cutie Honey OVA and its live-action adaptation. In Cutie Honey: The Live, the theme is sung by Minami Kuribayashi
as part of Wild 3-Nin Musume. The only other anime theme songs to have been used so consistently are Theme of Lupin III
, which has been used continuously on Lupin III animated features since the 70s, and the GeGeGe no Kitaro theme song, used since the 60s.
Other artists have also covered the song, including GO!GO!7188
for their Tora no Ana
album, Masami Okui
in the Masami Kobushi album, and a version by TWO-MIX
. Animetal
also did a cover of the song for their Animetal Lady album, with the lyrics sung by Mitsuyo Nemoto
of the Japanese pop group Pink Lady
. Pop star Ahyoomee
's solo debut was a Korean adaptation of Koda's version; it became highly popular online, despite controversy over her pronunciation of the lyrics and her "unambiguously Japanese" outfit in one performance. Harp player Mika Agematsu covered the theme—and songs from Lupin III, Candy Candy
, and others—in her album Anipa (UCCS-1088); it was released by Universal Music
in June 2006 in Japan, and in February 2009 in the United States.
The song can also be heard during episode 27 of the 1974 magical girl TV series Majokko Megu-chan
, when the main character Megu watches Honey, in her pop idol persona (Misty Honey), perform it on TV. In the seventh episode of the 2006 series Princess Princess
, the Princesses also perform it, singing a few lines from the theme for an opening to a choir concert.
A "self cover" CD, Cutie Honey (21st century ver.), with new versions of the opening and ending themes by Maekawa herself, was released on February 27, 2008.
manga. There, Honey is the younger sister of Ryou Asuka and is living in New York City
. When she hears of the earthquake that devastated Kantō
, Honey and several of her friends go to Japan to search for Ryou, who has become the pet of the Slum King.
Honey's friends are alternate universe versions of her transformations in the 1973 series:
In the last volume, Flash, Misty, and Cutie are killed when they fall into a spiked trap when they try to free a chained up Miki Makimura. Honey is electrocuted when she tries to rescue Ryou from the Slum King. Idol, Fancy, and Hurricane die in an explosion. The spirits of the seven women come together to form Angel
Honey, whom Ryou sees in his dreams. When Ryou returns to his true form, as Satan
, he fights in his sister's memory.
Also, Honey's girlfriend Nat-chan (Aki Natsuko) - or a girl strongly resembling her - appears in the Devilman
manga. Her appearance is brief before she is killed by a demon.
as a student; her lesbian teacher from the 1973 TV series, Alphonne, also makes two brief appearances
there. In episode 50 of UFO Robot Grendizer, Seiji Hayami appears taking pictures in a crowd. This scene also featured cameos by Hayato from Getter Robot and Babel II from Babel II
. In the Japanese opening of Super Milk Chan, there are moments that directly parody the 1973 series' opening sequence.
, Majokko Daisakusen: Little Witching Mischiefs, was developed by Toys For Bob
and released by Bandai
in 1999, and features Cutie Honey and other magical girls. An RPG
, Legend of Dynamic Goushouden: Houkai no Rondo, was developed and released by Banpresto
in 2003, and features Honey and other characters created by Nagai.
Other
Cutie Honey at D/visual
TV Drama database entry for the original anime
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
created by Go Nagai
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...
. Cutie Honey first appears on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of Shōnen Champion. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of a shōnen
Shonen
The term refers to manga marketed to a male audience aged roughly 10 and up. The Kanji characters literally mean "few" and "year", respectively, where the characters generally mean "comic"...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series.
The franchise spans many works, including numerous manga series, two animated TV series, two OVA
Original video animation
, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
series, two drama CDs, and two live action adaptations. The first anime, aired in 1973, is considered a magical girl
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
series in retrospect. The animated and live-action versions share a common theme song, which has been covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
many times by different performers. While Honey's exact appearance differs among the various versions, they all portray her as an outwardly ordinary girl
Secret identity
A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona , while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise...
named Honey Kisaragi, who can transform into the busty, red or pink-haired hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
ine Cutie Honey and other specialized forms to fight against assorted villains who threaten her or her world. One of the trademarks of the character is that all of these transformations involve the temporary loss of all her clothing in the brief interim from changing from one form to the other.
