Michiko and Hatchin
I guess I enjoyed most of the show but the last two episodes were quite disappointing (as was the ending itself) and it certainly feels like the show had a lot of wasted potential. Overall it was quite a good show but it really could have been great.
There are a few particularly strong episodes throughout the show and there are some nice character stories. Hatchin focussed episodes tended to be the best, perhaps because she had the most development (or maybe just because she was pretty consistently great). The stories of some of the side characters weren't bad either, I did quite like Atsuko's development and Satoshi had his moments. There's a story later in the series where Michiko is challenged by an
old assassin, it's a pretty good story but for some reason it's never fully resolved (it's possible there's an implied resolution but it's not clear enough and I could just have been guessing).
I'd say the biggest weakness is that the show spends a lot of time being about Michiko or about Hatchin but very little being about Michiko
and Hatchin. It clearly wants to be about both, there are too many little scenes implying that this was the point but somehow it forgot to actually see that through in the majority of the episodes. One of the best episodes is about another pair who have some similarities to Michiko and Hatchin, it's fairly early in the show and it seems that after that they gradually forgot to actually include both in stories going forward.
There are some other issues too. I think it was a mistake to have Michiko escape from prison at the beginning because it rarely affects episodes and when it does it tends to be for the worse. If she'd simply been released it would have worked much better and given the story the freedom to take it's time (which it does anyway) without having to worry about dealing with the pursuit storyline (which it does poorly). The need to wrap up the pursuit story is probably one of the biggest factors in how poor the last couple of episodes are.
It wasn't really a problem until the end but why was Michiko in jail for over 11 years anyway? That's a long time, especially since it seems the majority of her crimes were minor and she seems to avoid killing people. It's kind of implied she was betrayed/framed for something but they never really give much information. The lack of explanation for why Michiko was wanted significantly undermines the entire "pursuit" storyline. I think it could have worked much better if she'd just been released and Atsuko was following her to try and catch her out in a world where crime is almost an inevitable way of life (and Michiko isn't the best at avoiding it either).
I think the ending itself could almost have worked if they'd framed it completely differently. The build up to it ends up undermining it significantly and it just feels disappointing and meaningless. At the beginning of Episode 21
there's a dream sequence and I think I'll consider that my "canon" ending. It would have worked much better and basically captures everything the show should be about in one moment. I expect the ending will work for some people but I got caught up in the details that never really made sense and that kind of ruined it for me (it might have been fine if the show itself hadn't been highlighting those details).
I did find the ending frustrating but I don't know if it was bad enough to completely undermine what went before so I think it's overall still quite a good show. I do think it had a lot more potential throughout though, it could have been a great show. Still, as a "journey, not destination" show it's not too bad (and probably would have been much better if it hadn't tried to add the "destination" part).
Lutga said:
Maria Watches Over Us (seasons 1 - 3) - 9/10
I need to get around to watching this, it sounds like it could be about as good as
Aoi Hana/Sweet Blue Flowers but longer.
