CUTIE HONEY (live action) DVD-review

When Hideaki Anno created his magnum opus "Neon Genesis Evangelion", he was allegedly suffering from depression. Makes you wonder if it would be as crazy as it is without the director having this alternate mindset.

Now, if you've ever wondered what the man would direct if he were manic instead, look no further than the live-action movie "Cutie Honey"! After its premiere in 2004 it took a surprisingly long time before an English-friendly version was released on DVD, causing lots of rejoice amongst bootleggers, but then suddenly this year there were several: a US R1, even available in a special "lunchbox" edition, and the Australian R4.

After more-or-less-accidentally ordering it (hur-hur) I received the R4 last week and watched it. I was pleasantly surprised: it's camp, silly and outrageous, and the colors will make your teeth ache, but it's also damned entertaining. Far more so than I had expected from what amounts to a Mighty-Morphin-Power-Rangers-like movie starring a swimsuit model. Because as it turns out, both the direction and the swimsuit model are actually... quite good!

First things first, a small history lesson:
Cutie Honey is a character created by anime legend Go Nagai which, back in the early seventies, featured both in a manga and made-for-television anime. These were considerably "racy" for their time: Honey would lose her clothes all the time, there was lots of implied sexuality and the violence occasionally referenced SM-practices. OO-er! The television series was stopped after twenty-odd episodes, but the character Cutie Honey was fondly remembered. Several times she was revived for short series, each time with differing success. And then in 2004 the live-action version came out. So what's it about?


The Plot:
Honey is a very pretty, cheerful and seemingly brain-damaged girl with an odd necklace. Whenever she touches it she can transform into several disguises, the strongest of which is "Warrior of Love: Cutie Honey!". When her scientist uncle is repeatedly kidnapped by the Panther-claw gang, Honey prepares to defeat the different Panthers one at the time. Problem is, these Panthers are gaudy bionically enhanced super-warriors, same as Cutie Honey herself. Much wacky mayhem and distraction, I mean destruction, follows, and Honey learns a couple of things about life, friendship and her origins.


The Movie:
Oh boy. Some movies just drop the whole concept of "suspension of disbelief" altogether and plunk the viewer into an alternate universe which is obviously far removed from our own. "Cutie Honey" leaves the slightest semblance of reality behind after its first minute, instead offering its audience a very stylized childish version of it. Therefore, during an armed standoff at sea, tumbleweeds cross the road and policecars explode without even suffering a scratch. Both the heroes and enemies are extremely camp and cartoonish, and the whole thing almost collapses under its own sillyness. Almost...

You could make this movie for a couple of bucks, a hundred million dollars, or anything in-between. Director Anno had a low budget and took advantage of it by filming all action sequences as if it were anime: distorted still frames instead of expensive stuntwork. This works extremely well under the circumstances: it copies the style of the manga and the anime without looking as an excuse for being cheap. And lets face it: with characters and situations THIS outrageous it was never going to look "real" in the first place, not even for a hundred million. The style he employs also allows him to occasionally insert some straight anime into the proceedings. It all makes for an original and visually pleasing whole. Speaking of visually pleasing...

Where the movie really scores is in the handling of its female protagonist. She is played by Eriko Sato who is a famed swimsuit model (as the packaging endlessly tells us), and while I have no doubts she was selected for her physical appearance she shines in this role. Sure, she plays a caricature but she is used very well indeed. Whenever she's meant to be funny the actress shows a remarkable comic timing, and when she is grating and annoying (which is often) she's obviously meant to be so. In those cases the other actors look sufficiently grated and annoyed for funny effect's sake.
As for her being beautiful enough, well... you know what her dayjob is. And while she looks very fit she isn't exactly anorexic either, but covered with a healthy-looking and appealing layer of puppy-fat. But the biggest compliment I can give her is that, barring a couple of obvious shots (where you're basically FORCED to look at certain bodyparts) I tended to watch her face instead of oggling her body. She's just very funny and beaming with glee whenever she's on screen.

And before we geeks all start slobbering, the following needs to be noticed: while this movie could easily have wallowed in fan-service at the expense of everything else, this part was actually very subdued. I guess Miss Sato has a strong non-nudity clause, as she keeps her underwear on at all times. No, not even a few "tasteful" sideshots in the shower, or her hands covering her assets, there simply is no nudity. Brief glimpses can be guessed at during the transformation sequences (famously raunchy in most of Cutie Honey's manga and anime incarnations), but at those times you're obviously watching a computer model of her. Having said that, Eriko Sato running through Tokyo wearing just her underwear and a garbage bag is still a definite eye-catcher.

And the praise continues: as I said this is a silly movie with fake settings and wacky fights, but still Hideaki Anno manages to startle me a few times when the Panthers do something genuinely creepy. The first time Scarlet Claw attacks is a good example which made me jump. I played that part frame-by-frame and the effect is marvelously done, even if it is brief.
As for the bad news: nonsensical plot, the middle section drags a bit, poor exposition when you get it... but by now you've probably figured out that the story wouldn't be the selling point.


Concluding:
Yes, it's fluff, and not even adult fluff. But it's very well-made fluff and I enjoyed myself immensely. It managed to be far better than I expected although I have to add my expectations weren't high to begin with.
Despite that, I still recommend this. For when you're in a silly mood.


On to the DVD:
Apparently there is no big difference between the R1 and the R4. The R4 is however PAL and, surprisingly, not converted. Well done Madman, no combing for a change! Unfortunately when taking screenshots you'll notice the picture is very soft, which seems somewhat odd for a recent movie which played in cinema's.
No complaints audiowise: you get the Japanese 2.0 and 5.1. No English dub and I don't miss it. Good subs too.

The extra's: well, there aren't too many: trailers, a gallery, and a nice making-of documentary which doesn't outstay its welcome and focuses on the weird way the action sequences were shot, which is actually quite interesting. The menu's are each based around the different Panther's and fit the disc. The Amaray packaging is a God-awful pink, as it should be!