Michiko to Hatchin

_M&H_ is an adventure anime featuring a young orphaned girl Hatchin who is kidnapped from her foster parents by an escaped felon to look for her father, Hiroshi McGuffin. They travel from town to town in a quasi Mexico-Brazil, searching for him while evading the police; invariably, they discover the princess is in another castle and must leave town under hot pursuit. Every episode, someone beats Hatchin, scams her, tries to sell her, kill her, abduct her, or lie to her, while no plot happens. This goes on for 22 episodes.

To be blunt, _M&H_ is an astonishingly mediocre anime. The plot is astoundingly boring as ... Michiko and Hatchin kill time in random cities until something bad happens and they have to leave. The initial plot, finding Hiroshi, seems like it will be resolved within a few episodes and the series will get serious and deal with the incipient gang warfare, except, that turns out to be the *entire* series, dragging out endlessly as they miss Hiroshi skipping out on them like 4 times. Characters are brought in only to never play any particularly meaningful role (what was all that stuff with Satoshi Batista? it never went anywhere until he's casually killed off at the end). More time is spent ogling Michiko's breasts and stomach than trying any world-building so most of the time we're stuck watching the same Martian desert hellscape we've been watching for 15 episodes before. There is no dramatic suspense as we know that no matter how much Michiko screws up and no matter how many cops are after her, she will never be hit by their bullets and will somehow jump over all their cars in her motorcycle in sequences that have approximately 1.2% as much excitement or interest as a _Lupin the Third_ escape sequence. Did I mention that Hatchin is just treated absurdly badly by everyone in the whole series (including Michiko, and excluding the Chinese singer, who as far as I can tell is literally the only person in the series who actually treats Hatchin well - because even her 'friend' Rita somehow neglects to mention that the circus will sell her off).

The series is produced by Shinichirō Watanabe and created by Manglobe (Ergo Proxy, Samurai Champloo), but while I kind of guessed as much since I was getting a _Cowboy Bebop_ vibe, _M&H_ highlights by contrast just how great _Cowboy Bebop_ is: CB was regularly punctuated by unforgettable music and scenes, from "Green Bird" to the finale; _M&H_ has totally forgettable themes except for the mildly interesting animation of the OP; CB had a hallucination episode which, aside from being amusing, deepened the characterization of the main characters and added foreshadowing, while _M&H_'s hallucination episode was just some wacky images; CB had semi-realistic combat scenes and jeet kune do inspired martial arts, while M&H just leaves us eyes rolling at a woman in high heels yet again beating up some burly men; CB had a spaceship which bled and suffered with the main cast, while M&H has a motorcycle which keeps breaking yet mysteriously keeps showing up; CB had a thought-out yakuza backstory driving the central conflict, while M&H has some random stuff in the early episodes which turns out to not even matter once Satoshi gets killed off; CB had distinct locations and worlds, from Mars to Earth to Ganymede, while M&H has just two locations, a seaside town and dusty baked-dry slums. M&H just comes off as bizarrely half-baked, as if some notes were taken on a possible anime but then the anime studio had to turn them into an anime overnight without any time to research locations or come up with interesting places to go or things to do. Whether it's bizarre Japanisms like ear-cleaning (I am pretty sure girlfriends in Mexico do not clean their boyfriends' ears with giant fluffy q-tips) or the lack of any understanding of racial politics or identities in Latin America/Brazil (no matter the color, everyone interacts the same) or rendering pointless character arcs (the cop Atsuko, Michiko's masochist lesbian friend, who is hunting Michiko but keeps assisting her and letting her escape, finally definitively breaks with her at the end, declaring Michiko dead to her, in one of the few moving scenes: 'the next time we meet, it'll be as strangers'. So *of course* in the final episode, Atsuko will go and free her again!) (Satoshi, the gang boss, seems to have some sort of goal or grudge, although he remains mostly a cipher despite enormous amounts of screentime, but of course he is killed before meeting Hiroshi) or bring out sudden swerves in plots (in a brief timeskip at the end, we find Hatchin living and working on her own... as a single mother. Despite Hatchin having been the only sensible character who worked hard or planned ahead in the series! Can we believe this? No, we cannot. Nor can we believe that Michiko somehow escapes from jail without anyone noticing and spends weeks refinding Hatchin, who is then going to go on wild road-trips with Michiko and her baby.) or are just pointless (Hiroshi, far from being some sort of Jay Gatsby figure, turns out to just be a loser who keeps scamming people and disappears as soon as they find him) (if Michiko isn't Hatchin's mother, who is? No answer is ever given and hardly anyone even asks) (what was up with those tomatoes anyway?).

