Chobits

"Try your very best to not write any spoilers." Unfortunately, here's the biggest spoiler of them all. THIS SERIES SUCKED! Oh, are you still here? Let's get some (but not much) detail into this horribly sucky series. Will I tell all? No, I'm not Oprah. If you want to know the full details, you'll have to suffer as well. Now, on to the review. Where oh where to begin. About a month ago I suffered a heart attack. Compared to watching this horrid series, that was enjoyable. The incredible pain I was put through as a catheter was rammed into my leg and threaded into my heart was pleasantcompared to the agony of sitting through this absolutely horrid anime. There was a plot... somewhere. At times, I honestly think the writers even forgot what the plot was. First, we have horny redneck trying to get into the big city. I was honestly waiting for him to screw that cow in the first episode. I would've gotten a good laugh if he'd introduced himself as "Name's Hideki ma'am" and then spit between his shoes. Nope, he doesn't even have that much personality. I think I've left more personality in a tissue after blowing my nose. Ok... oh and yeah, he's a complete and total dork. Not even in a good way. More along the lines of having to remember to breathe kind of retarded dork. Who wants a human shaped computer (that's cute, don't forget cute! big time keyword here) to look up... porn. And he never does! The moron continues to buy skin rags while supporting this irritating contraption. And not to be outdone by the fact that every single character looks like it suffers from some form of extreme downs syndrome (really, sloped foreheads, extremely wide spaced eyes, almost inhuman shaped chins) but the computers are these weird basically android like constructs called... wait for it... wait for it... Persocoms. Great name eh? Freaking amazing. I remember when I had first come across this series I thought that it was one that had been done back in the 80's (I could've forgiven it if it had been. a lot of really weird things came out in the 80's) but no... it's a fairly recent anime. In fact, it was done in 2002. 2002! Did the clamp group really have absolutely no experience with computers at all?! just how far does artistic license go? So, boy genius (Hideki) winds up picking up a "persocom" out of a trash heap and eventually names her Chi. Hey, I'm a geek... and I used to dumpster dive. Got some really great parts that way! But somehow, this guy comes across the most advanced of all persocoms... in the trash. So that brings us to Chi. Poor little incredibly retarded Chi. Someone really should've shot her and put her down. It would have saved so much time and money that was wasted on the production of this horrid series. Anyway, poor retarded Chi goes from useless retard to somehow becoming the uber grail of computers. She goes from not knowing anything at all to having some kind of amazing "learning" software installed. Wow! I know some A.I. groups that would just absolutely kill for that! Just a taste of how it was done would keep them happy for decades. And this amazing, hideously disfigured retard comes standard with it. So, I guess to mock microsoft, she's not retarded, she's advanced! (yes, blatantly ripping off the "It's not a bug, it's an undocumented feature" legend) So advanced in fact that her creator's wife (another exceptionally ugly woman) just somehow winds up managing (and later you find out, owning) the apartment that Hideki and Chi live in. Holy cow, can we say contrived? And then... he meets more dorks. Who spout the stupidest things. I spent 27 episodes just telling myself I'll finish this. It'll be worth it. I'll give you a hint. It wasn't. However, you do get to eventually meet an odd underage bimbo who's proud of her breasts (and well she should be, since she's not got a damn thing else going for her), a pair of micro/mini persocoms that are actually just loaded with personality. Sumomo was actually a bit fun to watch, and Kotoko was very funny. However, they are fairly minor characters, who wind up around Hideki and Chi in exceptionally contrived circumstances. It took me almost two weeks to get through this lousy series. I was constantly finding better things to do, but still trying my damnedest not to watch something else until I finished it. But hey, if boring as all hell, repetitive, flash back ridden, loosely mangled plot lines (yeah bull crap that the entire plot was developed before a single image was drawn. If you believe that one, yet can sit through this entire series AND still think the plot was well developed... well... something tells me you ate a lot of wall candy as a kid. Maybe even still do.) lousy animation, occasional special effects (that oddly are better drawn than the characters(?!)) then this anime was made just for you.

