After escaping from prison, the criminal Michiko rescues an
abused girl known as Hatchin. The two are about as opposite
as they come, but their fates become intertwined through the
connection of a man from both their pasts. On the run from
the police and Hatchin's abusive foster parents, the
unlikely duo set out to find this man and ultimately
discover their freedom.
(Source: FUNimation)
Encore une belle pépite visuel et artistique signée par les studios [Manglobe](https://anilist.co/studio/32/Manglobe) _(Samurai Champloo, Gangsta, Ergo Proxy...)_, réalisé par [Sayo Yamamoto](https://anilist.co/staff/101856/Sayo-Yamamoto) et _"sponsorisé"_ par le génial [Shinichiro Watanabe](https://anilist.co/staff/97009/Shinichiro-Watanabe) _(Cowboy Bebop, Kids on the Slope)_ Michiko & Hatchin nous lance dans une _"road story"_ originale qui se détache des productions habituelles nippones. Dés le générique d'ouverture avec sa touche _funky_, on est plongé dans une ambiance chaude et coloré qui nous ne lâchera plus jusqu'à la fin de l'anime. Un anime d'une excellente mouture, graphiquement léché, certains plans sont sublimes, photo-réalistes, l'animation est très propre ; le caractère design fait des merveilles, Michiko est très féminine, comme la plupart des femmes de l'anime et, a contrario, Hatchin, un peu garçon manqué est assez touchante. Les couleurs chatoyantes et flashy d'une part, sombres et crassent d'autre part, posent un décor fort en atmosphère, ici l’Amérique Latine, qui est mise à l'honneur avec beaucoup d'attention et d'originalité _(un univers rare dans l'animé japonnais)_. La musique complète cette ambiance latino à base de bossa nova, de samba et autres morceaux folk en portugais. Le studio Manglobe a fait un travail remarquable dans le rendu des atmosphères chaudes, colorées, festives d'un Brésil fictif. ~~~_"Censé être sous haute surveillance, le pénitencier de Diamandra voit une de ses prisonnières, Michiko Malandro, tenter de s'évader. Profitant de la tempête qui fait rage à l'extérieur, cette dernière réussit l'impossible en échappant à ses poursuivants. Dans une ville voisine vit Hana (Hatchin), une orpheline souffrant de cruauté "dickensienne" aux mains d'une famille adoptive au comportement abusif. Les deux unissent leurs forces dans une improbable fuite vers la liberté."_~~~ Mais Michiko & Hatchin c'est avant tout une histoire de sentiments passés au hachoir, une histoire d'amours, parfois cruels et, comme en vrai, on se prend des baffes. Les personnages sont souvent confrontés à une vie sentimentale écorchée, où domination et trahison sont les aléas incontournables des relations amoureuses. Mais qu'en est il de la trame principale ? Et bien elle est remise en question tout au long de l'anime. Le scénario et les dialogues rebondissent de nombreuse fois au rythme des sentiments contradictoires qu'éprouvent nos deux héroïnes l'une pour l'autre. Bref, pour conclure, je dirais que cet anime, malgré un petit manque de profondeur dans l'histoire, est incontournable au même titre que [Samurai Champloo](https://anilist.co/anime/205/Samurai-Champloo/) avec qui il partage pas mal de point commun d'ailleurs. Ayant une véritable identité, cette série dynamique et moderne possède une fraîcheur sans égal au milieu de la _japanime contemporaine_.
