I remember this show, it will always have a special place in my heart because it was my first anime (other than Pokemon as a kid). It really drew me in, despite it not being the best anime out there. Since then I've watched countless shows and have been introduced to a whole new world of cultural media. I'll always remember chobits.
+Aza Jabar I watched chobits early on too. I don't think i could watch it again though as looking back, i can already see major flaws in it's concept and execution. I'd love it to stay in a good place if i can!.
Daniel Chen I don't necessarily watch it every now and then, the thing is I usually don't like these kind of shows that is why I said that Creative Ziggy I read the manga recently, I recommend that because it is more in depth
The pacing issue you bring up is actually remedied in the original manga. I suspect, since they had to fill 24 episodes, the stretched out the fluff and went a bit overboard. But I still love this series. I also enjoy your reviews; they're pretty objective and pleasant to watch.
KidSnivy69 Well, if I was going to get something translated, i'd leave it to a native to get the 'feel' right. And while you may be right, the input they have is negligible.
If two anime girls with superpowers and some form of amnesia were to sit down and have a chat I have a very strong feeling it would end up like this: "Chi" "Nyu" "Chi" "Nyu" "Chi" "Nyu" And this would repeat until Nyu turned into Lucy and butchered Chi before seeking out the rest of the cast and slaughtering them.
TO THROW IN MY 2 CENTS, i thought this show goes way deeper than it appears, its disguised as a usual slice of life, but i think it touches on women's roles in society, true love, isolation in a computer driven world, ect. If you notice there are very few MALE persocoms in the story, (not to get all preachy) it shows that we push women to fit this idea of perfection even to the point of creating them ourselves, i think the sex jokes are kind of satire in this respect. As a young man, this show (Hideki in particular) greatly displays the feeling of looking for the one you wanna spend the rest of your life with, the relationships from the side characters (HumanxPersocom or otherwise) show that there is no such thing as finding someone "perfect" for you, and yet we look for it anyways. *Drops mic*
"One of the most annoying characters in existence." Ooooohhhh-ho-ho-ho just watch Love Hina and see what you think of Naru. Just...make sure no loved ones or precious items are nearby. People have been known to develop violent, homicidal urges while experiencing the walking frustration that is Naru.
Love Hina was a such a waste of my time, even though Tenchi Muyo was pretty disjointed at least it had serious character developments, Love Hina added up to Slapstick Nonsense with very little character growth EVER!
Does this guy have an anime review of Angelic Layer? If so I'd like to see it. This guy does a real nice job explaining the intricacies of this series. I'm sure I'd enjoy his other ones too, if I had watched more than these 2 anime series in my life.
Is anyone else's mind blown after being told that the actor for this lovable country bumpkin and badass vampire extraordinaire (Alucard from "Hellsing Ultimate") are one and the same? Crispin Freeman=Mind blowing talent. :)
+Salimah Muhammad Not quite - but I`ve watched Chobits SOOOOO many times I can sing along (phonetically, & very badly) to about 90%+ of the opening creds. I purchased Chobits solely on the trailer (the opening creds) incd. on another dvd, & along with GhostInTheShell:StandAloneComplex & GITS2:Innocence, was responsible for me returning to anime after a near-10-year absence in 2004.
I like how you have an Angelic Layer poster behind you while reviewing Chobits: quite appropriate. I believe that A.L. is the prequel of Chobits for several reasons. The technology of Chobits originated with Angelic Layer, as well as several characters. Minoru Kokobunji's sister is in AL, as well as Chitose Hibiya's (landlady) late husband. Edut: I commented before the end of the video, and I was impressed that you also recommended two more of the three other anime I've collected. Well done.
Uh, same thing? You really are demanding that they constantly remind you that women have reproductive organs. Jesus boys, let it go! I mean Danbooru has been up for awhile now....j-j-just sayin'.
Any episode of any series who has the word "underpants" or "panties" in its story is a source of cringe for me... (the kind of cringe that makes me want to embark in the next rocket to Pluto, nahmean?)
