Re: Cutie Honey Vol-3 [Re: = Return/Renewal/Regarding] (2004)
By Jmaruyama

For more information on this series visit Toei’s Official Website http://www.re-cutiehoney.com and Gainax’s Series Website http://www.gainax.co.jp/anime/re_cutie/

General Information

Air Dates:
Episode 1 (7/24/04 – Sky PerfecTV! PPV; 9/21/04 – DVD Release)
Episode 2 (8/28/04 – Sky PerfecTV! PPV; 10/21/04 – DVD Release)
Episode 3 (9/25/04 – Sky PerfecTV! PPV; 11/21/04 – DVD Release)

Episodes:
Episode 1 – “Ten” (Heaven)
Episode 2 – “Chi” (Earth) -- To be reviewed when released.
Episode 3 – “Hito” (Human) – To be reviewed when released.

Broadcast by: Sky PerfecTV! Cable PPV
Original Story: Go Nagai
Producer(s): Anno Hideaki (Gainax)
Series Planning: Nakajima Kazuki
Screenwriter(s): Nakajima Kazuki; Kasai Takeo; Taki Koichi
Director(s): Imaishi Hiroyuki; Ito Naoyuki; Masayuki
Character Designs: Hiramatsu Sadashi
Animation: Gainax;Toei Animation
Music: Ueda Susumu
Produced by: Re: Cutie Honey Planning Committee

Theme Song:
Opening:
"Cutie Honey”
Lyrics: Nagai Go
Original Producer: Krodo Q (Claude Q)
Original Composer: Watanabe Takeo
Modern Arrangement\Music: n-wonder & Avex Group
Performed by: Koda Kumi

Ending:
"Into Your Heart"
Lyrics: Koda Kumi
Arrangement\Music: n-wonder & Avex Group
Performed by: Koda Kumi

Cast:
Horie Yui (Kisaragi Honey/Cutie Honey)
Noda Junko (Inspector Aki ‘Nat-Chan’ Natsuko)
Ishikawa Hideo (Reporter Hayami Seiji)
Nakao Ryohei (Detective Mikami)
Tanaka Kazumi (Detective Tokimura)
Itakura Kazue (Sister Jill)
Toma Yumi (Black Claw)
Kingetsu Mami (Cobalt Claw)
Konno Hiromi (Scarlet Claw)
Shimada Bin (Assistant Manager Mainen)
Kiyokawa Motomu (Butler)
Sugiyama Kazuko (Izumiya Kyoko)
Kaneda Tomoko (Takahashi Mayumi)
Komatsu Yuka (Terada Rinko)

The Story

Episode 3 concludes the OVA series in dramatic fashion.

Sister Jill finally makes her presence known in Tokyo. Siphoning the life force energy from hundreds of kidnapped young girls, Sister Jill erects a gigantic “tree-like” structure, which engulfs Tokyo Tower. Sister Jill uses the resulting mayhem from this to draw out Cutie Honey.

Honey goes to the site of the so-called “Jill Tree” and attempt to go inside but is confronted by Black Claw, leader of Panther Claw’s “Shi Ten Oh”.

Black Claw and Cutie Honey do battle, but Honey is soon overwhelmed by Black Claw’s harmonic and sound-based attacks. Black Claw is about to finish off Honey with her “3rd Octave” attack but is stopped by Natsuko (Black Claw is decapitated by a bazooka shell).

Unfortunately, Honey and Natsuko’s victory is short lived as Black Claw comes back to life and uses her “Black Tornado” to further hurt Honey. During the melee Black Claw revels to Honey that she was the one who killed her father, Professor Kisaragi. This revelation triggers Honey’s inner rage and with renewed power she kills Black Claw by splitting her in two. Exhausted by the battle Honey collapses.

Witnessing the battle from within her tower, Sister Jill becomes further enamored with Cutie Honey and attempts to use the living vines of “Jill Tree” to capture her. Natsuko grabs the unconscious Honey and tries desperately to escape. They are saved by kindly Custodian Kyoko who leads them through an underground tunnel.

The tunnel leads to a deserted warehouse where Honey and Natsuko recover and plan their next move.

By this time Seiji has contacted his supervisors with the U.S. National Security Agency and soon he is onboard a huge carrier battleship headed to Tokyo Bay, where the U.S. Government has assembled a carrier group armed with Tomahawk missiles. The U.S. intends to take matter in their own hands if the Japanese Government is unable to control the situation.

Back at the warehouse, Honey falls into a deep depression and fears that she may lose control of her powers again. Natsuko comforts Honey by telling Honey about her past.

Natsuko reveals that she was once very close to another female police officer. However while on assignment her partner was killed in a shootout and since then Natsuko has vowed never again to let anyone else close to her fearing that they may die as well.

Natsuko makes Honey promise that they will always be friends and that Honey will not die in battle. Honey promises and together they make plans to infiltrate “Jill Tree”.