This review is about Michiko to Hatchin, which is an original anime that came out in 2008 from studio Manglobe, which is one of the studios I really like even though they are kind of inactive anymore and also animated some other (in my opinion) great shows like Ergo Proxy and Samurai Champloo. I know most reviews lately are for seasonal and airing anime but I wanted to show off what’s good about this ‘older’ anime so that I can potentially remind/present people an anime that they hopefully can enjoy as much as me. This review contains almost no spoilers, excluding some things that set the plot in the first couple episodes of the anime. *** #~~~__Talking a bit about the setting:__~~~ First let's address the elephant in the room, that I set up for myself even in the title of this review. Michiko to Hatchin is set in a fictional country named Diamandra, which has noticeable cultural influences from Brazil. I will be making a lot of parallels between the two in this review, hoping to not offend anyone that is actually from Brazil. The biggest difference between Brazil and Diamandra lies in the names of the characters, who use a mix of Japanese and Latin (or other non Japanese) parts to create some unique and charming names (i.e Michiko Malandro, Atsuko Jackson, Hiroshi Morenos). The whole soundtrack is in Portuguese (we will touch upon that in more detail later) so it’s safe to assume that’s the natural spoken tongue of the main characters in the show, while we hear them talk in Japanese (or other languages it’s dubbed into, specifically gonna mention the English one later) *** #~~~__Story:__~~~ I am not gonna get too much into it since this is a review and you can find the synopsis anywhere, including the very page this review will be posted on. Basically an ex-convict girl, Michiko Malandro, decides to locate and bring Hachin, a girl that is living with her abusive foster parents back to her actual father which was her ex boyfriend. The two join forces and go through a lot a surreal and action packed adventure towards their shared goal, while developing a bond with one another. *** #~~~__Characters:__~~~ Continuing from my last point, a big part of what makes this show great are the character interactions. Michiko and Hatchin share a realistic bond that resembles a mother and daughter figure but is not quite there. Both of them are still very sassy and independent, which makes sense since they only know each other for a little while. I could compare their relationship to something like the relationships between the characters in Cowboy Bebop which are of hidden admiration and care between a shadow of pride. Michiko cares about Hatchin and vice versa but wouldn’t sacrifice everything as easily as a real caring mother would, which is also supported by the nature of the way both of them grew up. They grew up with a lot of hardships which makes them not trust or get too attached to other people easily. Michiko grew up as a troublemaker, which ranged from small crimes to getting actually convicted and Hatchin has been living with a family that barely loves and abuses her on a daily basis. There are a lot of cool strong independent and sexy women in this anime if you are a fan of that as much as I am. The main girl of this anime ,Michiko Malandro, is actually both my favorite female character and waifu, since I think she is both a good character, really attractive and around my actual age. *** #~~~__Music:__~~~ I wanna state here that my music knowledge is sub-par at best so take some stuff in this part with a grain of salt. The OST, which is also co-written by Cowboy Bebop’s Shinichiro Watanabe, is in Portuguese, which further complements the anime’s aesthetic of South America and most specifically Brazil. It’s mostly upbeat and funky, including the opening song, which is a primarily musical piece that fits a show that is primarily here to make you have fun. I would even call it a bit jazz-y (if that is a real word), since it resembles the opening song of Great Pretender or Cowboy Bebop’s ‘Tank!’ a lot. Most of the other songs are upbeat but some are different to fit specific sad or emotional moments in the show. Here are some samples from both claims: The opening song: Youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQf-NkWz7Yo) A less upbeat melancholic track from the OST: Youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Oor9WBk0c) *** #~~~__Visuals:__~~~ The visuals are very colorful and ‘funky’ too, as you can probably see from the opening I already posted if you clicked on it already. A lot of vibrant colors like red, yellow, green etc are used to make this a funky trip and seem more exotic. Considering the setting and purpose of this anime, I don’t think it’s unjustified to use a coloration like that. I am not an expert of how traditional poor Brazilian neighborhoods (so called Favelas) look like, but from what I have seen through the internet and asked a few Brazilian people online, they don’t stray far from the actual thing. The characters are drawn in a more realistic way than more anime, while still being unique and recognizable and putting their own spin on it. In conclusions the visuals are not groundbreaking or eye opening but they fit the anime a lot in my opinion Here are some examples of background art and character art: