As part of theotaku discussion I'll be reviewing three anime, a spinoff, a reboot and a sequel, this is the reboot Cutey Honey Universe.
Brace yourselves, this is the worse one. Like previous series, Cutie Honey is about a super human android girl with powers that allow her to hide her identity to get an advantage over the bad guys Panther Claw and use super strength and sword skills as the titular Cutie Honey. The Universe season made as part of the 50th Anniversary of Go Nagai's works along with Mazinger and Devilman, but this is not only the worst of the three but one of the worst anime period.
The first strike was when the iconic opening theme was removed, the second strike was the lack of colour and enthusiasm the story had but the final strike was the deeply uncomfortable sexual tensions between much of the cast.
Cutie Honey's design doesn't lend itself to being serious, the other two, Mazinger and Devilman can to some extent being more edgy than anything else but Cutie Honey can't and it's painfully obvious watching this. Not helping is Go Nagai's not quite hentai but should be mind set that just makes the whole thing even worse.
I've not heard the dub but considering who dubs it, I'd rather not hear it.
Final Verdict: A reboot that misses the point entirely of how Cutie Honey works. Deeply uncomfortable, bland and insulting.
I'm sorry these are not better examples of spinoffs, sequels and reboots but the underlying theme of all three reviews and in general is the notion of still being relevant. Tenchi in Tokyo was past it's sell by date, Boruto is a stale retread of Naruto, Cutie Honey Universe is a reboot that tries a formula it's design can't handle. Even looking at better examples, Card Captors Clear Card is the third retread of the same story, Dragonball Super is running out of Saiyan forms, Sailor Moon Crystal played it too safe and Pokemon's current season is the least inclusive of the whole franchise. What it means for Shaman King is this, they either go up the age rating or don't bother, Shaman King deserves a good anime.
Cutey Honey Universe Review
End