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16. Marshal of Manga 
It’s got the cutest opening theme (and cutest girl?) of 2002, so amidst all the cuteness, I was surprised to see so much perversion in this series.
We learn from the opening theme that Chobits is about two people falling in love – a robot girl and a human male. Despite the occasional humour and frequent scenes of perversion, that’s basically all that Chobits is about.
Persocons are humanoid robots in the near future that can think for themselves, but they lack finer human traits, such as feeling emotions. Hideki is a struggling student trying out his luck at a cram school in Tokyo, and can’t believe his luck in finding one of these high-priced machines in a rubbish heap. To top it off, it’s female, looks young, and really, really cute. Imagine Hideki’s delight that he can now resort to other means of stimulation rather than pornography magazines – which make an appearance in almost every second episode. He doesn’t do anything physical but one can never cease to be surprised at his fertile imagination… and the romance begins.
I think the model of: “she’s cute, she likes me, she’s a robot but looks human so who cares, therefore we fall in love” basically sums up the entire romance. Yes, it’s very shallow and never really dwells on the philosophical dimensions of robots that can think and feel, nor does it look at the considerations and consequences of how such robots can have romantic relationships with humans.
Moreover, the conclusion of “we’re in love” doesn’t get a proper development – it feels like an appropriation of Pygmalion, the sculptor in Greek myth who falls in love with his sculpture and calls the Gods to bring it to life so he can marry ‘her’. As with Chobits, this creates a feeling too artificial to be genuine.
CLAMP seems to be exceedingly good at portraying romantic images, and Chobits is no exception. However, images are all there exists it appears, and the series is really beauty over brains.
Notwithstanding, it still makes for an easy and enjoyable watch.
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15. Iodine  
CLAMP's newest incarnation of the robotic-girlfriend show has a few more risque moments than most, but is otherwise a very sweet, very mild romantic comedy. Our fated lovers are the struggling cram-school student Hideki, and the abandoned "Persocom" robot-girl he finds, and eventually names Chi. Their life together is mostly happy and pleasant, though very eventful, and the bulk of the series is spent observing the two simply going about their daily routines. Many interesting friends and acquaintances keep things lively, and neighbor Shinbo's pocket-sized Sumomo frequently steals the show. By the time the story moves into more dramatic territory, all the background information and major themes have already been neatly established. There is also surprising range and depth to the material. Chobits is one of the only shows about robot girls that actually takes a good hard look at the ramifications of the relationships that come about, from many different points of view. But despite the quality of the overall production and the sophistication of the writing, the central romance is disappointingly dull, and inevitably drags the show down. The biggest problem is simply the character interaction. Chi is totally passive, Hideki is a dead ringer for Godai from Maison Ikkoku, and neither of them gets far
beyond their expected cliches.
Design and animation, are very good and the show's style is kept very simple and soft. Music is decent, though the opening theme is fluff incarnate. The show is best when it's playing with its technical gadgetry or taking sillier interludes from the major plot arcs. The actual relationships are comparatively weak and the major revelations could have used some more work. As far as romantic comedies go, this is a decent addition to the genre, but one that's still very
shallow and uneven in many important respects.
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14. Tempy
It's the future and computers have evolved into Persocoms resembling humans and featuring advanced AI. Country bumpkin Hideki Motosuwa moves from the farm to the big city and finds a Persocom thrown out with the trash. He takes her home and turns her on (the on-button seems to be in a quite unusual place), only to find out that she doesn't seem that intelligent, and she only seems to be able to utter "chii". But she's oh so cute, so Hideki decides to keep her and names her Chii. But keeping her isn't as easy as it seems. Not only that, Chii seems to be different from other Persocoms. Could she be one of the mysterious Chobits models? Another anime adaptation from a CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, X, Magic Knight Rayearth) manga, this time it's of the ecchi shounen type.
Chobits starts out rather fluffy, and though cute, it seemed to be slow in going anywhere. After a while the sentiment gets repeated that people seem to prefer Persocoms because they're "perfect" and that human relationships start to suffer from it. Even the cuteness started to become repetitive. There were hints of something bigger going on, but it isn't until later that the story starts kicking in. The scripts were becoming more tightly written, and the show started to become rather good.
Like countless robot stories before it, Chobits asks the question as to whether robots can have real emotions, and the consequences of humans falling in love with them, and tries to answer them through the tales of the various relationships between humans and Persocoms.