Img300(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/784415689657942067/830080882106171472/tumblr_o9m8e9FcD31ug9atlo1_1280.png?width=515&height=274) Img300(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/784415689657942067/830080797997531160/4b2957711bc78dc9702af3349bf4006d.jpg?width=515&height=290) Img300(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/784415689657942067/830080821212872764/Michiko-to-Hatchin-michiko-to-hatchin-32569495-500-320.jpg) *** #~~~__Some more stuff:__~~~ There is no source material since it’s an original anime. An English dub of the anime exists, which I also watched apart from the original version, and can say that I found very charming and fitting for this anime, not that I had any issue with just watching the original. So it’s just up to personal preference. If I had to pick some shows that share a lot of elements with Michiko to Hatchin, I would pick Great Pretender, Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon and the fellow Manglobe show Samurai Champloo, a lot of which were already mentioned in this review. *** #~~~__Conclusion/TL;DR:__~~~ Michiko to Hatchin is not an anime for everyone, as a lot of others. It’s not complex or high on production value enough to please the hardest of anime fans looking for that. But it’s a fun trip through a setting different than you are used to, accompanied with a lot of gun focused action and mostly lovable characters. I can certainly say, it’s one of my personal favorites and I chose to make this review to bring more awareness about it. You can message me for more details or to discuss about the show, since I am very active on this site (at the time that this was posted)
#_Michiko to Hatchin_ ~~~“There is a child inside you Who’s trying to raise a child in me” — Big Thief, _Mythological Beauty_~~~ img220(https://animereviewers.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/ishot-24.jpg) I started this series a few years ago before I had gotten into anime, as it was a recommendation from a high school friend. Set in a backdrop of a fictional South American country, the highly saturated visuals of _Michiko to Hatchin_ were what got me hooked at first. But beyond the warm-toned tropicals, the story at heart was bleak. I definitely could not binge watch episode after episode of social dilemma and on-the-run antics. And so the series was shelved. Fast forward a few years later, having rewatched _Cowboy Bebop_ a few times and actually understanding what the hell a syndicate was, the show was much easier to digest. _Michiko to Hatchin_ tells the story of two different types of women, who come to mirror each other in their unlikely teamwork. Similar to Shinichirō Watanabe's work, each episode tells its own mini story about the two protagonists, usually in a new city on their journey. I would say some of the episodes stand out more than others, and you can easily tell which had a more fleshed-out plot. However, that doesn't stop a lot of the episode antics from entertaining its audience. From hot air balloon chase scenes to hallucinogenic fever surgery, there's a wild range of situations these two end up in. And really, I think that variety and the cutthroat way it's laid out is what pushes this series forward. The two protagonists are as different as they get, yet their struggles are understood by each other. Hatchin wants the older woman to give up the search for love, yet ends up finding a crush herself. And Michiko's denial to take responsibility for anything ends up with her making a very important decision to keep the younger girl safe. Intertwined in the mix of conflict are society's evils. There's a refusal to say the words "child abuse" or "human trafficking" but instead a grim depiction of these experiences, and it gives the show more edge than a typical convict-on-the-run plot. Something I also found that I liked about this show was the antagonist. I would have enjoyed watching entire flashback episodes with Atsuko Jackson if granted. ~!She carries herself as a woman fiercely loyal to her morals but falters when it comes to the soft spot she has for her childhood friend. And the last scene we see with her is entirely heartbreaking. Her character being the most developed villain shined a hundred times brighter than the rival syndicate subplot. The two men, in my opinion, served as more of background action and additional gruesome elements of the society they were in instead of actual characters. !~ Really where this show excels is in its dichotomy between young and old, love and hate, fear and passion. It's about making juvenile decisions, but being mature in all the situations that matter. It's about running away from responsibility, but growing up in that refusal. It's about the perfect reunion outfit, a trusty stead, and yelling as a love language. It's about lots and lots of tomatoes. img220(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-osXAcTgTm4o/VWTChabi3HI/AAAAAAAAAVY/i0eRJhh3zXQ/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/Screen%2Bshot%2B2015-05-26%2Bat%2B1.53.03%2BPM.png)
~~~img(https://starcrossedanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Michiko-and-Hatchin-Banner.png)~~~
Found Family is one of my favorite themes across media. From
Bridge Four in Sanderon's *Stormlight Archive* to *Tokyo Godfathers*, possibly my single favorite animated movie of all time.
