The theme of this year's honey is love! Interview with Natsuko Takahashi, series director of "Cutie Honey Universe"!

Natsuko Takahashi, who has always been a big fan of Ms. Nagai's work, will be the series director for the spring anime "Cutie Honey Universe.

Cutie Honey Universe" is based on the theme of going back to the roots, and because Ms. Takahashi knows Nagai's works so well, the core of the work is very carefully drawn. She also strongly states that the theme of "Honey Universe" this time is love, and we asked her again about the appeal and highlights of this work.
⇒ The fusion of retro and newness! And the sexy performance of Maaya Honey that you can't usually hear! Interview with Yui Horie who plays Akinatsuko in "Cutie Honey Universe

I was hoping to be involved in Honey before I die...

--What kind of work is "Cutie Honey" for you?

Takahashi: I have been reading and watching Ms. Nagai's works for a long time, and among them, Honey is a very special girl character for me. She is cool, cute, and tearful. I thought what a wonderful super character. I hoped to portray that vivid impression of the original Honey in this "Cutie Honey Universe".

--Did you read her works since you were a child?

Takahashi: I read all of your works. I have always been a fan, and I especially like "Cutie Honey" and "UFO Robot Grendizer" (laughs). I have all the manga from those days, and one of Mr. Nagai's relatives was surprised to see my collection.

--How did you come to participate in this project as a series director?

Takahashi: I had always had a relationship with the animation production company Production Lead, and we were close friends. I was also involved in the "Jeeg the Steel God" animation (broadcast in 2007; also known as "Jeeg the Steel God" in 1974). When I was participating as a writer for each episode of the anime "Jeeg the Steel God" (broadcast in 2007, a sequel to "Jeeg the Steel God" (1975)), Dynamic Productions came to our meetings, and during the breaks, we talked about "Cutie Honey", "Harenchi Gakuen", and "UFO Robot Grendizer". We had a good time. It was through this relationship that I was given the opportunity to work on a work for the 50th anniversary of Mr. Nagai's career, and I was given the opportunity to be the series director.

--I was asked to do the series composition.

Takahashi: I was prepared. I was also nervous because the series has been remade many times and there are great past works, and I think remaking is a really difficult job, so I was nervous and under a lot of pressure. But I was hoping that I could be involved with Honey before I die....

--So you had a strong desire to be involved. As you say, there have been many different honeys in the past, but the range is very wide. But this time, the theme is "cool and cute honey.

Takahashi: We had a meeting with the director, producers, and Dynamic Productions, and we all agreed that we wanted to go back to our roots. My son is a high school student, and he is extremely knowledgeable about anime and manga. Even so, he said he had never read Honey. I thought that middle and high school students might not know much about Honey, so I strongly wanted them to see, know, and enjoy Mr. Nagai's original version of Honey.

That ...... airborne elemental fixation device is the ultimate, isn't it, anything is possible (laughs). I decided to use it as it is because I wanted the younger generation to be able to see the strong and ultimate impact and entertainment value of Mr. Nagai's original work.... In terms of the visuals, the director has created a wonderful setting, so it's very sci-fi, and the violence is well depicted, but the heart that Honey has is still just as it was in the straightforward name, "Aerial Element Fixation Device" (laughs).

--(laugh) - Did you feel strongly that even if you went back to the basics, it would still be applicable to the current era?

Takahashi: Yes, I did. The character of Honey is absolutely fascinating, and I think it is safe to say that she is universal, so I thought that even in this day and age, people would love her. And director Akitoshi Yokoyama is a very passionate lover of the cuteness, sexiness and coolness of Honey and the coolness of the violent battles on the Panther Claw side, such as Sister Jill. I also loved the yuri atmosphere of the girls' school/dormitory in the original story, so I included all of that in the film. That is why I think the work is a fusion of yuri and violence.

--Yui Horie also mentioned that the story depicts the longing and adoration of girls.

Takahashi: The original is rather like that. I think many people have a sexy impression of Cutie Honey, and while the fighting and transforming honeys are very strong, they actually have daily lives, too, which is a little bit yuri-like, and I loved those scenes. Also, in the original story, there is a wonderful line about roses, and in this series, that line and roses are important items.

--There are many elements that are not in the original work, aren't there?

Takahashi: In order to delve deeper into the relationship between Sister Jill and Honey, we created a new setting in which Jill is by Honey's side as Agent Jeune of PCIS, the anti-panther claw organization. In previous remakes, there were various settings for Seiji Hayami, but this time we have Jill, Natsuko, and other girls playing important roles. I am portraying the human side of Jill as Agent Jeunet, and I would be grateful if you could enjoy that original element.

--I hope you will enjoy the original elements of the film.

Takahashi: Yes, there is. I wanted to make sure that the incidents that occur are not too far away for young people. It's not just a case of fighting monsters because they attacked you, but it's also a modern story in the sense that such threats are hidden in the everyday lives of young people. That's why there is the Instagram-worthy night pool that was popular last year (laughs). (Laughs.) That part is a bit modern. On the other hand, the drama revolves around Sister Jill's obsession with Honey.

