A Real Honey of a Dub
A review of New Cutey Honey
by Edgard Aedo
Episodes 1-8
English-dubbed version
Although VHS is quickly becoming a thing of the past and DVD is dissolving the sub vs. dub debate amongst anime fans, I still think the English-dubbed version of New Cutey Honey is worthy of recognition as one of the best dubs ever produced (especially since there are those who just ignore the dubbed version on the DVD).
I first watched New Cutey Honey when I rented
the subtitled version from a local video rental. Although I had never watched
the original Cutey Honey TV series, I enjoyed this OAV series
nonetheless. It brought back memories of those colorful superhero stories I grew
up with – complemented with elements I could now appreciate as an adult.
Normally, I rent my anime before I buy it, but when I heard that A.D.V. was
dubbing New Cutey Honey into English, I didn't bother with renting
it first. I knew that A.D.V. would deliver a dub of the highest caliber – and
what do you know, it did.
The story behind Cutey Honey is common knowledge among anime fans, so I see no need to repeat any of it here (especially when you can consult the rest of this website).
This was the first performance of Jessica Calvello that I
ever watched, and it was also the one that earned her my admiration. Jessica is
pure gold as Cutey Honey (after all, she was cast by Go Nagai himself). She
projects the subtle variations in Honey’s voice (as she assumes different
forms) especially well. I expected the role of Chokkei to go to Spike Spencer
(and it almost did), but David Nance performed rather well as Honey’s
sidekick. Tristan MacAvery truly shines as Danbei Hayami. Of all Tristan’s
performances, Danbei will always be my personal favorite. He steals almost every
one of his scenes (especially in the first episode).
I must commend Jason Douglas on his outstanding performance
as Mayor Light (next to Honey, my favorite character in the series). Douglas
truly captured the essence of vision and leadership in his performance as the
incorruptible mayor of Cosplay City. Likewise, I must also tip my hat to Bryan
Bounds for his performance as Dolmeck. Bounds’s calm, calculating voice made
the Lord of Darkness seem all the more sinister. Regular viewers of A.D.V. dubs
will undoubtedly recognize several favorites – including Tiffany Grant, Marcy
Rae, Rob Mungle, Doug Smith and Brett Weaver. In episode three, the songs
performed by the characters were left in their original Japanese version. I have
to admit that Marcy Rae sounds eerily similar to her Japanese counterpart in
this episode.
One will definitely notice that the overall voice acting
quality actually improves as the series progresses. However, it seems to peak in
episodes 5 and 6 then does downhill in episode 7 before regaining some ground in
episode 8. The English script was excellent – and, dare I say, an improvement
upon the original. I have only one major gripe with the dub – one of
Scorpion’s lines in episode 7: “So get a goddamn (3 second pause) REFEREE!”
This line just does NOT work. I do realize that the lip flap constraint was a
prime factor in this, but I think A.D.V. could have done better here. As one
might expect, the opening featuring the English language version of the Cutey
Honey theme song (performed by Mayukiss) replaced that with the Japanese version
in the first four episodes. Befitting, although I personally prefer the
version performed by Les 5-4-3-2-1.
Some might complain that Cutey Honey, as with many
superhero stories, is too predictable – in that Honey always triumphs in the
end. Didn’t we always expect Superman to thwart Lex Luthor? Or Batman to
capture the Joker? The fun is watching HOW Honey attains her victory – and New
Cutey Honey has its share of plot twists. While there are a few
references to the original Cutey Honey TV series, New Cutey
Honey is just as enjoyable to those who haven’t watched the original
TV series.
With the exception of some actual character development
(and some discussions about relationships and human nature), there’s not a
whole lot of thought-provoking material here. If you want to stimulate your gray
matter, stick with Neon Genesis Evangelion. If you want good
old-fashioned Saturday morning superhero fun with a more mature flavor, you’ll
find more than enough of it in New Cutey Honey.