Chobits, Rozen Maiden Recommendations
While there is a love story involved in Rozen Maiden, it's a different one from what you're given in Chobits, but that's not a bad thing really. Our lead character, Jun, still finds a mysterious non-human girl(s) who ends up living with him. She still has a positive influence on his life, and he still changes his general outlook and personality because of her.
With that the girl(s) of Rozen Maiden is nothing like Chii. After following the directions of a strange order form for a doll, a case containing Shinku, a "Rozen Maiden" series doll mysteriously appears in his room. Upon winding her up, Jun finds
that the doll can walk and talk like a regular human being. She's certainly no Persocom, but she still fits the bill as adorable non-human girl nicely.
However, much like Ai from Video Girl Ai, Shinku's personality couldn't be any more different than Chii's. A bit of a snob, Shinku is very, very far from innocent, often bossing Jun around and even calling him her servant on the regular. It's good then, that she's not the only Rozen Maiden doll that comes into his life.
Over the course of the shows first two seasons you'll meet a total of seven different dolls, 2 of which play the part of main antagonists. The others all end up befriending Jun and living with him, or regularly visit him. Much like the cyborgs of Gunslinger Girl, each of these girls has their own unique personality, Hinaichigo is the most innocent and childish of the bunch (and also the most reminiscent of Chii by the way), Suiseiseki is similar to Shinku in that she can be a bit bossy, but she also has a sensitive side that she allows to show far more often than Shinku. Souseiseki is a tomboy who generally seems to be the most reserved of the group and often has the most common sense. In the second season were introduced to Kanaria, who is like a combination of Hinaichago and Suiseiseki's personalities. While I feel some of the dolls are more likable than others (Hina and Suiseiseki are my two favorites), they'll all find a way to captivate you in one way or another.
While you'll likely not get the same attatchment to any one of the dolls like you would with Chii, that wasn't the goal. A lot of work was done to make sure the viewer falls in love not with a single one of the bunch, but the whole group of them. And by the end of the second season, you'll realize you care about every single one of them a lot more than you may have expected at first.
While it's true that this is a very different type of show than Chobits, I still feel there are enough similar elements in it that will make fans feel at home. Take me as an example; the show is in my top 10 favorite anime shows (granted I've only seen a total of 19 series, but since I've focused on finding only shows similar to Chobits, that's saying more than you'd think).
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