Nagai's inspiration for the character of Honey comes from classic shows that featured protagonists who took seven different forms, including the Bannai Tarao
Bannai Tarao
is the name of a set of Japanese mysteries , featuring a detective of the same name who could take on seven different faces, in similar fashion to the protagonists of later shows 7-Color Mask, Rainbowman, and Cutie Honey. Bannai Tarao is credited on several songs on Japanese rock pioneers Happy...
mysteries and Rainbowman
Rainbowman
is the name and titular superhero of the tokusatsu TV series sometimes known as . Created by Kōhan Kawauchi, this was the first superhero TV series produced by Toho Company Ltd., and was broadcast on NET from October 6, 1972 to September 18, 1973, with a total of 52 episodes...
(1972). Honey is notable for being mischievous for a Japanese female hero, often teasing her male friends and mocking her enemies in combat. When transforming into Cutie Honey in the anime, she gives a brief rundown of the forms she has previously taken in that particular episode, and then declares, "But my true identity is ..." before yelling "Honey Flash!" and transforming.
1970s versions
The original works of the franchise were a TV series and two different manga series. One manga was made by Go Nagai and the other by Ken IshikawaKen Ishikawa
was a Japanese manga artist. He is renowned as the co-creator with Go Nagai, of the Getter Robo anime series, as well as four of their subsequent manga continuations...
. Nagai's 1973 manga was republished
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
in 1985 as a single volume, but no further versions of Honey were produced until 1992. While Nagai's manga was marketed as "" ("science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
comics"), the Toei anime is considered, at least in retrospect, a magical girl
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
series.
In these versions, Honey Kisaragi is a regular Catholic schoolgirl, until the day her father is murdered by the "Panther Claw" organization. After his death, she learns she is actually an android created by him and within her is . With her cry of "Honey Flash!" she can use the device to transform into the sword-wielding red-haired superhero, Cutie Honey. This device, or similar devices, have been used to explain her powers in all later Honey versions.
While attending the Saint Chapel School for Girls, Honey seeks revenge against the Panther Claw, which is ruled by an ancient primordial evil known as Panther Zora and her younger sibling Sister Jill. Zora wants "the rarest items in the world" and seeks Honey's device, while Jill, leader of the group's division in Japan, "only wants the finest riches" and has a crush
Puppy love
Puppy love is an informal term for feelings of love or infatuation felt by young people during childhood and adolescence, so-called for its resemblance to the adoring, worshipful affection that may be felt by a puppy. 'Simple infatuation is often called a "crush" or "puppy love"...
on Honey. Honey's best friend at school is the cute, freckle-faced Aki "Nat-chan" Natsuko. In the manga, Nat-chan, as well as the other students, had a crush on Honey; this crush was downplayed in the TV series.
Honey is aided in her quest by Danbei Hayami and his two sons, journalist Seiji and young Junpei. Danbei is based on the character Daemon from Go Nagai's prior work Abashiri Family. Nagai's manga also borrows the character Naojiro from that series (in a female form named Sukeban Naoko); the anime borrows the Paradise School, along with the characters Naojiro and Goeman (a teacher at the school) from the series.
TV series
The Cutie Honey TV series began on October 13, 1973 and ran until March 30, 1974. The TV series is much tamer than the manga version, removing much of the violence, gross out humor and lesbian undertones but retaining Miss Alphonne's attraction to Honey.Originally, Cutie Honey was meant to be a shōjo series like the later Cutie Honey Flash, focusing more on Honey and Shun Kazama (Seiji)'s relationship and lacking any nudity or excessive violence. A great deal of merchandising was initially planned, such as 'changing' dolls of Honey. The manga was slated to run in the monthly Ribbon magazine, and the series was set to air at 7:00 on NET TV, a timeslot previously held by mahō shōjo (magical girl
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
) series. However, the timeslot was given to Miracle Shōjo Limit-Chan (which garnered poor ratings) and Cutie Honey was going to air on the hour show, Majū Kaijin Daihenshin!!! which previously aired Micord S and Devilman
Devilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
. Because of this, Cutie Honey was now going to be a shōnen (young boys') series, making it the first magical girl series for boys. To make it appeal to a young male audience, more action was added and Go Nagai proposed to draw Honey nude during her transformations.