The only two episodes which were any good was the bull-fighting episode, and the aforementioned Chinatown episode where the 'actress' rescues Michiko for Hatchin. (I was surprised to learn there were Chinatowns in Latin America: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatowns_in_Latin_America I hadn't known there was significant Chinese emigration to any of those countries.)

So: the plot is boring and nonsensical; most of the characters uninteresting or undermined; the art would be OK if it ever changed; the music totally forgettable. It is a waste of an anime and worse than season 2 of _Kaiji_ or _Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro_.

This show started off iffy, but the characters definitely grew on me over time.

"Is it interesting?" Well, the story is somewhere inbetween a linear continuous story and a purely episodic one. The story is told similar to the the pace of the characters; fast and furious one moment, and slow and thoughtful the next. In the end, it was alright.
1.5 out of 3.

"Was it memorable?" The artwork and animation were really good at parts, but wouldn't stay consistant. The character motivations were a little too mysterious for my taste. The ending wasn't too original and somewhat disappointing.
1.5 out of 3.

"Was it entertaining?" The fighting, chases, ... and various action was great all through. Voice acting was top notch. The text could have used some translation though.
2 out of 3.

Starting with 1 (because), 1+1.5+1.5+2=6

There were few episodes that could be cut out, but the series still felt too long. I wouldn't mind more, but would not get excited if there were.

Summary of review: A beautifully animated road trip that failed its characters and relationships. Nowhere near as good as Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, or Samurai Champloo
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During our COVID lockdown, my father and I have been trying to go on a "classic" anime binge. We found Paste Magazine's top 30 anime series of all time list and Michiko and Hatchin was number 10. Having liked Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, Michiko and Hatchin seemed like an excellent find. However, Michiko and Hatchin lacks the charm, nuance, and depth that makes those shows outstanding.

Story (45/100):
Michiko and Hatchin is mostly episodic so the plot varies from episode to episode. ... The overall story is nothing terribly special: a convict escapes from prison to find her lover (who is presumed to be dead) and "takes" his child on her adventure. While not terribly unique, It is fun and has great potential to develop a relationship between Michiko and Hatchin (which it fails to do, but we'll get to that soon). There is also a subplot of gang power struggle (which is probably the most interesting part of the show), but it is not executed in a unique or interesting way. Since it is mostly episodic, the quality of each episode varies by episode, where some episodes (like episode 1) are terribly boring and poorly written and some are actually good (like episode 21). The suspension of disbelief is necessary for many episodes as well. Bullets never seem to hit anyone, Michiko never seems to kill anyone (which I guess is nice but she does some pretty violent things), someone enters a bullfight with just a ladle and doesn't die. I like suspending disbelief, but it got to the point where I was (figuratively) rolling my eyes.

The show also suffers from parts of the story taking place off-screen. Some shows do this well, this show doesn't. For example, Hatchin gets attached to a traveling circus mostly off-screen and Michiko somehow finds where she is offscreen. We know she is there but it feels jarring and like it deserves one more episode than it got. If this was the only example it wouldn't be as jarring but at some points, it felt that every 2-3 episodes had something I was missing.

Character (20/100):
The characters were the worst aspect of this show, which is unfortunate since good characters and relationships are the most important part of a funky road trip story. Here are my problems with each of the characters and the relationships:

1) Michiko: She is a hot-headed, violent "badass" who has trouble expressing her feelings. And that's it. There is nothing else to her character. We don't get a lot of knowledge about why she does what she does. Why does she love Hiroshi so much that she would break out of prison and kidnap his daughter to find him? She is also quite annoying as she is somehow not afraid of guns or violently confronting gangs or the police and then (realistically) loses those fights. Other annoying traits: she steals other people's property for no good reason, she gets jealous easily (like episode 4).

