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It is the most recent anime adaptation of Cutie Honey, according to many it’s the worst one, but in my opinion it’s still a better adaptation than Cutie Honey Flash (1997).

Before starting Cutie Honey Universe I was skeptical, but I ended up liking it, however in my opinion it’s absolutely not a good as 1973, 1994 and 2004 versions, I would say that it’s… fine.

The ideas and the intentions were good and coherent with the world of Cutie Honey, they used some elements of the manga, many of which were not present in the previous adaptations, and improved them, for example this is the only ... version where the fact that literally all the women in Honey's school are sapphic is not omitted and a character that in the manga was terrible in this adaptation was "restored" and she became even funny, I can’t say the same about Junpei and Danbei, who instead regressed to how they were in the manga: useless perverts (in the '73 anime they were almost like a found family for Honey, in the '94 anime Danbei he became important and it was perfectly functional to the plot).

So what went wrong?
The initial ideas, especially in the second half of the anime, needed to be handled better, there were so many great ingredients, but they didn't know how to use them in the most efficient way. I'll mention the scene where Honey had a panic attack, it could have been a great way to focus more on her suffering and the worries that afflict her, which she cleverly hides behind her smile and her cheerful and outgoing personality, but it wasn't done properly.

Another big flaw is the Genet subplot, I didn't mind the idea in itself, but it's based on a weak and nonsensical assumption: the fact that Honey can't understand that Genet is none other than Sister Jill. It doesn’t make sense because Honey, in the '73 adaptation, was perfectly able to recognize Sister Jill in disguise in the blink of an eye, there's a scene where this happens; here instead it takes almost the entire anime for Honey to recognise Sister Jill and she fails to grasp the truth about Genet even when faced with clear clues.
I also saw Honey a bit… different here, she is not as mischaracterized as the Honey from 1997 adaptation, but in this version she seemed the shadow of herself.

The artstyle did not convince me at all, if there is one thing that in my opinion is fascinating and well done in all versions it’s the artstyle, unfortunately the same cannot be said for this adaptation.

In conclusion: if the basic ideas had been managed better in my opinion it could have been a good anime, however I consider it sufficient and overall I liked it, but it’s certainly not among my favorites Cutie Honey’s anime and I’m saying this as a fan of Cutie Honey.

I highly recommend Sonny Boy if you love abstract experimental anime that has no defined plot and are full of symbolic elements that have many possible interpretations.

If you are looking for a real plot you will not find it, because it is not the point of the anime, Sonny Boy is perfect if you are looking for something to watch "actively" and interpret with your own mind.

I would define it melancholic and slightly disturbing in a surreal and difficult to explain way that personally left me speechless.

The story begins with some students who suddenly find themselves catapulted into another dimension, but it is completely different ... from any isekai you have ever seen.

It talks about themes through symbolism and allegories, such as fear for the future, the way in which society perceives us, the world of work, war, self-destruction and much more.
It is certainly a very abstract, unconventional and cryptic anime, it is not for everyone and it’s not easy to digest, especially if you’re not into experimental anime or this is one of the first anime of this genre that you watch, but it’s great!

Watching Cat Soup is like watching a weird dream that mirrors the fear of death, the unsettling feeling connected to it, the loss of the loved ones and the inability to accept it.
This anime is surreal, incoherent and unsettling, but in a way that keeps you glued to the screen.
It was able to impress me, do you know when at night you have a very strange and illogical dream, but when you wake up and you think about it you end up realising that it’s the result of worries, fears and moods that you experienced in your life? Well, watching Cat Soup is like watching ... one of these dreams.

is Fullmetal Alchemist really a masterpiece?

Before I start I would like to make two premises:
- I don't think fmab is a masterpiece, although it's a very good anime, well written overall and I recommend it anyway, unfortunately I didn't find that spark of originality and genius that makes me think “wow, this is a masterpiece!”

- obviously what I’m saying is also be based on my subjective tastes, unfortunately for the most part this anime bored me, maybe because I've been consuming fictional stuff for a lot of time or maybe because I'm a little out of target, there were elements that piqued my interest, but ... nothing of what I saw really surprised me, I would have certainly appreciated it more if I had seen it a couple of years ago, when I had consumed fewer anime.

Characters:
A huge pro is definitely the fact that there is a woman's pen behind fmab and it shows in a positive way, the female characters are quite good, maybe they aren’t particularly original, but they have a nice personality, their own individuality, they do not depend on any man and are not sexualized. Unfortunately, however, most of the characters did not arouse my interest, the Elric brothers left me indifferent for most of the time, I did not find them interesting or innovative, the same goes for most of the cast, I liked Mustang during the last episodes, I loved Izumi and then there are Greed and Envy, who are the only thing in the whole anime that really captured my attention, they are well-made characters, not banal and have that extra complexity that I look for, their scenes (and the last 10 episodes) are among the few elements that did not bore me and genuinely piqued my interest.

Plot:
there are no plot holes or terrible flaws in the narration, but there are some points where I found fmab slow and for no reason, the narration times needed to be managed differently and comparing myself with some people, including some who loved fmab madly, they admitted that they also found problems with the narration times.
The plot is quite linear, nothing crazy and if it wasn't for the slowness I would have found it enjoyable, however the last 10 episodes were much more interesting and enjoyable.
One thing that I didn't like at all is the comedy, placed here and there randomly in an absolutely inefficient way, there are anime and manga in which comedy is used between serious scenes in a way that benefits the narration (like golden kamuy), but fmab doesn't do this well, I found really annoying the comedy moments in which Edward randomly screams because he's annoyed by something.
Speaking of the ending I have to say that I liked it, I would have preferred a more misanthropic and macabre twist, but this is something that depends exclusively on my subjective taste (I have a fairly pessimistic view of humanity), the ending is adequate for the work.
However, I must admit that I preferred Edward and Winry as friends, I liked their friendship because it was spontaneous and sincere and in general their relationship did not give me the idea of ​​a romantic couple, but of a solid and healthy friendship between a boy and a girl.
I would add that in my opinion the alchemy aspect should have been explored more, the magic system is really interesting, but all the potential that came from it in my opinion was a little wasted.

Do I think it's a masterpiece? no, but overall it does what it has to, I would define it as average/quite good, I definitely recommend it, but if you have been consuming fictional products and fantasy stories for a lifetime you might find it uninteresting, however I recognize that in the animanga universe it had its importance (but not as much as stuff like evangelion and madoka magica that deconstructed two genres or urusei yatsura that invented a way of doing comedy).
The message it conveys is positive, but I am definitely out of target to be fascinated by it.
I conclude this review by saying that what I saw was not what I expected from something that is described as an undisputed masterpiece, I can’t deny that I was disappointed.

P.S.
One of the things I like most about fmab is the fact that the protagonist has two prostheses, I think it is a well-made representation, especially because it’s shown the maintenance side of the prostheses and what is behind it.