By Cheyenne Ewulu
Is this a safe space? Can I come clean about something to y’all? I am a SIMP for badass anime girls. Plain and simple.
Hello, and welcome to Funimation Flashback, the series where I, Cheyenne, revisit some of my favorite titles from my childhood. So that means the late ’90s through the early ’00s. And as always, you know the drill! Before we get into today’s topic, be sure to follow Funimation everywhere for more anime content just like this!
In today’s episode, we are talking about an anime that I think is one of the most criminally underrated series in anime history: Michiko & Hatchin. Doesn’t sound familiar? FOR SHAME. Shame because you are definitely missing out on a gem of a show.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, here’s a brief summary for you: Escaped convict Michiko Malandro is on a quest to look for her long-lost lover Hiroshi Morenos. On her journey, she ends up saving an orphan girl named Hana, who Michiko believes to be the daughter of her long-lost lover.
Together, Michiko and “Hatchin” are partners in crime on the lam who are chasing a dream, and they won’t stop running until they achieve it. If that description wasn’t enough to pique your interest, then maybe the fact that it’s brought to you by the creators of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo will be enough to make you wanna dip your toes into the pool of Michiko & Hatchin.
Yes, you heard me. This anime was touched by “GOATS.” So you already know I’m not kidding when I say this is the show you need to start binge-watching ASAP.
It’s the Afro for me. It’s Michiko being unapologetically badass for me. It’s the Afro-Latina characters for me. It’s the GOAT Shinichiro Watanabe producing the music for the show for ME. You guys. I don’t think anyone really understands just how much I love this show. I love it so much, I even used to cosplay as Michiko.
Do I even have to explain why I love it so much? I mean, first of all, we got a badass Afro-Latina as the main character. Like, yes for the representation! The anime itself takes place in Brazil, which I thought was a very cool location to have for an anime.
You can tell that the animators and artists really took their time trying to capture the beauty of South America in the anime. The scenery is very realistic and just all-around pleasing to look at each episode. The art is so realistic in this show that it almost made me want to book a flight to Brazil right after finishing it. But, I was like…a teenager with no job, so…
There are a lot of realistic, adult themes in this show. As you can imagine, it’s not your typical, cookie-cutter action show, and Michiko and Hana aren’t your typical main characters either. They’re literally total strangers, but they behave more like sisters. Hana is the brains and Michiko is the brawns. They’re polar opposites that have to force themselves to get along because they’re stuck with each other.
Let’s talk about my favorite part of the show, the main character, Michiko Malandro. Y’all, this girl is the definition of SPICY. Michiko is everything I wanted to be growing up. She’s literally her own woman and doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. She’s seriously badass, sexy and she knows it.
A lot of her enemies on the show seem to be super-buff and well-connected men, but the creators did not let that slow her character down at all. They make it clear that this is a female character that doesn’t need any saving. I mean, she broke out of prison all on her own. Your faves could honestly never. Kicking, punching bad guys all on her own, all while looking fabulous? Michiko is the hood’s Sailor Moon.
You have no excuse to not watch this. It’s literally 22 episodes of action-packed epicness, and guess what? You already know what I’m going to say. Yes! It’s on the Funimation app right freaking NOW, just waiting for you to dive in.
I’m not one to beg, but I’ll do it for this anime. Please watch this show. I am begging you. And after you watch it, report back and let me know what you think. And we’ll see you next time on Funimation Flashback!
