We’re getting to more task-specific crime thriller territory now, ain’t we?
I’m actually a little amused over how Michiko’s role in this criminal underworld is rather vague. She doesn’t seem like a loan shark, or a hit man, or a dealer, or even a snitch - - so I guess she’s just supposed to a general-purpose lowlife?
Considering how she’s drunk, hung over and/or stoned pretty much all the time, there’s an added level of entertainment to “reading” this vagueness as her being just too out of it to understand what her role is, either. The same thoughtless impulsiveness that serves her so well when the goons try to shake her down in the flashback also rather hilariously backfires when she takes the same approach on the “mob negotiation” in the beginning. Her success rate, and her place in the general scheme, really does seem to come down to arbitrary coin flips.
I read somewhere that our titular leads are actually voiced by two of the biggest actresses in Japan. Not strictly voice actresses - - actresses, period. The difference certainly shows, as this one of those rare subs where you legitimately feel like you’re hearing good acting. Even when you have absolutely no idea what anybody’s saying, you can still feel the emotion they’re expressing (right in your gut, man!).
I don’t know as much about the economics of anime production as I’d like to, but I’d be really curious to see what external factors might account for how high the budget on this show has got to be. As I’ve said, the animation’s feature-level quality, and I’d have to think that famous live-action actresses would carry bigger fees than those who strictly do V.O. Both of those ingredients, on their own, should drive cost up, right?
Would any of you more learned lunatics care to enlighten me?
Watch this episode, "The Saudade of Fools, Parte 1" here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
You are correct.
I would say that you can describe Michiko as a woman who was in love with a gangster, but in the bullfighting episode, she basically becomes a superhero. :)
I love the VAs in this show. I think Michiko's VA pulls off that attitude, one you can recognize no matter what language you speak.
I'm gonna have to check this one out it's starting to sound like those production values are too good to be true,