In the series, Honey Kisaragi is a 16-year-old girl who discovers she is a super android after her father is killed by Panther Claw. The Panther Claw hopes to attain "unlimited wealth" and to steal the device within Honey created by her father, which would allow them to "create an endless supply of jewels".
At school, Honey is something of a "class clown" who enjoys teasing and pranking her teachers Alphonne and Miharu. Much of the comic relief in the original TV series comes from Honey's exploits at school. Miharu initially sees Honey as an incorrigible pest, but Alphonne is attracted to Honey and goes out of her way to be nice to her.
Honey is aided by the Hayami family in her battle. The eldest son, Seiji, is the first person to discover Honey's secret. He meets Honey by chance, and swears to help her. His father Danbei and brother Junpei also grow very fond of Honey. Later in the series, Honey meets Danbei's nephew Naojiro. He is the "boss" of Paradise School, a low-life school filled with delinquent boys. Honey joins the school and becomes the new "boss".
Honey has a large array of transformations in this series, her most common personae including:
- Hurricane Honey (bikerMotorcycleA motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
). A woman who is "cool" with her motorcycle, anytime she needs to escape. - Misty Honey (singer). A rockstar with a dusty voice, who uses her microphone as a weapon.
- Idol Honey (stewardessFlight attendantFlight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...
). A woman disguised as a flight attendant. - Flash Honey (cameramanCinematographerA cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
). A reporter who blinds her opponents with her camera's "flash". - Fancy Honey (modelModel (person)A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
). A classy model who uses a long-stick cigar as a weapon. - Cutie Honey (heroHeroA hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
ine). A sword wielding pink-haired warrior of love.
In 1992, Nagai wrote that the idea to create the "Seven Transformations" hero was pitched by a Toei
Toei Animation
Toei Animation Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Toei Co., Ltd. The studio was founded in 1948 as Japan Animated Films . In 1956, Toei purchased the studio and it was reincorporated under its current name...
producer; he notes that his decision to make the protagonist a "female android
Gynoid
A gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
" came from female characters from his previous works, Harenchi Gakuen
Harenchi Gakuen
is a Japanese media franchise created by Go Nagai. Harenchi Gakuen was one of the manga serialized in the very first issue of Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. The series was the first big success for Go Nagai...
and Abashiri Family, and from the character Maria from Metropolis
Metropolis (film)
Metropolis is a 1927 German expressionist film in the science-fiction genre directed by Fritz Lang. Produced in Germany during a stable period of the Weimar Republic, Metropolis is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and makes use of this context to explore the social crisis between workers and...
.
Outside of Japan, the only country in which the original Cutie Honey TV series was released was France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where it aired under the title Cherry Miel ("Cherry Honey") from August 1988 to February 1989.
For a television anime series, the original Cutie Honey achieved respectable ratings in Japan, and some of its cast and crew have worked on other major titles. The series achieved a peak rating of 11.6% for episode 18 (broadcast February 11, 1974) and generally scored ratings of around 8-10%. Shingo Araki
Shingo Araki
was a Japanese animation artist and character designer. He developed an interest for drawing at age five. He graduated in Aichi Prefecture. In 1955, at age eighteen, he debuted as a cartoonist in the "Machi" magazine. He then joined Mushi Production as animator in 1965 and later founded Studio...
, the character designer and animation director
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
for the series, would later work on Saint Seiya
Saint Seiya
, also known as Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac or simply Knights of the Zodiac, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada and serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1986 to 1991, and adapted into an anime TV series by Toei Animation from 1986 to 1989.The story follows...
and many others. Eiko Masuyama
Eiko Masuyama
is a Japanese voice actress who works for Aoni Production. She is most known for the roles of Fujiko Mine , Kisaragi Honey , and Bakabon's Mama .-Notable voice roles:...
, who voices
Seiyu
Voice acting in Japan has far greater prominence than in most other countries. Japan's large animation industry produces 60% of the animated series in the world; as a result, Japanese voice actors, or , are able to achieve fame on a national and international level.Besides acting as narrators and...
Honey in this series, has also worked in Lupin III
Lupin III
, also known as Lupin the 3rd, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato under the pen name of Monkey Punch. The story follows the adventures of a gang of thieves led by Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of...
series and films, voicing Lupin
Arsène Lupin III
is a fictional character introduced by Monkey Punch in Weekly Manga Action on August 10, 1967. According to its creator, Lupin is the grandson of Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin....
