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 from her abusive foster parents 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 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

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. 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; the ending theme for the final episode is "Nada Pode Me Parar Agora" ("Nothing Can Stop Me Now"), performed by Aurea Martins. 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. The anime was later licensed by Funimation in North America, which produced its own English dub. 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.

Episodes