Cutie Honey

His inspiration for this character came from classic shows that featured protagonists who took seven different forms, including the Bannai Tarao mysteries[4][17] and Warrior of Love Rainbowman (1972).

The manga was slated to run in the monthly Ribon magazine, and the series was set to air Mondays at 7:00 pm on NET TV (now TV Asahi), a timeslot previously held by magical girl series, but the timeslot was given to Miracle Shōjo Limit-Chan instead and Cutie Honey was set to air Saturdays at 8:30 pm on the programming block Majū Kaijin Daihenshin!!!

[19] Although the series had done well in the ratings department, especially compared to its predecessor, Microid S, it was canceled after only 25 episodes, the primary reason being concerns over salacious content.

Katsuta and Go Nagai decided the series should end with Sister Jill's defeat while leaving Panther Zora's ultimate fate up to the interpretation of fans.

The original work of the franchise was the Cutie Honey manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai that ran in Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine from October 1973 to April 1974.

[20] These included two manga made by Ken Ishikawa, another two by Yū Okazaki, one by Chizuko Beppu, one by Yoshiko Suganuma, and another by Masatoshi Nakajima.

Running from August 2001 to July 2003, Cutie Honey: Legend of an Angel (キューティーハニー天女伝説, Kyūtī Hanī Tennyo Densetsu) was written and illustrated by Go Nagai and published in Weekly Manga Action magazine.

[26] Set in 2005, Seiji Hayami's daughter, Seiko struggles with apparitions of monstrous beings, including the Panther Claw terrorist organization, which she must defeat with the help of Hisashi Hanyu, who is Cutie Honey in disguise.

[31] Honey & Yukiko Hime: Cutie Heroine Daisakusen was a digital manga published in 2008 that was written by Go Nagai and illustrated by Kazuhiro Ochi.

[32] Cutie Honey vs Abashiri Family was a manga published in Weekly Shonen Champion magazine in 2009 that was written an illustrated by Go Nagai.

[35] Cutie Honey vs Devilman Lady was a manga published in Champion RED Ichigo magazine from June to October 2013 that was written and illustrated by Go Nagai.

The TV series is much tamer than the manga version, removing much of the violence, gross out humor and lesbian undertones, but retaining Miss Alphonne's attraction to Honey.

While the manga was marketed as "SFコミックス" ("science fiction comics"),[37] the Toei anime is considered, at least in retrospect, a magical girl series.

[38] Character designs were done by Shingo Araki, musical score by Takeo Watanabe, scripts by Masaki Tsuji, Susumu Takaku, and Keisuke Fujikawa, while episode directors included Tomoharu Katsumata, Osamu Kasai and Hiroshi Shidara.

For an anime television series, the original Cutie Honey achieved respectable ratings in Japan, and some of its cast and crew have worked on other major titles.

100 years after the decisive battle with Panther Claw, Honey Kisaragi now works as the mayor's secretary in the crime-prone metropolis of Cosplay City.

Jessica Calvello, the voice of Honey in the English language version, was hand-picked by Nagai, though he originally wanted Winona Ryder.

It was first shown on the Animax satellite television network, with the first episode airing on July 24, 2004, two months after the live-action film was released.

The tokusatsu film loosely retells the story of Cutie Honey's battle against the Panther Claw to defend humanity and avenge her father.

Police inspector Aki Natsuko suspects Panther Claw's involvement in these incidents and begins chasing Cutie Honey, who was seen battling them.

Honey Kisaragi, who works in an office, joins forces with reporter Seiji Hayami and Natsuko to defeat the evil Panther Claw and their leader, Sister Jill.

[51] Unrelated to the previous film, it stars Mariya Nishiuchi as a new version of Honey (here named Hitomi) in a cyberpunk world.

One man from the upper area, Dr. Kisaragi, plans to change the world for the better by creating an android using the brain patterns of his deceased daughter.

On the surface, Hitomi pairs up with reporter Seiji Hayami and the resistance leader Kazuhito Uraki to fight against the oppressors of the world, controlled by the evil android Jill.

[52] Starring gravure idol Mikie Hara as Honey,[53] the series focuses on a set of three transforming girls with different personalities and a Panther Claw run by four leaders.

Pop star Ahyoomee's solo debut was a Korean adaptation of Koda's version; it became highly popular online, despite controversy over her pronunciation of the lyrics and her "unambiguously Japanese" outfit in one performance.

When she hears of the earthquake that devastated Kantō, Honey and several of her friends go to Japan to search for Ryou, who has become the pet of the Slum King.

Honey's friends are alternate universe versions of her transformations in the 1973 series: In the last volume, Flash, Misty, and Cutie are killed when they fall into a spiked trap when they try to free a chained up Miki Makimura.

[77] A strategy video game, Majokko Daisakusen: Little Witching Mischiefs, was developed by Toys for Bob and released by Bandai in 1999, and features Cutie Honey and other magical girls from the animation studio Toei.

[81] An RPG, Legend of Dynamic Goushouden: Houkai no Rondo, was developed and released by Banpresto in 2003, and features Honey and other characters created by Nagai.

Some of Cutie Honey's forms in the TV series, as shown in Tokuma Shoten 's Cutie Honey Roman Album Archive book. Clockwise from top right: Kisaragi, Misty, Idol, Hurricane, Cutie.
Cover of Part 1 of Volume 2 of Cutie Honey '90 , showing major villain Sister Jill holding a whip, illustrated by Hajime Sorayama