's associate and love (or lust) interest Fujiko Mine
Fujiko Mine
is a fictional character created by Monkey Punch, for his Lupin III series. Fujiko is a professional criminal, burglar and "confidence trickster"....
. Masaki Tsuji
Masaki Tsuji
is a Japanese scenario writer of TV series and films as well as mystery fiction novels. Tsuji was most active in the business from the 1960s through the 1980s, and worked as a script writer on many popular anime TV series for Mushi Production, Toei Animation, and Tokyo Movie Shinsha.Among the...
, the series' chief writer, scripted episodes of numerous other filmed works (both anime and otherwise), including Attack No. 1
Attack No. 1
is a Japanese manga series by Chikako Urano. It also became the first televised female sports anime series in the shōjo category.The anime is an adaptation of Chikako Urano's 1968 volleyball manga serialized in Weekly Maragaret Magazine under the same name. Chikako was considered one of the...
, Urusei Yatsura
Urusei Yatsura
is a comedic manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi that premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in 1978 and ran until its conclusion in 1987. Its 374 individual chapters were collected and published in 34 tankōbon volumes. The series tells the story of Ataru Moroboshi, and the alien...
, Go Nagai's previous Devilman
Devilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
, Sally, the Witch
Sally, the Witch
, is the first magical girl genre anime in Japan. This may be the first shōjo anime as well. The first magical girl manga was Himitsu no Akko-chan but it took longer to be adapted into an anime. Both series deal with henshin style transformations , but neither is the first anime to feature this...
, and Dr. Slump
Dr. Slump
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was serialized in Shueisha's anthology comic Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1980 to 1984 which were collected into 18 tankōbon volumes...
, and is also a published science-fiction writer.
1990s versions
A 1992 manga series was also created by Nagai; set 30 years after the originals, it was released in the United States in 1997 by the now-defunct Studio Ironcat
Studio Ironcat
Studio Ironcat was a small publishing company based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, dedicated to publication of manga and later, Amerimanga. The company is most known for its publication of the first volume of Megatokyo, a prominent webcomic, as well as the flamboyant style of one of its founders,...
, as Cutie Honey '90. It has received criticism for having "bad quality" and "clumsy"-looking characters.
In 1995 a Honey game, , was developed by Datawest and released by NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
.
New Cutie Honey
In 1994, New Cutie Honey was released. Jessica CalvelloJessica Calvello
Jessica Lynn Calvello is an American voice actress primarily known for her anime voiceover work, particularly with ADV Films and later 4Kids Entertainment....
, the voice of Honey in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version, was hand-picked by Nagai. The series, which ended with eight episodes in 1995, pays homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to some of Nagai's other works, including the Mazinger
Mazinger
is a long running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha. The name can also be pronounced "Mazinga", as it is has been known in several countries, including in the United States of America.-Series:The series in order:...
and Devilman
Devilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
series. While the first four episodes contain a complete story, the last four episodes take a monster of the week approach. When the series was released on DVD in 2004, a scripted but unfilmed episode 9, a Christmas story, was released as a drama CD. The eight filmed episodes were released by ADV Films in the United States; the series remains the only Cutie Honey anime to be commercially released in the US.
Cutie Honey Flash
In 1997, a shōjoShojo
The term refers to manga marketed to a female audience roughly between the ages of 10-18. The name romanizes the Japanese 少女 , literally: "little female". Shōjo manga covers many subjects in a variety of narrative and graphic styles, from historical drama to science fiction — often with a strong...
Cutie Honey series, known as Cutie Honey Flash or Cutie Honey F, assumed the timeslot of Sailor Stars
Sailor Stars
The following list of episodes of the Sailor Moon anime series covers , the fifth season of the series. Children's TV Asahi, Toei Agency and Toei Animation co-produced the episodes; Takuya Igarashi directed. The series originally aired on Children's TV Asahi between March 9, 1996 and February 8, 1997...
