Anime: Chobits

What would the world be like if there were humanoid robots? Chobits is one of the series (Eve no Jikan, Da Capo 2, To Heart Memories being some other ones) that tackles these potentially realistic philosophical questions.

Chobits is a sweet story about an ordinary seeming country ronin and an extrordinary humanoid computer/robot that he finds. It plays with the idea of relationships between humans and robots and turns out as a lovely, slightly comedic, slightly romantic, and very deep story. It's worth the watch if you're willing to give it a chance and if you're willing to think a little.

Animation:
The animation in general was well done (CLAMP, also behind Kobato). The color palette is a bit dark, which fits the mood of the series and location (middle of the city). Despite the dark look, Hideki's room gives off a warm glow for some reason appearing inviting. Chi is gorgeous in general, in both her personality and how she's drawn. There is a bit of fan service in this Seinin anime but it is definitely not the focus of the series. Expect lots of bloody noses nonetheless. The one bothering aspect is Hideki's eyes (reminds me of Kenta from Karin).

Sound:
The OP and EDs (done by Rie Tanaka) all fit the mood of the series very well, and also roll into the BGMs as well. Overall, the soundtrack in this series is outstanding. It isn't meant to be as relaxing as that in Air or as mystifying as that in Kanon, but it just gives off a comfortable vibe. I also really liked the "dark Chi" theme that played whenever Chi did something extraordinary, though this actually came from another anime (X TV). As for VAs, Rie Tanaka. Enough said. Chi is a drastic change from many of Tanaka's other more talkative/bubbly/confident characters and she does an outstanding job of bringing out Chi's innocence.

Story:
The story evolves slowly and so some people may get bored with episodes that seem to be filler. However, I found that these episodes tended to include a great deal of humor, enough so to warrant watching them. There are also summary episodes which contain no new footage and thus can be skipped.

As for the actual storyline, I think it evolved quite nicely from discovering Chi to teaching her the rudiments of ordinary life to learning about her background. The story does get a little confusing near the end and may warrant a second watch. Be prepared, there is an extremely emotional cliff hanger near the end. The conclusion, though, was beautiful and made it worth it (and made me want more!).

Character:
Chi is kawai. Since she has no memories at all (including speech other than "Chiiii") she is completely innocent. This allows for cute scenes such as her reading XXX manga and other such acts. It is also a weakness that is exploited by others in the series. Motosuwa is also an interesting character as he has to come to grips with the fact that he is slowly beginning to like someone/something that isn't human, something whose memories could possibly be wiped out in an instant. Most of the supporting characters have something to do with persocoms and help Motosuwa deal with his situation in one way or another. Personally, I think that the really rich kid (Minoru) and his persocom/imitation sister's story could have been better done but otherwise the other characters were well integrated.

Value:
This anime deals with many issues that are real and pertinent. Some predict that humanoid robots will be reality within the next two decades, and books have been write about falling in love with robots/AI. I find this take on the issue to be fascinating and very enjoyable. I watched this twice through and am definitely keeping this in my collection. It's not the funniest or most tear-inducing in the genre, but it is a heart-warming tale nonetheless and a very good watch.

Chobits is to its core a romantic comedy like so many others. It is about a rather typical teen male lead and his life with girls that suddenly have to stay in his apartment. If you’ve seen or read enough harems and ecchi comedies you can see the done to death premise from the very first episode. A guy with zero talents and zero experience with women all of a sudden gets swarmed by pretty gals who need him for emotional support.

But that’s the thing; the story bothers to give legit reasons for why that happens. It’s the near future, where technology reached the point where computers look and act like people. Many real humans turn to them for comfort and neglect each other. It’s basically an extreme version of what is happening already with virtual reality and 2D waifus replacing physical human relationships.

This is just the premise of course, and as we have discovered countless times, it means nothing if the script is shit. Chobits is not doing that much in terms of plot but it definitely bothers to flesh out its characters to the point they are memorable and not restricted to archetypes. Unlike countless series where what is going on in the setting does not affect the cast, over here the conflict is all about the state of the setting and how it messes with the mind of every individual.

Of course the story still uses cheap tricks in order to explore the setting. Hideki is an average and oblivious country boy, who doesn’t know much about the city and the technology of the persocoms, so he needs everything explained to him, while also staying largely unaffected by the conflict. It’s what I call a lobotomized askman, someone existing as a self-insert and an excuse for infodumps. He does eventually become part of the setting and its issues through his interactions with others, but he always comes off as an ideal boy scout everyone can trust and seek aid from.