Honey and Natsuko charge into “Jill Tree” and finally confront Sister Jill. They are greeted by Butler who is revealed to be a clone of Prof. Kisaragi. Butler explains to Cutie Honey that she and Sister Jill are “sisters” and that Sister Jill was the first prototype created by the U.S. Government to utilize the “Imagination Induction System”. However Sister Jill proved to be flawed and less than willing to follow the directions of her creators. The U.S. scrapped the project and attempted to destroy all evidence pertaining to the experiment. Sister Jill however escaped and went into hiding. Prof. Kisaragi, who was one of the lead scientists on the project, returned back to Japan only to have his only daughter killed in a tragic car accident. Grief-stricken and desperate, Prof. Kisaragi utilized the technology of the “I-System” to create a perfect android copy of Honey whom he came to consider as his real daughter.

Cutie Honey is stunned by the revelation and her systems begin to malfunction. To prevent Sister Jill from capturing them both, Honey gives Natsuko her choker jewelry, which enables Natsuko to escape the tower in an energy bubble.

Sister Jill attempts to absorb the “I-System” from Honey. Honey tries to fight off the influence of Sister Jill but soon succumbs to her power. Sister Jill uses her new growing powers to cause other “Jill Trees” to grow around the world.

Seiji asks his NSA supervisors to reconsider their plans on using Nuclear Missiles and offers to go in and take control of the situation. At first his Supervisors scoff at the idea and have him incarcerated but then have second thoughts and allow Seiji to go in.

Armed with Anti-Nano Technology Weaponry, a reboot elixir for Honey and a Marine Harrier, Seiji flies to Tokyo where he rendezvous with Natsuko who is also on her way back into “Jill Tree”.

Sister Jill uses her matter manipulation powers to transform “Jill Tree” into a giant bat-winked monster which proceeds to attack the two.

Natsuko manages to reach Honey and gives her the reboot elixir which re-activates Honey’s powers.

Cutie Honey defeats Butler and attempts to convince Sister Jill to stop her attack on Tokyo and offers to merge with her to become one entity. Sister Jill at first considers her offer but changes her mind stating that she would rather die than give up her individual identity.

As a final act of defiance, Sister Jill uses her powers to force the launching of one of the U.S. warship’s nuclear weapons.

The nuclear weapon hits Tokyo but Cutie Honey uses the powers of the “I-System” to absorb and dissipate the nuclear radiation and fallout of the weapon.

During the resultant energy flux, Sister Jill is also absorbed into Honey and Jill Tree proceeds to disintegrate. As it does, hundreds of Cherry Blossom petals fall over Tokyo. These Cherry Blossom petals eventually transform back into the kidnapped girls that Sister Jill was holding.

Kindly Kyoko who up until this point has been a total mystery is soon revealed to be a famed WWII agent codenamed “00-K – The Sweeper”. She was also assigned to look after Honey along with Seiji and has been coordinating with the U.S. Military.

In the epilogue, Natsuko and Honey open up a private detective agency along with Seiji and Kyoko and they continue to battle the forces of evil that seek to threaten Tokyo.

Who is Cutey Honey?

“Cutie Honey” is the super heroine persona of Kisaragi Honey. Honey is the only daughter of a famed scientist who was brutally murdered years earlier by agents of Panther Claw.

Hayami Seiji tells Honey that she is not human at all but rather an artificial construct built by Prof. Kisaragi using DNA Code from his real daughter who had died in childhood.

Through the “heart shaped” choker jewelry that Honey wears around her neck, Honey is able to activate the “I <Ai> System” (Love System) that can give her various superhuman powers and abilities. These abilities include superhuman strength, speed, stamina and near invulnerability. Honey uses these abilities to fight as the super heroine Cutie Honey.

Another aspect of her powers includes the chameleon-like ability to change and transform into various disguises, outfits and personas. This ability is powered by what’s called the “Imaginary Induction System” which uses Nano-Technology to power these various costume and fashion changes.

These powers are very physically draining and thus Honey needs to consume vast amounts of food in order to sustain these abilities. When her powers start to drain, Cutie Honey’s uniform/clothing begins to dissolve, exposing her ample “assets”.
While Honey is an android, she is so well constructed and designed that for all intents and purposes, she can pass as human (she shows emotion, needs to eat and sleep, and desires love). This can be attributed to Prof. Kisaragi’s skills as a scientist as well as the DNA Code he used to create Honey.

Seiji hints that Panther Claw’s various agents also incorporate a variation of Prof. Kisaragi’s Nano-Technology for their powers. Sister Jill in particular is somehow connected to Prof. Kisaragi and may also use a form of the “I System” for her powers.

Who Are “Panther Claw”?

Panther Claw is a secret organization whose sole purpose is to serve the whims of its leader, the mystical entity known as “Sister Jill”. The Panther Claw Organization is comprised of nearly 100,000 loyal members and followers. Most of Panther Claw agents dress in black leather garb, fedoras and sport catlike masks. They are armed with an assortment of weapons including knives, automatic guns and rifles. Owing to Sister Jill’s vanity, all of their weapons are plated in Gold.