+Vegetable Prince of Carrots I'm pretty sure that the Miku dating simulator is actually based off of this anime. +Did I hear my name? Ignore her, Prince Virgina. I'm still getting used to her existence myself, since I recently discovered that Miku can't actually go home, despite all of my effort. I still haven't forgiven Shadron for that. I think my life force is slowly draining, too, because of how hard she hugs me. +I refuse to not hug you while you are making a comment or reply. Anyway, how is Kakacarrotcake doing?
I didn't watch the anime, but I HAVE read the manga. SPOILER FILLED MINIRANT My problem with Chobits is the relationship between the people and their persocoms. With Hideki, it's the fact that he's in love romantically with a female humanoid with the mental capabilities of a toddler. It's just creepy. A lot of, I'm not sure what the genre is called, but I'm just going to call it the "sci-fi/fantasy girl falls into your lap" they tend to do girls like Chi, who act like toddlers, or they have no emotions at all. And in a romantic relationship, for a lot of people that would be unsatisfying emotionally. The other thing is with his neighbor, who married a persocom. It just seems pathetic that he would marry his computer. Maybe she was programed with a more stimulating personality that Chi, but honestly, your COMPUTER was the only thing willing to date you? Your COMPUTER was the only thing you had the courage enough to ask out? And also the girl who had a crush on him. And how she fell apart because she was worried about being compared to his old COMPUTER. If that's the best he was able to do, she should see him as easy pickings. Rant over
***** wouldn't persacons come in male too? congrats, creepy pervy guys are now obsolete! want a charming, hot, kind guy? all you need is the male model of a persacon! ahh i wish
***** hooleyshit u are dumb i AM a girl and i would fucking LOVE a persacon! who would want a creepy, ugly, man when you can have a sweet, playful replicant that is physically indistinguishable from an attractive young man? >;)
i read the manga first and it quickly became one of my favorite series...sadly when i watched the anime i was not as impressed. Yes they were very similar, to the point where most of the episodes have the same plot line as the chapters in the manga, but the anime was a lot more slapstick then the manga which (for the most part) was a lot more romantic and serious. i guess when i read the manga i understood it was a deep beautiful story with gripping characters and curious interactions. the anime on the other hand....was a comedy....which i typically love comedies but the two genres it was trying to combine just didnt seem to work in my eyes.....maybe i'm being biased but i just wanted to give potential anime/manga lovers, who havent already watched/read this, a little insight.
Honestly watching it again will not help that, especially watching it again so soon. If I was to connect with it it would not be until I haven't seen it long enough to forget the majority of what happens, and even then I think the outcome would be the same. I can't ignore the major plot holes of the show. I still enjoyed it a lot. I just don't see it on par with things like Clannad unlike other people.
NGL, with AI being so omnipresent these days, I've grown to cherish Chobits as one of the greatest anime of all time as it shows what is going to be the next tangible step in our societal evolution. Also, I wanna make Sumomo as a hobby project to have someone capable of waking me up, but hey, that's just me. So yeah, thank you very much for guiding me to the show 10 years ago. I really appreciate it.
I watched the first episode and found it a bit ridiculous; he keeps talking about porn (which was uncomfortable the first time, let alone the 100th). And then the location of the on switch for the persicom...I mean, really? Really?
I'm not sure about the anime, but in the manga there's an important meaningful reason for the placement of the switch, revealed in the later chapters. So just hang on! The story becomes more meaningful as the show goes on and is ultimately a really awesome love story.
