Chobits

Hideki had always dreamt of having his very own persocom (and of course, a girlfriend). Persocoms are extremely expensive and thus he is unable to buy one. But luck is on his side –  one day, when he was on his way home, he notices a beautiful female persocom lying among the trash bags. And so Hideki made his way home carrying an abandoned persocom.

After the persocom had been turned on, she did not seem to be able to remember anything, and was only capable of saying “Chii”. Hideki names her that, and their adventure begins! How will Hideki teach her the ways of a human being, since she is unable to remember anything at all (which also means that she can’t even complete simple daily tasks properly)? How will both Hideki and Chii manage their relationship between each other? Chii is after all, a persocom, but she looks exactly like a human!

The title, “Chobits”, come from the rumoured existence of a legendary series of persocoms in the show. They are able to feel emotions and act on their own free will, unlike other persocoms.

When it comes to cute things, Chobits seems to be one of the first animes that come to my mind. Despite watching it quite a long time ago, I can still remember how adorable Chii sounds when she says “Chii!”. Ah, if only there was something in reality that is half as cute as Chii.

Did you also notice the popularity of Chobits cosplays during anime and manga conventions? Chii’s cosplay is always so cute! Especially the ears. I bet the cosplayers had a really fun time dressing up as Chii and going around tilting their heads 30degrees and going, “Chii?”. I’m definitely jealous here. Though I know no one would ever be able to pull of Chii as well as Chii, oh wait what am I saying? That did not make any sense. Oh well, ignore me. Let’s get on with the review.

Chobits mainly focuses on the relationship between Hideki and Chii, since Chii is a persocom and not a real person. She’s an electronic device. Does that make her equivalent to a human being that is subjected to equal treatment? The matters of persocoms are also being addressed in the anime – are persocoms better than human beings? Can they truly replace human beings? They are, after all, human-like, and they listen to you (with the exception of Chobits, which have free will as mentioned earlier).

Throughout their time spent together, Hideki teaches her how to function, while protecting her from the dangers of the outside world that Chii has yet to understand. We also learn more about Chii and her past, and why she had lost all her memories. Along the way, we meet their friends as they aid Hideki in teaching Chii  as well as helping Chii in her quest for her mysterious past.

All in all, I found Chobits a good watch, especially if you like cute things. Chii and Sumomo are really kawaiiiiii. The storyline is alright, but what I really liked about Chobits was the fact that the way they addressed the issue about the relationship between humans and persocoms. It made me think about the uncertain future, where we might be presented with many human-like robots that function perfectly like a normal human being that listens to your every instruction. It kind of scares me, although some of you might think it’s a good thing with the advancement of modern technologies and all.

Well before I head off into a rant, I had better stop here. If you like mecha-romances, well I guess Chobits is for you! Even if you’re not into robots and stuff like that, Chii, despite being a robot, looks perfectly like a normal human being (except the ears), but cuter than a human being anyway. All the events that I have mentioned above also come with humour (and fanservice, duh), so I guess you should probably give it a try. 🙂