I'll start this by stating that I haven't read the original manga, nor really engaged with Go Nagai's work in general (outside of watching Devilman Crybaby with friends one night), and that I'm not particularly interested in delving in it myself. I mention this because I didn't know, going in, of the manga's ickier elements, something that is kinda inevitably brought up when discussing its adaptations. I'll keep it to a minimum here, but while I do find the outsider's position indeed very justified, I do believe that its adaptations, including this one, try to sand off what they can. I say this because I do have a history of quitting shows on the first episode if they indeed contain the dubious content that everyone is justifiably repulsed by or if they commit the heinous crime of being merely "fine", and I gotta say, I'm the most surprised to have enjoyed this show as much as I did! Don't get me wrong, it's hardly perfect, the Hayami family that follows Honey around are uncomfortable creeps, regardless if she consistently gets the upper hand. But there is a genuine sense that this show enjoys its storytelling, corny as it is. Something in particular that captured me - something I've gleaned from Go Nagai's other work - is a desire to break from its status quo in a way that so many shows would wait eternally before trying: halfway through, Jill figures Honey out, and immediately acts on it! That might be small for you, but I've seen longer shows make that split just a few episodes before their finale, so that immediate change of pace really healed me, personally.

If your idea of this show as some sort of fanservice-fest with paper-thin storytelling, I'd say that you aren't entirely wrong, but its opening can be deceiving in how explicit most episodes actually are. I would even argue, with its kind of limited animation and economic style, Honey's naked silhouette as she transforms and the panty shots end up feeling more cute than anything actively enticing, and I feel that's intentional as well - it's as playful as a Barbie doll changing clothes, not that Honey doesn't make Panther Claw's colorful cast of monster girls bleed (and explode) as she does so. And what a cast it is, too! If you're not really interested in this, or haven't checked it out in a long time, just do me a favor and look at their designs online if they're available, I assure you there's something in there you'll like.

What can I say, it's certainly aged in more ways than one, it's certainly indulgent in the wrong ways sometimes, but it's not fucking Eiken, guys (I haven't seen Eiken).

Total Screenshots: 104, mainly Panther Claw, some of Honey's absurd transformations, and that one episode where she's tied to a cross