Michiko & Hatchin

Michiko & Hatchin (ミチコとハッチン) is a Japanese anime television series conceptualized by Manglobe and produced by Media Factory, Fuji TV, Shochiku, Yomiko Advertising and Hakuhodo DY Media Partners. It is directed by Sayo Yamamoto, with Takashi Ujita writing the scripts, Hiroshi Shimizu designing the characters and Seiki Tamura serving as art director. The music was composed by the Brazilian musician Alexandre Kassin and produced by Shinichirō Watanabe. The two eponymous starring roles are portrayed by film actresses Yōko Maki (The Grudge) and Suzuka Ohgo (Memoirs of a Geisha). It was broadcast for 22 episodes on Fuji TV's Noise programming block from October 2008 to March 2009.

The story takes place in the fictional country of Diamandra, which has cultural traces from South American countries, mostly from Brazil. In the first episode, Michiko is introduced as a free-willed "sexy diva" who escapes from a supposedly inescapable prison fortress, while Hatchin is a girl fleeing her abusive foster family. The two join forces on an improbable escape to freedom.

Plot

In the fictional South American country of Diamandra, the criminal Michiko Malandro escapes from prison and kidnaps her former lover's daughter Hana Morenos, whom she nicknames "Hatchin", saving her both from her abusive foster parents and equally cruel foster siblings in the process. The two are about as opposite as they come, but their fates become intertwined through the connection of Hiroshi Morenos, Hatchin's biological father. On the run from the police and Hatchin's abusive foster family, the unlikely duo set out to find Hiroshi and ultimately discover their freedom.

