New anime from manglobe : Michiko to Hatchin confirmed!

[Lego]

Oh man, if Champloo and Ergo were any example, this is going to be amazing.

The official website of the Michiko to Hatchin anime has opened, and thus confirmed that the manglobe studio (Samurai Champloo, Ergo Proxy) is animating its latest project for television broadcast this year. Sayo Yamamoto, a storyboarder and episode director on Samurai Champloo, Ergo Proxy, and Eureka Seven, will oversee her first directorial work. Live-action Freesia film scriptwriter Takashi Ujita will pen the work, while Hiroshi Shimizu, an animation director on Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG, Kemonozume, and Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, will design the characters. Director Shinichiro Watanabe (of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo fame) will not be directly involved in the animation of this project, but he will contribute as the producer of another aspect for which he is also famous: music.

From ANN.

Wantanabe is a quirky director and should be fun to have him doing the music. Designs look good and anything from manglobe is slick. Main site is here (http://www.michikotohatchin.com/)

[roastedpekingduck]

Except Watanabe will not be the director for this project. Still entirely unsure about this project. Ergo Proxy sets off alarm bells for me, and I have absolutely no idea about how the scriptwriter is.

[Lego]

Except Watanabe will not be the director for this project. Still entirely unsure about this project. Ergo Proxy sets off alarm bells for me, and I have absolutely no idea about how the scriptwriter is.

Bah my bad, it's a first time director, got caught up in him doing the music(?), thats a new one.

[roastedpekingduck]

He's not doing the music. Just the producer.

[Andrew Cunningham]

Given that the Freesia movie had fuck all to do with the manga, I can't say as it's a promising sign.
On the other hand, it is nice to see a female director get a shot in such a male dominated field.

[Lego]

He's not doing the music. Just the producer.

Ah, Bebop had tons of Jazz and Champloo had rap and hip hop, so I guess he'll pick something for this. The main female character looks latino and there is a little thing saying caliente latino is a producer..

[Talyn]

Country, please anything but country music.... :D

Sounds good, provided the plot sounds good....

[roastedpekingduck]

Not too sure how much creative influence Watanabe will have, if any. He's also only one of many producers. Unless he's providing most of the funding as a producer, I'm not sure how much say he's going to get into things.

Edit: My bad. Looks like he IS the sole music producer, so he will have some large influence over the music.

[Lego]

I wouldn't be surprised if we get a lot of Spanish guitar and salsa type of tracks, everything is seemingly being set up for it.

[Talyn]

Him being the sole music producer is fine by me, he can focus on making one area perfect instead of being spread thin over the entire project. Sure he can handle that, but seeing what he can specifically in one area of production is a real treat and a chance for someone else to shine...

[Talyn]

I wouldn't be surprised if we get a lot of Spanish guitar and salsa type of tracks, everything is seemingly being set up for it.

You know, I'm fan with that and would definitely be interested in seeing this.....

[Lego]

Him being the sole music producer is fine by me, he can focus on making one area perfect instead of being spread thin over the entire project. Sure he can handle that, but seeing what he can specifically in one area of production is a real treat and a chance for someone else to shine...

Much like Andrew this raw female director intrigues me, I want to see what she can do. Obviously they have faith in her to give her such a large budgeted show for her first job.

[Westlo]

This looks interesting, I'll be checking this out.

[mighty_vespa]

*visits official site*

Manglobe + A Damn Vespa = I am SO THERE!

The foreshortening (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perspective_(graphical)#Foreshortening) in the promo image is a HUGE plus for me. I enjoy seeing that kind of dynamicism in artwork. I just hope they don't get too crazy with the camera work and the character animation to the point that it becomes visually unreadable.

[Shsway]

On the other hand, it is nice to see a female director get a shot in such a male dominated field.

It's only the second time that I've heard of such a thing (the first was Saikano).

Still, this staff outline interests me not.

[TheGreenMan]

The site has an actual trailer now:

http://www.michikotohatchin.com/
(left side: Trailer 2)


Nice, very nice. Watanabe is the music producer? AWESOME.

[DKL]

Sayo Yamamoto is a REALLY reliable Madhouse and Manglobe regular; her episodes in shows like Gunslinger Girl and Samurai Champloo were some of the best (she even worked under Hiroshi Hamasaki in Texhnolyze)...

Really looking forward to seeing this...

Too bad I don't watch fansubs...

