Cleopatra: Queen of Sex (1970)

Cleopatra: Queen of Sex is the kind of audacious, anything-goes adult animation that feels less like a history lesson and more like a psychedelic postcard from a parallel cinema universe—one where Osamu Tezuka’s imagination collides with ancient myth, sci-fi absurdity, and sly satire. What makes it worth your time is the sheer visual bravado: lush, candy-colored backgrounds, striking graphic compositions, and surreal imagery that keeps reinventing itself even when the story wanders. The vibe is playful, provocative, and occasionally dreamlike, using Cleopatra’s legend as a stage for time-travel weirdness and pop-art sensuality rather than solemn epic drama. It’s definitely not for everyone—its explicit sexual content is front and center—but if you’re curious about boundary-pushing animation history and can meet it on its own mischievous wavelength, it’s a fascinating, often gorgeous trip.

Cleopatra: Queen of Sex is trying to mash up Tezuka-era experimentation—time-travel sci-fi, historical parody, and adult animation—into a cheeky, anything-goes romp. The problem is it leans hard on nudity and bawdy gags that can feel juvenile rather than clever, and the tone swings between goofy slapstick and “sexy spectacle” in a way that hasn’t aged gracefully. If you’re looking for a sharp satire, a respectful Cleopatra story, or even a coherent sci-fi thriller, this will likely feel messy and more interested in ogling than storytelling. That said, if you can tolerate (or are specifically curious about) retro, boundary-pushing adult animation and don’t mind crude humor, there are flashes of visual inventiveness and oddball ambition worth seeing.