And then, there is Chii, the titular robot waifu who works as the focal point from which everything begins to unravel. She is found naked in the garbage with her memory wiped, Hideki takes care of her in his apartment, and the doujins are practically writing themselves. She was written with a lot of done to death tropes, that individually mean nothing but in this case bounce off each other all the time and don’t allow her to be just another generic moe chick.

She is still used in a similar cheap way like Hideki. Also oblivious, needs to be taught everything, with infinite potential to mentally mature into anything you want her to be, like a Furby with a super computer. Being an empty vessel that can be filled with anything you want, makes her the ideal pet or waifu.

But that’s the thing; the script could have stopped there, not bothering to go any further, yet it didn’t. There is a tragic backdrop story from before she lost her memory, which sums up everything that can go wrong with putting too much emphasis on loving machines instead of people. It’s also good food for thought regarding memories defining who you are, and how losing them makes you a completely different person thereafter. I am not a fan of the amnesia trope but when it’s used as character growth instead of regression, meaning not going in circles trying the get back what you had already, thus not getting any development, then count me in.

It’s not all peachy though, since it has a lot of the mystery box syndrome going around, which, just like in any other show that abuses it, only ends up disappointing you. There’s something about a second dark personality inside Chii, which occasionally comes out and causes persocoms to freeze, and there is the military sending two other machines to spy on her, there is something about the creator of the sentient machines using a program that can completely change the world. And none of these mean much or led anywhere. They were just baiting you into keep watching for a big twist to come, which never came.

It’s the trademark of all CLAMP stories. They keep promising something big to happen down the line, and it never does. They are trolling your expectations and keep you watching with queerbait relationships. These themes and ideas I’ve been hyping up for you all this time are found only in about a fifth of the duration of Chobits.

The rest of it is an almost generic school comedy about Hideki and his ever growing harem. There isn’t much nudity as there are pervert jokes and the chosen girl is set in stone from the very beginning, but it still counts as an erotic comedy. More subtle and elaborate than the average of its kind yet still not deconstructed enough to be anything more than that. And this is the biggest issue with Chobits. It’s way better than any harem yet very undermined as social commentary or psychological.

Nonetheless, there is closure and the characters get developed, which is something I can’t say for most harems and comedies. It would definitely be better if it removed the disappointing mystery bait and had more theme exploration regarding the society and its technology but even as it stands, it is an above average anime and it’s highly memorable.

overall: one of the best anime on its genre!

Animation
Interesting backdrops and environment well designed and implemented. Animation of characters was extremely well implemented, especially on main characters, and particularly, Chi.

Sound
Great OP and ED as with almost all great anime. Character voicing was good, showed expressions clearly. It wasn't easy to portray the effect wanted of Chi in the beginning when she only knew one word - but it was done well!

Story
Not too much of a story, but more of events. Nicely thought out, providing a great entertainment value. The ideas were great, and reflects social values of modern society in an interesting viewpoint.

Character
Very beautifully designed characters. Relationships well expressed, partially through the good voicing and animation.

Am I being too nitpicky?
Maybe I am watching too much anime in one setting, but I felt really annoyed through most of Chobits. I thought the main character behaved idiotic and irrationally so didn't seem believeable. Also other nagging questions were the insistency of surrounding technological levels compare to the sophistication of robots and its AI. Also, I didn't find many jokes funny (e.g. When Hideki actually say the perverted things without him realizing or they find Hideki a pervert for just standing front of a lingerie shop without being able to enter for embarassment).

The show deals with the question of a human being able to love a machine when the machine doesn't act by its rules (programs) and behave more like a being with free will and emotions. Chotbits is somewhat comparable to the show, Kurogane Communication, when Kanato didn't realize his mother is an actual robot to replace his dead mother. When humans love machines more than other humans because of no occurance of conflict and easily manipulatable, will this lead to the destruction of humanity? Also through out the show, Hideki's human relationships are hindered by his love for his computer. Many foreshadowers point to Hideki's love as a forbidden love. Will love overcome any obstacles?