Beautiful stories about coming together for who you *are*
rather then who you were born to. It's especially pervasive
across anime, found in everything from action packed Shounen
like *One Piece* to serious character dramas like *Seirei no Moribito*. And today, I'm here to talk to you about one more. An
original series from the now defunct
Studio Manglobe, and
Sato Yamamato's, since responsible for *Yuri on Ice* and *The Woman Called Fujiko Mine*, full length directorial debut, I give to you a Found
Family story with a bit of Latin flair. That's right, you
clicked on the review already knowing what it was, so let's
dive right in to *Michiko & Hatchin*. **Be warned, this
review contains minor unmarked spoilers for *Michiko &
Hatchin*. It also contains major spoilers in some sections
however these will be heavily marked to avoid accidents**.
~~~webm(https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/60814e608b04e5e4490bf427ab129a6d.mp4)~~~
~~~[Video
Link](https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/60814e608b04e5e4490bf427ab129a6d.mp4)~~~
#~~~__Production__~~~ As you might expect, the best place to
start talking about an anime is, you guessed it, the
animation. In this case though, *Michiko & Hatchin's*
animation isn't what drew me to it. Oh it's there, *Michiko
& Hatchin* has some nice cuts. Not a lot mind you, and
most of what it does have is back loaded in my opinion. But
Takafumi Hori has some spectacular background work, and
Naoyuki Asano has a fantastically trippy sequence near the
middle, just to name a few. Overall though, I would say
*Michiko & Hatchin* is a very inconsistently animated
show, and that anyone going into it for some criminal
hijinks and action might want to temper their expectations a
bit. No, what really caught my interest about the show were
the backgrounds, and the work done by the Director of
Photography,
Kazuhiro Yamada, and his team. To say *Michiko and Hatchin's* backgrounds
are beautiful would be an understatement. It's been a long
time since I've seen a setting so fully and wonderfully
realized entirely through its background art. I don't just
mean the level of detail or coloring, though those are nice
and certainly contribute to the effect. More how they feel
like truly living, breathing locations. The wall's of an old
church aren't just brown and dirty, the paint is chipping
and the tiles cracked. A city street is bright and colorful,
covered in graffiti and the faded colors of a more vibrant
time. The countryside, poor yet far away from the troubles
of the crime-ridden cities, shows simple homes and beautiful
vistas untouched by industry. All of it done so consistently
that I never once doubted they belonged in the same world
together. Truly, the backgrounds are where *Michiko &
Hatchin's* production shines. Here are a few backgrounds for
you to peruse through before you continue on, spoilered to
avoid clogging up a bunch of space. Don't worry, there are
no story spoilers in here. ~!
!~ These beautiful backgrounds wouldn't be enough on their
own however without Sayo Yamamoto's smart direction however.
She makes the best use of *Michiko & Hatchin's*
animation and backgrounds, producing scenes like the one
above on the regular. Using a television in the background
playing an old movie to emphasize Michiko's confident
stride. The barrels of guns to direct our attention. A
sloping hill to allow two characters of different heights to
meet at eye level for a conversation. None of these are
truly *new* or even *innovative*. But in a medium that so
often see's the most bare-bones schlock peddled out season
after season, seeing someone actually *care* is nice. I
won't act like it's perfect, it's not. This is her first
time directing an entire show. But you can see so much of
what her style will become here, it's truly a joy. All in
all, *Michiko & Hatchin* has what I would call a solid,
generally static style. Don't go into it expecting every
episode to be action packed, nor every action sequence to be
amazingly animated. They aren't. But the action also isn't
the point of the show, the characters and their story are.
