A review by dcommet
Cutie Honey: The Classic Collection by Go Nagai

4.0

Tonally and narratively, Nagai's Cutie Honey is a complete mess. It is completely nonsensical the way he shifts from a tragic character death into immediately pervy peeping tom gags - but honestly I think its a large part of the charm? And I think it works really well here with Honey specifically. The whole conceptual idea being that of cute girl who everybody wants sexually (the entire school being lesbians is very fun imo even if it is just Nagai trying to push what he can get away with) being paired with the narrative plot being her body IS the macguffin the evil Panther Claw organization is after mixes together well thematically. People always will want Honey and her body. The reason I think the tonal shifts work for Honey is that I honestly feel like its kind of sad that she can't even have a moment to mourn without people trying to touch her again. I've seen Nagai way more transgressive than this and way less transgressive than this, but that doesn't mean this is palatable to a wide audience. There's a reason this didn't sell well in the west and its because its very strange and does not have mass market appeal. But I do think its very special especially if you give it your own charitable read like I do and don't think too much about how much Go Nagai just loves drawing naked girls and gore lol