The dark beauty of Chobits

Written by Ross Locksley on 05 Oct 2016

Chobits, a series conceptualised by popular studio CLAMP, is a deceptive little tale. With a bright, fresh palette and some cheery music, the series is, on the face of it, a story of a boy and the robot girl he finds in the dumpster making their way in the world. But when the show starts to look into the relationships that people have with their electronics, Chobits takes on a darker hue, even if it's tone doesn't always reflect the deep questions it's raising.

Chobits the anime can best be seen as a complement to the CLAMP manga that spawned it. This is mainly due to how early the anime was released, way before the manga had been given time to provide enough of the more involved content that the series could genuinely use to flesh out its themes, but even taken on its own, Chobits is a charming anime that asks difficult questions with big eyes and a smile.

So let's look at what the anime really gives us - it's certainly charming, and bumbling farm-boy Hideki is a unique CLAMP lead in that he's neither tragic nor angsty. He's an unremarkable but kind-hearted country boy who just happens to find the electronic girl of his dreams in a trash-can. This leads us to Chii, a Persocom computer who has no memory of her past, and is essentially a formatted computer. 

The series shifts the focus of the manga, which took Hideki's viewpoint for the most part, and instead looks at events from Chii's point of view. There are plenty of Chii fans who will love the series for this switch alone, as it gives us more time to follow her around as she learns about the world around her.

The anime concentrates on comedy and observation over drama and action, and for some this may be enough to leave the title on the shelf. This would be a shame though, as the series has some poignant moments and, for its time, was beautifully animated. The key questions are probably more relevant today than they've ever been - even Hollywood films such as the fantastic "Her" take the question of our emotional investment in technology and put it under the microscope, but Chobits was there in 2005, looking at just where we're headed and what it means for how we define love and affection.

So what are the darker hues the story touches on? For one, the objectification of women and their role in relation to men is clearly at the heart of the story. The show comes in for quite a bit of stick from some quarters for the way in which it makes Chii's quiet and obedient nature seem somehow idealistic, not much of a message for young girls watching the show. But how is Chii any different from, say, Belldandy in Oh! My Goddess? Anime is full of of quiet, obedient girls trying to win the love of men who they are clearly too good for - it's wish fulfilment whichever way you look at it. And yet Chobits actually makes it clear that it wants to examine how we treat women as objects and vice versa as a clear theme for its story - that it does it dressed in a cute facade should not be taken against it.

While Hideki tries to cement relationships with real women, the show is clear in its intent that his real relationship is with Chii, and that's where the drama lies. However, the show never really takes the question of this relationship all the way, and subsequently as I mentioned in the opening, the manga is required to properly finish the story.

If I were to take a parallel for Chobits, I'd probably choose Fruits Basket, another MVM title that's beloved by many (myself included). It's a wonderful watch, but leaves the story open ended. However, the manga takes the story to a wonderful conclusion, much like Chobits, but it's that initial animated foray into the world and characters that hooked me, and I genuinely think Chobits may well do the same for many fans looking for a classic story with universal themes of love and the things that truly define us.

Chobits is released on Blu Ray by MVM in October, 2016.