Chobits
Encyclopedia
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
.
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 two video games 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 , 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.
attempting to qualify for university by studying at Seki prep school in Tokyo. Besides a girlfriend, he dreams of having a : 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, not noticing that a disk fell on the ground. Upon turning her on, she instantly regards Hideki with adoration. The only word the persocom seems capable of saying is , 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 of 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.
, 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
. Tokyopop's translation is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment
. 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. The first of the two volumes was published March 24, 2010 and includes 4 of the original volumes. The second volume, with the remaining four of the original volues, was published October 19, 2010.
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
.
An art-book based on the series, titled Your Eyes Only, was published by Kodansha; it is licensed in North America by Tokyopop. 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; and also released as an audiobook with text read by Rie Tanaka
, the voice actor for Chi
.
Clamp often reuses various characters among their manga. Chobits is their first seinen
series, aimed at young men.
television series by Madhouse
. The series was directed by Morio Asaka
with music by K-Taro Takanami and character designs by Hisashi Abe. The opening theme is "Let Me Be With You" by Round Table featuring Nino
. The ending themes are "Raison d'être" (Reason to Be) by Rie Tanaka
(episodes 1–13), "Ningyo-hime
" (Mermaid Princess) by Rie Tanaka (episodes 14–25), and "Katakoto no Koi" (Awkward Love) by Rie Tanaka and Tomokazu Sugita
(episodes 26).
The series was broadcast in 26 episodes from 2 April 2002 to 24 September 2002 across Japan, East Asia, and Southeast Asia by the anime satellite television
network, Animax
and the terrestrial
Tokyo Broadcasting System
network. It was later released on 8 DVDs. The original episodes 9 and 18 are "recap" episodes, summarizing previous events. These episodes were re-numbered for the DVD release as episodes 8.5 and 16.5, respectively, and removed from their original sequence by being published together on the final DVD. As a result, the series is 24 episodes long on DVD. In addition, there are two DVD-only OVAs: a 27th episode recapping the series (numbered episode 24.5) and a 6-minute special, "Chobits: Plum and Kotoko Deliver". The ending theme of the latter is "Book End Bossa" by Round Table featuring Nino.
The series was broadcast in Korea by AniOne TV, in France by Europe 2 TV, in Spain by both Animax España and Buzz Channel, in Portugal on Animax Portugal, and in Poland by Hyper. It is licensed in North America by Geneon
, which has released the series in 7 DVDs. This release is redistributed in the United Kingdom by MVM Films
, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment
. It is also licensed in Taiwan by Proware Multimedia, in France and the Netherlands by Kaze Animation, in Germany by ADV Films, and in Russia by MC Entertainment
. At Anime Boston
2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment
announced that they have rescued Chobits and will release the series on DVD and Blu-ray on April 26, 2011 & May 10 2011, respectively. The anime series made it's US television debut on May 9, 2011 on the Funimation Channel
.
was released 1 July 2003 and Chobits Original Soundtrack 002
was released 7 October 2003. Three singles were released, the opening theme "Let Me Be with You" by Round Table featuring Nino, and two ending themes by Rie Tanaka, "Raison d'être" and "Ningyo Hime". In addition, a character song album, Chobits Character Song Collection
, was released on 17 February 2004.
One piece of music in the anime nicknamed "Dark Chi's Theme" by fans (because it appears in "Freya mode") appears on the Best of Chobits soundtrack. Original name of the track is "Fuuma (Dialogue Mix)" and "Kamui (Dialogue Mix)", which are available on their respective singles "Fuuma" Single and "Kamui" Single from the X
soundtrack.
Game Boy Advance
called Chobits: Atashi Dake no Hito. The game was available bundled with a clear blue Game Boy Advance with a decal
of Chi above the A+B buttons and a Chobits logo above the D-pad.
In 2003 Broccoli
released a PlayStation 2
game titled Chobits: Chii Dake no Hito.a Bishoujoviscol-novel Like the Gameboy Advance game, this too was released only in Japan.
Another PC-version game was also released in 2002, using Macromedia
and Quicktime
as the background support. This game is called Communication Game, in which the player can "talk" with Chi and teach her to speak. It also contained some small games inside such as a keyboard typing game.
Critics generally agreed that the second half of the series was stronger than the first, as the story explored the moral and philosophical explorations of the relationships between humans and artificial intelligences, and whether the latter have free will.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
created by the Japanese manga collective Clamp
Clamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
. It was published by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
in Young Magazine
Young Magazine
is a Japanese manga magazine published weekly by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at adult males . It is also known as Young or YM. It goes on sale Monday every week...
from February 2001 to November 2002 and collected in eight bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
.