Characters

• Michiko Marandoro (ミチコ・マランドロ)
• An independent woman who has just recently escaped one of the most heavily guarded prisons in existence for at least the fourth time. Michiko rescues Hatchin from her abusive foster family and claims to know her father, who, according to her, was a good man and "made her fall in love with him right away". Both she and Hatchin embark on a journey to find him while running from the law as well. They become a bickering pair, but soon come to realize how much they truly need each other.
• Hana Morēnosu (ハナ・モレーノス)
• A young girl who previously lived with a foster family who later earns the nickname "Hatchin" (ハッチン) (or "Hachi" (ハチ)) from Michiko. She was the victim of abuse by both parents and their two biological children, until Michiko came to her rescue. She is hesitant to trust the woman, but they share the same tattoo on their stomachs. Unlike Michiko, Hatchin is much more levelheaded and serious, often functioning as the voice of reason of the two. Despite Michiko often putting her in danger due to her destructive habits and her sometimes irrational plans, Hatchin grows to care deeply for her.
• Hiroshi Morēnosu (ヒロシ・モレーノス)
• Hatchin's father and Michiko's love from the past. Despite being officially considered dead, Michiko believes that he is alive and rescues Hatchin in order to find clues about his whereabouts. He shares the same tattoo as both Michiko and Hatchin, except on his left shoulder.
• Atsuko Jakison (アツコ・ジャキソン)
• She lived in the same orphanage as Michiko and seems to have a score to settle with her. She is now a police officer and was responsible for Michiko's arrest twelve years before the main plot. Michiko likes to call her "Jambo" (a Portuguese word for both some syzygium fruit and to refer to a dark or brown-skinned person), in order to get her angry. She seems to have mixed feelings for Michiko and is sometimes seen helping her out of a bad situation.
• Satoshi Batisuta (サトシ・バティスタ)
• An old lifelong friend of Hiroshi's who assumed control of the crime syndicate "Monstro Preto" ("Black Monster") while Michiko was behind bars. He and Hiroshi have been friends since they were children, and Hiroshi once saved his life from the original leaders of Monstro once it was discovered that Satoshi plotted to take control of the gang. Throughout the series, he is shown to be harsh, brutal and vicious, rarely showing mercy to those that have interfered with his plans. He hates Michiko, feeling that she is part of the reason that Hiroshi left and "betrayed" his friendship; much like her, he too is determined to track down Hiroshi.
• Shinsuke Sasse Rodorigesu (シンスケ・サッセ・ロドリゲス)
• One of Satoshi's henchmen with a vicious and sadistic temper. Prior to the events of the series, he and Satoshi were close friends. He attempts to take control of Monstro by having Satoshi killed, but his betrayal is discovered leading to conflict between the two for the remainder of the series.
• Pepe Rima (ペペ・リマ)
• A famous exotic dancer at a local strip club. During her childhood she grew up in a fabulously wealthy family, pampered and raised like a princess until her father died and her family went bankrupt. She and her little sister, Lulu, live with Pepê's boyfriend Rico, who she is in an abusive relationship with.
• Ruru Rima (ルル・リマ)
• Pepê's younger sister who wears matching outfits like Pepê. She was raised by her older sister in absolute poverty after they lost their father and left their family in debt.
• (リコ)
• Pepê's pimp and boyfriend who is controlling her dancing career as a night club performer.
• Maria Berenbauzā Yamada (マリア・ベレンバウザー・山田)
• Hatchin's adoptive older sister who enjoys abusing Hatchin.
• Gaburieru Berenbauzā Yamada (ガブリエル・ベレンバウザー・山田)
• Hatchin's adoptive younger brother who enjoys abusing Hatchin.
• Joanna Berenbauzā Yamada (ジョアンナ・ベレンバウザー・山田)
• Hatchin's manipulative adoptive mother. Often talks with a very formal and elegant attitude.
• Pedoro Berenbauzā Yamada (ペドロ・ベレンバウザー・山田)
• Hatchin's adoptive father and a Catholic extremist who works as a priest at a local church. He and Joanna use Hatchin for the foster care money the state pays and treat her like a slave. In episode 2, he attempts to end Hatchin's life to gain insurance money while in a high speed chase alongside police.
• Rita Ozecchi (リタ・オゼッチ)
• A young girl around Hatchin's age who performs as an acrobatic in a traveling circus along with some other children who work for the circus; she was abandoned by her parents as a baby near the circus. When she first met Hatchin, she mistook her for a boy and attempted to kiss her; she has romantic feelings for her adult circus partner Gino Costa.
• Jīno Kosuta (ジーノ・コスタ)
• Rita's circus partner/love interest and a motorcyclist. Even though he tells Hatchin that he is not in love with Rita, with the simple fact that he has a long-term girlfriend who is pregnant with his child, he does care about Rita deeply while reassuring her that someday Rita will meet a lot of nice men and find the right boyfriend to claim as her own.
• Massan (マッサン)
• A nerdy-looking boy and a close friend of Rita. He is known to be a know-it-all and often get jealous when Rita starts having crushes on older men.
• Nūno (ヌーノ)
• The ringmaster of Circo De Chocolate (meaning "Chocolate Circus" in Portuguese), a local circus in Perna. He is short in stature for his age (even shorter than Rita) and is mostly seen wearing clown makeup and clothes. He tends to be very short-tempered and strict when it comes to the children working at the circus (including Hatchin and Rita) and also implements hard labor onto them; Nuno is shown to be self-conscious about his height, as he had forced Gino (who is much taller than him) to sit down when getting scolded as he does not want Gino to look down on him. He and Madame Michiko are later revealed to be child traffickers who planned on selling Hatchin, Rita and the rest of the orphans as slaves for child labor—under the ruse that they were going to take the children to an amusement park—until Michiko catches up to them to rescue Hatchin and saving the children from an abusive fate, which eventually leads to their arrest and imprisonment.
• Madamu Michiko (マダム・ミチコ)
• An overweight woman and Nuno's assistant who takes care of the orphaned children who live at the circus. She and Nuno are later revealed to be child traffickers who tricked Hatchin, Rita, and the other children into thinking that they were going to an amusement park when in reality they plan on selling off the children into harsher slavery.

Release

The series was produced by Manglobe and directed by Sayo Yamamoto, her first directorial work. The character designs were provided by Hiroshi Shimizu, with Shigeto Koyama designing Michiko's bike and Mariko Yamagami and Shōgo Yamazaki in charge of character fashion design. It was broadcast for 22 episodes on Fuji TV's (Noise) programming block from 16 October 2008 to 19 March 2009.[4] The opening theme is "Paraíso" ("Paradise") by Soil & "Pimp" Sessions, while the ending theme in the first 21 episodes is "Best Friend" (ベストフレンド) by Karutetto;[6] the ending theme for the final episode is "Nada Pode Me Parar Agora" ("Nothing Can Stop Me Now"), performed by Áurea Martins.[7]

Vitello Productions and GONG produced an English dub pilot of the anime under the title Finding Paradiso, which was later used as the title for the French dub.[8] The anime was later licensed by Funimation in North America, which produced its own English dub.[9] The series aired on Funimation Channel in North America in November 2013, and on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block from June to December 2015. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll.[10]

External links