Michiko & Hatchin

I'm not into romance animes/movies/books. I discovered "Michiko to Hatchin" by mistake, while searching for something completely different.

First, the animation is great. For me it was as close to a movie as something can be - not talking emulation or 3D, but in terms of gestures and dialog.

The storyline - you know where it is going, you pretty much have an idea of how it will end. But this is the beauty of this particular animation: it keeps you wanting to watch it until the end. You begin to care about the characters.

Soundtrack - background music is there when it should be and it adds to the story.

I couldn't stop watching it.

I definitely recommend it.

The plot is inconsistent, like there was a subplot where Hatchin was chasing after a thief who took her shoes in episode 3 but by midway episode 4, that subplot is completely thrown out the window. Though, the main plot is a buddy road trip show about two young girls who clash a lot, the writer did put a fresh twist on it but it ended up being executed pathetically.

Michiko and Hatchin's relationship is cliched, starting off not really liking each other but then growing to genuinely care for each other. None of the characters are particularly likeable, Michiko, while a refreshingly cool, badass black lady is really hot-headed, immature, and irresponsible and Hatchin is aloof, dense, and bratty. They tend to fight a lot like young sisters, though that's toned down by the middle of the series. The characters are overall, mediocre.

The only redeeming values are some of the comedy in it (though there are some corny ones). The music has a more latin/brazilian vibe to it, some of it is jazzy but it's nevertheless catchy. The voice actors did a fairly good job bringing fresh life to their characters (I watched the english dub) though the only downside is Hatchin sounds a little too whiny but it's not too big of a problem since she has a whiny, emotional personality. But she does sound like a 10-year-old instead of an adult trying to sound like one. And the charmingly beautiful art and animation.

Good quality production values, fairly decent animation, fresh voice acting, and groovy music is wasted on a poor script. Too bad Watananbe is only part of the music department in this anime. If he had a more major staff role, this anime probably would've been a lot charming. I can see why this anime was never that popular: It's too forgettable to be recommended. If you want something better by Watananbe, go check out Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, they are much more memorable with a more creative story, clever jokes, and likeable, realistic characters.

After a few strong episodes, the anime gets a little redundant and not very exciting failing to take full advantage of the Brazilian setting. Several episodes are just Hana running away from Michiko because they had a fight, having their little adventure separately and then coming back together closer than ever.

The ending is also pretty disappointing as we have to go through bad decisions from the characters.

I would still recommend the 4th episode as a standalone; it's a powerful episode that proves the missing potential of the show.

I was pretty excited by the first episode of Michiko and Hatchin. It began with a bang, with the tough, sexy Michiko wreaking havoc and sparring with a police detective with whom she was once friends.

But while I continued to enjoy the series, I never felt compelled to keep watching. It took me about a year to finish watching it, as I would forget all about it and then check out an episode.

I've been trying to figure out why that is. Michiko and Hana are both engaging characters, the episodes are interesting and full of intriguing characters. Why didn't I love it?

As I think about it, here's why it didn't keep me interested:

1) No mystery. A lot of anime series have some central mystery, like Samurai Champloo's samurai who smells like sunflowers. But M&H is very straightforward. Michiko wants to find a guy who left her. I never found myself wondering about him, or wondering if she'd find him, or wondering how it would turn out.

2) Michiko is a thug. Michiko is fearless and beautiful, and I liked her, but she's basically violent, self-centered, and stupid. She gets herself out of trouble, but it's always trouble she got herself into by doing something impetuous. I know that she's a balance to the more circumspect Hana, but it meant I was increasingly unsympathetic to her plight.

What kept me watching was the quality of individual episodes. Many were excellent, and there were some fascinating characters, such as a tomato-growing bisexual and Hana's little suitor. But these were all one-offs; the characters that we see more often are often less interesting, and even the interesting ones like the detective appear too sporadically to create any connection.

In short, M&H is entertaining but lacks forward momentum. I enjoyed it, and it's very well animated, but it did not resonate for me in the way of series like Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo or Death Note or Stein's Gate.

This show is tons of fun and the mother-daughter dynamics are as laughable and loveable as you'd expect. It was also wonderful watching an anime that was so diverse and that showed Brazilian culture.

The ost, is wonderful and and the main characters are all interesting, funny and so entertaining. The dub is also very well done.

Even though I enjoyed the show it does have its share of problems, the ending could have been better and you're still left with some unanswered questions. But overall I recommend this anime.