I haven't watched Anohana yet, but I'm planning on it actually. Neon Genesis Evangelion was actually the first anime I watched, and I thought it was very thought-provoking, though it also confused me a lot. I love Avatar: The Last Airbender so much! I was so sad when it ended. Anime I like? Well, after Avatar: The Last Airbender, I really like Legend of Korra. The first season anyway. A lot of people didn't like the characters in the second season, and I didn't either, but I thought the development of the Avatar world/universe in that season was pretty cool. I just think the storytelling and characters are awesome, not to mention the fight scenes and animation. It's just all good. I also really like this anime called Princess Jellyfish. The story is very quirky (it's about a nerdy girl obsessed with jellyfish, who meets a beautiful cross-dressing man, and the two of them work together to try and save the girl's home) and the characters are well-developed. The only thing about this anime is it kinda has a "read the manga ending." Also, I think the anime was written for girls, so just keep that in mind. I also recently started watching Toradora! which is really cute and funny and I love it and the animation is beautiful. The characters aren't instantly likable, but they really grow on you. The story is a typical boy meets girl romance thing, but the characters and their development make the show stand out. And with that, I have written a small essay. I hope this isn't too much (but it probably is) lol.
Chobits was actually the first anime I watched as a hobby. It was mentioned to me by a friend and I decided to watch it and, hey, I enjoyed it enough to continue to look for another anime to watch, haha. Though, at the time, it was literally the only anime I had seen (other than the usual Saturday morning cartoons I watched as a kid, a.k.a. Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!), and as such I had no basis to rate it or anything of the sort. But I most certainly did enjoy it.
I do not like shows that just randomly decide to have a plot at the end. People should stream this before they buy it because some cannot even finish it because it's so dam boring
You convinced me to pick up Redline and Rin. On more then one occasion I've turned to you're reviews to get a second or third opinion on an anime before I pick it up.
I always thought that dark chi's theme could also have been an digivolve theme from... well... the digimon series. To be fair the time when it first comes up in here is kind of an evolution, so...
As somebody who is older (and as somebody who watched it as it was released), I think the only problem with the series is that falling in love with Chi would be kinda weird. I think that, had I been in that situation, I would only love her as a daughter. Hideki is 19 years old and she is effectively only like 4 mentally. i know it's a bit of fantasy but still.
If you haven't seen CLAMP's 'Kobato' look for the Mihara family, Chitose Mihara and her twin daughters, Chiho and Chise are 'borrowed' from Chobits along with the apartment building she still is manager of. She rents Kobato the same apartment Hideki lived in, except her daughters are human and closer to 11-12 rather than 15-16 like Freya & Elda(Chii) were. I was instantly hooked when I saw photos of Miss Hibiya happy with her girls in an alternate CLAMP dimension, the Miharas are such a sweet family, the episode Kobato sings a lullaby to the girls in is really sweet especially when Chitose finds her daughters sleeping near the end, beautiful piece of anime!
Having read the entire manga recently, this is one of not too many cases where I _definitely_ recommend the manga over the anime. Mostly because all the flaws mentioned by Arkada were not present (or to a lesser degree) in the manga, but also because the story is not quite complete in the anime. The manga finished a few months after the anime, leaving out key points about Chii's origin and all that. But setting that aside, the manga is a lot more focussed and has better pacing. It is still somewhat slice-of-lifey at the start, but it isn't dragged out as long. For example, there is no haunted house or RPG or beach episode, and the infamous underwear episode is only about 10 pages long. Not even one percent of the entire manga, let alone 1/24. In short, the anime focuses more on Chii being cute, while the manga is quicker to move on to the mystery behind Chii, how persocoms affected the characters, and what that means for Hideki and Chii, and its story is more complete with only few cute/fanservicey filler chapters.
*listens to the description of the story while staring at his copy of Elfen Leid* .... so is this what Elfen Leid would look like if you cut out the cousin and washed off all the blood?
Sumomo in Japaneses (at least) is super cute. She's the only part of Chobits I like. The main love interest being like a 2 year old is just wrong. This is a false harem anime which is kind of weird since it seems to introduce so many potential ladies to the main character's life. Done right that could be clever, but this is just annoying.