, the final story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
of the long-running Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
anime. Employing many of the same animation staff, including Stars animation director
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
Miho Shimagasa, Flash features very similar character designs and fits the more traditional mold of magical girl
Magical girl
belong to a sub-genre of Japanese fantasy anime and manga. Magical girl stories feature young girls with superhuman abilities, forced to fight evil and to protect the Earth. They often possess a secret identity, although the name can just refer to young girls who follow a plotline involving magic...
series, aimed at the Moon demographic. The series was also broadcast in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Honey has a large array of transformations in this series as well, including versions of her original forms Hurricane Honey and Cutie Honey. All the characters from the original TV series return, with the exception of Junpei, Naojiro, and the staff of Paradise School. The anime also introduces Misty Honey, a rival and self-proclaimed younger sister of Cutie Honey, whose name was chosen through a contest in Japan. Cutie Honey Flash uses hand-drawn
Cel
A cel, short for celluloid, is a transparent sheet on which objects are drawn or painted for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Actual celluloid was used during the first half of the 20th century, but since it was flammable and dimensionally unstable it was largely replaced by cellulose acetate...
animation; according to Shimagasa, the use of digitally-animated
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
characters on hand-painted backgrounds was planned and tested, but later rejected.
Later versions
Cutie Honey works produced since 2000 include the franchise's first live-action versions (a 2004 film and a 2007 TV series) and an OVA.Several new manga versions have also been produced. The first, , ran from 2001 to 2003. The second, , ran from 2003 to 2005; it was not fully released until October 2007. The third, , ran from 2004 to 2006; it was "written by Go Nagai, but not drawn by him", and tells the story of a boy named Yuuta, a Cutie Honey fan, who meets an alien with powers similar to those of Honey.
2004 film
The 2004 Cutie Honey film, produced by Gainax and directed by Hideaki AnnoHideaki Anno
is a Japanese animation and film director. Anno is best known for his work on the popular anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. His style has come to be defined by the touches of postmodernism that he injects into his work, as well as the thorough portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotions,...
, stars popular Japanese model Eriko Sato
Eriko Sato
, originally a glamour model, is a Japanese actress.She was born in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and raised in Tokyo. She was given the Best Actress award at the 2008 Yokohama Film Festival....
as Honey. The tokusatsu
Tokusatsu
is a Japanese term that applies to any live-action film or television drama that usually features superheroes and makes considerable use of special effects ....
(live-action) film loosely retells the story of Cutie Honey's battle against the Panther Claw to defend humanity and avenge her father. The movie was released direct-to-DVD in the United States on April 17, 2007 by Bandai Entertainment. Previously, the New Cutie Honey OVA was the only incarnation of Cutie Honey to have been commercially released in the US. It is very popular in Thai culture, and was distributed by Sutida Inc media conglomerate.
Re: Cutie Honey
Gainax also produced Re: Cutie Honey, a three-episode OVA series. It was first shown on AnimaxAnimax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
, with the first episode airing on July 24, 2004, two months after the live-action film was released. DVD releases for each episode followed, with the first on September 21. The OVA tells the same story as the film, but contains nudity
Nudity
Nudity is the state of wearing no clothing. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic. The amount of clothing worn depends on functional considerations and social considerations...
and additional character development. While Hideaki Anno directed the series in general, each episode also had its own director and the three episodes differed in style.
Cutie Honey: The Live
A live-action TV remake, Cutie Honey: The Live, premiered on TV Tokyo on October 2, 2007. Starring gravure idol Mikie HaraMikie Hara
is a Japanese gravure idol and actress who stars in Cutie Honey: The Live as the lead role of Honey Kisaragi/Cutie Honey.According to Japanese company Oscar Promotion, Hara has worked in many TV roles, and has appeared in many DVD videos, several commercials, and several mooks. Cutie Honey: The...
as Honey, the series focuses on a set of three transforming girls with different personalities, and a Panther Claw run by four leaders.
Theme song
The Cutie Honey opening theme, which appears throughout all of the Honey anime and live-action versions, is known for its lyrics by describing Honey and her body. The 1973 series' theme, originally intended for Linda YamamotoLinda Yamamoto
is a Japanese singer and actress whose greatest hit song was in 1973.-Biography :Yamamoto was born March 4, 1951 in Kitakyushu to a Japanese mother and an American father. Her father was a U.S. serviceman who died in the Korean War when she was only two years old. Yamamoto moved to Yokohama as a...