The packaging of these stories is definitely nice with the usual good work from animation studio Madhouse, lively music (I especially love the 2nd ED), and an ample helping of cuteness (especially from the energetic little Sumomo) and fanservice (there's a whole episode dedicated to Chii going out to buy some panties). It helps that the CLAMP designs are really nice like always.
With a promising start, followed by a middling middle, the various relationships eventually offer some interesting and rather touching stories.
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| 13. bluemist
CLAMP goes shounen again. After testing the waters
with Angelic Layer, they tried out another kind of shounen anime, in the
form of harem. Hmm, a seemingly boring guy surrounded by beautiful girls, you
might think 'not again'. But Chobits, though not veering away from that
theme, adds a twist. Some of the girls are actually robots! In the Chobits
world, there are the advanced humanoid robots called 'persocons', who basically
act as maids and helpers to humans. Then a guy who failed his college exams (sound
familiar?) had chanced upon one of these expensive machines, and it happened to
be a very special persocon. He decided to own the persocon and named it Chii.
The usual harem chaos ensues after that. For a person
(like me) who sometimes get tired of the harem anime genre, Chobits might
seem boring at first. 2/3 of the series consisted mostly of the usual 'been-there-done-that'
episodes, fillers, and summaries. But sprinkled around all the cliches is well-executed
direction. The jokes are funny, witty and unique. You might think some episodes
suck because you have seen better, but considering all the crappy harem that came
before it, Chobits emits an aura of quality somehow. And I'm not even talking
about the plot-driven final episodes yet. The final episodes are anime gold.
It got all the elements that compose an exciting show that never loses pace and
keeps you surprised even at the end. Chobits
also has certain serious themes that it would like to stress out. Like how persocons
and humans live in harmony, which can be related to our present situation about
our growing need for computers in our daily lives, in both positive and negative
territory. In the show there are many cases and levels of 'falling in love with
persocons', which can also be compared to a human's tendency for being 'obsessed'
with something. Yet again I was appalled by CLAMP's powerful storytelling,
and as I said before, they take the ordinary genre and make it extraordinary.
The 'CLAMP Crossovers' also take effect here, where various names, characters,
and themes from the CLAMP universe seem to be featured in this anime in
one way or another. Come to think of it, Angelic Layer and Chobits
are extremely related to each other, isn't it intriguing? In summary, Chobits
is a worthwhile watch or two. |
| 12. Chris
Before watching this series, I didn't have that great of expectations
from it. I mean, you see so many stories about robots being human that it just
seems completely overdone now. Boy was I glad that I saw this series anyway! It
has turned into one of my favorites now. That's not to say that it's perfect,
or even remotely close to perfect, but it is certainly an enjoyable, easy to watch
series. Animation: I love this style of animation.
It's fairly realistic and rarely does goofy stuff. That's definitally my favorite
type of animation. Some people call it plain, but I feel that it simply great,
realistic animation. I love it. Sound: The
opening song is FANTASTIC. Very, very cute. I watched it every time. The voices
are quite good, and the music is good if not especially memorable. Overall, sound
is good. Story: The story is pretty good,
but highly episodic towards the middle. In other words, when the story is going
it's quite good, but most of the episodes are filler. Personally, I liked the
filler. Each episode was fun to watch and I enjoyed seeing the characters change
slowly during the series. Overall, I really enjoyed the way the story was portrayed. Overall:
If you like slower, character based romance/comedy shows, this is definitely a
good one to see. I highly recommend it. |
| 11. Qian Wan
Thomas: Doo Doo Doo Doo, let me be with you.
Qian: Just
what the heck are you singing? Hey that is a pretty catchy tune.
T: Of course!
It is from this series called Chobits, developed by CLAMP.
Q:
Oh yea! I saw one of their series called X TV. The illustration was mad
shoujo.
T: No poop, since it's by CLAMP all of the art is similar. But
I enjoyed this series the most.
Q: And why is that? I heard about the manga
and it is pretty perverted.
T: Nah, the anime is okay, but it is the perverse
element that made it kind of enjoyable.
Q: You hentai! Isn't there anything
else? Perverted jokes and stuff don't satisfy me.
T: Yea basically it is about
a loser like me called Hideki who luckily found this high-tech android chick named
Chii - Dammnn Chii is mad cute. The plot of this series is to find out about Chii's
mysterious past . the ending made me pee my already-wet pants! And yes Qian I
know you are not perverted, but the anime series is made for everyone. It can
be kind of sweet and at the same time it doesn't lose the quality of the manga.
Q: Awesome! Then what is with the "Chobits" deal, just what the
heck is that? And why do you get so high over this robot-y android chick?
