Super Milk Chan
The Super Milk Chan Show, known in Japan as OH! Super Milk Chan (OH!スーパーミルクチャン, OH! Sūpā Miruku-chan?), is an anime comedy about a foul-mouthed girl named Milk P. Chan, who is entrusted by the President of Everything to defend the world, even though she can do very little besides make popular culture references. Its American slogan, as a result, became "Wholesome? Probably not. Good for you? Definitely."
Super Milk Chan is produced in Japan by Studio Pierrot. The North American DVD release by A.D. Vision features two different English-dubbed versions: a straight translation of the Japanese version (which aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on October 31, 2004 with the original vintage episodes before making its official series premiere a week later) and an Americanized version with western pop culture references and short live-action skits featuring ADV voice cast members.
Summary
The show centers on the activities of Milk, a 5-year-old superhero who may or may not actually have any powers. She lives in a house on a suspended platform (similar to The Jetsons), with her malfunctioning robotic maid Tetsuko and her drunken pet slug Hanage (nosehair). The show follows a fairly linear formula. In each episode, the President (of "Everything", according to his name) calls with a new mission; whether Milk actually takes the mission is not guaranteed. Regardless of whether or not she takes the mission, she always takes credit and celebrates her success by going out for "sushi (or something)." Likewise, there are a number of other constants that follow through the series, often under contrived circumstances.
The show pre-began as eight-minute segments (14 segment episodes) on the Fuji Television program Flyer in 1998. All of those episodes are rated TV-PG. It was later made into 12 full-length episodes, which are rated TV-14 in the United States.
Major characters
- Milk (a.k.a. Super Milk Chan) (born July 12, 1999?): The title character of the show, Milk is a little girl who may be a superhero. She is often selfish, vain, has a short temper, and drools. She is often found tormenting the President or her robot maid, Tetsuko. Although she works officially for the President, she chooses on her own whether or not she wants to follow his orders. Coincidentally, her house is in the shape of a baby bottle and she still drinks powdered milk from a baby bottle on occasion.
- Tetsuko (Tetsuko?): An obsolete robot maid, Tetsuko was created in 1982 at the King's Idea Laboratory. She lives with and works for Milk. Tetsuko is a more conservative character, the only occasional voice of reason on the show when she is questioning Milk's greedy, immoral or random decisions. She yearns for a stable traditional family life, which the living organisms around her do not even consider. Milk often calls her a piece of junk and Tetsuko is torn between loving Dr. Eyepatch (her "daddy") and being disappointed in him when he insults her or offers to replace her. She has the ability to generate a fart ("Tetsuko's gas") that is lethal enough to even kill a raging bear. The only character that brings out Tetsuko's aggressive side is Robodog, whom she hates. They are in a constant conflict over Milk's affection, much to Milk's amusement.
- Hanage (born 2002?): Hanage is Milk's green, middle-aged pet slug known as a "Hanage". He has a drinking problem and is incapable of speech, though he can understand multiple languages. When he does speak, it's usually to express his thoughts; often a maudlin soliloquy, that are referred to as "the voice of Hanage's heart." "Hanage" means "nose hair" in Japanese.
- The President (of Everything) (Born 1964?): The President of Everything is a stout bald man who apparently runs the country Milk lives in (referred to only as "our nation", a subtle reference to the Japanese habit of referring to their country as such instead of using the proper names "Nihon" or "Nippon"). No one knows how he achieved his office. He assigns missions to Milk, but whether she takes them or not is her prerogative. The President proves to be inept and incapable at fulfilling his job, at one point firing his country's best missile (The Punishment Missile) on his own country at his own conclusion that his citizens would try to put him in the Guillotine or the electric chair. He has short, round arms and he frequently pounds on his desk when talking on the phone. The President likes wine, women, and song but he usually enjoys cheap wine, loose women, and off-key karaoke. He also attracts flies and dearly loves his pet cat, Kanchi. His desk is decorated with a different anime or pop culture character figure on every episode.
- Dr. Eyepatch (アイパッチ博士, Aipatchi-Hakase?, born 1966): Seen only on a TV screen, Dr. Eyepatch runs the King's Idea Laboratory (王様のアイデア研究所, Ō-sama no Aidea Kenkyūsho?). In each episode, he provides Milk with a new invention or gives information about topics of concern. He created Tetsuko, but always belittles her or offers to have her replaced. The eyepatch over Dr. Eyepatch's right eye changes its design every episode; sometimes it changes several times in the course of a single episode. He also once hosted the NG awards.
- The Landlord (a.k.a. Lalo) (大家, Ōya?, born 1970): A bald, blue-skinned creature with a head shaped like a daikon radish. He is Milk's landlord. As Milk is perpetually over six months behind on her rent, he continually tries to get payment from her. However, whenever he tries to get the rent, she does or says something that shocks or tricks him, causing him to run back across the ladder to his own home. He is also anxious, as he once thought he lost his "purse," but shortly finds it after making a racket over it. The landlord has admitted to being a homosexual in the Japanese version of episode 9, "Financial Decay Peninsula". His homosexuality is openly referred to in more than one episode.