Eh, it'll come out here eventually.

[TheGreenMan]

Sayo Yamamoto is a REALLY reliable Madhouse and Manglobe regular; her episodes in shows like Gunslinger Girl and Samurai Champloo were some of the best (she even worked under Hiroshi Hamasaki in Texhnolyze)...

Really looking forward to seeing this...

Too bad I don't watch fansubs...

Eh, it'll come out here eventually.


Hopefully on Blu-Ray.

[DKL]

Oh, shit, son...

I need a PS3.

[HellKorn]

Promises to be visually interesting and possibly fun, so I'm game.

Sayo Yamamoto is a REALLY reliable Madhouse and Manglobe regular; her episodes in shows like Gunslinger Girl and Samurai Champloo were some of the best (she even worked under Hiroshi Hamasaki in Texhnolyze)...

Episodes six, ten and 18 of Texhnolyze are some of the best individual episodes in anime, yeah.

She also storyboarded and directed episode 16 of Eureka Seven (with a script by Chiaki J. Konaka -- coincidence?), which is one of my favorites in the series. Very, very surreal with some interesting perspectives (such as Renton relaxing around the miniature home).

Which episodes did she do for Champloo?

[DKL]

She did the brothel girl episode [I think] and some others... my memory is pretty hazy right now...

But, yeah, I'm pretty sure she did that specific episode; it was one of the best episodes, really, and just kinda sticks out in my mind.

[Kouji Tamino]

...Wow, this looks like it will kick ass. And the chick is HOT.

[ArcticMech]

Looks great visually. Definitely worth checking out for at least the first few episodes.

[BigPants]

Wow, that trailer got me pretty excited to check this out. Definitely looking forward to it (and a soundtrack :| )

[Lego]

Interesting to see a latin female main character. Animation and action looks nice, hopefully manglobe won't disapoint.

[pi8you]

Looks pretty sweet, should be worth the ride for the visuals alone. And catfights. Mmm.

[TheGreenMan]

Oh, look, the OP is Tank! incarnate.

[Andrew Cunningham]

I want to like this more than it's letting me.
The opening being exactly the same as Saint's Row 2, except dark and hard to see? Not grabbing me.
Then Hatchin gets introed with something I, frankly, can live without ever seeing in anime again - she's being bullied by her adoptive family. They drag this out waaaaaay too long, too - I was seriously on the verge of turning it off before they turned it around.
The ending to the episode certainly got me, but...back to this complaint again. Why do anime insist on ending the first episode with the fucking hook? Give me the hook early and then let me see where that hook will lead so I don't have to wait a week to find out if I care.

[HitokiriShadow]

You know, I'm all for them showing how shitty her life was.... but I have to agree, they dragged that out a lot longer than necessary. What happened in the last two minutes should have happened at the halfway point at the latest. I don't mind setting things up a bit before bringing the hook out, but this went on for just too damn long.

I only saw a few episodes of Cowboy Bebop here and there and Samurai Champloo failed to keep my interest after one episode. I'll give this one a bit more of a chance than Champloo and see if it gets more interesting in the next episode or two.

[Prede]

Well will Dai Sato be involved? That guy owns!! Either way this studio is wicked good. Champloo and Ergo Proxy own!!! I'll probally like this anime. Can't wait for more info on it.

[HitokiriShadow]

I suppose Dai Sato could get involved for some particular episodes as he has done for some titles, but he's not a driving force in this series or involved in any way at this point.

Neither, apparently, is Shinichiro Watanabe. I was thinking was directing again, like for Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, but apparently he is only directing the music this time, so it has a weaker connection to those titles than I thought.

[Aiia]

I didn't really feel bothered with the pacing. The opening threw us right into the action with the jail break, which was enough of a hook to me. Hatchins situation was horrible, but I never felt the need to turn the episode off. On the contrary, it made me interested in what her fate would be. And I really liked how the end of the episode felt like a child's fantasy come true with the real mom showing up to take her away, sort of like what happened to the main character in this children's book. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mio,_my_Mio)

[TheGreenMan]

Michiko should have blown the shit out of Hana's "family." Seriously.

[Kirarakim]

I agree with the comparison of Hatchin's situation with a children's story with a twist.

In fact it reminded me very much the situation that characters like Harry Potter & Matilda found themselves in.

[Andrew Cunningham]

One thing I would like to single out is the voice acting - using screen actors instead of voice actors definitely made it feel really distinct.