2) Hatchin: Hatchin spends the first 17 episodes being very annoying. She is either just kinda "there" or she is complaining about Michiko and throwing a tantrum. Sometimes those tantrums aren't wrong, like when she gets upset about Michiko not paying for food. And when we have the select few episodes where she is the primary focus, she rarely acts in a way that is either interesting or likable. Normally she just is kinda "there" with a side character her age.

3) Michiko and Hatchin's relationship: It is undeveloped. It doesn't change until episode 17. Or rather, it changes and then reverts back to normal. Michiko is essentially inattentive to Hatchin, Hatchin throws a tantrum and runs away, Harchin comes back, rinse and repeat. And even after episode 17 when the relationship is kinda "changed" it doesn't feel organic. We aren't given many real reasons on-screen why the two love each other and stay with each other. Overall, their relationship was a real disappointment. I watched the show because I thought it would be a character-driven relationship with the two learning to love each other and accommodate to one another. It wasn't.

4) Atsuko: Atsuko is a cool-headed badass cop who is in league with both the police and local gangs. And that's it. I thought she could have been the most interesting character, but the show really doesn't care about giving her any unique or interesting traits (aside from a cool blond afro). She is obsessed with catching Michiko but that's about all she is there for

5) Atsuko and Michiko's Relationship: Underdeveloped. These two have such an intriguing relationship. The problem is, I don't know what it is. Atsuko dedicates her entire life to catching Michiko. And then she wants to release Michiko. And then she gets annoyed with Michiko and chases her again. And sometimes she actually arrests Michiko. This relationship is cool but I don't know why it exists. It doesn't seem that Atsuko takes pleasure in the chase either. An episode that showed more than a few clips of them being poor would really have made this relationship interesting. As it stands, it just feels like lost potential.

6) The minor episodic characters: Many of these characters are just flat caricatures. The priest's family Hatchin stayed at was laughably bad and felt like Disney villains. The mobsters/gangsters are just sadistic thugs who want money and power.

Finally, not only do plot elements happen offscreen but so does character development. Hatchin becomes more tolerant of breaking the law. When? Hatchin starts believing her father to be a scumbag. When?

The only character I thought was handled well was Satoshi. He was a sadistic brute, but you felt like he had a reason to be. You hated what he did but in a twisted way didn't want him to die. You understood his love of Hiroshi.

Animation/Art (95/100): This is where Michiko and Hatchin shines as a show. The colors are extraordinarily warm, lively, and vivid, giving a wonderful sense of South America. The backgrounds are beautifully detailed. The characters are expressive. This is a high-quality production and I have almost nothing but praise for its animation. I especially love some of the "trippy" scenes, such as Michiko's fever dream in episode 12, since they add almost a layer of magical realism to an otherwise fully grounded anime.

Sound/Music (65/100):

The OST consists mostly of south American inspired low-fi hip-hop but does have some south American inspired folk-pop. I don't really like low-fi music which means I don't love the OST. It is moderately effective at conveying the tone of scenes and developing a south American atmosphere but I won't be listening to it anytime soon. I didn't really love the OP or ED songs either; they were relatively forgettable even if they were unique for an anime.


Setting/Atmosphere (90/100): Very well done. You feel like you are in a gang-ridden, crime-infested country. Everyone is corrupt. There is a decent effort in world-building, giving us gang relationships with one another. There is also this sense of true freedom and liberation you get when following Michiko and Hatchin around. They aren’t bound by societal structures (for better or for worse). While this is not necessarily unique, anime rarely tackles south American settings.

