Hey, more T&A! I doubt if the source for Takara's "Cutie Honey" (or "Cutey Honey") doll could be called Classic or Great animation, but it's definitely my kind of entertainment. The original animated series apparently showed on TV in Japan a long time ago (which I didn't see), and more recently (within the last 5 or so years ago) was remade into a more risqué made-for-video series, "The New Cutey Honey" (which I have seen). The new series consists of eight half-hour episodes, now available on 2 DVDs. The premise of the show was pretty strange-- without giving too much away, she's a warrior from earlier times (presumably the original series) who changes from skimpy outfit to skimpy outfit to fight evil monsters created by her nemesis, Panther Zora (or something like that). The eyecatching part is the manner in which she changes outfits...(!) All the elements of the show are pretty kewl; the title track is really catchy (Japanese version is better), the characters are spunky and endearing, the villains are supremely evil, and in one episode there's even a crossover appearance of Devilman, series creator Go Nagai's other big anime series. There have been a bunch of toys and models spun off from this series. The one to the left above is a small prepainted PVC figure from a figure series of her wearing different outfits from the video. She's also been made into garage kits, large vinyl figures and a doll prior to Takara's figure. I guess she must be somewhat popular in Japan.

At the end of the videos, there's a bit of filler material: In one trailer, there's a stage/publicity event for kids (?) with real gals dressed up as Cutie Honey and various villains. It's weird stuff. Takara's version appears to be based on this costumed human approach. Just a guess though, since I find it hard to believe that they'd ever make a live-action video of the show. There really isn't much to say about the figure itself. It's basically a special edition of BBI's CY Girls, distributed under the Takara label (No, she doesn't come with a SPAS shotgun). I'm not usually a sucker for this kind of thing, but the box artwork (at top) is awesome. Makes you want to leave her in the box. I must say that I'm a little underwhelmed though. Cutey Honey's costuming doesn't lend itself very well to articulated dolls, and bare shoulder joints are a little hard to suspend disbelief over-- that kind of thing is not quite as relevant for homely male figures, but for a Cutie Honey...? The plastic material used in the outfit was a surprise for me-- I'm not sure if it's the best choice for this since spandex fabric is less bulky, far less restricting for articulation, and you sure can't tell from the animation what the material is supposed to be. Nevertheless, the combo plastic casting/plastic material gloves and boots look sharp. The sword looks metal but it's actually vacuum metalized plastic. It's much lighter than a solid metal one would be.

As I said, I'm a little underwhelmed, but that's because I really like the anime version-- this one looks a little too human. Of course, I knew that when I ordered her. In her own right, she's a neat and unusual display piece. Personally, I think they ought to make the villains-- they're really kewl!

I think this is a Japan-only release, so she's a bit more expensive than the BBI CY Girls which have been available in the USA. I ordered from Hobbylink Japan and was blown away by the fact that she was in stock, and how quickly she arrived by UPS.

--10/15/01