ADV Films presents

New Cutey Honey: Collection 2 (1996)

"If this were three cuts later, this would have been an adult video."- Cutey Honey (Michiko Neya)

Stars: Michiko Neya, Rika Matsumoto, Kosei Tomita, Jessica Calvello, David Nance, Tristan MacAvery
Other Stars: Yusaka Yari, Rika Fukimi, Sho Hayami, Taeko Yamada, Brian Bounds, Tiffany Grant, Jason Douglas, Tamara Lo
Director: Yasuchina Nagoaha

Manufacturer: IFPI
MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (17+ for nudity, violence, language, themes)
Run Time: 01h:42m:57s
Release Date: 2001-01-16
Genre: anime

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A	B+	A-	A-	B-

 

DVD Review

"If my perfect bust was damaged, there'd be grieving fans all over." - Cutey Honey

Honey's back, and once again the criminals won't know what hit them in collection two, containing the final 4 OVAs of New Cutey Honey (Shin Cutey Honey). A master of disguise, you never know what to expect from her, as she gets uncovered to go undercover, pitting her formidable assets against the wrongdoers of Cosplay City. It's time they get busted, and who better for the job than Cutey Honey, the transforming battle android with a kind heart and a figure to die for. Where the first four OVAs had an overall story arc, the final four are pretty self-contained, with the last episode wrapping a few things up.

Some familiar faces are about to make their return. With the crime leader Dolmek out of the way, all hell is breaking loose in Cosplay City, as the fight for the new top spot sends every crook and evildoer scrambling. Things get off to an explosive start as a villian holds the city at ransom with his hidden Kolihento bomb. Luckily, its location is discovered with time running down; unfortunately, it's stolen by another band of thieves! Get ready for a race against time as Honey and the Hayami family try to thwart this criminal uprising—without blowing the whole city up.

Chokkei's attentions turn towards Natsuko, a young girl he met on his last mission. The Hayami family is watching his progress from the sidelines when an evil darkness descends on the city, and Honey and her friends find themselves surrounded by an army of zombie mannequins. There's no time for fun and games, as the stage is set for another drama. Then, Honey goes to the mat when Chokkei's mom, Daiko, is captured by a group of thugs, and it's off to the rescue, while facing another fiendish foe. Finally, Honey and the gang are at odds with a mysterious thief who has the ability to vanish into thin air. Recruiting an old adversary allows them to see the light, but this adversary has a heart of gold, or at least a bullionesque bosom, that dazzles all beholders.

Despite her trademark "Honey Flash!" transformation cry, this should not be mistaken for the 1997, 39-episode TV series remake, Cutey Honey Flash, which was created by the producers of Sailor Moon and geared to a younger audience. New Cutey Honey, featuring character designs by Osamu Horiuchi, is a feast of naked transformations, an oddball assortment of associates and some nice interaction between the players. We still have a monster-of-the-week, usually guised as a rather amply-proportioned female, who has to be taken down a notch by Honey incognito (she only reveals her true colors in the heat of battle). Heaps of action, mounds of fanservice, and stacks of comedic adventure await all. Lots of fun for those not afraid of a little ecchi indulgence.

Rating for Style: A
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: The full (figured) frame image is very good, with only minor interlacing and some aliasing that detracts from a perfect score. Colors are perky, solid and bold; black levels plunge nicely into the deep and rich category. Looks good!

Image Transfer Grade: A-
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	Japanese, English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: Primarily center-focused, the stereo audio tracks are both presented well with no notable anomalies, such as distortion or hiss. Nothing very awe-inspiring in terms of frequency usage, but well-balanced and suitable for the on-screen action. The dub track is passable, but I much prefer the original Japanese.

Audio Transfer Grade: A- 

Disc Extras

Static menu with music
Scene Access with 20 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
4 Original Trailer(s)
4 Other Trailer(s) featuring Gasaraki, Generator Gawl, Farscape, ADV mix
3 Featurette(s)
Packaging: Scanavo
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Interview
2. Cutey Honey concert
3. Recording session

Extras Review: ADV has provided a very cool assortment of goodies across the two discs in this series.

First is a live interview with Japanese voice actors Michiko Neya (Cutey Honey), Rika Matsumoto (Chokkei Hayami) and Junko Iwao (Natsuko). They answer questions ranging from their favorite characters to a test to name villains, with an explosive finale. The content isn't very deep, but the opportunity to see the people behind the characters is always welcome.

Next is a 3-minute live performance, featuring the theme song in a Cosplay concert by The Honeys, from the 1995 Oizumi Cine Fantasy Event Expo. The girls play for young and old alike, handing out programs, t-shirts and videos to the kids—how cool is that?

Since the series, as presented here, didn't feature the Japanese version of the song for the opening credits, this section makes up for it by providing studio footage of Michiko Neya singing the theme song, then continues drawing footage from the show for the end of the song. It is interesting to note the changes to the lyrics from the original Japanese version, which emphasize Honey's "cute little ass" and "beautiful breasts," rather than her smile.

The trailers section features four ads for the series, the first in English and the last three in Japanese. The fourth is an ad for the videos.

Unlike a lot of ADV's discs that have somewhat annoyingly short music excerpts for the menus, this features full-length songs on each of the menus, which is another great feature, and doesn't have you scrambling for the mute button on the fifth pass through.

Finally, there's the standard assortment of ADV previews, this time featuring: Gasaraki, Generator Gawl, Farscape, and the standard ADV mix, the same collection as disc one.

A well rounded collection.

Extras Grade: B-
 

Final Comments

The second in a nice pair of New Cutey Honey discs wraps the OVA series, with another fine assortment of extras. Requisite viewing for connoisseurs of fanservice, with lots of battles, beasties and bevy of buxom beauties. New Cutey Honey transforms her way through a variety of outfits and disguises, from nurses to wrestlers to S&M queens. What do you want her to be today? Honey Flash!

Jeff Ulmer 2002-01-18