Chobits I remember liking this show a whole lot back in the day, and unfortunately it hasn't lived up to what I remember. Chobits starts off well enough, but by the end it gets lost in trying to be profound. The animation is good. It was consistent and fluid throughout the show, so no complaints there. The artwork.....I'm hesitant to say it was bad, because I don't think it was, but much of the character designs are all pretty much the same with different hair plonked on to distinguish them, and even there.....they all had the same sort of scraggy haircut. The only ones who are uniquein design are Chii and Sumomo. Chii's design is extraordinarily cute, and all the various lolita outfits she get dressed up in enhance her cute factor, by quite a lot. As for the characters, our main leads were disappointing. I found Chii to be mostly bland, and Hideki was a colossal idiot. He really did get on my nerves at times with his ludicrous outbursts. I just couldn't feel the chemistry between Hideki and Chii, it felt somewhat forced. The side characters were more interesting than those two. Sumomo was easily the best character there, she was energetic and unique. Consequently the side characters had more interesting stories as well. They did have some themes about the relationship between technology, society and people and while they weren't outstanding they were interesting to watch. The better episodes are the fillers, but even they wear down after a while because the same jokes are recycled over and over. Now the bigger problem is the main plot. It starts out well enough, with the usual 'what is Chii?' stuff, and I was actually interested by how it was presented. But as it moves along it just gets confusing. By the end we had some new and important characters pop out of nowhere and I thought some of the plot points were outright contradictory, and the entire ending left me with that bitter 'wait, what?' feeling. I honestly have no idea what was suppose to happen in the end, the show just doesn't tell us. On a good point, I really do like the soundtrack. It's got a wonderful retro sound to it, and it fits the show very well. There's nary a track out of place throughout Chobits, it's been timed quite well. The OP is quite a catchy pop song, and the EDs are a good listen. Though I do prefer the first ED to the second one. The dub was alright. The actors did a good job (though, no offense to Monica Rial, but there wasn't much to Chii in the first place), a couple of the guys were a little bland at times, but there's nothing really more to comment on it, there's nothing wrong with it. Oh, Sandy Fox did a fabulous job as Sumomo, she does the squeaky voice exceptionally well. I'm finding it hard to say that it simply sucks, because despite it's flaws I was at the least entertained most of the time. Chobits isn't a terrible show, it's cute, and quite a few of the episodes are fun but it gets tangled up and ends up confusing itself which drags the show down as a whole. It's another one of the switch of and enjoy type shows, if you don't pay to much attention to the attempts at being deep.

Today, I'm actually going to review something that doesn't suck! Warning! the following review contains spoilers and extrapolates on an allegorical interpretation of the plot that you may or may not agree with. Overview: Chobits is a romance anime that centers around a couple named Hideki and Chii. They have an unconventional relationship that is criticized by many in their society as unnatural and a slight against God. They can't have "real" sex that produces children. However, they overcome these criticisms and show that 2 consenting adults in a loving relationship is a beautiful union that should be respected by society. I am of course talking about manand girl robot relations. What? You thought I was talking about something else? Chobits does an excellent job of showing that a writer can deliver a moral or social message without senselessly beating the viewer over the head with it and getting obnoxiously preachy. The use of allegory and some sense of subtlety can go a long way. If you thought this was just another forgettable echii series, think again. Chobits is often surprisingly well written and has some intelligence along with plenty of heart. Plot: Hideki grew up on a farm in a rural part of Japan and is technologically inept. When he moves to the city in order to attend college cram school, he is amazed by the prevalence of humanoid robots called persocoms. Persocoms, which is short for personal computer, are essentially robots that can act as computers, servants, and can even work many jobs. However, persocoms lack true artificial intelligence and are incapable of true emotion, feelings, or decision making independent of how they were programmed. There is a legend about a small number of true AI having been built called "chobits", but this is mostly dismissed as a mere rumor. Hideki is far too poor to afford a persocom and can only witness this oddity with jealousy. He fantasizes about what he would use a computer for...mostly looking up porn. I mean... the man has never had a computer before, give him a break! One day, Hideki finds a mysterious persocom abandoned in the garbage behind his apartment and decides to take it home. This persocom is in the shape of a beautiful girl and at first can only say the nonsense word "Chii". Hideki decides to keep Chi and soon discovers she is very different from other persocoms. Perhaps even one of the legendary Chobits! The plot deviates a bit from the manga, but I don't want to get too deep into the nature of the AI and how the manga is different in order to avoid spoilers. I will say that the anime has some filler in the middle that some may find boring, but it does help gradually build up the relationship between the main couple. So, I wouldn't exactly say these episodes are simply wasted. Characters: The 2 main characters as already mentioned are Hideki and Chii. Hideki is a typical, lovable loser type character. He is not exactly revolutionary as a character but generally comes across as a pretty realistic young college student. He is rather shy and introverted, but desires love and has never really had a girlfriend before. Despite his awkwardness and slight obsession with porn, Hideki is a genuinely nice guy and gets along well with pretty much everyone in the series. Chii starts out a virtual blank slate and learns from Hideki's actions and words. Eventually she starts to develop her own personality and proves to be a caring and kindhearted soul. Chii adores Hideki and doesn't seem to mind his flaws. It is also later hinted that she wasn't born a blank slate and had a past before being tossed away. (Once again, I don't want to spoil anything.) Chii seems to have a deep connection to series of mysterious picture books that she finds at the local bookstore. There are a number of secondary characters introduced as well, with my favorite being the child prodigy Mr. Kokobunji. Along with being a billionaire computer genius, Kokobunji takes a keen interest in artificial intelligence and raises many of the series deepest questions and thoughts. Art: Despite being a slightly older title from the early 2000s, Chobits' art has held up well over time and looks quite good. The character designs are well done, the background scenery is gorgeous, and the animation is fairly fluid and smooth. It's Studio Madhouse, so you can't really complain. Soundtrack: Chobits not only has excellent opening and closing themes, but very catchy and upbeat music throughout the show that will probably put a smile on your face. The soundtrack also has more somber and mysterious music that plays when Chii reads her special picture books. I have heard some viewers, mostly younger viewers, comment that they found this music creepy. I personally found it more mysterious than anything else. Enjoyment: Chobits is rather funny, but also at times can be thought provoking and heartwarming. It offers the best of all worlds. Once again, it does have a few filler episodes and strays a bit from the original manga at times, but that is only to be expected for a 26 episode anime based on a fairly short manga. I found it to be quite enjoyable but be warned that the first few episodes are a little slow. I would at least watch the first 7-8 or so episodes before making a decision to continue or not. If after 8 episodes you are still hating every minute of it, it clearly just isn't your cup of tea so feel free to try another series. Final thoughts: Chobits isn't a perfect series or a work of art so fine that I would personally fight a duel if someone insulted it to my face. However, it is a very good series and breaks the mold of traditional echii comedies. I would recommend this one to men and women at least 13 and up. This is a seinen genre anime, so younger viewers might not really appreciate the finer points. Not to mention Hideki's porn obsession would be a bit awkward to explain to a 9-year-old.

