Jan 2, 2011
Chobits - The Manga Under The Eye of RGaspar And His First Review Ever -
Story:
In terms of story I think Chobits starts with a really good punch to gradually become more typical.
The initial setting is thrilling: In the near future the world is populated by people and Persocoms alike, these Persocoms are humanoid robots that people can get in love with. The protagonist, Hideki, is your regular young loser, without girls, without any interesting stuff to do and not enough money to buy a precious Persocom. Until he finds Chi on the way home... From then on, lots of things will happen in
...
this eight-volume story.
Chobits definitely gives you some food for thought: Can robots really feel and think by their own? Is it ok to be more in love with robots than with humans? Will you cry if your robot gets destroyed? Will the robot cry for you if it happened the other way around? Rest assured the series won't give you an ultimately answer to all this, giving you the freedom to think what you want.
That's very good and unusual for a manga series. Now, what's not very good is the way erotics is handled. There are a bunch of ecchi situations that are not recommended for kids (including a glory-hole scene, no less) , and while the general tone of Chobits is pretty mature and serious I was expecting the same treatment for the erotic content. Now, I don't mean I wanted to see actual sex, but you can't be given the kind of ending you get, when early volumes teased more realistic behaviours (I can't spoil exactly what I'm talking about, you'll have to read Chobits to find out).
And another thing that takes some points away from the story is that the original premise slowly becomes a background setting, and all that matters at the end of the day is the relationship between the many couples presented in the manga. That would be ok for another manga with a less interesting universe, but for Chobits I'd have liked to see Clamp moving beyond genre conventions there.
Art:
I find the style to be just perfect for this. It's not as simplistic as some other shojo mangas you'd see around but not too complex either (that wouldn't fit the series). Every Persocom is beautifully detailed and their distinct traits are very well done, without any mayor changes during the whole manga, and that's a plus. You won't forget Chi's ears or Sumomo's dress in quite a while.
Also, the pages are generous with the space given to each frame, so reading them is easy.
Characters:
They are the best of Chobits, in my opinion, with the Persocoms in the stellar role. For every couple in the manga there's a background story to follow, and their feelings don't look like a forced plot device to advance the story. Almost all the characters on paper are interesting, with a few exception consisting of short lived characters used for very specific situations.
My two favorite ones are the comic duo of portable Persocoms Sumomo and Kotoko, who I find very cute and fun.
Overall:
Chobits is a recommended read for anyone looking for sweet love stories without many dark moments. It could be a letdown if you are expecting something more beyond that point. Even then, the possitive points surpasses the bad ones: Good characterization supported by above average drawings easily compensate a somewhat unballanced storyline.
While Chobits is not as good as CardCaptor Sakura,still stands as a enjoyable manga to read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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