Man has it been some time since I read this and Iron Virgin Jun. I mean, I completely forgot about both after reading them over a month ago. Still, like before, late is better than never so on to the review. Now, Cutie Honey is classic Nagai as classic Nagai can get. It pulls all the jokes and is very fun and entertaining to read overall. That said, I actually really enjoyed it and didn’t have much problems with it at all, other than some of the fanservice which went a bit too far, the eyebrow raising violence, and that attempted rape scene. Well, not some of the fanservice, just mainly this one scene. Let me begin. Cutie is fleeing from the Panther Claw and has only one transformation left, so she decides to turn into a statue to fool the enemy. It works and they leave after many grizzling hours later. However, Cutie can’t leave immediately after they do, no sir ree, as she has to stay put until the coast is clear. Oh-oh, this can’t be good. Not long after the villains leave, that reporter guys old man and brother come into the park and immediately notice the nude statue. Hubba hubba. They approach it and notice how lifelike and realistic it is, and being the perverted old man and child they are and the fact that they are Japanese, they begin to touch the statue. Oh-boy, oh, boy, oh-boy! Ahem. They realise that it’s not only realistic, but that it’s also warm to the touch, and that it becomes wet after being licked. And this is where things take a turn for the worse. Okay, get this, the old man begins sucking her nipples and the kid starts to lick out her crotch…….. what!? I mean, Nagai has done weird things in the past and I totally think that this one takes the cake, but is it even legal? Just look at that! I feel that this part could have easily been omitted or changed as it’s not funny (unless you think rape jokes and groping is funny) and freaking creepy. And the joke is that she has to endure their "assault" since she can't move or make any noise. Laugh.
 |
| A typical occurrence in Japan |
That aside, Cutie Honey is very funny and very entertaining to read, and actually still holds up today which is a major bonus. You will laugh hard, and be dying to read more. However, that’s not to say it’s perfect or doesn’t have any flaws. It’s sadly only two volumes long and I just know that it should have been much longer or at least 5 volumes for a story of this type. And for one thing, some of the plot threads tend to be rather generic like an enemy disguising as that reporter guy to get closer to Cutie to try and kill her, but I think that’s because like Mazinger Z and a bunch of Nagai’s other works, they are the one’s which started it all and are what following manga and anime took inspiration from. Therefore, even if they come off as so, we can still appreciate them for being the forerunner of today’s manga/anime and their standards. Now, lastly I would like to mention that there is surprisingly a tad bit of violence present in Cutie Honey. It was really puzzling because it should be more comedy focused like its anime counterpart. However, that in itself is a staple of Nagai’s work since he always does this sort of thing and because this is also not the first time I’ve encountered a work of his and brought up the same notion. Remember Guerilla High/Gakuen Taikutsu Otoko? Could have worked better as solely parody/comedy manga, but Nagai is Nagai and his insane, unique way of creating manga is one of his biggest appeals that allows him to stand apart from most other manga authors out there. All said and done, classic Nagai is classic Nagai, so if you’re avid fan of his works or a fan of manga in general, then I recommend you to check Cutie Honey out. You won’t regret it.
