Cutie Honey (Live Action)

I finally watched the Cutie Honey Live-Action movie. I gotta tell you – it wasn’t quite what I expected. My expectations of the film…weren’t so high. After watching so many hit-or-miss live-action (Hollywood) adaptations of comic book movies, I was feeling a little jaded. X-Men 3, anyone?

As a live-action adaptation of a pretty cool anime and manga series, Cutie Honey is pretty good. It’s kinda like chewing your favorite bubblegum at the movie theater. At first it’s great (and bubble-gummy), then midway through your jaw gets a little tired and it looses some if it’s elasticity and flavor. But then you take a big drink of Dr. Pepper and suddenly – the gum flavor is magically renewed at the end! So here’s the deal – if you like Cutie Honey in her anime and manga forms, you’ll probably like it. Or not.

Story:

The movie get going pretty quickly. Honey Kisaragi, AKA Cutie Honey (played by Eriko Satoh) has just found out her uncle was kidnapped by a gang of baddies named Panther Claw. In order to save him, she must transform into Cutie Honey – her magical ‘alter-ego’. The problem – not only has Honey’s uncle been kidnapped, but Panther Claw has begun committing crimes throughout Tokyo. As Honey attempts to stop the gang and save her uncle, she meets up with uptight policewoman Natsuko Aki and sly newspaper journalist Seiji Hayami. Will the three of them rescue her uncle? As she desperately searches to find him, Honey must battle with the Panther Claw’s four henchmen and their leader!

Differences:

The main difference between creator Go Nagai’s Cutie Honey (in anime and manga form) and director Hideaki Anno’s Honey is that in live-action, she’s not an android. A lot of the sexuality that was turned up several notches in some of the OVAs has been toned waaayyyy down here. Which I don’t necessarily think is a bad thing. This movie is fun and it’s not afraid to show it. It’s also a little deeper than you’d think at the end, which was a nice surprise and helped bring flavor back into the gum.

Characters:

The main characters include:

• Honey Kisaragi / Cutie Honey – Eriko Satoh
• Seiji Hayami – Jun Murakami
• Natsuko Aki – Mikako Ichikawa
• Sister Jill – Eisuke Sakai
• Gold Claw – Hairi Katagiri
• Scarlet Claw – Mayumi Shintani
• Black Claw – Mitsuhiro Oikawa
• Cobalt Claw – Shie Kohinata
• Ryo – Masaki Kyomoto
• Cutie Honey creator Go Nagai (in a special cameo)!
• Cutie Honey director Hideaki Anno (in a special cameo)!

Production:

Hideaki Anno – famous director of Neon Genesis Evangelion – directed the film. I’d say his prior skills in animation are well suited to a character such as Cutie Honey. The production quality is also pretty good. The film could easily have looked like Kamen Rider, but it doesn’t. Somehow the whole team was able to pull everyone together to make a great looking movie.

Here are some of the people involved in the film’s production:

• Director – Hideaki Anno
• Original Creator – Go Nagai
• Character Design/Animation Director – Tadashi Hiramatsu
• Screenplay – Kazumi Nakajima, Koichi Taki & Takeo Kasai
• Music – Susumu Ueda
• Production – Gainax, Laterna, Cutie Honey Production Committee, Toei Video & Towani

Conclusion:

Overall, I really enjoyed the Cutie Honey Live-Action movie. Even though it felt very ‘bubblegum’, this is appropriate – given the subject matter. I thought the acting fit the style of the film, and there are lots of great visuals. There are also several great costumes and some pretty cool explosions!

Related Linkage:
For lots of Cutie Honey Live-Action products, check out the Cutie Honey Gainax site! Also, on the ‘not so excited’ crowd, check out twitchfilm’s blurb about the region 4 dvd release. I also found the lost Cutie Honey flash site. Also, check out dreamlogic.net’s review of Cutie Honey.

Rating:

3 outta 4 kasugai!

P.S. – I don’t think my bubblegum analogy quite worked. What do you think?