Chobits was adapted as a 26-episode-long anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series broadcast on TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
and Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
from April to September 2002. In addition, it has spawned two video games 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 , or personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
(パーソナルコンピュータ pāsonaru konpyūta) with human form, that he names "Chi"
Chi (Chobits)
is a fictional character in the manga series Chobits, and its anime adaptation. She is a Chobit, a type of persocom that is far more technologically advanced than regular persocoms, and who are said to possess true machine intelligence rather than relying on the execution of pre-loaded software...
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
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
as Angelic Layer
Angelic Layer
is a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English originally by Tokyopop, but has since been re-licensed by Dark Horse Comics. It is the group's first work to use a quite different art style unseen in any other CLAMP series, which uses a more...
, 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
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
is a shōnen manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably xxxHolic. The plot follows how Sakura, the princess of the Kingdom of Clow, loses her soul and how Syaoran, a young...
, xxxHolic and Kobato.
Plot
The series centers on the life of Hideki Motosuwa, a held-back studentRonin (student)
In Japan, a is a student who has graduated from middle school or high school but has failed to enter a school at the next level, and consequently is studying outside of the school system for entrance in a future year. Rōnin may study at a yobikō....
attempting to qualify for university by studying at Seki prep school in Tokyo. Besides a girlfriend, he dreams of having a : 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, not noticing that a disk fell on the ground. Upon turning her on, she instantly regards Hideki with adoration. The only word the persocom seems capable of saying is , 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 of 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.
Main characters
- A 19-year-old (in the anime, 18) repeat studentRonin (student)In Japan, a is a student who has graduated from middle school or high school but has failed to enter a school at the next level, and consequently is studying outside of the school system for entrance in a future year. Rōnin may study at a yobikō....
attempting to get into university by studying at a cram schoolCram schoolCram schools are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities...
, while working at a izakayaIzakayaAn is a type of Japanese drinking establishment which also serves food to accompany the drinks. They are popular, casual places for after-work drinking.-Name:...
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. However, he is a male being, and his "desires" often get him embarrassed. 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. Having grown up on a farm in Hokkaido with only cows for company, Hideki is very eager to make friends (and become infatuated with pretty girls), tends to be preoccupied with what other people think of him, and often thinks aloud only to become embarrassed when he notices others have heard him discussing private subjects.
- 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. 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. See 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.
Adaptation
There were several changes made to the story when it was adapted into an anime series. The more important ones include:- In the manga, when Hideki introduces himself, he is already in Tokyo and employed; in the anime, he is shown moving to Tokyo and meeting Chitose Hibiya, his apartment manager, and is unemployed when he finds Chi.
- Several events in the anime do not happen in the manga: such as the trip to Minoru's beach house, the circulation of an online urban legend regarding Hideki's apartment being haunted, he and Chi helping Ms. Hibiya clean the apartment complex, Chi needing to be charged and Chi cooking for Hideki. The episode where Chi gets her first underwear occurs in both, but it receives more emphasis in the anime (a whole episode) whereas in the manga it receives about two pages.
- In the anime, Shinbo Hiromu lives in the same apartment complex as Hideki; in the manga, he does not.
- In the manga, Hideki learns Ms. Shimizu and Shinbo are having an affair when he searches for Chi, who had gone to look for a job and wound up at Club Peep. In the anime, he finds out much later.
- In the manga, Yumi Oumura is not the daughter of manager Nekoi at Club Pleasure, where Hideki works.
- In the manga, Chi gets an outfit from her past life the night after Takako Shimizu stays at Hideki's apartment. In the anime, Chi gets the outfit from Chitose Hibiya after she and Hideki help her with cleaning the apartment building.
- In the anime, Chitose Hibiya's late husband Ichiro is not named, nor is his affiliation with the creation of Angelic LayerAngelic Layeris a manga series released by Clamp. The manga is published in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten, and in English originally by Tokyopop, but has since been re-licensed by Dark Horse Comics. It is the group's first work to use a quite different art style unseen in any other CLAMP series, which uses a more...
mentioned. In the manga, he is mentioned by name.
- Freya "dies" in the anime and manga under essentially the same circumstances (her CPU becoming overstressed by too much pain), but for different reasons. In the manga, she tells Ichiro Mihara about her feelings for him, and feels pain and joy at the same time which was too much of an emotional burden on her. In the anime, Freya mentions that she couldn't admit that she loved her creator, and therefore suffered from the pain of using all her willpower to keep her feelings a secret.