[HellKorn]

One thing I would like to single out is the voice acting - using screen actors instead of voice actors definitely made it feel really distinct.

For the better, I hope? (Haven't watched the first episode yet, or anything from the fall season, for that matter.)

I thought Hosoda's casting of actual teenagers for the main roles in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was a brilliant move. There are a couple of rough patches, but it enforces a stronger emotional connection than the forced, overly dramatic and generic voices I frequently hear in Japanese dubs of anime.

[pi8you]

In fact it reminded me very much the situation that characters like Harry Potter & Matilda found themselves in.
Potter! That's who was coming to mind!

Overall I enjoyed it quite a bit, even if Hatchin's intro comprised the vast bulk of the episode. It certainly could have been done in far less time, but if they can take that absolute moral beating and return to it with glorious vengeance later on, then I'll have no problem with it. Michiko's got tons of attitude, it'll be interesting to see how much of it she imparts to Hatchin as the series goes on. No idea what the plot's going to be, aside from running from the police? Well, we'll see, I've certainly found enjoyment in things with less. Animation's excellent, and there's some gorgeous backgrounds to be had, so at the very least, there should be quite a bit of eye candy(on several levels).

[Andrew Cunningham]

One thing I would like to single out is the voice acting - using screen actors instead of voice actors definitely made it feel really distinct.

For the better, I hope? (Haven't watched the first episode yet, or anything from the fall season, for that matter.)

Yeah, it was probably the reason I didn't give up on it, despite my misgivings about the writing. (And in the writing's defense, he was, at least, not using the standard bullying techniques.)
Anime voice acting has a tendency to be very on the nose; the performances are always the ones you expect. The voice acting here occasionally played against the scene; Hana sounds very matter of fact when you expect her to be upset, etc.
I certainly think the main crop of voice actors are capable of performing like that, but they are rarely directed to do so, and I imagine it is easier to cast actors used to more physical performances and coach them into a vocal performance than it is to teach a voice actor how to play against what they're used to doing.

[something]

Episode 1:

The evil family shit did indeed go on too long. Seeing Hana slug that little bitch definitely felt good though.

But my problem with this show is its visual style. Technically, it's very well animated. But the designs bug me. I feel like I'm watching a western cartoon try to be anime (a visual aesthetic I hugely dislike) as opposed to an anime trying to incorporate western styles (which *can* work for me sometimes, such as with Samurai Champloo).

I don't know, I just couldn't get into it. I could do my little spiel about how I'll watch another episode depending on when I can free some time in my schedule... but I'd be lying. I have too much else to watch, so I'll call this one dropped instead of agonizing over the decision/

[Lego]

Episode 1:

The evil family shit did indeed go on too long. Seeing Hana slug that little bitch definitely felt good though.

But my problem with this show is its visual style. Technically, it's very well animated. But the designs bug me. I feel like I'm watching a western cartoon try to be anime (a visual aesthetic I hugely dislike) as opposed to an anime trying to incorporate western styles (which *can* work for me sometimes, such as with Samurai Champloo).

I don't know, I just couldn't get into it. I could do my little spiel about how I'll watch another episode depending on when I can free some time in my schedule... but I'd be lying. I have too much else to watch, so I'll call this one dropped instead of agonizing over the decision/

It helped set the scene for how poor Hana was abused, but it did start to get redundant after a little while. Aside from being overjoyed when Hana punched back it seemed rather "meh" all around.

[Andrew Cunningham]

My distaste for the first episode was strong enough I nearly didn't continue, but I'm glad I did; this is the show I wanted it to be.
Hacchin's past does seem to be playing off well enough that I can see why they made such a point of it, but I'd have been a lot happier with a first episode that gave us the meat of the show and then explained how they met in a flashback. Basically reversing these two episodes.

I am having a little trouble not lining the characters up as Lupin parallels, but they've done a nice job updating it, and it is nice to hear tough female characters who actually sound tough, instead of squeaky.
The action bits towards the end were a blast, and the interactions between our two leads are awesome; the cop with the afro is a totally bad ass design, although her character checking out the little girl's underwear is the one really baffling moment in the episode.

If you were on the fence after the first episode, definitely give the second a shot.

[TheGreenMan]

Michiko is so bad ass. Ha!