Ideas/Intellectual Effects (50/100): This could have been amazing. Throughout different episodes, we see child slavery, the brutality of bullfights, promiscuous and emotionally distant men and women, abuse in foster homes, etc. Michiko and Hatchin places these as side issues that just come packaged with the overall setting. This is a good narrative technique for addressing issues without dedicating your show to them and their drama. It also adds a layer of moral relativism to the show, since there seems to be a lack of judgment. But somehow, Michiko and Hatchin is able to make these issues seem less significant. Maybe it is the free spirit of the show but I found that the show just lacked any “ideas” and “commentary” for the impoverished society that exists. And this narrative method can work. Cowboy Bebop was able to feel like it was actually portraying significant issues as issues.

Enjoyment (45/100): I’d like to say I enjoyed Michiko and Hatchin. Some of the fights were enjoyable, the characters oozed “badass”, and some of the adventures were entertaining, but my overall dissatisfaction with the characters leaves me ambivalent. If you want mindless action, there are more enjoyable series. If you want character and adventure, there are better series. It is at this sort of unhappy medium point. Its main saving grace is its entertaining setting.

Originality and historical significance (30/100): I couldn’t find much on the internet about this show being important in any way. However, the overall setting is rather unusual in anime so I will give it some points for originality.


Overall scoring: Given that this is an episodic adventure, road trip anime, characters, setting/atmosphere will be weighted higher and the story slightly lower. My current weighting is: Story: 10%, Character: 25%, Sound/Music 10%, Animation: 10% Setting/Atmosphere: 20%, Ideas/Intellectual effects: 10%, Enjoyment:10% , Historical Significance: 5%

.1*45+.25*20+.1*65*+.1*95+.2*90+.1*55+.1*50+.05*30= 54.5/100. Overall score: 5/10

This anime is a pure deception.

It is a technically good Seinen, with great and fluid animation, good music, great voice acting (with actors from movies instead of seiyus). The atmosphere is similar to Samurai Champloo from the same studio, it is chill, with a lot of boring conversations between the characters, and then sudden well animated actions scenes.

The plot is just an excuse to make the characters travel in various cities without clear objective. The pace is chaotic (there is even an episode where a main character is captured, and at the beginning of the following episode she's free without any explanation), the plot is ... episodic, each episode has new (underdeveloped) characters, most of these episodes are useless and bring nothing to the plot nor the development of the characters. The main issue is that the "adventures" in half the episodes are absolutely unrelated to the issues of the main characters or the main plot, and there is zero consequence to these adventures.

About the characters, they only have one behaviour without any subtility. For exemple, the mother is a bad ass criminal, stupid and always getting out of situations with her pure strength. Her daughter is annoying, naive and throwing tantrums in all episodes. After 12 episodes, it gets really annoying to watch them interacting exclusively according to the behaviour previously mentionned. It is impossible to like them or identify to their problems. The main antagonists are underdevelopped too, because they are obscured by many minor antagonists characters who appear every episode. None of them are memorable.

Story : 2/10. The plot is pretty average, and the conclusion of the story is stupid and without emotion. They hyped the ending during the whole anime and the conclusion is absolutely bland.

Art : 8/10. The characters are really well drawned. The animation is way above average, but sometimes the backgrounds are poor, and the lightning and tones are far from perfect. I didn t like the tones and colors of a lot of scenes, which didn 't fit the atmosphere.

Sound : 9/10

Characters : 1/10. The characters were absolutely annoying, one sided, and they don't really evolve in 22 episodes. They don't behave like humans. Also, their relationships and motivations are always unclear.

Enjoyment : 2/10. With a different story in each episode, there is nothing that makes you want to watch the next one. it gets really boring because a lot of episodes bring nothing to the plot, they are useless and unrelated to the issues of the main characters.

I recommend this anime for the fans of Samurai Champloo, and people who wants some action. This anime has nothing memorable. If you feel bored, do not hesitate to skip a lot of passages, you'll still understand the main plot.

NOTE: This was originally a post among r/Toonami's Post-Series Analysis as a review there slightly edited for viewing here. The original post is linked right here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Toonami/comments/3wor9m/postseries_discussion_thread_michiko_hatchin/

I thought it was alright, as I viewed it as Thelma & Louise if it was done by the people behind Cowboy Bebop.