- The ending of the anime differs from the manga in several ways, including not alluding to Hideki never having Chi because of her switch location, and of Freya taking over Chi's body and asking her mother Chitose to shut them down, saying the Chobits series is a failure, and the activation of the program after all, although the effect on Persocoms is not the same as described in the manga.
Manga
The original Chobits manga was written by ClampClamp (manga artists)
, is an all-female Japanese manga artist group that formed in the mid 1980s. Many of the group's manga series are often adapted into anime after release. It consists of their leader , who provides much of the storyline and screenplay for all their works and adaptations of those works respectively ,...
, a collective of four Japanese manga artists
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
. It was serialized in Japan by Kodansha
Kodansha
, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...
in Young Magazine
Young Magazine
is a Japanese manga magazine published weekly by Kodansha. The magazine was started on June 23, 1980 and is targeted at adult males . It is also known as Young or YM. It goes on sale Monday every week...
from February 2001 until November 2002. The 88 chapters were collected in eight bound volumes
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
.
The manga was originally published in English in North America by Tokyopop
Tokyopop
Tokyopop, styled TOKYOPOP, and formerly known as Mixx, is a distributor, licensor, and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa, and Western manga-style works. The existing German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well...
. Tokyopop's translation is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
. 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. The first of the two volumes was published March 24, 2010 and includes 4 of the original volumes. The second volume, with the remaining four of the original volues, was published October 19, 2010.
Chobits is published in Hong Kong in Traditional Chinese by Jonesky
Jonesky
Jonesky Limited is a Hong Kong publisher of domestic Chinese manhua and translated, imported comics from Japan. Several of their titles have been translated and released in English...
, in Singapore in Simplified Chinese by Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. is a publishing company based in Singapore that specializes in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise, in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distributes all or some of its products in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and the Philippines...
, in South Korea by Daiwon C.I.
Daiwon C.I.
Daewon C.I. , short for Daewon Culture Industry, is a subsidiary of Daewon Media founded in 1991. This South Korean publisher releases domestic and imported comics, Newtype Korea Magazine, children's books, and light novels. With Haksan Culture Company and Seoul Cultural Publishers, Daewon C.I...
, in France by Pika Édition
Pika Édition
Pika Édition is a French publisher headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, specializing in manga. Founded as a daughter company of Media System Editions, it was taken over by Hachette Livre in 2007.-Distribution:...
, in Spain by Norma Editorial
Norma Editorial
Norma Editorial is a Spanish comics publisher, with its headquarters in Barcelona.Founded in 1977 by Rafael Martínez, it publishes both original Spanish comics , Spanish translations of Japanese manga as well as Spanish translations of American or European comics and...
, in Mexico by Grupo Editorial Vid
Grupo Editorial Vid
Grupo Editorial Vid is a Mexican comic, manga and books publisher. It was founded in the early 1940s as Editorial Argumentos ....
, in Italy by Star Comics
Star Comics (Italy)
Star Comics is an Italian comic book publisher born in December 1985 that publishes Italian edition of manga and Italian comics in Italy. Until the birth of Marvel Italia in 1994 it also published Italian editions of many Marvel Comics's comic books...
(which serialized it in Express), in Germany by Egmont Manga & Anime
Egmont Manga & Anime
Egmont Manga & Anime is one of the largest publishers of manga in Germany. It was founded in the year 2000 as a daughter company of Egmont Ehapa, after the manga boom in Germany became apparent around the turn of the millennium. Since 2003, EMA has been part of Egmont vgs in Cologne.- History :In...
(which serialized it in Manga Power), in Poland by Japonica Polonica Fantastica
Japonica Polonica Fantastica
Japonica Polonica Fantastica, also known as JPF, is a Polish manga publisher, located in Mierzyn near Szczecin, Poland. The founder of JPF is Shin Yasuda.-Titles published:*.hack//Legend of the Twilight*Akira*Angel Sanctuary...
, in Brazil by JBC
Editora JBC
Editora JBC is a company that publishes books and magazines related to Japan in Brazil. It has its headquarters in Sao Paulo....
, and in Sweden by Carlsen Verlag
Carlsen Verlag
Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish publishing house which in turn belongs to the Swedish media company Bonnier. The branch was founded on 25 April 1953 in Hamburg. The publisher's program focuses on books for children Carlsen Verlag is a subsidiary of the homonymous Danish...
.