T:
Ok first of all Chii is "soft" lol. Chobits is the prototype of this
new kind of android or Persocon (computers) as those Japanese call it. The Chobits
chicks supposed to have a brain of its own and can move without OS and stuff.
Oh by the way in the anime series, you don't get to see Chii n-a-k-e-d.
Q:
Damn, oh well lemme hear the music . oh my gosh she sounds mad cute!
T: Of
course poop-head, Chii is voiced by Tanaka Rie, and she actually sang the
ED song. Oh yea Orikasa Fumiko from Saikano is also in this joint.
Q: Cute girls, nice plot, perverted guy like you, I am so going to watch this
and give it a nice five on this cool site called AnimeTempy.com
T: Wait a
second, the series is kind of slow and it only begins to shed some light in serious
side of the series in the final 6 episodes, so the previous 20 are all pretty
plain.
Q: Oh my lord who cares as long as I am kept happy throughout. Ehh
fine four stars!
T: Yep, you won't be disappointed... *sings* Dakeshimetai
no ni~!
Q: Ew, get away from me. Why I have
it: The awesome soundtrack and cute OP. The manga was really good.
High:
Chii is cute. Plain but good-enough animation. Serious ending that concludes nicely.
Low: Slow development might be tiring for some.
Final Word:
Looking for something new? This series is creative and is one of CLAMP's
best anime titles. |
| 9. Bugmaster
I like this show because of it subtlety -- whether or not
it was intentional. Chobits starts out as
yet another standard anime about a teenager who moves to Tokyo from his rural
home in order to attend a university. However, he fails his entrance exams, and
has to attend cram school instead. As his luck would have it, on his way home
one night he finds Chii, the humanoid "persocon", in the dumpster next
to his house. Wackiness and hijinks ensue, with some fan service now and then.
However, as the show progresses, the hijinks and
wackines subside, and a full-scale metaphysical deathmatch takes their place.
It is a deathmatch between Turing and Searle; two philosophers enter, only one
leaves. Searle has the advantage early, camping from his Chinese Room with the
bio-naturalism cannon -- but Turing has a few tricks up his sleeve that Searle
hasn't anticipated, such as his famous test... Ok,
if the above paragraph looks like gibberish to you, then you are probably not
a total geek, unlike myself. Good for you. In any case, you don't need to be a
geek in order to enjoy the show. What makes Chobits different from Tenchi,
Love Hina, etc. (and from other CLAMP shows, in my opinion) is that
Chobits makes you really care about its characters. Hideki, Chii, Shimbo
and other characters aren't just there to act out slapstick comedy -- they feel
more like real people, and one can't help but identify with each of them, even
if only a little bit. In addition, the mystery subplot of the show -- who is Chii
? Where did she come from? What is she capable of ? -- adds extra depth to the
series. The only complaint I have after watching
Chobits is the happy ending. Yes, it did make me feel better, but it also
felt fake and tacked on as an afterthought. Still, this unfortunate choice on
CLAMP's part does not really manage to blemish this great series. Whether
you watch it for the love story, the wackiness or the underlying metaphysical
debate, I highly recommend it. |
| 8. h8er13
The good thing about the longer anime series is that there's
always time for redemption. First of all, I'm not a huge fan of CLAMP.
Secondly, the story didn't sound too original and nothing seemed particularly
special about this series in the first several episodes. I was annoyed by some
of the things the main character, Hideki, did. Many times, he talks to himself
out loud and it gets him into embarrassing situations. Usually, this would be
funny, but I got the feeling of being more annoyed at Hideki. There are also the
usual filler episodes in the middle of the series. The following are the good
points. Most characters have one or more "persocons," which are like
robots. I liked how the persocon matches the owner, much like the saying that
pets, particularly dogs, resemble their masters. It's cute how Chii, the other
main character, mimics many of Hideki's movements and gestures. The last third
of the series is probably the best part, but the beginning was almost bad enough
to not continue watching. Overall, the ending was satisfying. CLAMP never
really does bad, but they never really exceed any of my expectations, but Chobits
is still a good watch. |
| 6. Neko
Tsukimi
All I can say is that Chobits had potential and a lot
of it. The first ep started out wonderfully and then the next thing I know everybody
was hyping it up. The hype kept continuing strong until the cliffhanger at the
end of episode 7. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for when I could see the
next episode and I went crazy. Then episode 8 came along and that cliff seemed
more like a curb. After that, there was mostly filler. It wasn't bad filler, but
I expected a little more plot. Then around the last few episodes, the big package
that said "PLOT" came hurling at me. The producers of the anime tried
to pack as much plot into as little space as possible. It was a great ending.
