Summary:
While drowning her sorrows at the Rumba night club, Michiko gets in a pseudo-confrontation with popular dancer Pepe Lima. It’s a small world and the next time “Michiko Spicy Cat” sees Pepe again it is while being held at gunpoint by those deadbeat kids from last episode. The kids take orders from Tony (who got his hand stepped on by Michiko) who in turn takes orders from Rico, and Rico wants Michiko to pay for Tony’s medical bills and the TV that Pepe just broke. As Michiko leaves, she finds Hatchin ready to bust in with a cleaver for a suicide rescue.
Naturally Pepe has a story, and it turns out she was a rich girl until her father died and the family drowned in debt. Now Pepe and her chubby little sister Lulu are trying to scrape together enough dollars for a fake ID to get into San Paraiso. During Pepe’s birthday party, Lulu breaks in to steal Michiko and Hatchin’s IDs only to find that they don’t have any. Desperate to get out of Favela, Pepe and Lulu rob Rico, but when Pepe forgets the cute picture they were going to use for Lulu’s ID, Lulu agrees to go back for it. Pepe begs Michiko for help and gets refused, and the last we see of Lulu is her being chased by two of Rico’s goons. Finally, Pepe gets caught by three of Rico’s kids, and they execute her.
Reaction:
Wow, this episode pulled no punches, and I was stunned with how things turned out. I was totally expecting Michiko to storm in and take out all of Rico’s gang, before zipping out unscathed with money and Hatchin’s old shoes. Instead, we see Michiko meekly paying off Rico’s demands and then being angry and frustrated with herself for refusing to help Pepe. We’ve seen Michiko be really brave before, so perhaps she really is shackled by her responsibility of taking care of Hatchin.
I probably should have realized this wouldn’t be a very funny episode when Rico gave Pepe her birthday present. Lulu was surprisingly quick and agile while robbing Michiko, but I worry that she was unable to escape. You’d think that an episode about a lady dancing for dollars (ok, acra) would be fun, but really this episode was quite depressing. BTW, does anyone pay to eat at Ran Yin’s place?
This post was written by...
Kabitzin – who has written 1970 posts on Sea Slugs! Anime Blog.
One of the founders of Sea Slugs, I handle most of the blog admin tasks while wearing my I AM BOSS shirt. I like my action series well choreographed, and my romance series extra trashy. I also have a soft spot for puns.
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
I think Pepe’s story was actually a lie. She probably got the idea from some crappy Brazilian telenovella. I don’t even think that was her real sister.
Hatchin with the butcher knife wasn’t funny? Hatchin drunk on orange juice wasn’t hilarious?
Pepe was gorgeous right out of bed and I didn’t realize it’s her in Yin’s place until she jumped on the table. I guess she needed her trashy, skimpy outfit to hide her true self behind.
I didn’t see the end coming and only then I realized what had (likely) happened to her sister already. Bitter-sweet tragedy.
I have to admit… I really like when this happens in anime. It might start to get overplayed, but my goodness, when I see a woman getting the smack, my sexist side unleashes, and I start fist pumping in the air (what else would I fist pump? Some Super Mario blocks? *ba dum psh*…)
I forgot all about those, the ending was just too sad
I guess it’s possible that at least Lulu and possibly Pepe was/were not killed. When those kids held up the taxi, I was totally expecting Pepe to pay the driver to run them over! I guess if she did that she wouldn’t have enough to pay for the ID…
Pepe tried to slap first, so Rico was only acting in self-defense!
He was trying to hug her first. Yeah, it’s also possible that Spike is still alive.
It Just Bugs Me(tm): Isn’t “Pepe” totally a male name…? (The feminine version is probably something to the tune of “Pepina” I reckon.)
Also, those girls were doing pretty well getting away with it before they suddenly had a massive brain fart and got their priorities screwed up. Seriously, a goddamn photo? Yeah, let’s risk throwing away everything achieved thus far for *that*…
*headdesk*
Someone at the scriptwriting office got lazy or realized too late they ran out of airtime, methinks. Or had a brain fart and went out for the cheese.
The most prominent guys with Pepe as name are footballers, so it might be a nickname referring to her gazongas.
…BTW JesusXYZ, what’s wrong with “Morenos”? Me not get it.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a good picture of Lulu?
A valid point, I’ll give you, but Fridge Logic asks “why not just buy a camera and reshoot as long as necessary once you’ve gotten away clear?” :hmm:
@ Watchman: First, you’re gonna have to give me a Rolex. Then we’ll talk
*ba dum psh*
Just a reminder for you all: in the official Japanese website for this show, in the “Main Cast” section, five characters are listed as having lead roles. These are Michiko, Hatchin, Atsuko, the elusive Hiroshi Morenos, and… Pepe Rima. ^^
No matter how grim the final scene of the episode seems to be, I’d say it’s highly unlikely that Pepe died. Simply because an official “main character” wouldn’t appear, die and vanish from the show all in episode 4!
You there. Yes, you. You really disappoint me this time. Can’t you handle it like Nagi does and let bygones be bygones?
