Cutey Honey

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About

In 1973, noted mangaka Go Nagai, whose work includes mecha works like Getter Robo and Mazinkaser, monster titles like Devilman, and ecchi series like Iron Virgin Jun and Kekko Kamen, added a new series to his already-expansive list. This series' protagonist is a busty female android named Honey Kisaragi, which at the command "HONEY FLASH", would transform (with plenty of fanservice) into Cutey Honey, a multi-bodied champion of love and justice who would battle the forces of Panther Zora and the monsters of her Panther Claw syndicate.

The anime TV series based on this manga was released in October of 1973, but was cancelled in April of 1974. The problem – the nudity of the series was very overt, even by Japanese standards, and the general public in Japan was not ready for such fanservice on broadcast television.

However, in 1994, with the emergence of the OVA format, the series was revived. The OVA format (the Japanese version of 'Direct to Video') could mean that the producers could have a little more flexibility about the content, not to mention the public was better prepared. Although the series, titled New Cutey Honey, ran for only 8 episodes, it was a success.

Later, in 1997, a somewhat toned-down version of Cutey Honey, titled Cutey Honey F, was created to fill-in the void left from the departure of Sailor Moon. This time, instead of an android, Honey Kisaragi was a flesh-and-blood girl given a special bracelet to transform into Cutey Honey and battle Panther Claw. And later, in 2004, a new 3 episode OVA version of Cutey Honey, Re: Cutey Honey, was released, directed by Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Anno Hideaki (who also directed a live-action version of Cutey Honey).

Even though the main heroine was often a teenager, or more often an adult woman, Cutey Honey is considered to be the prototype of the "Magical Girl" anime genre, which includes titles like Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, We Are Pretty Cure, and Pretty Sammy.