Cutie Honey - 1970s Versions

1970s Versions

The original works of the franchise were a TV series and two different manga series. One manga was made by Go Nagai and the other by Ken Ishikawa. Nagai's 1973 manga was republished in 1985 as a single volume, but no further versions of Honey were produced until 1992. While Nagai's manga was marketed as "SFコミックス" ("science fiction comics"), the Toei anime is considered, at least in retrospect, a magical girl series.

In these versions, Honey Kisaragi is a regular Catholic schoolgirl, until the day her father is murdered by the "Panther Claw" organization. After his death, she learns she is actually an android created by him and within her is a device that can "create matter from the air" (空中元素固定装置, kūchū genso kotei sōchi?, variously translated as " element condenser mechanism", "Fixed System of Air Elements", "Airborne Element Solidifier", etc.). With her cry of "Honey Flash!" she can use the device to transform into the sword-wielding red-haired superhero, Cutie Honey. This device, or similar devices, have been used to explain her powers in all later Honey versions.

While attending the Saint Chapel School for Girls, Honey seeks revenge against the Panther Claw, which is ruled by an ancient primordial evil known as Panther Zora and her younger sibling Sister Jill. Zora wants "the rarest items in the world" and seeks Honey's device, while Jill, leader of the group's division in Japan, "only wants the finest riches" and has a crush on Honey. Honey's best friend at school is the cute, freckle-faced Aki "Nat-chan" Natsuko. In the manga, Nat-chan, as well as the other students, had a crush on Honey; this crush was downplayed in the TV series.

Honey is aided in her quest by Danbei Hayami and his two sons, journalist Seiji and young Junpei. Danbei is based on the character Daemon from Go Nagai's prior work Abashiri Family. Nagai's manga also borrows the character Naojiro from that series (in a female form named Sukeban Naoko); the anime borrows the Paradise School, along with the characters Naojiro and Goeman (a teacher at the school) from the series.