Cutie Honey The Movie vs Cutie Honey The Live (TV Series)

Now that "Cutie Honey The Live" finished up on Japanese TV it's interesting to note how it compared to the movie and how both adaptations were at translating Go Nagai's original work.

"Cutie Honey - The Movie" is perhaps the closer adaptation of the two to the manga and the one that deviated the least although it wasn't a straight forward rework of the manga. I like the fact that director Hideaki Anno made the character more grown up (in the original manga she was a high school teen)and also introduced the notion that Cutie Honey's powers fluctuated by both emotional stress and hunger pangs. I also liked the love-hate relationship she had with policewoman Natsuko Aki which had some elements of sexual tension in there (in the manga, Honey and Natsuko were roommates and perhaps even lovers). The Panter Claw organization was also very true to the manga however Sister Jill in the movie was perhaps my least favorite character as Anno seemed have combined aspects of both Sister Jill and Panther Zora (the true force behind Panther Claw) into one character.

"Cutie Honey The Live" is a lot different from the manga and actually introduced some nice changes to the story. Honey is a teenager (as she was in the manga) and didn't really know who her father was and that as the story unfolded she (and we as an audience) discovered her true origins. The story introduces us to her "sisters" who have the same abilities as her but wildly different and conflicting emotions. Unlike Honey who was forever naive, bubbly and cheerful to a fault, Sister Miki was brooding and introverted while Sister Yuki fluctuated between being cold, calculating and emotionless. It put a whole new spin and dimension to the series (the Cutie Honey Flash anime was probably the inspiration for this). I also liked how the series dealt more with the normal Honey's high school life and her struggles at trying to act normal and keep her secret (being a cyborg) secret. The Panther Claw organization in the TV series was a lot more interesting than either the manga and movie counterparts. This organization (unlike the manga) was comprised of both male and female high ranking members and the four "bosses" ran the organization much like a corporate business than an evil organization. Each of the bosses were quite unique and had fairly elaborate backstories and personalities too. While I didn't really care for bosses like Hiromi Tanaka and Yuji Nakajo (in the TV series, the Panther Claw agents used their own names rather than a colorful alias), lesbian/sadist Mayumi Karasugawa and flamboyant foreigner Duke Watari were my favorite of the villains.

As far as the leads go, Sato Eriko is still my favorite Cutie Honey as she is the closest in look and style to the anime but TV series actress and big breasted gravure idol Hara Mikie is not bad either. While some fans may say that Takeda Makoto (who played Sister Yuki) was the prettiest of the three, my vote and heart goes with with spunky Misaki Ayame who was one of the best things about the series.

Now if "Cutie Honey The Live" were to become a movie, I'd be the first in line as I was kind of was disappointed by "Cutie Honey The Movie" and would see this as a second opportunity at doing the anime right. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this comes true.