English Dub Review: Migi & Dali “Migi and Dali/Welcome Party”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Migi and Dali

The twin boys Migi and Dali live in an orphanage until one day, they are adopted by a wealthy and gentle elderly couple, the Sonoyamas. However, they are not taken in as the two boys, ‘Migi’ and ‘Dali,’ but rather as a single boy named ‘Hitori Sonoyama.’ While hiding their true identities and pretending to be Hitori Sonoyama, they hatch a plan to win over the Sonoyamas. Their scheme is highly successful; within just a day, they won the favor of the elderly couple. Inside the tent in their room, the two share a sly smile.

Welcome Party

Migi and Dali have been fully accepted as members of the Sonoyama family. They behave just like real parent and child, but the twins notice that Mom and Dad are acting somewhat distant. Suspecting that the Sonoyama couple might be hiding something, the two discreetly begin to search the house and stumble upon an unexpected secret of the couple. Migi and Dali are shocked, wondering if they have been deceived. However, determined not to let things end this way, they execute a plan to retaliate against the Sonoyamas.

Our Take:

Well, there’s something I didn’t expect to come across in the anime industry. From the looks of the poster for Migi & Dali, it seemed like something out of a psychological thriller involving two identical people. However, it turns out that it’s more of a mystery comedy that’s somehow a rehash of Orphan, but with twins. Part of the reason is that they both follow an adopted orphan with a devious secret. However, instead of a young orphan who’s secretly an older woman with a hormonal disorder, the orphan “Hitori” is a pair of identical twins named Migi and Dali.

As the episodes progress, the show further explores the titular characters’ plan to get adopted by the Sonoyamas due to the parents living in Origon Village. What makes the town significant for them is that Origon Village is the same place where their mother was murdered in cold blood. So, to find the culprit responsible and kill them, they pretend to be one generous person to win over their adopted parents, hiding away their devious and grim personalities. The first episode, “Migi and Dali”, kicks off the concept with the characters winning Yoko and Osamu’s trust through massages, making a cherry pie, and putting a birdhouse up in the tree. The second episode, “Welcome Party”, is basically what the title suggests: a welcome party that’s almost ruined by the twins’ misunderstanding. It’s also when the show’s slapstick comedy emerges amid its bizarre and subtly creepy tone, mainly for the twins’ new pajamas and Migi being set on fire by Dali.

The first two episodes of Migi & Dali are pretty interesting regarding the show’s concept and tone, even if some of its elements felt similar to other shows and movies, mainly Jaume Collet-Serra’s Orphan. The animation by Geek Toys and CompTown and the English voice cast are decent so far. However, my only complaint is the dialogue for the characters’ lip movements. Periodically, the characters say something, but their mouths don’t move to match them. It’s a distracting nitpick that will hopefully be resolved as the series progresses. The series should also be lucky that the end of its second episode is enough to get me curious about the twins’ revenge quest.