to perform, was sung by Yoko Maekawa. In Cutie Honey Flash, it is performed by SALIA. In the New Cutie Honey OVA, the original song is performed by les-5-4-3-2-1, and the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version by Mayukiss. Kumi Koda
Kumi Koda
, better known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Kyoto, known for her urban and R&B songs. Having debuted in 2000 with the single "Take Back", Koda gained fame for her seventh single, "Real Emotion/1000 no Kotoba", the songs of which were used as themes for the video game...
performed it for the Re: Cutie Honey OVA and its live-action adaptation. In Cutie Honey: The Live, the theme is sung by Minami Kuribayashi
Minami Kuribayashi
is a Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress from Shizuoka prefecture.Her involvement in the game and anime Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, where she voiced the role of one of the characters, Haruka Suzumiya and performed and penned the theme songs and other songs relating to the series, has brought her...
as part of Wild 3-Nin Musume. The only other anime theme songs to have been used so consistently are Theme of Lupin III
Lupin III
, also known as Lupin the 3rd, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato under the pen name of Monkey Punch. The story follows the adventures of a gang of thieves led by Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief of Maurice Leblanc's series of...
, which has been used continuously on Lupin III animated features since the 70s, and the GeGeGe no Kitaro theme song, used since the 60s.
Other artists have also covered the song, including GO!GO!7188
GO!GO!7188
GO!GO!7188 , also known simply as Gogo, is a Japanese rock band with influences spanning from surf rock to punk rock to enka.The meaning of the band's name is known only to its members.- History :...
for their Tora no Ana
Tora no Ana
is a 2002 cover album by GO!GO!7188. The name translates in English as Tiger's Lair. The album's cover art is similar to Revolver by The Beatles.-Track listing:# Yōkai Ningen Bem - from the anime of the same name...
album, Masami Okui
Masami Okui
is a Rock/Pop/Anison singer who was born in Itami, Hyōgo, Japan. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer.From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime TV and movies...
in the Masami Kobushi album, and a version by TWO-MIX
Two-Mix
Two-Mix is a Japanese pop music group formed in 1995 by Minami Takayama and Shiina Nagano . Their style is fast electronic pop.- History :...
. Animetal
Animetal
was a Japanese novelty heavy metal band who specialized in metal covers of theme songs from classic and modern Japanese anime and tokusatsu television series....
also did a cover of the song for their Animetal Lady album, with the lyrics sung by Mitsuyo Nemoto
Mitsuyo Nemoto
Mitsuyo Nemoto is a pop and heavy metal singer and actress, better known by her stage name . She was a member of the popular 1970s idol group Pink Lady, known in the United States for their self-titled TV program.Nemoto has pursued a solo career following Pink Lady's 1981 breakup...
of the Japanese pop group Pink Lady
Pink Lady (band)
is a Japanese female pop music duo of the late 1970s and early 1980s, featuring Mitsuyo Nemoto and Keiko Masuda...
. Pop star Ahyoomee
Ahyoomee
, better known by her stage name Iconiq , is from former Korean girl-group Sugar, where she was known by her stage names Ahyoomee during her Sugar and solo activities (born August 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Iconiq (stylized ICONIQ and pronounced "iconic"), is from former Korean...
's solo debut was a Korean adaptation of Koda's version; it became highly popular online, despite controversy over her pronunciation of the lyrics and her "unambiguously Japanese" outfit in one performance. Harp player Mika Agematsu covered the theme—and songs from Lupin III, Candy Candy
Candy Candy
is a Japanese novel, manga, and anime series. The main character, Candice "Candy" White Ardlay is a blonde American girl with freckles, large emerald green eyes and long, curly hair, worn in pigtails with bows. Candy Candy first appeared in a prose novel by famed Japanese writer Kyoko Mizuki in...
, and others—in her album Anipa (UCCS-1088); it was released by Universal Music
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
in June 2006 in Japan, and in February 2009 in the United States.
The song can also be heard during episode 27 of the 1974 magical girl TV series Majokko Megu-chan
Majokko Megu-chan
is a magical girl anime series. The manga was created by Tomo Inoue and Akio Narita, while the 72-episode anime series was produced by Toei Animation between 1974 and 1975. This series is considered an important forerunner of the present day magical girl genre, as the series' characterization and...
, when the main character Megu watches Honey, in her pop idol persona (Misty Honey), perform it on TV. In the seventh episode of the 2006 series Princess Princess
Princess Princess (manga)
is the title of a fictional series written and illustrated by Japanese author Mikiyo Tsuda about the lives of three high school boys and the school they attend. The series is contained within multiple media pieces which began as a manga first serialized in the manga magazine Wings starting in 2002...