Anyway, I don't like seriyuu for Hatchin. Fantastic acting yes, but she makes Hatchin sound much older. Hatchin is 9 years old, not 30. There was one scene in the 2nd episode that had me confused on who was actually speaking.

[Andrew Cunningham]

Anyway, I don't like seriyuu for Hatchin. Fantastic acting yes, but she makes Hatchin sound much older. Hatchin is 9 years old, not 30. There was one scene in the 2nd episode that had me confused on who was actually speaking.

I disagree; she sounds like an actual nine year old instead of an anime nine year old, and I can see how that would be confusing.

[pi8you]

the cop with the afro is a totally bad ass design, although her character checking out the little girl's underwear is the one really baffling moment in the episode.
She was checking for the tattoo, duh!

Fantastic episode, really good 'proper' introduction to Michiko, 'Jumbo' is excellent, and the chase was delightful madcap, though I was hoping for a little more punishment for father(whom appears to be a recurring character) for messing up the bar at the end.

I'll give the OP one more go, but the track didn't seem to grow on me at all, and the ED is right out.

[TornadoTatsumaki]

Michiko is so bad ass. Ha!

Anyway, I don't like seriyuu for Hatchin. Fantastic acting yes, but she makes Hatchin sound much older. Hatchin is 9 years old, not 30. There was one scene in the 2nd episode that had me confused on who was actually speaking.

I agree with you wholeheartedly about Hatchin's seiyuu. Maybe thier trying to make Hatchin like "Hotoko Kobayashi" from Angelic Layer. The first episode was sort of so-so, both of Hatchin's step I mean foster siblings abusing her and riding her like a horse was sort of twisted,lolicon and bizzare.

Episode two was stylist but still fairly average. Asuko's playful and sadistic behavior towards Michiko made the episode slight more interesting along with turning the Father into a greedy-ass miser wanting to kill Hatchin for life insurance and having her finally crying at the end having gone through torment.

I certainly hope it get's better, I mean it's probably not exactly Manglobe's better efforts. It pales in comparison to Samurai Champloo and Technolyze which both are far better.

[LelouchLamperouge]

I'm really enjoying it. I love the fluid animation, the OST/BGM, the character designs... everything just clicks. I love the OP, but don't care for the ED. Hana's seiyuu is going to take some getting used to, no doubt - but Michiko, "Jumbo" and the rest are just plain awesome.

I hated Samurai Champloo and Ergo Proxy made terrible choices near the end... hopefully Michiko to Hatchin will be the series for Manglobe to impress me... so far, so good. 3rd time's the charm, perhaps.

Between this and Mouryou no Hako, it's a close race for best Fall show.

[HellKorn]

I agree word-for-word with what Andrew has said, though I actually like the first episode in spite of it not giving enough hooks and the somewhat sadistic writing. I was expecting close to twenty minutes of torture by Hatchin's foster family instead of ten, so it didn't strike me as bad if I'd gone in blind. Also like the direction, production values, character designs and the teasing bits with Michiko's journey, so I wasn't put off as much as others were.

But yeah, episode two erases any doubts I had. I'm also a bit surprised at the already emotional attachment between Hatchin and Michiko; it's sentimental without really being cloying.

I certainly hope it get's better, I mean it's probably one of Wanabe's weaker efforts.

This has already been dealt with earlier: Watanabe is NOT directing this. He's involved in the music production, and that's it.

Right now, I wish he'd never gotten involved in this. Would've at least kept away comments like this.

[Redcoffin]

I can't believe no one else is talking about this great show. All of you who dropped it because it didn't grab your attention in 2 episodes, I say go give it a try again. It looks absolutely great. The style is fabulous. The dialog and stories are frequently much better than they need to be. There are a couple of so-so episodes of course, and a certain amount of Tarrantinesque ridiculousness but even those eps look great and are fun to watch.

Episode 13 was I think the best yet.

And if anyone quit watching this because it "doesn't look like anime" all I can say is go lie down in a storm drain and let the rains wash you away.

[Kouji Tamino]

I'd love to be watching it right now, but I don't like watching anime... that way... Looks awesome and stylish as hell, but I'm hoping that it will eventually be licensed. Usually a show like this would be a shoe-in, but this economy...

[pi8you]

I've continued to watch it and its definitely been a great ride, making it hard to pick a favorite. Episode 13 was really nice, but I think its either the circus episode(10?) or 12, our token tripping out episode, for me.