This is my first time doing a review, so bear with me. I'll try the best I can. Chobits isn't revolutionary with its female android protagonist. There are, of course, a great many other anime that have the same idea. Although, from what I can see, a lot of them are somewhat perverted and contain a sundry of fan service. I think Chobits did a good job with the android cliché. It's not as simple as the others. In my opinion, Chobits is my favorite anime of this type. Story 8/10: Some time in the future, our protagonist, Hideki Motosuwa, goes to a city to prepare for college.Once he arrives there, he notices the abundance of "Persocoms", a personal android that have become hackneyed to the city residents and other urban dwellers. To him, it seems as though everyone who is anyone owns these android servants. The only problem is: he's downright poor and bucolic, he doesn't know anything about computers or anything fancy like that. Being the protagonist, lo and behold, he finds a discarded Persocom. This Persocom isn't like any other private household Persocom, this Persocom is a Chobit! Chobits are a special kind of Persocoms (I won't go into detail in order to avoid spoiling). Upon finding each other, Hideki and his Persocom, Chii (Or Chi), go on an adventure of self discovery, love, forbidden love, and tragedy. Forbidden love is the conflict in the story. It certainly is a philosophical discussion; is love between a human and an android... right? Well, Chobits is here to put a foot in the door of that argument. Art 9/10: Art and animation is very important for anime. For some, it's sometimes a hit or miss for the show. The style is definitely different than today's, since it's made in 2002. The art, in my opinion, perfectly fits with the story, setting, comedic sequences, characters, etc.. It has that 'kawaii' feel and it's not too complex. To put it bluntly, it just FEELS right. Animation is well done. There are, at times, moments where you can spot awkward placement of characters and their movement throughout the scenes and where it's not smooth, but those can be easily disregarded. Sound 9/10: First, I'd like to highlight the fabulous intro. "Let Me Be With You" by ROUND TABLE is the perfect intro for Chobits. It's also really catchy and a good song overall. I also like the little bit after the intro. The voice acting was well done and they definitely fit their characters. Good work, voice actors! Background music was very fitting, I almost didn't notice them at times and I can get in with the music's mood. As for sound effects, I don't have any problems with it. They worked well with the setting. Although, we all know that computers nowadays can be quite silent. The hard-drive reading sound will be quite nostalgic. Character 8/10: The characters in this show certainly aren't overused but they also aren't revolutionary. The characters fits the story and did their jobs perfectly. Hideki is a student getting ready for college and is happily fuelled with porn magazines. In fact, he wanted a Persocom in the first place to access porn on the internet, among other useful things. Hideki has a family that owns a farm and he grew up with a rural livestyle. Hideki later meets Chitose Hibiya, his landlady, Hiromu Shinbo, his neighbour, and more lively supporting characters that are related to Persocoms (usually in the form of a traumatic event). None of the characters aggravated me or made me wish they would go die in a whole somewhere. They all have a story to tell and help Hideki and Chi with their life. From the first episode of Chobits, I was already hooked. Humour is always a good way to get attention. Through the entire show, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. All the happy and sad moments are lessons to be learned. Chobits gave good reason for both sides of the argument, though mostly for the right to love. The problem, "Loving an inanimate object is forbidden", is thoroughly displayed, argued, and ultimately answered. Overall, I give this show a 9/10. This is truly one of my favourites.

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes