Chobits (ちょびっツ,
Chobittsu?) is a Japanese
manga created by the Japanese manga collective
Clamp. It was published by
Kodansha in
Young Magazine from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight
bound volumes. Unlike most stories by Clamp,
Chobits is a
seinen series commonly mistaken for
shōjo because of its strong romantic themes and flowery art style.
[citation needed] Chobits was adapted as a 26-episode-long
anime television series broadcast on
TBS and
Animax from April to September 2002. In addition, it has spawned a
video game as well as various merchandise such as figurines, collectable cards, calendars, and artbooks.
The series tells the story of Hideki Motosuwa, who finds an abandoned
persocom (パソコン,
PasoKon?), or
personal computer (パーソナルコンピュータ
pāsonaru konpyūta) with human form, that he names
"Chi" after the only word it initially can speak. As the series progresses, they explore the mysteries of Chi's origin together and questions about the relationship between human beings and persocoms. The manga is set in the same
universe as
Angelic Layer, taking place a few years after the events of that story, and like
Angelic Layer, it explores the relationship between human beings and electronic devices shaped like human beings.
Chobits branches off as a crossover into many other stories in different ways, such as
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle,
xxxHolic and
Kobato.
StoryThe series centers on the life of Hideki Motosuwa, a
held-back student attempting to qualify for university by studying at Seki
prep school in Tokyo. Besides a girlfriend, he dreams of having a
persocom (パソコン
?): an
android used as a personal computer, which is expensive. On his way home one evening, he stumbles across a persocom in the form of a beautiful girl with long hair lying against a pile of trash bags, and he carries her home. Upon turning her on, she instantly regards Hideki with adoration. The only word the persocom seems capable of saying is "chi" (ちぃ,
Chii?), thus he names her that. Hideki assumes that there must be something wrong with her, and so the following morning he has his neighbor Hiromu Shinbo analyze her with his mobile persocom Sumomo. After Sumomo crashes during the attempt they conclude that she must be custom-built.
Shinbo introduces Hideki to Minoru Kokubunji, a twelve-year-old prodigy who specializes in the field of custom-built
persocoms. Minoru's persocoms, including Yuzuki, a fairly exceptional custom-built
persocom, are not able to analyze Chi either, and thus they conclude that she may be one of the Chobits, a legendary series of persocoms rumoured to have free will and emotions. Although this is a possibility, Minoru is confident that it is only rumour. Yuzuki also adds that she does not resemble any persocom model in any available database and so she must be custom made after all.
A major part of the plot involves Hideki attempting to teach Chi words, concepts, and appropriate behaviours, in between his crammed schedule of school and work. At the same time, Chi seems to be developing feelings for Hideki, at an emotional depth she is not supposed to possess, and Hideki struggles with his feelings for her. The need to figure out more about Chi and her mysterious functions and past becomes a pull for the characters in the series.
Hideki's feelings intensify for Chi whether she is a persocom or not, despite horrible experiences of his friends involving persocoms. Chi becomes aware of her purpose through a picture book series called
A City with No People which she finds in a bookstore. The books speak about many different things involving human and persocom relationships: persocoms and their convenience as friends and lovers, how there are things that they cannot do and questioning whether a relationship between a persocom and a human is really one-sided. It also speaks about the Chobits series; that they are different from other persocoms, and what they are incapable doing unlike other persocoms. These picture books awaken Chi's other self, her sibling Freya who is aware of their past and helps Chi realize what she must do when she decides who her "person just for me" is. Together, Chi and Hideki explore the relationship between human beings and persocoms, as well as their friends' and their own.Hideki Motosuwa (本須和 秀樹,
Motosuwa Hideki?)A 19-year-old (in the anime, 18)
repeat student attempting to get into university by studying at a
cram school, while working at a
izakaya to make ends meet. One night, while walking home from work, he finds a persocom lying in a pile of garbage. He takes her home, and upon activating her, finds that the only word she can utter is "Chi". Because of this, he gives her the name "Chi" (in the anime, "Chii") and takes her into his care, doing his best to protect and teach her. Despite his shortcomings and occasional moments of awkwardness with the bustling environment of Tokyo, Hideki is a genuinely kind and honest person, whose habit of thinking of others' well-being before his own can cause many problems. When a friend is in trouble, especially Chi, he is always there to help. Although many characters in the series often tease him for being a "nice guy", they turn to him for advice with their problems, knowing he will always hear them out and do his best to assist them.
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita (Japanese),
Crispin Freeman (English)
Chi (ちぃ,
Chii?)A "chobit," a technologically advanced persocom rumored to possess true machine intelligence, with the ability to feel emotions and act on her own will, unlike other persocoms.
[3] Hideki finds her in a pile of trash as he makes his way home from work one night. Upon turning her on, she is only able to say the word "chi," remembers nothing of her past life, and is unable to perform even simple tasks. Because of this, Hideki names her Chi and undertakes teaching her how to function. Chi reads a series of children's picture books,
A City with No People, about a character searching for the "person just for me," which were written pseudonymously by Chitose Hibiya as a way of reconnecting Chi to her past self, and to guide Chi's search for love. As the series progresses, Chi begins to have visions of another persocom who is identical to herself. This "other Chi" advises and protects Chi, and as the story nears its climax tells Chi something about her history before she was restarted; that Chi had been named "Elda" by her loving parents and had an older sister. When the older sister broke her heart for unattainable love for her father and would die Elda had offered to take all of her older sister's memories, at the cost of her own memories. Her older sister thus became the guardian of Elda's memories and Elda's protector. SeeThe original
Chobits manga was written by
Clamp, a collective of four Japanese
manga artists. It was serialized in Japan by
Kodansha in
Young Magazine from February 2001 until November 2002. The 88 chapters were collected in eight
bound volumes.
The manga was originally published in English in North America by
Tokyopop.
[4] Tokyopop's translation is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by
Madman Entertainment.
[5] Tokyopop lost its license for the series, as rival publisher
Dark Horse Manga announced at
San Diego Comic-Con International that it would be publishing new omnibus editions of the series in celebration of CLAMP's 20th anniversary.
[6] The first of the two volumes was published March 24, 2010 and includes 4 of the original volumes.
[7]Chobits is published in Hong Kong in
Traditional Chinese by
Jonesky, in Singapore in
Simplified Chinese by
Chuang Yi, in South Korea by
Daiwon C.I., in France by
Pika Édition, in Spain by
Norma Editorial, in Mexico by
Grupo Editorial Vid, in Italy by
Star Comics (which serialized it in
Express), in Germany by
Egmont Manga & Anime (which serialized it in
Manga Power), in Poland by
Japonica Polonica Fantastica, in Brazil by
JBC, and in Sweden by
Carlsen Verlag.
[8]An art-book based on the series, titled
Your Eyes Only, was published by Kodansha; it is licensed in North America by Tokyopop.
[9] In addition,
A City with No People, the fictional picture book written in the series by
Chitose Hibiya, was released in Japan as a picture book;
[10] and also released as an audiobook with text read by
Rie Tanaka, the voice actor for
Chi.
[citation needed]Clamp often reuses various characters among their manga.
Chobits is their first
seinen series, aimed at young men.
[11] the entry for Freya in the
list of Chobits characters. At the end of the series, Hideki finally admits that he loves Chi, and is her special person.
Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese),
Michelle Ruff (English)
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