From episode 17, I thought this was a fairly definitive image for their relationship.

For the life of me, I just can’t figure out how to start this silly review. Also, I’m still batting around the short vs. long thing for these, so just bear with me. Anyway, this week comes a series I was a little hesitant about, but I’m glad I took the time to watch it. See, there are three categories that a series will ultimately be sorted into: 1) great and artistically worthwhile, 2) entertaining, and 3) craptastic waste of time. Michiko e Hatchin, though awesome, fits neatly into the second category. Michiko e Hatchin is another nice reminder of why I’ve been journeying out into the world of fansubs and alternative titles. Though not spectacular, I was thoroughly entertained.

Michiko e Hatchin, or MeH from here on, is the story of a wild convict named Michiko and the abused foster child Hatchin. Hatchin (aka Hana) has just turned ten and life for her couldn’t really get any worse: her parents abandoned her as a baby, her foster family abuses her, and she’s stuck in the middle of nowhere. All Hana wants is for someone to take her away. That someone just happens to be Michiko, fresh out of prison. Crashing through the dining room window on the most powerful scooter ever known to man, Michiko takes Hatchin out on a journey for one man: Hana’s father and Michiko’s true love. (Hana is not Michiko’s daughter; Michiko was in prison when Hana was born.) Fugitives, the pair is pursued by cops, gangsters, circus slave traders, and one really pissed off chick with an afro across a place surprisingly like the Mediterranean somewhere in the 70’s. Well, I say Mediterranean in the 70’s, but I get the impression that it’s about as accurate as a Disney movie about the holocaust.

To start with, MeH is probably the closest we’ll get to a spiritual sequel to Cowboy Bebop. Or rather, it’s a girly version of Cowboy Bebop: not that that’s a bad thing and there’s still enough Michiko cleavage to choke a horse. The music, the style, the action, it’s all the hallmarks of a show trying to follow in the footsteps of a genre defining work. The music is funky and awesome. The art, animation, and designs are all fluid with an emphasis on the 70’s look. The gunfights and action are totally off the wall fun. The show is heavily character driven with lots of interesting characters that complement one another pretty well in relation to the story. In fact, I think I’ll give the characters their own paragraph.

The characters in MeH are well written with a surprising amount of depth. Our titular characters actually do develop throughout their journey, and even most of the supporting cast undergo some sort of growth. Shoot, even the villains learn things about themselves. Hatchin, though, deserves special mention: really, the entire show is about her. I really enjoyed watching Hatchin learn how to stand on her own, how to fight back, and even a little bit about love. It was also really satisfying to see Michiko’s straightforwardness get her into more situations than she could get out of. These characters are amazingly direct and sincere; no matter how insane the situation, everyone is so honest in their approach everything seems simple. The sheer guts some of the characters have is astounding, especially in episode 17. There are moments where the characters were so hardcore I couldn’t help but cheer. Also, I have to admire how much the emphasis on family really put all the other crap going on in perspective; while I wouldn’t call this a traditional family values show, it is definitely a show about family. Those of you who know me personally will find that statement very ironic.

Before I bring this to an end, I thought I’d mention child abuse, as it is a driving factor in this series. See, Hatchin gets abused a lot by her foster family; we are privy to a breaking point shortly before Michiko liberates her where Hatchin is about to have her face ironed by her ‘sister.’ While it was satisfying to watch Hatchin punch the girl in the face (probably the most satisfying moment in the series for me), the foster parents’ tacit approval really pissed me off. Unfortunately, Michiko, being a rather rough and tumble woman herself, is pretty hard on Hatchin and will sometimes hit her for almost no reason. There’s also a circus that sells runaway children. On the whole, I had a really hard time tolerating any of it since there was no counterpoint to it save for one hug. While not necessarily a show breaker, it did bring the series down quite a bit on the “let’s watch that again” meter. Child abuse is an ugly thing, animated or not.

MeH comes out swinging with powerful episodes and wonderful characters, but unfortunately it couldn’t keep it up for the entire series. Careful readers will notice that I did not say that MeH is the successor to Cowboy Bebop, but that it was the closest we are likely to get: after the first few episodes it’s like the series got scared of what it could be and wandered around the European waterfront until it got closer to the end and all of the characters needed to be wrapped up. It got really slow for a while there and I’m sad to see it couldn’t capitalize on all of that potential. Still, though, the characters are badass and the way they turn the concept of family on its head is welcome. On the whole, Michiko e Hatchin is a fun ride across a foreign land with some great company and only a few bleeding children.

~Whim

PS – I watched this series as a fansub from BSS.
PS2 – Sorry I got a little behind; had a big project at work.
PS3 – Only once during this entire review did I type ‘Hatching’ instead of ‘Hatchin’; and yes, there probably is some link there with the growing up part of the plot for Hatchin.