Chobits

So, your classic story - man vs machine. More particularly - man falls in love with found machine and, behold, it's vice versa.

I stumbled upon these series by accident on the french MCM channel; the french dubs are perfect (Chii is exquisitely dubbed), but after a few episodes I got me the subbed originals - and found out that MCM messed up the episode sequencing. Content-wise this isn't problematic since the first two thirds of the episodes are quite stand-alone. Still it's exactly this that makes the series dip after a while, and you get the idea that they were just making it up as they went along. The underlying storyline (who/what is Chii, what will happen between Hideki & Chii) gets hinted at once in a while, but all in all the first half of the series focuses on the problems that arise when Hideki tries to educate his persocon Chii and the embarrassing situations Chii gets her prude master in, all in your typical "harem" anime setting.

The main thing is: it's so well-done! The first say 8 episodes are often hilarious observations of masculine fears and obsessions as we get to know Hideki's thoughts every step of the way. Through the parts of the comic-in-comic (Chii reads a favorite comic that seems to be especially designed for her and is a key element the overarching story) you occasionally get the idea that more is about to come.

Of course, you can't keep Hideki as constipated throughout and as the often sexual jokes wear out, the series drifts towards fan-servicing with unfortunately pretty sexist undertones (not that I care). At that point, despite the fact the the manga script lay there waiting to be developed, the series seems a bit lost, and the build-up of tension between Chii and Hideki comes to a halt, as do the other plot lines (Hideki and Yumi...), culminating in the low (plotwise) or high (imagewise *grin*) of #14, where all characters spend a day at the beach. Apart from seeing all babes in bathing suits (yeah I know they're drawn figures, but cut the imagination some slack), you're left wondering when they'll get on with it. This wondering is only augmented by the following two episodes where Chii is hardly seen and the plot focuses on Shimbo and the Sensei...

***Spoiler-laden paragraphs below***

But in fact (though you only find out later) this is where they (finally) start developing the actual story about relationships between man and machine, and what machine is/can be, what it means to be human. These eps. 15-16 are the first part of this topic, where it's seen from the (negative) human side only. The story-telling is raised to a significantly higher level. It's a bit of a mystery why the next 2 episodes again seem to fall to the earlier level, and nothing much is added, except for a hint at what the plot will turn out to be.

But, in episodes 20-26 suddenly the stakes are raised and we get an entirely different anime, with all the depth and beauty that we've come to expect from this Japanese art form. What makes a machine a machine, a human human, what is love, what is the function of memory... you get it all. The density of each episode is a zillion times higher than that of the first ones, and suspense is gradually built up. And then of course there's the final two episodes where a lot of questions are answered and the series DELIVERS. Home run! Considering the end credit song had changed midway to the very melancholic Ningyo Hime, I expected the worst, and indeed initially it does end up the way 99% of man-machine-love films end up: it cannot be (I think this has its roots in the ancient beliefs that relationships are merely there for procreation). But, lo and behold people! it does not end this way. Love DOES conquer all and after a series of emotional lefts and rights in the final episode, you get positively uppercutted by the rare 1% solution: the relationship between man and machine is a fact. Relationships without procreation are allowed. Bingo this is heaven.

***SPOILER ENDS - but don't look an inch upward from this line***

So, despite the fact that the series seems a bit lost in the middle, the absolutely charming and hilarious first third plus the final third with its deep issues, superb plot and magnificent denouement make this series a solid 9 for me. I would have given it a 10, but it is a fact that the whole could have been better 1) had they from the start opted for a continuous story (like the final eps) with the story lines more mixed like in the manga, rather than more or less separate episodes focusing on one topic or even gimmick, 2) had made a better mix of humor & drama and developed the Chii character a bit better (like in the manga). Though this might be easier to achieve in a full-length feature, in which the story would benefit from being chopped from 8 to 2 hours. Obviously, this would leave Chii-o-files gasping for more, but still:

People from TBS: make this into a full-length feature!! Presto!!!

O, and don't forget to have a box of Kleenex within reach once you start on the final episode...

PS: if you buy the DVD's (6+1 bonus), disc 1 and 2 are really worthwhile (though 2 has quite a bit of sexual/sexist fan-servicing), while disc 3 may be the least interesting. Disc 4 is where you get a first glimpse of how good the series will get, and discs 5 & 6 are simply must-haves. Beware that the 7th disc contains just 3 summaries (eps 9, 18 and 27), plus a 5-minute extra called Chibits.

