Cutey Honey Flash (1997-1998)

[キューティーハニー フラッシュ]

Director: Noriyo Sasaki
Studio: Toei Animation
Starring: Ai Nagano, Susumu Chiba, Makiko Ohmoto
Episodes: 39

Synopsis:
A schoolgirl becomes a transforming superheroine to fight the criminal organization Panther Claw and find her missing father.

Impressions:
When Sailor Stars ended, they needed a show to fill Sailor Moon's slot, so why not take the original transforming heroine and rejigger everything to appeal to Sailor Moon fans, even going so far as to use the same character designer and most of the same animation staff? Well, that's what they did and if you like the 90s incarnation of Sailor Moon, you should like this too. Now, some people might wonder what's left to Cutey Honey if you take out (or at least limit) the ecchi factor. Well, you've got an appealing heroine with a neat gimmick, so that's something you can work with. In fact, there are a lot of transformations, many of them with very limited practical application and mostly there for joke value.

The story is divided into three arcs and of the three, I preferred the second one as I found Misty Honey to be a more interesting antagonist than traditional nemesis Sister Jill. I also found Panther Zora to be a rather shallow villain, but I did appreciate that there was an in-canon justification for it. With the ecchi factor scaled back so much, Danbei's actually fairly tolerable (and it's Alphonne who's insufferable but thankfully not present until the third arc). While the story is mostly dumb silliness (but generally amusing dumb silliness), there are some moments of decent drama. It's nothing to take too seriously, but if you like the sort of tone and quality of the 90s Sailor Moon, it should be a good fit for you.

While there are many people who don't like this show for what it is, I found it to be well enough worth watching. If you're wanting a different sort of take on Cutey Honey or just want something in the vein of Sailor Moon, you should find it well enough worth watching too.

Rating:
Watch It