…Only if you are willing to accept me for the person I am
…
*increasingly loud dramatic soap opera violin music plays in the background while Chris and Jesus159159159 recreate the Titanic “I-am-Jesus-and-you-are-my-cross” scene* NEVER LET ME GO CHRIS!!! XD
Thanks for the heads up! We definitely need to keep another set of good jugger-nuggies, but I still wonder if the sis is okay
Dang, so her death was as fake as her breasts (according to Michiko)?
Since they didn’t jiggle at all, there’s some hope left, even if it means grasping bras.
We’ll have to keep abreast with any new developments.
*looks around nervously while trying to think of a pun to keep up with the rest of the gang* err… err… you can Tupac those breast…in a case… to Shakur(e) them… back to normal? *BUZZER* *falls down a pit*
That joke was a trabusty.
wow… I’ve just been served… OKAY SERIOUSLY!!! I MUST KNOW WHERE YOU GET UR PUN POWER!!! THIS IS JUST TOO MUCH!!! *points gun at Kabi’s Kabin Noggin* ENGLISH MOTHA F*CKA! DO YOU SPEAK IT?!?!
WOW Jesus159159159!!! Are you making fun of spanish people who do not know how to speak english, especially when we are also discussing an anime that is racistly based on spanish culture? HOW COULD YOU!?!?! *shuns away*
*twitch*
*froth*
…you’re evil. (And proud of it, I presume.)
@ Jesus: I lay the blame on you for having a nick that looks like a dodgy phone number providing unspecified adult entertainment.
;P
Anyway, going by that Wiki article “Moreno” is a perfectly legit surname, so unless the added, mysterious “s” at the end makes it mean something rude or somesuch I don’t really see the issue…
There’s no Spanish in Michiko e Hatchin. They speak Portuguese which you’d know if you had watched it raw instead of the fandub.
Point failure, I’m afraid.
For one, Portugese and Spanish are pretty darn closely related languages and naturally share a whole lot of vocabulary, already on basis of sheer geographical proximity and hence interaction.
For another, “Moreno is Spanish, Portuguese and Filipino for…” to quote said Wiki article straight. Duhhhh.
For a third, in the context it’s a *name* not a descriptor. Those things get around like you wouldn’t believe and have little difficulty jumping cultural and language barriers, on top of sheer accidental similarities. (Eg: my first name’s directly derived from an ancient Germanic term; the national language spoken here isn’t even Indo-European…) Take a look at the nationalities in the list of people possessing that surname, and wonder how it’s gotten around…
The bit with Portugese being spoken in the series is actually kinda interesting, as AFAIK most Asians in South Am are found on the eastern coast (Peru has one of the highest concentrations) – which is all Spanish-speaking. Going by the preponderance of Japanese names among the cast I had been assuming the setting would’ve been around there…
…er, *western* coast. Go me. orz
So the USA is British because they speak English? God shave Obama? Or is it Irish? Or is it German because English evolved from Anglo-Saxon? Or is it Latin? Or Greek? Or Dinosaurian?
What.
lol, well thats a first. Hmmm, a telephone number… I guess I can see that
Okay first, *throws jar of cookies at Chris’ face* F@CK YOU CHRIS! I DON’T NEED TO KEEP TAKING UR SH!T ANYMORE!!! (jay kay… just needed to let out alittle steam there
) So yea, if you check closely, it was not I, (or rather, I not was it) who made the statement of “based on spanish culture”, it was, in fact (or rather, fact in), your alter-bizzaro-ego Chris159159159, who happens to love you alot, so play nice 
. Second, I somewhat agree with Watchman’s statement, alot of spanish/latin/Portuguese language are all the same! Yea, I know how much the latin community hates it when we are all grouped in the same category (NO! I’M PUERTO RICAN! NO, I’M DOMINICAN! DON’T EVER COMPARE ME TO A BRAZILIAN!!! NO, UR SUPPOSED TO MAKE EMPANADAS THIS WAY!!!), but seriously, we really are pretty much the same. People just don’t want to admit it! In fact, we are pretty much the same too Chris. Both of our names come from the Holy Father himself, but you don’t want to associate yourself with me, do you? I don’t understand you Chris! I LOVE YOU!!! WHY WON’T YOU LOVE ME BACK!!!
*increasingly loud dramatic soap opera violin music plays in the background while Chris holds Jesus159159159 closely to his manly, hairy chest*
…what were we talking about again? =3
How dare you compare me to a lunatic carpenter you insensitive clod? Live by the wood, die by the wood! My name is derived from Greek and existed long before said carpenter caused a lot of trouble for the mother of all Latinos.
Yeah, lunatic carpenters demand an apology! ;P
I am sorry lunatic carpenters (and also sorry for the late reply)
@ Chris: I’m sooo sure ur just gonna ignore my whole convo that I made! Did it mean nothing to you?
(oh, and to tell you the truth, despite my name (wait, didn’t i say this already?), I’m in no way affiliated with religions that involve Jesus, so I know nothing about these carpenters or whatever you talk about… just wanted to make that clear. So when I meant Holy Father, I just assumed that… well, you know, Jesus fits with Chris, cause you just need to add a “t” at the end of ur name, and all I have to do is add ur now complete-with-t name to the end of mine… and like, its gattai right thur son! CHEA CHEA!!!