Cutie Honey
Director: Hideaki Anno
Actors: Eriko Sato, Jun Murakami, Mikako Ichikawa
Year Released: 2004
Genre: Action, Comedy
See Also: Kamikaze Girls, Lupin The Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy
I'm not sure how other people find out about certain Japanese movies. There are sites like Midnight Eye and Kaiju Shakedown, from which I've picked up quite a few recommendations. If you're an anime fan (which I'm really not), you may hear of a live-action version of a favorite series and go out of your way to find it. Such as Cutie Honey, which was originally a manga and anime series in the early '70s. How did I happen to see Cutie Honey? I was looking for DVDs with English subtitles at a Japanese video store in San Francisco's Japantown and rented it because it had a hot girl on the cover.
"Because it had a hot girl on the cover." How many of my reviews have that sentence (or some equivalent) in them? I'd hate to count them. But really, the amount of films I've picked up because of the actresses in the film, rather than the fact that they're manga adaptations, is pretty silly. But this is Cutie Honey and Eriko Sato we're talking about here. I mean, have you seen her? My God, man, she's unbelievable.
I first discovered Eriko Sato (not to be confused with the A/V star Erika Sato) while watching the Densha Otoko TV show. If ever there was a woman to pull my eyes away from Misaki Ito, it's Eriko Sato, who played her co-worker/confidante. Those lips! Those bangs! Those chubby cheeks! When I realized that the girl running around in nothing but bra and panties in Cutie Honey was my girl Eriko, you can imagine my delight. And bank account, which was instantly hit for $10 to purchase a copy of Cutie Honey for my very own.
So right, the movie. You know, it's actually pretty good. Cutie Honey (for those unfamiliar with the back story) is an extremely hot robot, whose scientist creator/father was killed by a mysterious group of outlandish costume-wearing villains called Panther Claw. Now they've kidnapped her uncle in the hopes of gaining technology to keep the body of their immortal leader, Sister Jill, from decaying. A journalist, Seiji (Jun Murakami), and a tightly wound police woman, Natsuko (Mikako Ichikawa), become involved in Honey's quest to save her uncle.
Cutie Honey succeeds where other anime adaptations have faltered (Lupin The Third: Strange Psychokinetic Strategy comes to mind) because it so effectively recreates that anime style with flesh-and-blood actors. Traditional animation, computer effects, and good old cardboard cutouts are all combined into a unique whole that, when paired with an overall infectious manicness, makes for a satisfyingly good movie. And Eriko Sato is hot. I mean, she does the splits in bra and panties. Come on!
The movie actually has a lot of heart, which goes a long way in making Cutie Honey more than just an excuse to parade Eriko Sato around in her skivvies. Credit is due to former anime director Hideako Anno (Neon Genesis Evangelion), who's taken the best of anime and live action and combined them into a movie that bears repeated viewing. Well, the aforementioned splits scene does anyway.
Otaku Alert: That's Cutie Honey creator Go Nagai in the car who gets an eyeful of Honey's backside as it breaks his windshield.
Availability Note: Import only. Region-free copies available on the Internet and through specialist shops. I have to say, the translation on the version I saw was really annoying. The text appears only after the character has finished talking. It can get really confusing. But hey, just relax and stare at Eriko Sato and it will all feel better.
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