However, it was very rushed and could have been spread out. Overall,
it was a funny series. It's a sweet comedy. It's not as deep as people hype it
up to be, nor does it live up fully to the hype. Still, it's a great show with
cute characters. |
| 3. Olmanek
It's fairly mediocre, and to be honest, needlessly drawn out,
the little character development doesn't even come close to justifying the length
of the series, 13 episodes would have been plenty. Chii is a mystery, but not
an interesting one, it's similar to 'I wonder how they get ink into pens?' it's
sort of interesting, but you wouldn't want to spend close to 9 hours thinking
about it, which is about the length of the series. Of course we do have some side
characters, who though they have about as much importance any just about anyone
else in the series, but who the creators seemed to have decided will be treated
fairly trivially, even if they are imperative to our storyline. Another thing,
which one needs to be constantly reminded of, is that Chii is not human, she is
a robot, human form but just a robot, now this isn't the same as say Hand Maid
May where everything was kept light and the females were usually there just
for ecchi purposes, this attempts to be a romance story, love between robot and
human, it's a little preposterous, and it's been done before by brilliant authors
which didn't work out too well either, needless to say this fails, miserably,
and it doesn't really attempt to try either, it sickens me to think of all the
filler episodes which could have been spent better developing characters or storyline,
animation is nice though, interesting style and well done, but of course this
is brand new and had a decent budget, nearly makes you cry thinking of poor Eva
with no money have this complex interesting and endearing storyline, and those
new god forsaken things getting huge budgets, anyone seen Kokoro Library?
Some of the most beautiful animation in a series, only to have dehumanized characters
and a near total lack of plot or point, let's all hope for a better tomorrow,
today. |
| 2. Eso
You have your usual Tenchi-Muyo carbon copies,
and you have Chobits. Sure, there are elements that have striking
similarities, but Chobits is much more than that. Of course,
what would you expect from CLAMP? Meet Motosuwa Hideki, your country
bumpkin ronin that moves to the city to attend cram school. Upon arrival to Tokyo,
he finds himself immersed in a culture where people have computerized humanoid
companions, Persocons, and let me tell you, these aren't your everyday Robot Jones.
They come in all shapes and sizes, hell, I'd like one as well! Chobits
is of the romance-comedy type genre, so therefore, you'll be expecting me to give
this one a greater praise, but there are aspects to this anime that just deserves
the two thumbs up. First off, the art; the characters are beautifully drawn, and
it's almost as if you can see the grace of each stroke. There are times when the
faces are exaggerated a bit, but the times when they occur, such as Motosuwa-san
facing a half-naked Chii, are appropriate. Who wouldn't be screaming with eyes
wide open and square choppers when they see a half-naked girl with your shirt
barely on? Next up, the character development; throughout the anime, the story
just builds on to each character, as each little piece of information reveals
itself to the viewer. My only complaint is that the truth of several characters
doesn't come out of the bag till the later episodes, which is a slight minor disappointment.
This goes especially for Yumi-chan, but you guys can wait to see that. The plot
is actually quite good, considering the undeniable fact that from the first few
episodes you have that Tenchi feeling writhing in your gut and
spleen. It first starts off slow and steady as the daily lives of Hideki and Chii,
then later on, mysterious stuff happens, and I won't tell you anymore. There is
actually a little piece of "moral" as the episodes roll along. This
is made evident through the books that Chii buys and reads and the dialogue that
goes on between Motosuwa-san and the rest of the cast; something about people
isolating themselves from other people, but that is only a fraction of it. Fanservice.
There are parts that reveal some skin, but this isn't hentai, just slight ecchi,
and one can't complain too much. I sure didn't. Chii looked great in those outfits.
Rawr. What's great about Chobits is that it has the ability to
take sex-deprived Hideki and place him in situations with Chii where he doesn't
seem too much of a horny bastard, which ties back to the development deal. The
music. What really caught my attention was the BGM; the musical pieces fitted
every scene and captures the essense of the moment.
I have watched through all 24 episodes, and frankly, this has got to be one of
the best I've seen. After each episode, I got this warm fuzzy feeling inside of
me that hooked me. I'll even admit that I've watched several episodes repeatedly.
So, if you're the type who likes that warm fuzzy feeling inside of you, I suggest
you pick up your copy now! |
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