Billy Hatcher (also known as Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg) (Neo-Japanese: ッチャーの大冒険～, Giant Egg: Billy Hatcher no Daibouken) is a 2003 parody adventure anime series written by Sonic Team, produced by the Neo-Japanese company, NTMS Entertainment and with artwork by by Yuji Uekawa. It has been aired internationally since its Bloxlish dub was first released in 2008.
Summary
The series is about the adventures of the titular Billy Hatcher, as he becomes the hero of the fictional Morning Land by accident after discovering a egg during his walk to school.
In each episode, the protagonist (Billy) often tries to use his powers for good. However, sometimes, they accidentally cause chaos and misery for everyone else, with Billy and his friends (a girl named Rolly Roll, 2 boys named Chick Poacher and Bantam Scrambled) trying to fix the problem.
Characters
Protagonists and Minor Protagonists
- Billy Hatcher (voiced by Judith Amy Bell in both the 2008 and on-going dubs)
- Rolly Roll (voiced by Rachel Lillian in the 2008 dub, voiced by Momo Asakura in the Bloxlish dub)
- Chick Poacher (voiced by Jason Griffifth)
- Bantam Scrambled (voiced by Samuel Adams)
- Menie-Funie
- The Chicken Elders
Antagonists and Minor Anatagonists
- Dark Raven
- Dark Corvo
Rating
Outside of the Neo-Japanese market, the series’ official age rating is “Under 9”. However, it is worth noting that in Neo-Japan, the anime is considered to be a seinen anime since it was designed for Robloxians between the ages of 18 to 40. Because of this, anything from the Neo-Japanese anime if distributed to Robloxia would merit a 18-21 or 21+ age rating.
However, the series is often considered to be suitable for all ages due to the fact that there is no inappropriate content and that it was also designed to be in a similar vein to Sonic the Hedgehog (as the main focus of the series is the journey of the protagonist and was designed to be similar to a standard children’s television series in Neo-Japan).
Series score
The first opening song is named Ai no Medicine (Love’s Medicine) by Haruko Momoi, while the second and the most famous opening theme is titled “G.I.A.N.T.E.G.G” by the Hikaru Ichigo Children’s Chorus.
The background music was composed by the well-renowned anime composer, Tomoya Ohtani, while the anime’s main music was composed by Mariko Nanba, who would later go on to compose the Nyaruko anime’s score.
Trivia
- Shun Nakamura, one of the anime’s directors has expressed interest in producing a season 5 of the anime. However, he has mentioned that it is unlikely the Sonic Team will make that a season as they have distanced themselves from Billy Hatcher-related content.