Summary:
The scooter is in the shop for repairs, so Michiko and Hatchin have to hang out at some riverside hotel. Hatchin hasn’t bathed for days, but all Michiko cares about is the hot mysterious man (Bruno) that catches her eye in the hotel lobby. Unfortunately, the next day at the beauty salon, Michiko finds out that Bruno is married to the hairdresser Anastacia. Michiko is definitely attracted to Bruno, but she can’t forget about Hiroshi. Also, Anastacia drops by to tell Michiko that Bruno is all about the chase, and really he likes to be reeled in from time to time by his wife.
While Michiko is busy having an affair of the heart, Hatchin is forced to row to the supermarket to get shampoo (so Michiko can be alone with Bruno). Unfortunately, Hatchin gets jumped for her shoes again and tossed in the river by some kiddie river pirates. When Hatchin finds out that Michiko is longing for Bruno, she angrily stomps off alone and challenges the river pirates to get her shoes back. Although she almost ends up drowning just before her 10th birthday, Hatchin ends up winning the contest and wakes up to find Michiko passed out (drunk) on the floor of the lobby next to her.
Reaction:
It was hilarious how Michiko accused Hatchin of throwing her money and shoes in the river to get out of washing her hair. If anything, it probably smelled worse after Hatchin got tossed in the river. I’m kinda surprised those kids didn’t steal all her clothes and her boat as well after the contest, but I guess not all kids are completely rotten bastards. Hatchin is like an cranky old lady trapped in a 10 year old’s body, but her relationship with Michiko is awesome.
Speaking of Michiko, I really liked how she was portrayed in this episode. Michiko is a girl with so many faults, and it clashes with her shounen heroics when the chips are down. The little details like putting her cigarette in the wrong way and babbling about swimming free in the ocean were very cute. It also underlined how hard it must be to continue loving someone like Hiroshi who may or may not be dead. Personally though, I think Anastacia and Bruno are just running a scam to get girls to love Bruno and then get their hair cut at Anastacia’s salon.
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.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
My interpretation of the ending is that at least half of the episode was just a dream because it didn’t make any sense for Hatchin to wake up there completely dry and Michiko being asleep from drinking fit as well. I mean things went a little bit too fast, don’t you agree? Also Hatchin experienced almost the same as before when her shoes were stolen and she was almost killed. Rowing down a river might even be reference to River Styx and waking up in the moment of death is very typical for a bad dream, too.
But then where did she get the ugly blanket from? *dun dun dun*
I just figured Hatchin got rescued and Michiko was watching over Hatchin while Hatchin slept. That or Michiko was watching over Hatchin while playing a drinking game.
Doesn’t quite explain the loot the kiddie pirates left Hatchin with, that…
Incidentally, is it just me or is she something of a bully magnet?
ED: Tch, beat to it.
Kabitzin, you’re right about the loot but that’s still a common gag or mystery when embedding a disguised dream sequence that is to leave some fragment that implies it wasn’t a dream. Maybe it wasn’t or only Michiko’s part was one but in any case that was my impression after watching it (just once) and I didn’t notice or remember the loot then. It’s still not a far stretch that Hatchin just found this thing (which is never shown to us) and made the rest up in her dream.
I’d be so dead-on if it was directed by David Lynch. Sweet dreams! And sweaty dreams for J-Man.
…you mean the cloak with all the pins and whatnot Kiddy the River Pirate Boss used to wear, that’s right by Hathin’s shoes in the rightmost screenshot at the top of the page…? Plus the cool old guitar dude mentioned the Pirate Kids had politely declined to hand over their, uh, ‘ship’…
Not sure, but I think the fancy-ass sandals Anastacia gave Michiko to forward to Hatchin were lying near her passed-out figure (and the empty bottles) too in the bird’s eye shot of the hall.
Haha, now Hatchin has a spare pair for when she gets jumped (probably in the next episode).
Nice Office Space reference, and sucks that I wasn’t the first one to get it.
I do like how this episode further shows that Michiko is very fallible indeed. And that Hatchin worries too much.
I’d like to offer my deepest apologies for typing cow excrements. Get them while you can!