Despite my usual disgruntledness, people who know me know I'm a sucker for just about anything anime. Give me a good anime, and I'm in an annoyingly happy mood for quite some time afterwards. Chobits is a action, comedy, and romance series. It fits right in with shows like Ranma ½ and to lesser extents, Ah! My Goddess, and Sailor Moon. The jokes are hilarious, the characters are lovable, and the obviousness of the fan service rivals that of Evangelion.

I have to admit, I get very involved with anime. I cheer for the hero, at times the villain, mourn the loss of favorite characters, and take great interest in the lives and loves of the characters. Chobits is very easy to relate in this manner to. Hideki is as simple and honest as they come, yet human. Picture a cross between Tenchi, Keiichi, and Ranma as well. Chii is a great character, cute and innocent. She can be every bit as funny and interesting as Hideki, even when speaking a single word. She makes a great pair with Sumomo, a mobile persocon who belongs to Hideki's best friend.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me explain a little about Chobits since the majority of even anime fans probably don't know much about it. The gist of the Chobits story is about a farm boy turn city slicker named Hideki. He's in cram school, trying to get accepted into a college. When he gets to the city, he's amazed by "Persocons". Turns out they're everywhere. After making a few friends he learns that they are basically walking computers. looking human, acting human, but by their programming only. He dreams about how great it'd be for awhile, but ultimately knows he's broke. As he's walking home at night, he finds Chii. just laying on the curb in the trash. He saves her from the garbage heap, takes her home, and activates her. Turns out she knows almost nothing. No common sense, no language, nothing. He figures that's why she was thrown away to begin with, but why look the other way with such good fortune? He takes it upon himself to teach her about the world while trying to lead his daily life.

The show never ceases to stay interesting, and the stories range from serious to all out joke fest craziness. The jokes are certainly aimed at an older audience. They have all the appeal of Ranma ½. Hideki loves adult magazines and movies, and there are several very funny jokes about it. Unlike most anime guys, he's not blind to all the cute girls around him either. He's far less shy about it than Tenchi and Keichii, but he's still a good guy at heart. For the most part, the series is clean and lovable. There's extremely little out right nudity, mostly just a ton of cute fan service.

One thing I really like about Chobits is that it's very upbeat. Not just the humor, but the generally message of the anime. Going through Hideki's life, his job, his classes, his troubles and watching him fight through them all. CLAMP is great at this kind of overall upbeat anime, and Chobits is no exception. It's a great anime that I recommend to just about anyone old enough for the adult themed jokes. You might want to preview it before you have your younger siblings or kids watch it.

• Rirath_com

I enjoyed this series. I watched it all the way through after borrowing it from a friend. It rained all weekend and I popped it in not having anything better to do. Within a few episodes, I had fallen in love with Chii, one of the main characters. The character building is very nice. Within minuets you feel as though you know Hideki and his persocom Chii. Over all I give it an 8.5 out of ten. The art work, I give an 8 out of ten. I normally watch anime movies like Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, or Princess Monoko. Many of those are described as overly cute. This series is completely different. It has just the right amount of love, anger, sadness, happiness, and Yummies LOL Watch it and you'll learn what I mean.

Chobits hasn't been officially subtitled, but I have seen fansubbed episodes and I must say, since I was first introduced to manga and anime at the age of 13, I have never seen anything this cool! No other anime series is as funny, and none as addictive.

Every ninth episode seems to be a long set of memories so that new viewers can get updated on what they have missed in previous episodes. Good idea, but bad for those of us who have seen all the previous episodes, and want to see more of Hideki and his quest to find out wether Chii really is a Chobit.

I hope I will never have to see a final episode of Chobits.

'Chobits' at first glance can be considered as nothing short of a generic anime that draws comedy out of perversion. As true as it maybe, that is not the case. At first I could not stop laughing my heart out at the hilarious accounts of Hideki's city life and his fantasies. As the story progressed, I realized that the show has more to it than the belly aching comedy.

The story explores the society's obsession towards electronics and the artificial for companionship. In the 'Chobits' world, people are spending more time with the persocons or the androids. There are people who are falling in love with their persocons and cheating on their spouse. All these reflect the societal interactions that we see today. People are obsessed with the computers, portable music players, gaming systems and phones that have reduced the level at which people interact with each other everyday in the streets, office or in public transportation. As more electronic devices come to our life, more we are pushing each other apart. 'Chobits' explore these issues in a light-hearted but emotional tone that would make anyone shed tears in laughter or sorrow.