--I had already revealed the fact that Jill is at Honey's side this time as Agent Jeunet, but I wanted to depict the drama of why she is doing so. I hope you will enjoy the trick of gradually finding that out.

Takahashi: In this story, Aki-Natsuko is very important. Natsuko and Honey are best friends, and the trust between them is a feeling that Sister Jill does not have. This is the climax of the story, and I spun the relationship between Honey, Jill, Genet, and Natsuko so that it would lead to that climax.

--What did you change from the original work in terms of characterization?　Honey changes seven times this time.

Takahashi: Kisaragi Honey became Cutie Honey, Hurricane Honey, Misty Honey, and each honey has a different voice actor. Changing the voice actors was a suggestion from the production team, but we had never done that before and thought it was a great idea, so we incorporated it into the story.

--By the way, what did you think of Honey's voice?

Takahashi: It was wonderful!　And Horie-san, who used to be Honey (*she played Honey in "Re: Cutie Honey"), is now completely Natsuko, which I thought was wonderful. As for Kisaragi Honey, I was much more impressed by the recording than when I heard it on tape. I thought that this is Kisaragi Honey and Cutie Honey.

The director assured me, "I won't spare any sexiness or violence!" the director assured me.

--But what was the difficulty in remaking the film?

Takahashi: The original story of "Cutie Honey" sometimes lacks a few episodes if it is to be done as a one-cour animation series. So, we had to incorporate impressive scenes from the original work and blend them with the original parts without any sense of discomfort. That is the difficulty of remakes... Some remakes have a clearly defined concept, saying, "Let's only feature this part," but for this remake, it was challenging, but at the same time really difficult, to go back to the origin story and create incidents and images that people today can relate to without losing that theme. At the same time, it was really difficult and pressured.

I thought the character designs this time were really pop and cool and cute, and I thought it was wonderful that they were designed in a modern style. Jill and Jeune are cool and Nacchan (Akinatsuko) is cute. Naoko, Danbei Hayami, and Junpei, who should not be changed, are very much as they were in the past. It was a wonderful balance.

--You mentioned earlier that Akinatsuko was important, but what about Seiji Hayami?

Takahashi: Aoji Hayami is a very important person who understands Honey, and finally (in this interview) we are talking about Aoji (laughs). But really, Aoji was with Honey when her father passed away, and he understands her very well. Because he understands her, he doesn't force anything on her, he believes in her purity, and deep down, he protects her and wishes for her happiness. I wanted to show that kind of belief. I also really like the scenes where he speaks for Honey and the other characters. I think he is a character who keeps his passion inside and is mischievous, but also has a bird's eye view of things. Because he understands Honey, he is able to speak on her behalf, saying what she is thinking. So, I made sure that his voice was right on target in the scenario as well.

--Akiba Research Institute has also published an interview with Yui Horie, and I would like to ask her about some of the keywords that came up in that interview. First of all, you mentioned that you feel a "Showa-esque" sensation.

Takahashi: Showa-ness (laughs)!　Yes, ......, I think Danbei and Junpei are very Showa-esque. However, there are parts that are too Showa, and in a sense, I drew them in a modern style. Of course, some of the characters would have changed if we had done that, so we focused on the characterization and kept the dialogue as it was in the original work, which I guess gave off the smell of Showa. Sister Jill and the other monsters are very close to your work. ...... For example, what do you mean?

--I was talking about the Showa-era way of counting "Hii, fuu, mii".

Takahashi: Oh, yes, that's right. That may be because we created the scenario without losing the characterization of the original work (laughs). There are scenes where Danbei and Junpei suddenly appear in extremely tense scenes, the skeleton group from the original story appears, and there is a teacher named "Historah" (Michal Tsuneni) who is a bit crazy and punishes the students with a whip. I think that kind of thing is also unique to Ms. Nagai's "Cutie Honey.

--I also heard that the sexiness and violence are outstanding.

Takahashi: The image I had was cute and sexy. The director assured me, "I will not spare the sexiness and violence! I think that's why he put all his energy into it. The director is a big fan of Mr. Nagai. Of course, the script also spared no effort in making it sexy, and the storyboard made it even sexier. The yuri-ness of the original work is also a theme of going back to the basics, and the yuri-ness of Ms. Nagai's "Cutie Honey" is important in the film. Nacchan loves Honey and thinks Genet is a wonderful person. Honey also thinks Genet is a wonderful senior. From Juné's point of view, it turns into a love-hate relationship, but I think there is a lot of strong friendship and love between the girls in the story.

--I would like to read the original story as well.

Takahashi: I would like young people to read the original manga. I think it will have a great impact on them. Honey is a one-of-a-kind character, so I think they will enjoy it.

--Lastly, do you have a message for the fans who are looking forward to the anime?

Takahashi: I hope that people will love the various versions of Honey, and that they will be able to follow the relationship between Jill, Honey, and Natsuko, which I carefully spun this time. Also, the tarantula panther is very unique and moves in unexpected ways, so even though we are going back to our roots, I hope you will enjoy these original elements.

(Interview, text, and photos by Junichi Tsukagoshi)