I'll admit that I enjoyed some of the action moments that were in the anime but while the drama was decently written, I wasn't fully into it. Mainly because in comparison to Bebop, I didn't really care for the setting and also while the characters were decent, they don't compare to the ones in Bebop in my ... eyes. Still, It was rather impressive seeing Monica Rial trying something different playing the spicy latina Michiko since I mostly see her range is mostly set to either Bulma or Stocking.

Other than that, I thought it was a decent anime with a nice ending to counteract some of the bleak moments and flatout downer endings that occurred in the series but not something that I picture myself watching again.

Excellently produced, directed, and VA'd to the extent that you can almost forget there isn't really anything here.

For what it's worth, the second half of the show is significantly better than the first half. It's almost good at so many different points, but there's no cure for two episodes worth of premise stretched over a 22 episode season. Michiko is almost an interesting character, her relationship with Hatchin is almost a compelling one, and her motivations almost drive the show forward, but none of those 'almosts' ever manage to bear fruit.

This is a show that makes you really want to like it, and I ... really did want to like it, but so much of it is a drab, depressing slog that I can't quite come away from it with a positive impression.

There's a lot of style here, from the fairly uncommon setting, to the unique (if hit or miss) soundtrack, to the distinctive character designs, to engaging action sequences and relatively high production value. The first episode and the last 2 episodes are especially good, so it starts and ends well.

The thing that ruins it is that the creators left pretty much nothing for the characters or plot. The show clearly is trying to do too many things and it really needed to cut some of the content off so everything was more cohesive. If they cut the kid, the show could be more focused on ... the crime drama and action. Cut some of the crime and drama instead, and we get a more interesting found family adventure. As it is, the show is very distracted and constantly feels like each part is trying to push the others out of the way.

A major failing of the show is that the main pair never really develop. From the description, it's clear that they are going to have a rough start, but over the course of the journey, the two will learn from each other and become family. We've all seen the setup about a million times before. The problem here is that the show doesn't even attempt to portray this development whatsoever, but still pretends that it has happened by the conclusion.

Actually, it's worse then that - the shows actively portrays their relationship as completely dysfunctional up until the plot requires otherwise. Even as far as the latter half of the show, Michiko completely ignores Hatchin and any of her problems, leaves her out of the loop for all of the dangerous things she might be doing, and more than once slaps her to shut her up. There's very little of the show where Michiko shows genuine concern for Hatchin, or any tender moments that would make it seems like this is anything more than a kidnapping. Hatchin has absolutely no faith in Michiko, despite Michiko's commitment to Hatchin's well-being is one of the only consistent traits she has - she will ultimately do right by Hatchin, even if it's in a way Hatchin doesn't like. Hatchin runs away at least 2 distinct times in the show and ends up joining back up with a mostly-unbothered Michiko. Once makes sense. Twice means nothing meaningfully changed.

How this relationship manages to suddenly becomes the sort of relationship where Hatchin is sobbing when they part ways requires you to imagine that a whole lot of bonding happens off screen. Just 1 episode out of 22 where Michiko takes Hatchin out for a day of fun would've made a world of difference here.

Speaking of those 22 episodes, the show would be much better if it had half the episode count. It would probably have been best if it were a movie. So many of the episodic plots are slow and just forgettable. Many members of the supporting cast are completely unnecessary and should have been cut so the ones that remained could get more screen time. The goal of finding Hatchin's dad is constantly alluded to, but is almost never developed on any given episode. It's fairly clear that each episode in the middle was written to the premise independently, rather than being carefully ordered so that there's regular progress towards the goal or towards any specific character development. When the show is nearing the end, it just suddenly points the cast in the right direction and makes sure all the pieces are where they need to be (often without explanation).

Whether you'll like this show ultimately comes down to why you're interested. If you just want a strong female lead, or you're looking for an action adventure with found family elements, you'd probably be a lot happier watching Moribito. If you're mainly here for the setting, the action/crime tags, or the staff and studio, you'll probably find some value here, but you might find that the 10 year old tends to get in the way of the action.