And that's emphasized through the direction. It isn't
perfect, sometimes Yamamoto speeds through things to fast or
never revisits a scene that probably needed it. *Michiko
& Hatchin* covers a lot of ground in its 22 episodes, so
that's not unexpected. But I did like it on this front. And
you probably will to.
~~~img(https://starcrossedanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Michiko-Hatchin-10.4.jpg)~~~
#~~~__Narrative__~~~ Its when we consider its narrative that
*Michiko & Hatchin* begins to falter. As per the opening
stub, *Michiko & Hatchin* is a story about found family.
It follows Michiko Malandro, a recently escaped criminal,
and Hana "Hatchin" Morenos, the daughter of Michiko's old
flame, on a quest to find Hatchin's father, Hiroshi. Along
the way they run into all sorts of colorful characters, from
corrupt cops to righteous criminals, and vice versa.
Structurally, *Michiko & Hatchin* a rather episodic
show. Our leads wander the country searching for Hiroshi,
with each town being an episode or two before they move on.
These towns rarely have any kind of connection to each
other, leading to a lot of cold opens and poor continuity.
While the individual episodes are often fine, dare I say
even good in places, they don't fit together into a cohesive
whole very well. For example, leaving out a lot of details
so no spoilers, there is one episode where Michiko is
involved in a car chase with some criminals. The entire
episode is a game between the two of them, a challenge of
skill. When its interrupted by a 3rd party, they deal with
him and then drive off. But what about the conflict that set
them against each other to begin with? What about the 3rd
party, who clearly escaped alive? What about the police
presence or Michiko's messed up bike? Neither of these
characters ever appear again, despite being made out as at
least decently important. This sort of hand-wavey continuity
happens *all over* the show. Was the individual episode
good? Yeah, it was a good time. So if continuity doesn't
matter to you, ignore this. But I know this will drive some
people up a wall, like it did me. The other major problem
with *Michiko & Hatchin* is that, for all that it's a
show about Found Family, I didn't find any family until the
very end. In fact, throughout most of the show, it didn't
even feel like Michiko and Hatchin wanted to be together at
all. Constantly fighting, refusing to see the others
perspective, little growth. Michiko actually *strikes*
Hatchin on multiple occasions! That's not very family-like!
Or good family-like at least. You can make an argument for
this being the point, that they are figuring each other out
as the series goes on and them coming together is the
payoff. But that didn't really happen until the last 6 or so
episodes. Prior to that, there wasn't any sort of noticeable
progress between them. Just one episode they were at each
others throats, the next taking pictures together. To be
clear, those last 6 episodes were great! The continuity
issues are still there, sure. But the last quarter of
*Michiko & Hatchin* is some of the best stuff in the
entire show. Every character matters and gets some kind of
conclusion, even if not all of them are satisfactory.
Michiko and Hatchin come together as a dysfunctional family,
but a family nonetheless. It's like *Michiko & Hatchin*
shoved all the content it could have spread out across the
entire season into the last quarter. Yeah, it makes for a
memorable and solid final impression, which is very
important to me. Endings are the last taste you have of a
show, they are how you will remember it. I just can't say
that the journey *to* that ending was all that great,
leaving a sort of... bitter aftertaste to the last good
memories I had of this show.
~~~img(https://starcrossedanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Michiko-Hatchin-19.4.jpg)~~~
#~~~__Characters__~~~ *Michiko & Hatchin's* characters
suffer from many of the same issues, though not to the same
degree. The core cast of Michiko and Hatchin, plus some side
characters like Shinsuke, Satoshi and Atsuko, are good!
Michiko is a strong, independent character who isn't afraid
to take care of business but still has her own insecurities
around personal relationships, always expecting the best of
people she really shouldn't. Hatchin, for all her youth and
naivete, is experienced enough with people to see them for
who they truly are, she's a strong judge of character.
