Chobits

Genre: Comedy
Type: Series

Chobits takes place in the near future, where Motosuwa Hideki, an average, eighteen-year-old student has just failed his University entrance exam and must attend cram school in Tokyo. Like most people his age, he struggles with everyday activities such as earning money and keeping up with the latest trends. The biggest trend these days, however, is to own a Persocon, a robot that looks exactly like a female with cute protruding ears. Hideki is much too poor to actually buy a Persocon for himself, but by a stroke of luck, he finds one abandoned in an alleyway and promptly takes her home. The Persocon is severely damaged and all she can say is "Chii.? Hideki names her Chii and begins to teach her about the everyday activities of the modern world.

I'll begin to say that this anime was a bit sickening due to the fact that the romance is between a robot and a human. You might say that the series is a good prediction for what might actually occur in the near future if robots were allowed to have increasingly more powerful artificial intelligence. However, this isn't an anime that warns about the dangers of technology, but instead, it supports that robots have feelings and should be treated like equals.

Chii, the dysfunctional Persocon, starts out emotionless, but as time goes on, she develops a cute, innocent personality. Despite the fact that she is a robot, she becomes an endearing love interest for Hideki. Hideki is just an average student, and his character is a bit cliched in its portrayal. His character constantly changes, however, and he starts to show real depth in the last few episodes. Aside from these two main characters, Shinbo and Minoru make several appearances as well. Shinbo plays a sidekick and best friend to the Hideki, and Minoru, although only a child, takes the role of a mentor to Hideki.

The anime spans twenty-six episodes, and it seems a bit dragged out from the beginning. Due to this, you'll find that several episodes are somewhat filler, although each episode does contribute somewhat to a theme or moral. The anime moved slowly, but even so, it entertained because of the unique situations in each episode. In one episode, Chii starts working in a showgirls club, and in another, Chii and Hideki go to the beach. While these episodes didn't really advance the storyline, they did add character development and suspense.

Chobits has a catchy sound track, and the singer for several songs, Tanaka Rie, also voices Chii. Tanaka Rie has been well renowned as a talented voice actress that has over thirty works in her resume. The songs, although very girly, are very appropriate for this anime. Also, all the characters had very pleasant and fitting voices.

If you don't find the boy-meets-robot theme a bit weird, then you will probably enjoy this anime. As for me, I thought it was a bit weird for a human to fall in love with a robot, yet I felt that Chobits portrayed this love relationship in an appealing way. The anime touches on sensitive subjects such as morality of what is right and wrong between humans and robots. The series is recommendable, but it isn't for everyone.

Written by Lance

Rating Meter: 80 %