It all comes down to the power of love, that is what Cutie Honey is all about, and I must say I loved this film. It is totally off the wall, and really feels like a live action anime. And Anno is the perfect person to have pulled that off, since he loves to turn genre’s on their heads, and this does share aspects of Ultraman, but kind of crossed with his anime KARE KANO, or at least the wackiness of that, making a fun and funny action comedy. Sure the film can’t be very high budget, but the use of still photos and animation backgrounds to show honey flipping and flying through the air really makes this so much fun. And the performance of Sato Eriko is wonderful as the childlike Cutie Honey, filled with the power of love.

REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS…

Sato Eriko plays Cutie Honey, a woman who died in an automobile accident a year ago, but was saved by her father who had created nano machines, that work with her collar that allows her to recreate matter, and bring dead things back to life, including her broken body, but her memory is gone, so she is pretty much a year old. WIth a job she is always late too, and never does the work, and no one knows why she hasn’t been fired. Her uncle, a famous scientist is kidnapped by Gold Claw, one of 4 warriors that works for Sister Jill, and everlasting creature turning into a tree, with no emotions, that is kidnapping women to keep himself alive and wants Cutie Honey’s nanites to live forever. She meets up with an ultra police woman played by Ichikawa Mikako, who doesn’t want help, but eventually becomes friends with Cutie and helps her defeat Sister Jill, but not until Cutie has fought and defeated the 3 other henchmen, and rescued the women with the help of a reporter who turns out to be a US NSA agent.

Sato Eriko is the heart of this film, and not because she is an amazing actress, but she plays honey as a little child in an adults body, which fits perfectly with the character and the film, and really brings an energy to the film that carries it all the way through. This film has great visuals and is just a joy to watch. I highly recommend it.