Hell yeah I’m still blogging this show. Because it’s freaking awesome, that’s why.

Episode 2

Well, the second episode of Michiko doesn’t disappoint and does what I’d hope it would’ve in the first place: developing Michiko and Hatchin’s relationship and the characters themselves. The relationship between Michiko and “Jumbo” and their interactions with each other are hilarious. It’s obvious they grew up together, and though the “one friend becomes a cop, the other a criminal” dynamic appears a lot on television these days, it works quite well here due to Michiko’s fun loving attitude and ability to screw with Atsuko. It’s obvious Atsuko’s going to play the fool (i.e Michiko will constantly slip through her fingers no matter what she does) for a while in the show, but beyond that I’m not sure what’s going to happen with her. Seeing Michiko all deredere for Hiroshi shows us her weaker side and makes her seem a bit more (dare I say it) feminine. For now, she’s mostly attached to Hatchin due to her being the daughter of her lost lover (and proof that he may still be alive) but over time, and even towards the end of this episode, it’ll be great to see the two becoming closer, especially now that crazy priest and his family are out of the way (they’re so worthless I don’t even remember their names).

Episode 3

That entire scene with the fortune teller was hilarious. Michiko’s naivete and innocent fascination placed along side Hatchin’s skepticism demonstrated the kind of offset relationship I’d hope we’d get in the show. Despite being treated like a rag doll for her entire life, Hatchin’s grown up with a good sense of morality, and she’ll definitely be the one to suppress Michiko’s passion (take that however you want it ^_^) in the future. The store manager was an amusing, if seemingly temporary, side character; he was rough, callous and harsh, yet at the same time he was quirky and seemed to admire Hatchin’s tenacity, and for that he gets + points. Also, loved the symbolism of the hair cutting, also a bit too prevalent in anime but hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Michiko’s like a dolled-up school girl by the end of this episode, but what bothers me is that she seemed so affected by seeing whoever that man was. Was it because she was stunned that it wasn’t Hiroshi and her hopes had been dashed, or because it was Hiroshi and he’d already started a family elsewhere? In any case, this simply solidifies the relationship between the two further, since at this point on they mostly have to rely on each other for support the other needs.

Episode 4

First, I must say, Drunk Hatchin is awesome.

There were clear similarities, at least physically, between Pepe Lima/Lulu and Michiko/Hatchin but what was significantly different were their personalities. Michiko’s already been defined as a strong, take-no-shit-from-anyone woman, but Pepe has had to compromise with herself and those around her to survive in the harsh world of the slums and protect her sister after losing everything in that extremely well done flashback scene (seriously, three beautiful stills with a short narrative; effective and efficient). Rico was surprisingly entertaining at first, but then quickly disgusting, beating women and running a syndicate of child killers out of his godforsaken house. But what really gets me is that after this episode, nothing will change in the dirty underbelly of the city. We’ve simply looked at one side-story with a tragic ending, which seems only to further solidify the sense of hopelessness there is for any of those children or countless others in the city. The final encounter between Michiko and Pepe was excellent in numerous ways, but primarily for me there was a slow and deliberate build up carnival drims in the background; the atmosphere was palpably tense as the music went spiralling towards its ineivitable crescendo with the death of Pepe Lima. There isn’t even time to feel anything but shock immediately afterwards due to the episode’s abrupt ending and any form of a preview, but I have a sneaking suspiscion that we’ll simply move on regardless of Pepe and her sister, as the circumstances opf their disappearance (demise?) leaves almost nothing “A Continuar”.

Coburn has a great write-up that just has to be mentioned.

Episode 5

Poor, poor Pepe ;_;. Anyway, more light is shed on the origins of Michiko (though there wouldn’t be much to say about Hatchin’s background). She was just as badass and irresponsible 12 years ago (thigh crushing and head butting ftw), but that time her seemingly inconsequential actions took their toll, as many died after her meeting with suave Cyril and the Fantasma organisation. This episode highlights the gritty underworld that Michiko managed to stumble into and we also finally meet Hiroshi in person, who seems like an honest and down-to-earth guy (what other type of guy would expose their identity just to give a topless girl a shirt? Hell, what man would ever give a hot topless girl a shirt?)  The show knows how to strike the right balance between flashbacks and current events; actions in the future seem more and more justified after learning some of the past.The old lady seemed to have a connection to (Satoshi (though i say this only because the kid she was chastising looked similar to Satoshi’s photo), <— lolwrong ) Michiko and Hiroshi, so she may have some old memories to dredge up which’ll present more info on the characters.

