Michiko to Hatchin returns after a 2 week absence. I would normally say ‘finally’ but the first episode hardly inspired confidence. So Michiko had a lot to prove.
And boy, did it improve! Compared the the drab, badly scripted first episode, this was fantastic!
flashbacks to the childhood friends never looked so gritty, nor did they have such impressive afros
This episode starts off with flashbacks to Michiko in prison 12 years ago. We meet the aptly named Jumbo (at a wild guess I’d say it’s because of the hair), who happens to be Michiko’s childhood friend mortal enemy. Very gritty and gruesome, but one thing you can be sure of here is that Michiko is more sure of herself than Jumbo, even though Jumbo is the one throwing her in prison. You get the feeling Jumbo feels a bit jealous of Michiko for whatever reason. I’m going to make a shot out of the blue here and guess they were at an orphanage together.
So this dad of mine...does he smell of sunflowers by any chance?
Did she seriously give her baby a tatoo?!?
I've been waiting for this moment ever since I saw it in the trailers
Of course, Michiko is a high profile prison escapee so her face appears on the tv and sure enough Jumbo and her gang of completely hopeless cops find her. Now this was great, watching the two women get their little jibes in at each other. The fact that Jumbo knows some of Michiko’s rather embarrassing tales as a child brings forth more evidence that they lived together as kids, orphanage possibly. And then we got the ear-bite and a car chase through the streets of Brazil!
These guys make the keystone cops look like the FBI
Anime don’t really get chase scenes right. They do fantastic fight scenes but chase scenes are normally awful. Maybe it’s got something to do with Japanese honour and running not being honourable. Then again, that’s the same with any culture. Either way, this is just a build up for me to say how awesome this chase scene was. The music was fantastic, the cops were suitably hopeless and it even had that great point halfway through where Michiko realised she didn’t have Hatchin anymore
You rarely ever see christianity portrayed in a positive light. Unless its a sexy nun
Ah, now this episode showed how this character should have been done. Using about 80% less screentime, you got just as much a sense of his hypocrisy (haven’t we treated you well Hana) to his pure indifference to her needs (if I kill her I get the insurance). He’s also still alive, although he seriously needs to improve his marksmanship. Granted, Hatchin is small and she was a moving target, but Michiko on that giant bike of hers can’t be that hard to hit now
If I was any good at photoshop I would put a geass in her eye
Anywho, Michiko saves Hatchin, Jumbo is not happy and they are on the road again to try find Hatchins dad and finally this show is starting to act more like Champloo! Except with a better opening song
Impressions:
Michiko is BADASS MUTHAFUCKER!
Ah, that was a bizzilion times better than the first episode. I was seriously worried after the first episode because I had built myself up for this and I’d fully committed myself to blogging it as well. So thank the lord this episode had substance. The style was always there, but this time we got the witty, subtle conversations and more Michiko in general. And Jumbo!
Michikos Destruction Count:
Well from the last episode she destroyed a helicopter, 2 windows and one breakfast table. In this episode she added the following items to her tally:
One Vending Machine
One Earlobe
And seven cars!
Anywho, I’m currently downloading the third episode so you can expect the next installment to come quite soon!
blindability
Brian
Poro
jGLZA
Loba
TeamZer0
thaivuN
I wonder why everyone keeps trying to make this out to be another samurai champloo? I mean, I really like champloo and bebop, but sometimes it gets ridiculous. The minute one hears someone from either show is going to work on a new one, they instantly think Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo 2.0. The director from bebop is only helping with the music. Not only wikipedia, but the lack of focusing on the eyes, which is his trademark, gave it away for me. This is NOT 2.0, this is Mitchiko to Hatchin. This is the first time this new director has ever done a show, so I prepared myself for beginners mistakes. Such as taking too long with one storyline or jumping scenes. I’m seriously afraid this show will turn out like Wolf’s Rain. When that came out everyone thought “people from bebop are working on it?!” They expected way to much out of it and in the end complained about how much it sucked compared to bebop. Wolf’s Rain had a beautiful storyline, top notch artwork, and the music done by yoko kanno herself. I’m rambling too much! Sorry, I just think people should take michiko to hatchin as it is and not expect it to live up to their bebop or champloo standards. Out of the crap anime that’s been coming out as of late, this mix of japanese/brazialian show is very refreshing.