An art-book based on the series, titled Your Eyes Only, was published by Kodansha; it is licensed in North America by Tokyopop. 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; and also released as an audiobook with text read by Rie Tanaka
Rie Tanaka
is a singer and voice actress . Notable among her numerous roles are Lacus Clyne in Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny, Chii and Freya in Chobits, Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke in Strike Witches and Suigintou in the anime adaptation of Rozen Maiden.-Personal life:As a child, Tanaka took singing classes...
, the voice actor for Chi
Chi (Chobits)
is a fictional character in the manga series Chobits, and its anime adaptation. She is a Chobit, a type of persocom that is far more technologically advanced than regular persocoms, and who are said to possess true machine intelligence rather than relying on the execution of pre-loaded software...
.
Clamp often reuses various characters among their manga. Chobits is their first seinen
Seinen
is a subset of manga that is generally targeted at a 20–30 year old male audience, but the audience can be older with some manga aimed at businessmen well into their 40s. In Japanese, the word Seinen means "young man" or "young men" and is not suggestive of sexual matters...
series, aimed at young men.
Anime
Chobits was adapted as an animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series by Madhouse
Madhouse (company)
is a Japanese animation studio, founded in 1972 by ex–Mushi Pro animators including Masao Maruyama, Osamu Dezaki, Rintaro, and Yoshiaki Kawajiri. It has created and helped to produce many well known shows, starting with TV anime series Ace o Nerae! in 1973, and including western favourites Ninja...
. The series was directed by Morio Asaka
Morio Asaka
is a Japanese anime director.A graduate of the Osaka Designers' College, he is a member of the studio Madhouse. His noted works include, among others, Cardcaptor Sakura , Galaxy Angel, Gunslinger Girl, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII and Nana.-Directorial style:Asaka has covered a wide range of...
with music by K-Taro Takanami and character designs by Hisashi Abe. The opening theme is "Let Me Be With You" by Round Table featuring Nino
Round Table (band)
Round Table is a Japanese pop band known mostly for their Anime soundtracks. They are most popularly known in the Anime demographic for their hit single, "Let Me Be With You" - the opening song for the anime Chobits. The band was formed in 1997 with Katsutoshi Kitagawa and Rieko Ito as band...
. The ending themes are "Raison d'être" (Reason to Be) by Rie Tanaka
Rie Tanaka
is a singer and voice actress . Notable among her numerous roles are Lacus Clyne in Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny, Chii and Freya in Chobits, Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke in Strike Witches and Suigintou in the anime adaptation of Rozen Maiden.-Personal life:As a child, Tanaka took singing classes...
(episodes 1–13), "Ningyo-hime
24 Wishes
24 Wishes is Japanese seiyū Rie Tanaka's 1st album, released on January 3, 2003. It includes some of the songs Rie sang for the anime Chobits, wherein she did the voice of the character Chi: Happy-go-lucky, Ningyo-hime, I Hear You Everywhere, Hitomi no Tunnel, Sweet Sweet . and Shiranai Sora...
" (Mermaid Princess) by Rie Tanaka (episodes 14–25), and "Katakoto no Koi" (Awkward Love) by Rie Tanaka and Tomokazu Sugita
Tomokazu Sugita
is a Japanese voice actor employed by Atomic Monkey. Best known for his role as Gintoki in Gintama, he also voices Kyon in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. He is also one of the three hosts on the radio show Bururaji promoting the videogame Blazblue which is produced and released on Nico Nico...
(episodes 26).
The series was broadcast in 26 episodes from 2 April 2002 to 24 September 2002 across Japan, East Asia, and Southeast Asia by the anime satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
network, Animax
Animax
is a Japanese anime satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. A subsidiary of Japanese media conglomerate Sony, it is headquartered in in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with its co-founders and shareholders including Sony Pictures Entertainment and the noted anime studios...
and the terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
Tokyo Broadcasting System
Tokyo Broadcasting System
, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....
network. It was later released on 8 DVDs. The original episodes 9 and 18 are "recap" episodes, summarizing previous events. These episodes were re-numbered for the DVD release as episodes 8.5 and 16.5, respectively, and removed from their original sequence by being published together on the final DVD. As a result, the series is 24 episodes long on DVD. In addition, there are two DVD-only OVAs: a 27th episode recapping the series (numbered episode 24.5) and a 6-minute special, "Chobits: Plum and Kotoko Deliver". The ending theme of the latter is "Book End Bossa" by Round Table featuring Nino.