- The Ants (アリの一家, Ari no Ikka?, The Ant Family): A family of ants (a mother, a cuckolded father, and a baby larva) live underground near Milk's house. Their portion of the show chronicles their constant marital troubles. The family consists of Yoshiki Arita (蟻田 よしき, Arita Yoshiki?), an overbearing, suspicious husband, Helen (ヘレン, Heren?), an unfaithful wife, and Ario (アリ夫, Ario?), their son. The family seems pretty neutral in the first three episodes, but things start to get tense afterwards. After noticing his wife's behavior and realizing that she is cheating, Yoshiki becomes more and more enraged, while Helen just denies it or changes the subject and talks to Ario. Eventually, Helen takes Ario and leaves. In the final episode of the show, Yoshiki writes a letter to his family and commits suicide.
Other characters
- Haruo: A robot that Tetsuko has a crush on. He only appears in the vintage episodes.
- The Counterfeiter: A counterfeiter who (really) likes Belgian waffles. He makes counterfeit bills to buy a lot of them. In the Japanese version, the real currency has pictures of "Kin" while the counterfeit bills have pictures of "Gin" - a reference to the oldest-living twins. In the Americanized version, the bills are differentiated by pictures of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
- Kyuu the Myna Bird: A bird that Tetsuko started keeping, but died the next week. It looks like a toucan. His favorite thing is "Chaushu" and his favorite kind of girl is bouncy. One episode later, he is revaled to have died right away, like most myna birds do.
- Kanchi: A very cute cat wearing a red dress that runs away from the president finding him disgusting for being too clinging and Milk and the gang have to find her. She is found in a place called Meow Meow World. At first she refuses to return to the president and claims that she can get by with subsidized dating, but after Milk reads the president's letter, she is moved to tears and decides to return. She was first found by the president in a cardboard box on a rainy day.
- Leonardo the Japanese Bear: A violent bear from an Osaka bear farm. He defeats Robo Willy, but gets knocked out by Tetsuko's gas attack.
- Pastel Mr. Shin: An man dressed as a kindergarten student. He tries to get kids to play with him, but they can't because their parents said they couldn't. He gets shocked and throws a tantrum whenever they say he's not a kid. His name (Pasuteru Shin-san in Japanese) is a parody of Crayon Shin-chan.
- Keizao Butae/Colonel Flanders: The factory manager of the Gentucky Pork Legs Factory, who resembles Colonel Sanders. While hitting on an employee, he accidentally presses the laser control button, shutting down the power of the Pork Gun which allows Tonkichi & Tononko to escape. Keizao then hires a hitman to take them out.
- Barazou: A live-action cross-dressing man who appears frequently on the news. In the Americanized version, he is cut out and replaced by someone else.
- Akiko Matake: Akiko is heard but never seen. She is seemingly a young Japanese girl who does video art. Her "art" is never much more than a pretentious monologue read by her as she takes a video of normal things happening in Japan. The videos are live action and cut randomly into the show in various episodes.
- Tonkichi & Tonko/Palmer & Penny: Two pigs that are in love with each other. After escaping the Gentucky Pork Legs Factory, they defect to a country where people don't eat pork. As soon as they arrive, they are turned into pork legs by a hired hitman.
King's Idea Laboratory Mechas
- Robodog No. 1 (ロボドッグ犬1号, Robodoggu-Inu 1-Gō?, Robodog-Dog No. 1) - A rude, incontinent robot that Dr. Eyepatch made to help on some of Milk's missions. Tetsuko and he are bitter rivals. Robodog winds up causing a lot of conflict and trouble on Milk's missions.
- Punishment Missile - A huge, red missile painted with a strange face that is fired at the selected target by the President in order to "punish" the target.
- Submarine Milk 5 - A submarine that is used by Milk Chan to go underwater.
- Rice Cake Maker No. 3 - A rice pounder that is toilet-like in shape. It pounds rice cakes over and over.
- Pork Gun No. 5/The Porkcinerator: A laser gun that is used to shoot pigs and sends their bodies into another dimension, except for their legs.
- Mecha Elderly No. 7 ("Furby")/Geezerbot 1000: A robot that is designed to look like an old man. Fueled by ramen, he will suddenly become surly if he hasn't had any. He has no real function. This said to have debuted on the Tonight Show.
- Bear Slayer Robo Willy No. 8/Willy the Bear Slaying Mecha A robot designed to slay bears unconditionally. On the mission he gets destroyed easily by Leonardo the Japanese Bear. His design vaguely resembles Jim Kelly's character in Enter the Dragon.
- Magic Shiitake 1 No. 9/Magic Mushroom 5000: Magic Shiitake is a mushroom shaped device that warps time and space within a given radius so the user doesn't have to make an excuse to get out of whatever he doesn't want to do.
Episode guide (Season 1)
Note that the plot listed for an episode often doesn't start until halfway through.
1. Milk's Story of The Evil Spirits Go Marching In (First Episode) (Air Date: November 7, 2004)
- A counterfeiter is making money that closely resembles the real thing. Milk is sent to uncover him, and soon discovers his one weakness: Belgian waffles! "Give me all the Belgian waffles I can buy with this money!"