The animation is what you expect from anime in these era, though nothing spectacular or memorable. The character designs were good mostly, and the backgrounds were detailed enough. One thing I did notice was that the characters' eyes seemed lifeless. Notably, the animation is different from earlier Clamp series (which is a good thing, no 8ft basketball players who weigh 100lbs nor anorexia victims and huge detailed eyes with tiny nose and mouth and slender face).

The sound was well done. The OST was outstanding. I like the opening theme "Let me be with you." When I heard the song first time, it sounded so familiar I did a little research and found out that its done by the band, Round Table featuring Nino. They also did other anime themes like Groovy Magic for Gunbuster 2. Chobits employed many professional seiyus like Hideki (Tomokazu Sugita - Mayama from Honey and clover), Chi (Rie Tanaka - Koyomi from Azumanga Daioh, Lacus Clyne from Gundam Seed), Hiromu (Tomokazu Seki - Kamui Shiro from X the movie). The necessary background noises were present.

This show reminded me a lot of Blade Runner (one of my favorite sci-fi movies), because of the similarities in the theme. The story was the one that made me finish the show. There were lots of mysteries surrounding Chi's origin and purpose. Also the book, "The Town with no People," had me ask several questions. what does it mean? What does it foreshadow? There were also numerous symbolisms throughout the show (e.g. symbolism of losing one's virginity to their one true love). However, Chobits suffered from slowness because of several non-related episodes that didn't add any value to the overall quality, and the story still was not enough to keep me from being bored. I just wanted to hurry up and finish the show so I can watch something else. Also, I thought most the ecchi and the fanservice took away from its plot. They seemed forced. If your main focus is ecchi and fanservice, I would rather recommand Golden Boy or Love Hina.

The characters are well developed. The characters became more interesting as the show progress revealing their past secrets that tie into overall plot and theme except for Hideki. Hideki stay one-demensional and predictable during the entire show. I am sure you can sense my hostility toward Hideki. I feel I've been over-exposed to immature and naive main male characters. I guess I just can't relate to them. Some shows work well with this kind of main characters (Love Hina), but this show I just couldn't stand Hideki (Freaking out over a female robot?). The whole focus of the show was on Chi's capability of learning the way of human life and emotions. Chi is a naive lovable adolescent with only purpose to love the person who found her and care for her. It somewhat reminds of Elfen Lied. Chi also has a mysterious past that keeps you wondering what she really is.

Judging by the show's rating and other reviews, I know that many people will say that my review is a devil's preaching. Overall, Chobits wasn't terrible, and it discussed interesting theme that could be true in the future. But plagued with many faults and my dislike of the main character, it didn't keep me engaged enough for me to like it. Because of this and other Clamp titles that I've seen(Magic Knight Rayearth, X tv, Tokyo Babylon; I did enjoy xxxHolic), I'll skip on Tsubasa choronicles for a while.

While this anime lacks the hard-hitting or truly dramatic story line that I expected, Chobits turned out to be an enjoyable experience.

The animation was very good, and there is nothing I can complain about in this area.

The story wasn't very deep, and though it was sort of stretched over the whole series, much of the real plot devlopment came with a series of plot twists in the final episodes, which left me with a lot of unanswered questions about the plot and the background of the various characters.

The characters, while lacking a great amount of depth, are enjoyable to watch, but the relationship between Chii and Hideki doesn't seem to develop into anything romantic as it seems to suggest. However, that is not to say that the interactions between Chi and Hideki are not interesting, they are, and I enjoyed watching Hideki dance around the subject during the series. Also, the character devlopment of Hideki and especially Chi is very well done, and their growth during the series is very apparent.

The value of this anime is greater than most, as the comedic factor allows this anime to be rewatched more times than your average drama would allow you to.

I really enjoyed the series, though I wish the plot and ending had been a bit more complex.

Personalmente me pareció una adaptación bastante mala del manga, en la que se pierden muchos detalles importantes, los cuales fueron cambiados por cosas sin sentido alguno. gráficamente hablando la animación me pareció bastante buena, el ost es sin duda una de las mejores cosas de la serie, aunque la serie en sí deja mucho que desear.
Principalmente porque la filosofía del manga se perdió, también el final es bastante malo en comparación al del manga, el cual es mucho menos soñador y demuestra que no siempre las cosas son tan mágicas, ademas de que dejan de lado ciertos valores familiares que en el manga se ven de forma más remarcada y en el anime se pierden totalmente.

Una adaptación un tanto pobre, pero que puede resultar divertida para quienes decidan no leer el manga.