Meanwhile Satoshi is a great crime lord who has pushed away
all those close to him in search of power. The characters
are strong, and they feel interconnected. Even if not all of
them are fully explored, they all have some kind of
relationship with each other. *Michiko & Hatchin* only
stumbles in their arcs. As already mentioned, the core of
Michiko and Hatchin suffer mostly by failing to truly become
a family. The ending is fine, but I would have liked to see
a more gradual progression to their relationship. At the
very least I could have done without Michiko's physical
violence against Hatchin, which among other actions really
turned me off their relationship. If you don't like stories
about characters learning to overcome some abusive
tendencies, *Michiko & Hatchin* might not be for you.
Meanwhile for the rest of the cast, they are generally good.
Some had disappointing but still poignant endings, others
took forever to get there, but at least one had a finale
that I consider simple perfect for them. While a mixed bag,
overall the series did well here. For all my criticisms, the
only major issue I have with the series is Hiroshi himself.
I'm going to go into some spoilers here, but the long and
short of it is that the final reveal surrounding him was a
massive disappointment. *Michiko & Hatchin* had invested
a lot into him throughout the story and he failed to live up
to it. Now on with the spoilers! ~!Hiroshi... Hiroshi was
built up since episode 1. We had conflicting information
about him, his actions showing him to be unreliable and
uncaring for those around him. Someone who makes their way
through life by using others. But the words of those closest
to him, of Satoshi and Michiko, said the opposite. It gave
us this vision of a complicated man afraid of responsibility
but who could ultimately be that family everyone longed for.
But when we found him... he was uninspiring. There was
nothing complicated or intriguing here. Just a man running
from responsibility who disappeared as soon as we found him
with no involvement in anything that was happening. Just
once I'd have liked for him to talk to someone about
something meaningful, to become an actual *character*.
Instead he's just this disappointing caricature to reinforce
how chosen family is more fulfilling than birth family. A
disappointment.!~ So all in all, *Michiko & Hatchin's*
cast was enjoyable and individually likeable, but they
didn't really manage to come together to tell an engaging
story. It wasn't bad for the most part, only Hiroshi stands
out as actively detrimental! But neither did it impress. Not
until the final few episodes at least, that still just as
engaging as I mentioned before.
~~~youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYw1rr-_5K4&list=PL9ZAEvcMI63zjLajtWyH_zGc8wBZ5rpP_&index=17)~~~
#~~~__OST__~~~ Finally we come to what is often my favorite
part of the review, the OST. Composed by the Brazilian
musician
Alexandre Kassin
in his only ever anime credit, with selection and production
by
Shinichirou Watanabe
himself, *Michiko & Hatchin's* OST does just as much
work selling its setting as the beautifully detailed
backgrounds do. Tracks like "Desencanto", with its folky guitar and authentic vocal work,
unsurprising with a native composer, immerse you in the
world. Meanwhile "Posto de Gasolina" drops you right into the middle of a block party and
demands you party with the best of them. From the guitar of
"7 Cordas Que Choram" to the iconic and haunting vocals of "Temporada das frutas", when *Michiko & Hatchin's* Kassin is at his best,
the series *sings*. And there's still so much more to praise
beyond these more traditional guitar tracks. Maybe you're
looking for something a bit more vacation-ey, like a
Caribbean beach in the style of "Carimbo do orfanato". Or perhaps you want to chill on the porch with some
friends, with the day-in-the-life stylings of "Ritmo Suado". Looking for something a bit more modern? Then look no
further then the club-centric sounds of "Calca de Ginastica" or the confident, swaggering walk of "Dulcimin". *Michiko & Hatchin* even has some more sultry,
romantic tracks, like "Gangorra". The point is, *Michiko & Hatchin* has *a lot* of
good music. Not just in how it's used, though that is good
as well, but more in how it embodies and evokes Latin
America, even to those who have never set foot in it.