Panther Claw’s main leaders are collectively known as the “Shi Ten Oh” (Four Kings) and comprise of the following members:

Gold Claw – A brutish, hulking female who has a gigantic claw on one arm and a mobile missile launcher on the other. Her braided hair can be used as a fifth appendage which can be used to strangle, grab and throw her opponents around. She can also twirl and swing her hair around fast enough to propel her through the air (like a helicopter). She is incredibly strong and can withstand repeated blows from Cutie Honey’s foil.

Cobalt Claw – A ghoulish, “S&M” attired dominatrix who can elongate her limbs and legs to ensnare and attack her opponents. She can grow multiple arms from her back. Her hair can grow out and entrap her enemies. She has the ability to climb up walls and ceilings. She is incredibly fast and agile and is almost “snake-like” in her attacks. Her braided hair can be used to choke and strangle her enemies. Her main weakness is extreme heat.

Scarlet Claw – A childlike impish robot who can fire devastating fireballs from her mouth. These fireballs have the power to blast through the side of several buildings and obliterate everything in their path. Carries a Japanese Parasol which she can use to block both physical and energy attacks. Can manipulate electrical energy and redirect it against opponents.

Black Claw – Leader of the “Shi Ten Oh”. Black Claw is a composite entity, created from the merging of two siblings (similar to Ashura Danshaku from “Mazinger Z” or Berg Katz from “Gatchaman”). He/She carries a silver trident battle staff which they can use to amplify and redirect his/her sonic and harmonic attacks, the most powerful of which is the “3rd Octave Attack”. Black Claw has several special abilities:

He/She can spin their body fast enough to create a super tornado which they call the “Black Tornado”. This “Black Tornado” can slice through most materials and can also break Honey’s Silver Foil.

It is revealed that Sister Jill, who leads the Panther Claw organization is actually Cutie Honey’s “sister” and is also an android construct. She was in fact the first prototype created by Prof. Kisaragi and his team that used a form of the “I System”. However, because Sister Jill’s mind was unstable and due to her inherent other flaws, Sister Jill was deemed a failure and the entire project was discontinued. All evidence of the “I System” project was destroyed. Unfortunately, Sister Jill was able to escape destruction and

Sister Jill draws her power from the energy of hundreds of women (kidnapped from throughout Japan).

Sister Jill is aided by a mysterious “butler” who is actually an artificial construct made to resemble Prof. Kisaragi.

Review

While Episode 1 and 2 of “Re: Cutie Honey” were somewhat of a disappointment, Episode 3 ends the series with a much needed “bang”. The animation is definitely improved this time around and much of the cartoony aspects of the previous installments are thankfully kept to a minimum.

Episode 3 was also a lot more serious in tone, which seemed to be so much in stark contrast to the rest of the series.

While the story as a whole still didn’t make me want to stand up and take notice, I felt that the ending here was much better than the live-action movie.

“Re: Cutie Honey” Episode 3 does a lot to flesh out all the loose ends brought up in the previous episodes. Most of the revelations made a lot of sense (the connection between Sister Jill and Honey, the revelations made by Black Claw, the identity of Butler) but some were a bit too much (Kyoko revealing herself to be another NSA Agent).

All-in-all I must say that I was impressed by this third installment but wish that the rest of the series was done better.

Trivia

“Cutey Honey” is the creation of prolific manga artist/creator Nagai Go who has created some of the most memorable manga characters in Japanese comics including Mazinger Z, Devil Man, Great Mazinger, UFO Grand Dizer, Getter Robo and Violence Jack.

Nagai Go was an apprentice to the famous Tokusatsu Creator Ishinomori Shoutaro.
Nagai Go got the idea for Cutey Honey from the Kawauchi Kohan creation “Ai No Senshi Rainbow Man”.

"Re: Cutie Honey” is based on the Toei Movie “Cutie Honey” which was directed by Anno Hideaki, the writer/director behind the revolutionary and influential anime series “Evangelion” (Gainax; 1995).

Horie Yui’s voice credits also include “Kikaider: The Animation” (Ishimori Pro Inc./ SME Visual Works Inc./Bandai; 2000 - voiced Komyoji Mitsuko), “Love Hina” (Studio I.G./Bandai/TV Tokyo; 2000 - voiced Narusekawa Naru) and “Kanon” (Fuji TV/Toei; 2002 - voiced Tsukimiya Aya). Horie appeared in the Tokusatsu TV series “Sen Nen Okoku San Kishi – Bunny Knights” (TV Asahi/KSS; 1999 – voiced Alice and portrayed Kimishima Seriya).

Noda Junko is also an alumnus of the TV series “Love Hina” (portrayed Konno Mitsune). Fans of the seminal series “Last Exile” (Gonzo – Digimation; 2003) may also recognize her as the voice behind Dio Erakurea.

Kiyokawa Motomu portrayed another butler, Norman Burg in the stylish anime series “Big O” (Sunrise; 2003).

Sugiyama Kazuko will always be remembered as the voice behind G-3/June in the landmark series “Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman” (Tatsunoko Pro; 1972).

Jmaruyama