, the Princesses also perform it, singing a few lines from the theme for an opening to a choir concert.
A "self cover" CD, Cutie Honey (21st century ver.), with new versions of the opening and ending themes by Maekawa herself, was released on February 27, 2008.
Other appearances
Since its creation in the 1970s, Cutie Honey and its heroine have been referenced and parodied in various works by Nagai and others.Manga
Honey appears as a secondary character in Nagai's Violence JackViolence Jack
is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Go Nagai in 1973. It has had several serializations and one-shot stories which have run in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s...
manga. There, Honey is the younger sister of Ryou Asuka and is living in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. When she hears of the earthquake that devastated Kantō
Kanto region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 40 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain....
, Honey and several of her friends go to Japan to search for Ryou, who has become the pet of the Slum King.
Honey's friends are alternate universe versions of her transformations in the 1973 series:
- Cutie (fencerFencingFencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
) - Hurricane (militaryMilitaryA military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
)
- Idol (stewardess)
- Flash (photographer)
- Misty (police officerPolice officerA police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
) - Fancy (bodybuilder)
In the last volume, Flash, Misty, and Cutie are killed when they fall into a spiked trap when they try to free a chained up Miki Makimura. Honey is electrocuted when she tries to rescue Ryou from the Slum King. Idol, Fancy, and Hurricane die in an explosion. The spirits of the seven women come together to form Angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
Honey, whom Ryou sees in his dreams. When Ryou returns to his true form, as Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, he fights in his sister's memory.
Also, Honey's girlfriend Nat-chan (Aki Natsuko) - or a girl strongly resembling her - appears in the Devilman
Devilman
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai which originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen...
manga. Her appearance is brief before she is killed by a demon.
Anime
Honey makes an appearance in the OVA adaptation of Kekkō KamenKekko Kamen
is originally a shōnen manga series from Japanese creator Go Nagai, which spawned an OVA series and several live-action films. The manga series is about the misadventures of a student named Mayumi Takahashi who attends a boarding school called Toenail of Satan's Spartan Institute of Higher...
as a student; her lesbian teacher from the 1973 TV series, Alphonne, also makes two brief appearances
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
there. In episode 50 of UFO Robot Grendizer, Seiji Hayami appears taking pictures in a crowd. This scene also featured cameos by Hayato from Getter Robot and Babel II from Babel II
Babel II
is a 1971 manga series by Mitsuteru Yokoyama.Yokoyama's manga has been animated three times: in 1973 as a television series, in 1992 as an original video animation series, and in 2001 as a 13 episode television series....
. In the Japanese opening of Super Milk Chan, there are moments that directly parody the 1973 series' opening sequence.
Video games
A strategy video gameStrategy video game
Strategy video games is a video game genre that emphasizes skillful thinking and planning to achieve victory. They emphasize strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges. Many games also offer economic challenges and exploration...
, Majokko Daisakusen: Little Witching Mischiefs, was developed by Toys For Bob
Toys For Bob
Toys For Bob is a small video game developer founded in 1989 by Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. They are most known for creating Star Control and its sequel Star Control II: The Ur-Quan Masters, but they were not involved in the development of Star Control 3...
and released by Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
in 1999, and features Cutie Honey and other magical girls. An RPG
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
, Legend of Dynamic Goushouden: Houkai no Rondo, was developed and released by Banpresto
Banpresto
is a Japanese toy company, best known in America for game development, headquartered in the Shinagawa Seaside West Building in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It was founded April 1977 as Hoei Sangyo, Co. Ltd. The company was renamed Coreland in 1982, and during the 1980s it worked mainly as a subcontractor for...
in 2003, and features Honey and other characters created by Nagai.
External links
Official sites Cutie Honey anime (original) at Toei Animation Cutie Honey F (anime) at Toei Animation Re:CUTIE HONEY at Toei VideoOther
Cutie Honey at D/visual
D/visual
d/visual incorporated d/visual incorporated d/visual incorporated (株式会社ディー・ビジュアル） is a Japanese publisher of manga books and anime home video.It was established in October 2002 by Federico Colpi and Kazuhiko Murata....
TV Drama database entry for the original anime