Chobits Genre: Romantic Comedy Frank's Overall Score:  9.0

Reviewer: Frank
Type of Review: General

Star-crossed love, or love between those for which it is not normally destined, is a common theme in many of the most well-known romance stories in literature. Stories such as Romeo and Juliet, Pride and Prejudice, and more show how love can happen despite the least ideal of circumstances. While we see some of this in some anime series, CLAMP's Chobits takes it to another level by introducing a technological element. The result is a romantic comedy that is both deep and entertaining.

Chobits centers around the story of Hideki Motosuwa, and 18-year old ronin who moves to the city in search of his dreams. A farm boy for most of his life, Hideki has never been to the city, and is ignorant of most of the advances of technology - most notably, of "persocons". Persocons are humanoid robots capable of most anything your normal computer is capable of - with the addition of being able to imitate most human functions. Of all the things that Hideki wants, he would love to have a Persocon to help him. To Hideki's surprise (and luck), Hideki finds Chii, a Persocon, discarded in the garbage. What follows is a story of both light-hearted comedy and romantic introspection, as Chii discovers the world around her and Hideki struggles with the choice (and feelings) of treating Chii like a machine or a human being.

It is the juxtaposition of the serious and the dramatic, as well as the light-hearted and comedic, that makes Chobits a success, and not "just another romantic comedy". While it is true that some various formulae of the romantic comedy anime sub-genre are followed, the combinaton of CLAMP's trademark touch as well as some of the elements of the series make for a unique bunch of episodes. One of these elements is the presence of technology, something which resonates in our society, where technology continues to change and be on the rise. The mere fact that the near future is one with humanoid and realistic machines is both a commentary on such a society as well as something that ties into the main plot of the series.

The characters make for some very interesting comedy as well. Hideki's ignorance of machines is coupled with Chii's general ignorance of the world, and makes for some very interesting gags. The actions that Chii takes in order to learn about the world around her are some of the cutest (and most entertaining) that I've seen. Simple things such as shopping for clothes and taking a bath are just some of the things that drive much of the light-heartedness of the series, and advance Hideki's growing feelings for Chii. And with a good supporting cast, the outcome of Hideki's feelings for Chii is kept unpredictable for much of the series.

CLAMP's soft touch for animation is present here, and here, it flows very nicely from one scene to the other. Characters are well defined and unique, and the design is done in such a way as to not exaggerate or highlight any one feature of a particular character, like some series do in order to distinguish between them. The technology element also gives the animation a chance to "show off" a bit, as the actions of the persocons and what is used is presented in a way so as to depict what's happening without really taking away from the scene.

If you like technology, but want a good romance story, Chobits is the anime series for you. With its tone, mood, and entertaining moments, it's one that shouldn't be missed.