Hatchin’s temper tantrrum was cute and heartwarming;  after having known Michiko for just a few weeks she’s already become attached to her enough to notice the loneliness and regret she feels.One person who still remains a mystery is Satoshi Batista. He seems to have taken the reins of Montros after Hiroshi’s “death” and guided it to great success (as described by the crossdressing afro man. Yeah, you heard me.) and I think he’ll be a large obstacle for the two later on in the series.  At the very least he seems more capable than Cyril’s bitch associate, Vasili, who experienced some serious weight gain over the years and probably couldn’t take revenge on Michiko without being airlifted into her vicinity.

Episode 6

What an awesome episode. Compared to all the drama and tragedy of the last 3, this was really lighthearted. Though I do wish we could’ve seen a bit more of the history behind Fantasma and their relation to Michiko, it was great to go and look back at Michiko’s history at the orphanage (though I say orphanage, I mean house of for-sale children) with “Jumbo”. I especially loved how the old woman completely pwned Michiko with her wine bottle ^_^. Vasili turnd out to be a red herring of an antagonist; he’s just crazy and worthless, god knows how he managed to become head of Fantasma. Like I said, the entire climax of the episode, with Michiko’s Zorro-like rescue of Hatchin (who tried to take on a bull with a ladel. A ladel.) was hilarious, a combination of little nuances of comedy (So, Michiko can catch swords? I believe that…) and plain slapstick that really worked well. This is more like what was in the OP and what I expected from the show; don’t get me worng, the drama works exceptionally well but I’d rather have the show take a step back from itself and revel in the comedic possibilities of the situation (like Samurai Champloo) rather than being tragic like episode 4.

So I can burn Hana’s family to death, laugh as their skin crackles and melts, watch them die horribly and see them fall down to hell where they’ll burn for all eternity.

Though Aroduc’s right in saying that the whole evil step-family stereotype was taken to extreme levels, it doesn’t change the fact that, like Impz, I still hated, loathed and detested Hana’s family completely. It was freaking ridiculous; how do we go from typical asshole acts like throwing food and rocks and stealing clothes to a rope around her neck and attacking her with a burning iron ?! Needless to say, watching Hana slap and punch that little b**ch’s face was really satisfying. There wasn’t even a legitimate reason for the entire family to be so despicable. Preacher man can’t shoot for shit either. I hope they all die in a hurricane or something. Except for Blanco. Poor, poor, Blanco…

Anyway, ignoring that glaring, anger inducing aspect, I quite liked this first episode. Though it took Hana’s suffering to overly bombastic levels, it did the job of showing that she needed to get out of that horrible place (where she had unfortunately had to remain, trapped by necessity; if she had retaliated she would’ve been subjugated to further bullying, and if she had run away she probably would have ended up selling her organs…) and who better to take her away from all that than Michiko. She is made of pure awesome; a crazy, reckless criminal with a complete disregard for basic human decency (in a good way) and huge boobs a woman who just emanates style. We didn’t get much development of the their character (I don’t count getting your butt kicked for years by veritably demonic people as development) but it’ll be interesting to see both how the dynamic between the two develops and what kind of crazy adventures they’ll get up to.

Slow motion, window breaking, bike smashing action.

The animation was just as great as I thought it would be, and I love the Brazilian setting of the show which contrasts greatly to the standard highschool locations that seem to plague anime these days. The OP was very stylish, funky Latin jazz, and the animation there was spot on as well. The fact it’s from the directors of Samurai Champloo is quite evident, especially with the BGM (only with less hip hop and more jazz). The ED was kind of weird though, the song was alright (Japanese boy bands ftw?) but the animation was a fusion of photos and (I think) stills and paintings. It didn’t fit the tone, story or characters of the show at all and just ended up feeling tacked on and out of place to me.

I’ll definitely be blogging this show from now on as the potential of the relationship between Michiko and Hana is what was, and still is, the main draw of the series.