Chobits: The Chobits Collection

In the future, personal computers have developed into humanoid 'Persocons'. A prep school student named Hideki Motosuwa desperately wants to buy a Persocon but can't afford to. One fateful day he finds a Persocon in a garage pile and so he takes her home. When he turns on the Persocon, she can only say 'Chi' and that's what he names her. Over time it becomes apparent that Chi is more than an average Persocon. It seems that Chi might be a "Chobit", a type of advanced Persocon rumoured to have independent thought and feeling. How far will Hideki go to protect her and what will their relationship become.

The Chobits Collection contains all 7 DVD volumes and the Character Song Collection CD - a total of 8 discs in 4 double thinpak cases. The artbox has a plastic slipcase with the description and specs on it, so the artbox itself is pretty much free of any text.

This is an excellent anime, and a very nice take on the more traditional "boy meets girl plots". Some have said in the past that this series is yet another one about a lonely guy often a nerdy type, who is lucky enough to meet a lovely, and (not always) submissive female. In most anime, this female robot or android just happens to be a robot or android of some sort either created by or stumbled upon by the main character. However, that is far too simple a way to explain it and I think unjustly labels "Chi", the Persocom (android) within this story, and the other female androids.

Looking only at "Chi" as the story moves on it is obvious she is not submissive but filled with childlike innocence. This is what helps make the story so different from others with female androids. Chi is truly a child learning about the world around her and the very important rule it will seem she will play seemingly as one of the legendary "Chobits", the Peroscoms that legend holds are have real emotions and need no traditional programming to function.

As she learns about this world around her, and at times has her innocence exploited, something that can easily be mistaken for her being submissive, Hideki, the main male character and one that finds Chi, finds himself both as her teacher and her caretaker. As they both grown and learn together and begin to see the world through each other's eyes they naturally grow closer together in a way that works as being very easy to accept and believe could happen.

The climax itself and what happens when all the pieces are in place, the pieces of the puzzles that build through mysterious photos, and searches to see if Chi really is a "Chobits" is something not to be missed and is one of the most stunning and emotionally filled endings I have ever seen to an anime.

With a story that is so well written that it is very easy to grow to love the characters and feel excitement about the characters this ending was perhaps even more emotional. Overall this is not an anime you should miss and is one that should be on everyone's "Must See" lists no matter your typical favorite genre.

Though there are a lot of scenes that differ from (or were not present in) the manga, Chobits is a great anime series to watch. The way that the ending plays out is slightly different from the manga, but it still holds true in tone and execution (and is still a happy ending).

In regards to the dvd, the picture is beautiful with bright colors popping off the screen. Thankfully (as many tv shows on dvd do not have this feature) there are chapter stops for the intro and ending themes, though while they are catchy, I don't particularly want to see them for every episode. A cd is also included entitled the Chobits Character Song Collection.

If you liked the Chobits manga or are a fan of anime in general, don't hesitate to buy this dvd.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 34 reviews  4.6 out of 5 stars