Chobits

Format: TV Series
Type: Fansub
Studio: CLAMP / Madhouse Production
Length: 26 episodes
Rating: PG-13

Plot:	4
Characters:	5
Art:	5
Music:	4
Tilt:	5

Overall: 5

Air Time: 2002

In short: The quintessential romantic comedy, Chobits runs the gamut from childish to sincere while never losing its irresistible charm.

Anime romantic comedies are, by far, one of the most prevalent genres in the medium - taking backseat only to family shows such as Pokemon, Naruto, and One Piece. This sort of market-wide saturation creates a problem for even those that love the genre, as how can one separate the wheat from the chaff? The various studios have taking a variety of routes to set their products apart, ranging from creating interesting show premises, writing in abundant fanservice, designing outrageous characters, and ever so rarely, by actually producing quality product. So which one of these various hooks did Chobits employ to garner one's attention? All of them.

Chii and Hideki.

At the beginning of Chobits, it is sort of difficult to predict along which path the series was going to run. Revolving around a farmer boy moving into the city for cram school, Hideki soon finds himself in a world altogether different than the one he is used to - instead of cell phones and laptops, people use computer androids called Persocons to answer their calls and surf the internet. These Persocons are shaped as real people of all shapes, sex, and sizes, but Hideki neither has the money nor the time to get one. However, one night as he is walking home he sees the wrapped form of a Persocon in the trash. After reactivating her in what has to been the most embarrassingly funny way possible, we are introduced to Chii.

Once activated, it soon becomes apparent that Chii is a Persocon that has no Operating System but can still somehow learn things. Thus Hideki begins teaching Chii while having minor disasters for a majority of the season that range from how to recover from neighbors walking in during a compromising position involving getting Chii dressed to when he sends Chii on a mission to buy panties. During this portion of the anime, it is easy to define it as a sort of juvenile harem comedy on par with Love Hina, and the panty episode especially drives this point home. Despite this, as Chobits progresses one begins to get a sense that the story of Hideki and Chii progresses as well - matures, if you will. Chii seems less and less as a child as time goes on, and her faithfulness to Hideki more and more of perhaps love. But can computers love? The latter episodes forge ahead with this subtle shift in tone, and the entire nature of Chobits begins to blur in respects to one's initial perceptions. Looking back, it is almost impossible to pinpoint the exact episode or moment when the shift occurs, and it is for such a natural progression that director Morio Asaka deserves to be praised.

You know this cannot end well.

Similar praise deserves to begotten onto composer Keitaro Takanami, whom masterfully creates the aural context of Chobits. Let Me Be With You begins each episode with a sort of bubblegum pop song which may not be everyone's favorite genre, but it nevertheless is fantastically done and otherwise sets the series up in just about the best possible way. Midway through the series the similarly uplifting Raison d'etre ending song is replaced by Ningyo Hime, which counter-balances the peppy beginning with a hauntingly beautiful albeit depressing ending piece, whose spell can only be broken by watching another episode. The show itself seems to employ only a handful of songs, but even then they are all quality - it's tough to beat the sound of Ningen Dakara, Kata no Koi, and especially In Undertones. Other than the show staples, the OST features some other outstanding lyrical pieces such as Beyond, I Hear You Everywhere, and Sing A Song, which all deserve a place on one's music playlist.

Matching the generally lively tunes is a set of character designs that will be tough to beat in terms of absolute cuteness. Drawn by the talented, all-female CLAMP team, Chobits in general is a joy to behold. Hideki and most of the other male characters are rather generic from a design standpoint, but most everyone else is brightly animated, colored, and beautiful. Chii in particular is by far cutest character design I have ever seen in an anime, finishing ahead of another Persocon in Chobits named Sumomo, and the entire cast of Azumanga Daioh (although it is a tough call). It is clear that CLAMP's skill has only increased with time, since their other animated features such as X.

It is somewhat difficult watching an anime such as Chobits, imagining that it would end up being so well-made. The initial episodes focus almost exclusively on embarrassing moments and juvenile fanservice which may lead one to believe that the show would amount to nothing but romantic comedy chaff. The character designs and music kept me coming back though, and commanded my attention while Chobits proved that those first episodes would only deepen the meaning that the rest of the series actually contained. Perseverance yielded to fascination which soon led to captivation, as the plot blossomed beautifully in the latter half. It takes a special sort of director to so successfully pull off a "maturing storyline," and a special sort of anime to acquire the mantle of the romantic comedy classic. Chobits has proven worthy of both.