Anime REVIEW: Michiko & Hatchin

Long before director Sayo Yamamoto helped take the anime world by storm in 2016 with the figure-skating series Yuri!!! on Ice, she was already making a new for herself heading a number of notably female-headed shows. Before working on Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine in 2012, she made her directorial debut in 2008 with a 22-episode series by the name of Michiko & Hatchin. As well as boasting a unique South American-inspired setting, the show starred noted Japanese actresses Yōko Maki (The Grudge) and Suzuka Ohgo (Memoirs of a Geisha) in the title roles and was animated by the now-defunct studio Manglobe (responsible for Samurai Champloo, Deadman Wonderland, Samurai Flamenco and more). Adding to this all-star staff list was legendary anime figure Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop), who worked on the series as its music producer.

Anime REVIEW: Space Dandy

There have been quite a few extremely popular anime shows that have aired in the past year, but I don't think any have sparked off as much interesting conversation as Space Dandy. One of the latest ventures from prolific studio Bones, this show also features famed Cowboy Bebop (plus others) director Shinichirō Watanabe at the helm. But on top of those already pretty impressive credentials, Space Dandy is also part of that very exclusive club of shows that has received a simuldub. That's right - as the Japanese language version was being released, we Westerners were also getting a full English version via Funimation and Adult Swim. Now I'm usually a sub man myself, but considering this rather impressive venture I thought it obligatory I checked out the dub. And rather unexpectedly, that's also the version I ended up sticking with.

First Impressions: Space Dandy

There's been a lot of hype surrounding Space Dandy. Not only is the brand new show from both Bones (the studio behind Eureka Seven, Fullmetal Alchemist and more) and Shinichirō Watanabe (director of Cowboy Bebop, amongst others), it's also storming new ground by being simultaneously released in Japan and dubbed in the US on Adult Swim's Toonami block. It's not the first show to have ever received a dub the same time as its Japanese airing, but this sort of creative talent behind it its certainly the one to get the most attention. But all this effort isn't going to go very far if the show falls flat on its face on the first hurdle, so was the first episode any good?