~~~img(https://starcrossedanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Michiko-Hatchin-17.1.jpg)~~~
#~~~__Little Family to be Found__~~~ And with that we come
to the end of the review. This last section is a purely
personal one, where I take off the reviewer hat and simply
try to connect and explain my experience with a show. If
that isn't something you care about, if all you want is a
score, then feel free to skip this section. But if you want
try to understand me a bit more, and where I'm coming from
with all this, then read on. And be warned! This is no holds
barred spoiler territory. Read at your own risk if you
haven't watched *Michiko & Hatchin*! ~!I mentioned it
before, but Found Family is one of my favorite themes in
media. Between people finding love who once thought they
didn't deserve it, to those who have lost family finding
purpose in a new one. They are the sorts of stories that I
connect with the most, and think are truly beautiful. So I
was really excited when *Michiko & Hatchin* was
recommended to me as one such story, not to mention it came
with a Latin American flair which I also like, see *Megalo
Box: Nomad*. This is a culture that naturally lends itself
to these sorts of stories, and Sayo Yamamoto is a proven
director at this point. Surely it'll scratch that itch...
right? Sadly after 22 episodes, despite having a few
standouts during its run, *Michiko & Hatchin* just...
didn't. I was never able to really buy into their
relationship. It never felt *genuine* to me. These two spend
the entire show bickering and fighting, yelling and hitting
each other. Fighting is normal in a family, sure, you can't
agree all the time. And having just met it makes sense that
these two would need to come together a bit. In the early
episodes, this is fine and the show works great. But as
*Michiko & Hatchin* goes on and on, as they run into
Satoshi Batista, and Atsuko, as we get these various other
takes on family and relationships, our leads don't really
progress. Not until the final 4 episodes at least, where it
then feels like it all comes at once. Rather then feeling
like a gradual coming together, it becomes forced and
stilted. And this extends to many other characters
relationships to! Satoshi Batista is probably the best
example of this. In his relationships with Shinsuke and
Hiroshi, we have both the best *and* the worst story in the
show. With Shinsuke, these two are built up and communicate
throughout the entire show. Through flashbacks we see how
they came together, while during the events of the show we
see their falling out, all of it culminating in Satoshi
killing his best friend in the place they basically became
brothers. It's beautiful in its tragedy, how this life of
crime changed and destroyed them both. But in Hiroshi...
Satoshi spends most of the show chasing after him, looking
for some kind of closure, only to never get it. Instead he
dies in an alleyway after protecting Hatchin. You could
argue that *is* the closure, since she's Hiroshi's daughter.
But there's not enough of a connection either way for it to
truly work. And that's sort of how it goes for the entire
show, and why I find myself so split on it. When *Michiko
& Hatchin* gives a character the proper attention, like
Shinsuke or Pepe Lima, the result is beautifully tragic. But
for others it spends more time watching them wander around
the countryside, ostensibly "bonding", then it does showing
us any actual progression in their relationship. I just
don't think I can call a show without any actual family
until the very end a true Found Family experience. At least
not one on the level of *Tokyo Godfathers* or any of my
other favorite media.!~
~~~img(https://starcrossedanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Michiko-and-Hatchin-1.4.jpg)~~~
#~~~__Conclusion__~~~ So all in all *Michiko & Hatchin*
is a show with an incredible setting and sense for what it
wants to be that stumbles in its execution. As a directorial
debut, its certainly fine enough. You can see Sato
Yamamoto's dedication to not only the subject but the
culture of what she's trying to portray. She just doesn't
have enough experience to pull it off this early in her
career. The characters feel stagnant for most of the shows
run, while the story itself often feels meandering and
purposeless. *Michiko & Hatchin* could easily have been
half the length it is without losing very much of value I
feel. Yet at the same time, it could easily fill another 11
episodes if it just had the attention and care to do so.
Stuck in this awkward middle-ground, *Michiko & Hatchin*
ends up achieving little more than light praise from me.
~~~img(https://starcrossedanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Michiko-Hatchin-19.3.jpg)~~~