The OVA continued the story several years later, with Honey not having aged, but having forgotten her true identity. Once she recovers her memory, she continues to battle evil. In this stage, her shapeshifting powers have increased to the point of being able to imitate any person's form (but not to change gender, curiously, even when mimicking a man). The notion of a shape-shifting android can, of course, be traced back as far as Hirai and Kuwata's science fiction manga series, 8 Man. In some respects, Cutie Honey was an overtly sexualized version of the earlier character; significantly, Honey's deceased father is a dead ringer for 8-Man's creator, Doctor Tani.
The manga contains even more violence, gross out humor, and nudity than in the original TV series. In the manga the whole Saint Chapel School was lesbian, including Honey's best friend Aki Natsuko. While the Panther Claw were androids in the anime (excluding Sister Jill and Panther Zora), they are referred to as cyborgs in the manga. Honey does not join Paradise School, nor does Danbei have a nephew named Naojiro in the manga. The idea of Paradise School, and the characters Naojiro and Goeman (a teacher at Paradise School) were borrowed from another Go Nagai manga, Abashiri Family. However there is a female character in the manga that looks like Naojiro, named Naoko. She was the "boss" of Saint Chapel, while Naojiro was the "boss" of Paradise School. The manga ends in a similar (although a bit more comical) way. However, the story completely ended in Cutie Honey 90's.
The Ken Ishikawa manga follows a more episodic formula like the TV series. The art work is quite crude, and inconsistent. Unlike the TV series or original manga, Honey always knew Panther Zora was the leader of Panther Claw. Sister Jill does not even show up until the last chapter of Ishikawa's version. Like the original manga, and TV series the manga ends with Honey defeating Sister Jill, and continuning her battle with Zora.
Also notable is that creator Go Nagai based Cutey Honey off of two classic tokusatsu superhero shows, 7-Color Mask (1959) and Rainbowman (1972), which both featured superheroes with 7 different forms (7-Color Mask had 7 disguises and Rainbowman had 7 different superhero forms). Both shows were created by Yasunori Kawauchi (who also created Japan's first superhero TV show, Moonlight Mask ["Gekko Kamen", which itself became an anime in 1972], which Nagai spoofed as Kekko Kamen).
Honey is notable for being mischievous for a Japanese female hero, often teasing her male friends and mocking her enemies in combat. When transforming into Cutie Honey, she gives a brief rundown of the forms she has previously taken in that particular episode, and then declares, "But my true identity is..." before yelling "HONEY FLASH!" and transforming. Such pre- and post-transformation declarations (as well as the nudity during the transformation sequences themselves) have since become common for other transforming magical girls, such as Sailor Moon and Wedding Peach.
Many years after the events of the first series, the citizens of Cosplay City are struggling with the criminals attacking it. Into this chaos, a new mayor, Light, has vowed to reign in the criminal element and bring back peace. However, the dark lord Dolmeck, along with his sidekicks Black Maiden (actually Panther Zora) and Peeping Spider seek to derail his efforts. However, when it is learned that his secretary Honey Kisaragi is the legendary Cutey Honey, she resumes her campaign to save the city with the power of love.
The manga contains even more violence, gross out humor, and nudity than in the original TV series. In the manga the whole Saint Chapel School was lesbian, including Honey's best friend Aki Natsuko. While the Panther Claw were androids in the anime (excluding Sister Jill and Panther Zora), they are referred to as cyborgs in the manga. Honey does not join Paradise School, nor does Danbei have a nephew named Naojiro in the manga. The idea of Paradise School, and the characters Naojiro and Goeman (a teacher at Paradise School) were borrowed from another Go Nagai manga, Abashiri Family. However there is a female character in the manga that looks like Naojiro, named Naoko. She was the "boss" of Saint Chapel, while Naojiro was the "boss" of Paradise School. The manga ends in a similar (although a bit more comical) way. However, the story completely ended in Cutie Honey 90's.
The Ken Ishikawa manga follows a more episodic formula like the TV series. The art work is quite crude, and inconsistent. Unlike the TV series or original manga, Honey always knew Panther Zora was the leader of Panther Claw. Sister Jill does not even show up until the last chapter of Ishikawa's version. Like the original manga, and TV series the manga ends with Honey defeating Sister Jill, and continuning her battle with Zora.
Also notable is that creator Go Nagai based Cutey Honey off of two classic tokusatsu superhero shows, 7-Color Mask (1959) and Rainbowman (1972), which both featured superheroes with 7 different forms (7-Color Mask had 7 disguises and Rainbowman had 7 different superhero forms). Both shows were created by Yasunori Kawauchi (who also created Japan's first superhero TV show, Moonlight Mask ["Gekko Kamen", which itself became an anime in 1972], which Nagai spoofed as Kekko Kamen).
Honey is notable for being mischievous for a Japanese female hero, often teasing her male friends and mocking her enemies in combat. When transforming into Cutie Honey, she gives a brief rundown of the forms she has previously taken in that particular episode, and then declares, "But my true identity is..." before yelling "HONEY FLASH!" and transforming. Such pre- and post-transformation declarations (as well as the nudity during the transformation sequences themselves) have since become common for other transforming magical girls, such as Sailor Moon and Wedding Peach.
Many years after the events of the first series, the citizens of Cosplay City are struggling with the criminals attacking it. Into this chaos, a new mayor, Light, has vowed to reign in the criminal element and bring back peace. However, the dark lord Dolmeck, along with his sidekicks Black Maiden (actually Panther Zora) and Peeping Spider seek to derail his efforts. However, when it is learned that his secretary Honey Kisaragi is the legendary Cutey Honey, she resumes her campaign to save the city with the power of love.