I think there are more people out there that hope my views on shows they like align to theirs rather than knowing if I like a show they have not seen or care about as of yet,
Just finished this series and it really is a mixed bag. It started out pretty good, but the lack focus/plot in the middle episodes REALLY brought the pacing down and the story to a halt which almost made me stop watching I was that uninterested. But thankfully the later episodes made up for it but sadly even with all the filler episodes for "character development" I never felt too attached to these characters. Another two anime series that are somewhat similar to this are Elfen Lied and Heaven's Lost Property. Just watch Arkada's review of Elfen Lied (and trust me, it's amazing) and HLP is a comedy/harem like Ah! My Goddess which has story distractions galore, but still manages to fit something interesting about the overall plot into each episode. And every single side romp in HLP I found comedically entertaining.
You may not agree but u personally preferred Chobits to Elfin Lied (mainly because of my low option on over the top gore and lack of story and say what you want about Chobits its story was at least done when they made the anime) While I'll freely admit the manga is better with less filler; I'm more an animation fan than and reader, I don't think the was a bad show
"Dark Chii's Theme"....that is the ONE song missing from my soundtrack collection. I was gifted with the three-CD collection of the Chobits soundtrack several years ago, and I've never come across that one piece of soundtrack in them, and it's my favorite of all of them except the intro itself. If I want to hear it, I have to listen to it on the DVD's. Or on RU-vid.
Basically makes me think of the Spielberg film 'A.I.' except the relationship involves a Machine Romantic Companion, instead of Machine Surrogate Child, right down to the whole imprinting thing with David and Chii both imprinting on 'the one who is for them'
I’ve been going threw a lot of you work lately just because and I’ve notice this is the first time you have mentioned us aussies Also this was the first anime I purchased coz a female mate said I would like it boy was I in for a big surprise with this one and we still go back to it and laugh regularly
It and the Ah! My Goddess Dubs from Media Blasters/Funimation and the older ones from Animeigo along with You're Under Arrest. Some good VA studios chosen for all those really helped a lot.
I liked Shmomo she gave a uplift to some of the dark parts of the story. But I don't understand why they show us a computer dice of something next to Chi when Headaki picks he up at the beginning. Do you know?
All I could think of when I saw the thumbnail and title for this video review was... "tread carefully Arcada" Chobits is the only show that I have inexplicably, unconditional love for.
So that's what it's about? I don't think I got past the horrible "turn on" pun from the first episode... And I'm so interested in the topic it brings up too... But I just can't get past the feeling of objectification of women I feel is so commonly portrayed in anime. Yeah, she's a robot, but it still bothers me immensely.
How about watching Android Kikaider the Animation instead? I think it portrayed the topic of romantic relationships between humans and humanoid robots better than Chobits did. I think the main female character in it was pretty good in it, especially for the time it came out.
THANK YOU! What was especially bad was that rapey scene with the guy who kidnaps Chi. I don't know how it played out in the anime, but in the manga he was making all these innuendos about how Chi's firewalls could do nothing to stop it, so she'd just have to "take it all in"
Yeah. I didn't really like how Chobits tended to be rather sexual at times. The first episode is one of the worst. If you don't give up on it and continue watching, it takes awhile to do something like that again. But it does happen. I'm not really into anime that feel the need to do that. Which is why I recommended checking out Android Kikaider since it did a better job in that genre and never felt the need to do fanservice, nor did it ever need to. It was perfect the way it was.
I agree with Diogo. If you can find a reasonably priced copy of Code Geass R1 and R2, I would LOVE a review of it. I personally think it is one of the best anime of the 2000s.
Had to watch it a second time, and I still didn't get a lot of it, but the magical elements that started off with the hat at the beginning kind of smoothed things over. It's really just a nice story of revelations, though I do believe there's a flow chart out there to make more sense of it.
Honestly, I love electronic, particularly trance, industrial, techno, and rave, so I was a little pissed when he said he didn't like it in his Appleseed review (seriously why do people hate electronic music so much?), which caused me to be honestly surprised when he said one of his favorite anime tracks of all time was that one, which happens to be trance. This is exactly why I like those genres: because although I actually like nearly all genres, electronic music can be amazing if used right.
Speaking of anime and cyberpunk... I'd LOOOVE if they made Snow Crash into an anime. I feel like if the right studio got it, it would be the next Cowboy Bebop.