2. Milk's Story of From Giba-chan To Dioxin (Air Date: November 14, 2004)
After dreaming that people who look suspiciously like the Ku Klux Klan try to kill him in a guillotine, the President fires a missile on his own country. His attempts to get Milk to stop it fail miserably.
3. Milk's Story of Don't Give Up Sumi High Baseball Team! (Air Date: November 21, 2004)
A ship carrying a load of wine sinks in the middle of the ocean. Milk is sent to aid the drunken fish.
4. Milk's Story of the Return of the Young Master from the Planet (Air Date: November 28, 2004)
Aliens, seeking new sources of food, have kidnapped the President. Milk goes out to find him but doesn't even know where to start.
5. Milk's Story Of Rice Cakes Stretching and Shrinking (Air Date: December 5, 2004)
Milk seeks a way to make a better version of her favorite treat, rice cakes. Her searches are interrupted when the President orders her to find a missing baby. Despite the dialogue, the "rice cakes" are actually mochi.
6. Milk's Story of the Towering Homeless (Air Date: December 12, 2004)
After the cardboard houses of the homeless burn down, the President orders Milk to build them new homes. This episode repeats itself as its own sequel.
7. Milk's Story of Ra-Ra-Raccoon Dog, Heisei Pig Wars Oink-Oink (Air Date: December 19, 2004)
A mishap involving sexual harassment causes trouble at a pig leg factory. Two pigs in love escape and are now defecting. Milk is ordered to stop them, but she's too busy with her own snack foods.
8. Milk's Story of the Virtual Sound System (Air Date: December 26, 2004)
Milk accidentally eats a priceless Tyrannosaurus rex egg, but the President is too busy crying over his lost cat to worry. In order to smooth things over, Milk sets out to find his cat. The title of the episode refers to two actors who provide all the sound effects for the episode.
9. Milk's Story of Financial Decay Peninsula (Air Date: January 2, 2005)
There's a rash of purse thefts in nursing homes. Milk is sent out, with the aid of an old-man robot, to combat it.
10. Milk's Story of Hou Hokekyo, Who's Going To Die (Air Date: January 9, 2005)
Tetsuko breaks down due to the Y2K bug (although the 2K stands for the number of farts) Before Milk has a chance to fix her, she's sent to combat a killer bear.
11. Milk's Story of Having A Thick Talk For Dinner (Air Date: January 16, 2005)
An outtakes episode, hosted by Dr. Eyepatch and a man with three eyes who claims to be the show's creator.
12. Milk's Story of Farewell to Mankind: Last Episode (Season Finale) (Air Date: January 23, 2005)
Reality is being warped by a machine that resembles a shiitake mushroom. Milk is sent to take care of the problem, but has some trouble as the mushroom's rays keep sending her back in time.
Vintage Milk segments
When aired on Adult Swim, these segments were aired in a different order than on the DVD release.
- Milk's Boy Knife
- The President That Dashes Through Time
- Milk's Appraise Anything Team
- Tetsuko's Blast of a First Date
- It's Ecology, Milk Chan!
- Tomyankun Illusion
- Hunting Middle-Aged Men In the Name of Heaven
- Milk Chan has Arrived
- Totally Unexpected Animal Event
- Mice Die Twice
- Something Like a Tokarev
- The Stolen Fighting Spirit
- Milk's Challenger of Fire
- Farewell, Milk Chan
TV segments
These are the shows that Milk Chan and friends watch:
- Tama & Chuutaro/Mousey and Kitty
- Mr. Deserted Island/Deserted Island
- The Four Tire Brothers
- Pastel Mr. Shin/Colorful Mr. Shin
- Police of the North Star/Fist of South Star
- Hirosue's Rush Into Poor People's Dinner
- Company NOW/Dollars & Cents NOW
- Technology Today!
English Voice Actors
Milk: Hilary Haag
Tetsuko: Monica Rial (direct translated version), Marcy Bannor (Americanized version)
The President: Mike MacRae
Hanage: Ben Pronsky
Dr. Eyepatch: Tommy Drake
Robodog: David Matranga
Landlord: Rob Mungle
Yoshiki Arita (Father Ant): Todd Waite
Helen Arita (Mother Ant): Shelley Calene-Black
Ario (Baby Ant): David Matranga
Theme songs
Japan (Oh! Super Milk Chan)
- Opening
- "Ōkami Nanka Kowakunai" (狼なんか怖くない?, "I'm Not Afraid of Wolves")
- Performed by Haruka Nakamura
- Music by Takurō Yoshida
- Lyrics by Yū Aku
- Ending
- "Tsuppari Highschool Rock'nRoll ~ Daitōryō-Hen" (ツッパリHighschool Rock'nRoll～大統領編?, "Hoodlum High School Rock 'n' Roll ~ President Mix")
- Performed by Yūichi Nagashima
- Music and lyrics by Yoshiyuki Tamiya
U.S. (The Super Milk Chan Show)
- Opening
- Ending
Further reading
External links