Anime Review: Michiko and Hatchin

So, funny story about this; originally I was going to be talking about this show on the Anibros podcast, but due to other engagements, I was pulled away from the proceedings to go out of town. As such, I was left without an outlet with which to talk about this show in length and detail with others. Finding nowhere else to turn to, I remember I had a sort of anime review blog (speaking of, I'll review things NOT anime eventually, that's just what I'm focusing on at the moment), and decided I might as well spill all of my vast thoughts and feelings on this particular show in text form for all to see.

But then, something hit me. I really didn't have all that much to say to begin with.



Michiko and Hatchin (Michiko e Hatchin)

Source: Original
Vintage: 2008-2009
Animation: Manglobe
Director: Sayo Yamamoto
Writer: Takashi Ujita
Genre: Action, adventure, crime, gangster, comedy
Length: 22 half hour episodes

Our two leads; Michiko (right) and Hana (left)

11 years ago, a woman named Michiko Malandro was taken into police custody shortly after her lover, Hiroshi Morenos, was supposedly killed in a bus explosion. However, while in prison, she learns of the existence of a young girl named Hana, who currently lives in an abusive household consisting of a corrupt pastor, his money grubbing wife and their two Satan spawn children. She recognizes the tattoo on her belly in a photo, and comes to the conclusion that she is in fact Hiroshi's daughter and suspects that he's alive somewhere. After making her grand escape from jail and taking Hana (whom Michiko calls "Hatchin" for no real reason) away from her nightmarish home, the two set off to find Hana's lost father. However, they are pursued by Michiko's former orphanage friend now cop Atsuko Jackson, as well as a dangerous crime syndicate called Monstro, led by the fearsome Satoshi Batista, who seems to have a personal connection with Hiroshi and is searching for him, too.

The majority of the show is essentially about Michiko and Hana's strained relationship. Hana has never known her parents and is only familiar with the kind of harsh life that the pastor's family gave her, and the fact that this strange woman claims to be her mother, despite the clear age difference and that she didn't actually give birth to her, and just appears out of nowhere, doesn't help matters. Though she clearly wishes for a better life, she knows that being dragged across the country by a brash and abrasive thirty-something isn't exactly a great alternative. As a result, she tries her hardest to be independent of Michiko, though her age and general lack of knowledge of more adult matters hinders her, despite her maturity. On the flip side, Michiko is clearly inexperienced; despite her past run ins with mob bosses and criminal organizations in the past, she hasn't the first clue about raising a child, and having just met Hana, she doesn't really ever think about what she might want, instead charging straight for Hiroshi blindly. As you can imagine, this leads to a ton of infighting between the two, only for them to kiss and make up (sort of) at the end of most every episode. This gets old really fast.

Be prepared for Hana to pout a lot.

As far as the plot goes, there isn't much going on. They try to make this complex gangster plot regarding a traitorous criminal within Monstro working towards his own ends, and they tried to tie it all in to how Hiroshi is actually alive, but it's surprisingly boring and jumbled. Flashbacks try to add depth to this subplot, but it ultimately goes nowhere and has no real reason to be there, only to extend what could have been a 13 episode series much longer. The individual episode plots are entertaining enough, but in terms of an overarching narrative, it's all just a confused and overly ambitious mess. 

The fictional country they invented for this show to take place in is rather unique amongst anime, in that it seems to comprise of a pastiche of South American countries and cities, namely Brazil, but with a splash of Chinese (all the Chinese restaurants they run into) and Japanese (all the Japanese names--then again, Brazil does have a rather large Japanese population) culture, and a dash of made up fantasy stuff (the fake currencies, nonexistent city names). It's a shame that this world doesn't have a whole lot going on in it.

The animation for this show is pretty good; while not having the fluidity of something KyoAni, there are a number of great shots and the art is really pretty, and the music is a very catchy mix of jazz and samba, giving the show much more energy and vitality than it really warrants. Voice acting, in the English dub at least, is decent. Jad Saxton easily has the best performance as Hana, showing off her own frustrations with Michiko and the world around her. Everyone else was decent, but not anything to write home about.

It's a bit depressing that I have so little to say about this show. It had so much going for it, and yet not much ended up actually happened. It tries to sort of have a Cowboy Bebop vibe, but the stories themselves are leagues apart. Overall, it's not great, just an average outing. If you are looking for something a bit off the beaten path, then give it a shot, but uniqueness does not guarantee quality.

Dance your troubles away.

Michiko and Hatchin is available on DVD and Blu-ray by Funimation Entertainment. You can find them online or in good video stores.