I joined this forum last year solely to make an impassioned plea for one of my favorite anime franchises, one that is been very largely ignored in the United States: Cutey Honey. Here it is, 2012, and I am returning to post exactly what I posted before:
Cutey/Cutie Honey was created by the legendary Go Nagai and is one of very few anime adapated from Nagai's work to never be fully brought to the United States. While there was a release of the Shin Cutey Honey OVA series (8 episodes from 1994) and the 2004 live-action movie, the "main" anime series of this franchise have been largely ignored.
Cutie Honey was originally a 25-episode series, aired in 1973 and 1974. This series is generally considered to be one of the original magical girl series. The series was released on DVD in Japan in 2004 (a five disc box set featuring all 25 episodes and the original pilot film). This classic series has never been released in the US in any fashion.
Shin Cutey Honey was an 8-episode OVA series released in 1994. While this is the only Cutey Honey animated series to make its way to the US, it is out of print these days. The previous translation could also use some serious updating. This series was also released on DVD in Japan in 2004 (one package with two discs featuring all 8 episodes).
Cutie Honey Flash was a more modern style magical girl series which began in 1997 and ran through 1998. This series ran for three seasons (a total of 39 episodes; 13 episodes in season one, 10 episodes in season 02, and 16 episodes in season 03), as well as a theatrical feature. This version of the show was more kid-friendly, and filled in the time slot left open by the end of the long-running Sailormoon franchise. This series was released on DVD in Japan in four two-disc sets for the series and a single-disc release of the theatrical feature. It has never been brought to the US in any form.
Re:Cutie Honey was a three episode OVA series released in 2004 to tie-in with the live-action movie. These three episodes were all released on DVD individually, and in a Re:Cutie Honey complete series set in 2005 in Japan. While there had once been talk about this series being released in the US, nothing ever came of it.
and finally (but probably least likely)...
Cutie Honey the Live is the most recent adaptation of Cutie Honey, a live action series (with no real connection to the live action movie). It aired in Japan from October 2007 - March 2008. It ran for 25 episodes (with a special DVD-only bonus episode). It was released on DVD (nine one-disc volumes) in Japan in 2008. While I've witnessed a very large American fanbase for this series, it's never been released in the US.
It has always baffled me how such a popular and important anime franchise such as Cutie Honey could be by-and-large ignore in the United States. But Nozomi has already released another popular classic series that has been ignored, Dirty Pair. And if your work on Dirty Pair and Revolutionary Girl Utena (not to mention many others) is any indication, the Cutie Honey franchise would be in very capable hands at Nozomi Entertainment.
Please consider it. This series has been ignored in the US by anime companies for too long. Fans are begging for it.
Edited by Ohmstar (03/18/12 10:10 AM)
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