New Cutie Honey - Reception

Reception

Chris Beveridge of Anime on DVD (now part of Mania.com) gave positive reviews to the two New Cutey Honey Collections released in 2000 by ADV; he "was really impressed with the production values of this show" and called it "quite a bit of fun, especially for those looking for fan-service with a bit more intelligence and style than some of the other offerings out there". Two reviews of Honey on the website Anime Jump greatly diverged: site maintainer Mike Toole rated the series 3.5 out of 5 stars and called it "tons of fun, a light, tasty action-comedy that's ... spirited and silly and tongue-in-cheek", and praised its character designs as "letter-perfect to Go Nagai's original (quite appealing!) character designs"; Jason Carter praised Calvello's voice work in his review of the 2004 ADV release, but rated it 1.5 out of 5 stars, said that much of Cosplay City "goes back and forth between looking like an ordinary modern metropolis and resembling some sort of Smurf town built of polluted marshmallows", and concluded "The characters are largely annoying, the plot is hackneyed, the nudity is absurd, the fighting is rarely more than average, and the whole thing is ultimately pointless - as the series' later attempts at developing Honey as a person make all too clear." Sandra Dozier of DVD Verdict was also unimpressed with Honey: "I can see why it is popular—the glossy animation, the well-endowed chicks, the scant clothing. If that isn't your thing, however, there is very little to draw you to this series."

Reviewers have noticed Go Nagai's influence on New Cutie Honey; several considered it among the best anime based on his works, while others preferred different series. Dozier said that Nagai is "recognized in the anime world as an influential artist and storyteller who is known for preferring extra helpings of nudity and violence in his work", and that such influence "definitely comes through" in the series. Carlos Ross of THEM Anime gave earlier Nagai anime bad ratings, but called Honey "another Go Nagai-based anime that common logic should dictate that THEM rate harshly - except that we actually enjoyed it immensely", while calling its "awfully ugly backdrops, and weird-looking characters" "standard Go Nagai". Beveridge says he greatly preferred Honey over other Nagai offerings, but that "it really doesn't rise up too much higher than thinly veiled fan service with something of a story". Scott Green of Ain't It Cool News praised "Nagai's tasteless sense of strangeness" as the series' "highpoint", saying its "bright American style superhero design, with kaleidoscopic oddity, humorously gratuitous nudity and violence" make it "amusing nonsense". In his negative review, Carter said the Devilman-based Devil Lady was a more entertaining anime with a similar "impressively built woman fighting monsters" premise.

Many reviewers also contrasted its portrayal of main character Honey as a powerful figure with how it also shows off her body through her nude transformation sequences. Susan J. Napier, author of Anime from Akira to Princess Mononoke, distinguished the series from more pornographic anime such as Wicked City, Twin Dolls, and La Blue Girl. Napier thought that the series "sends mixed messages" because even though Honey has great strength and heroism, her transformations are very sexual in nature. She wrote that "the presumably male viewer is invited in, to participate in the unclothing and clothing of her nude body, while both male and female viewer alike are allowed the vicarious participation in the ecstatic transformation process", but quickly added: "Despite the regressive and voyeuristic aspects of her characterization, she is still clearly the film's hero, one worthy of admiration and emulation ... in the film's several violent scenes she more than holds her own." Dozier did not share that sentiment: she said "Honey does have some appeal as a fighter and as someone who cares very much about the people who are important to her, but her android past and her family life aren't explored too deeply—mostly, she's too busy getting into compromising situations and fighting evil."

Both Dozier and Yuricon president Erica Friedman wrote about the sexual nature of Honey, including the lesbian desire of the Jewel Princess (one of Honey's enemies) for her in the second episode. Friedman—who had looked for such "implied yuri" in Cutie Honey manga—called the Princess's appearance "*just* what I was hoping for", and praised Honey's change to her S&M Queen form in response. Ross said about the series: "It's seemingly exploitative, it's incredibly sexist, and the female members of my household - you'd expect them to be indignant, but, no, they were laughing their butts off because it was so blatant, and yet Honey was actually never objectified in the whole series." He further writes, "Honey Kisaragi is an extremely strong character who is no damsel in distress. If anyone needs help in this series, it's the guys!" Toole said that Jessica Calvello "gives the character a growling, tough-girl charm that was conspicuously absent from the original version", while Dozier said that Calvello captured "the combination of innocence and bravado that is both so confusing and yet so appropriate". Beveridge said the "fight sequences are pretty well done and provide some fun moments watching Honey battle the various demonic forms", but concluded that Honey's main goal is to showcase the lead heroine's changes: "Oh, lets face it. it's all about the half to completely naked transformation sequences. They're grrreat!"

Read more about this topic:  New Cutie Honey

Famous quotes containing the word reception:

    To aim to convert a man by miracles is a profanation of the soul. A true conversion, a true Christ, is now, as always, to be made by the reception of beautiful sentiments.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.”
    Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)

    To the United States the Third World often takes the form of a black woman who has been made pregnant in a moment of passion and who shows up one day in the reception room on the forty-ninth floor threatening to make a scene. The lawyers pay the woman off; sometimes uniformed guards accompany her to the elevators.
    Lewis H. Lapham (b. 1935)