The series was broadcast in Korea by AniOne TV, in France by Europe 2 TV, in Spain by both Animax España and Buzz Channel, in Portugal on Animax Portugal, and in Poland by Hyper. It is licensed in North America by Geneon
Geneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
, which has released the series in 7 DVDs. This release is redistributed in the United Kingdom by MVM Films
MVM Films
MVM Films is a British distributor of Japanese animation. The company sublicenses anime titles from US Anime companies such as Media Blasters, Geneon, Nozomi Entertainment, Urban Vision, AnimEigo, and US Manga Corps, which do not have a UK presence, and releases them on Region 2 DVD...
, and in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment is an Australian company that distributes international films as well as Japanese anime and manga in Australia and New Zealand. The company is owned by Funtastic Limited and is one of the major entertainment companies in Australia. It employs 130 people and has an annual...
. It is also licensed in Taiwan by Proware Multimedia, in France and the Netherlands by Kaze Animation, in Germany by ADV Films, and in Russia by MC Entertainment
MC Entertainment
MC Entertainment is a Russian distributor of anime and films from Japan, USA, Germany, Great Britain, China, Thailand and South Korea. The company, headed by Dmitry Fedotkin, was founded in 2000. As of 2007, it the largest anime company in Russia. It is also the first Russian company aimed...
. At Anime Boston
Anime Boston
Anime Boston is an annual three-day anime fan convention held in the spring in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The convention features a number of events which include a masquerade, an anime music video contest, video programming rooms, an artists' alley and art show, karaoke, game shows,...
2010, North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment
Funimation Entertainment
Funimation is an American entertainment company. Originally founded in 1994 by Gen Fukunaga, the company became a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation on May 11, 2005...
announced that they have rescued Chobits and will release the series on DVD and Blu-ray on April 26, 2011 & May 10 2011, respectively. The anime series made it's US television debut on May 9, 2011 on the Funimation Channel
FUNimation Channel
The FUNimation Channel is a 24-hour cable network which broadcasts anime series in the United States. OlympuSAT was chosen as the exclusive distributor of the network....
.
Soundtracks
Two soundtracks from the anime were released by Pioneer. Chobits Original Soundtrack 001Chobits Original Soundtrack 001
Chobits Original Soundtrack 001 is the first soundtrack in a volume of two released for the anime Chobits. The score is composed by K-taro Takanami, unless noted otherwise.-Track listing:#"Morning, Morning" – 1:14#"Love of Babble" – 2:35...
was released 1 July 2003 and Chobits Original Soundtrack 002
Chobits Original Soundtrack 002
Chobits Original Soundtrack 002 is the second soundtrack in a volume of two released for the anime Chobits. The score is composed by K-taro Takanami, unless noted otherwise.-Track listing:#"Better" – 2:18...
was released 7 October 2003. Three singles were released, the opening theme "Let Me Be with You" by Round Table featuring Nino, and two ending themes by Rie Tanaka, "Raison d'être" and "Ningyo Hime". In addition, a character song album, Chobits Character Song Collection
Chobits Character Song Collection
Chobits Character Song Collection is the character song album of Chobits. It features an image song sung by the voice actor/actress and a background-music "theme" for each character, as well as the ending theme for the last episode, Love of Babble....
, was released on 17 February 2004.
One piece of music in the anime nicknamed "Dark Chi's Theme" by fans (because it appears in "Freya mode") appears on the Best of Chobits soundtrack. Original name of the track is "Fuuma (Dialogue Mix)" and "Kamui (Dialogue Mix)", which are available on their respective singles "Fuuma" Single and "Kamui" Single from the X
X (manga)
, also known as X/1999, is a Japanese shōjo manga series created by Clamp, a creative team made up by Satsuki Igarashi, Nanase Ohkawa, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Mokona. It premiered in Monthly Asukas May 1992 issue and ran there until the magazine's editors showed concern with the increasingly violent...
soundtrack.
Drama CDs
Chobits anime adaptation was followed by a series of five drama CDs, each called a Chapter.Games
In 2002 Marvelous Entertainment released in Japan only a Chobits game for the NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
called Chobits: Atashi Dake no Hito. The game was available bundled with a clear blue Game Boy Advance with a decal
Decal
A decal or transfer is a plastic, cloth, paper or ceramic substrate that has printed on it a pattern or image that can be moved to another surface upon contact, usually with the aid of heat or water. The word is short for decalcomania...
of Chi above the A+B buttons and a Chobits logo above the D-pad.
In 2003 Broccoli
Broccoli (company)
is a Japanese media company that publishes manga, anime, and video games through its various subsidiaries.- About :Broccoli is the parent company of Broccoli Music Publishing, Broccoli International USA, and Anime Gamers USA Inc...
released a PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game titled Chobits: Chii Dake no Hito.a Bishoujoviscol-novel Like the Gameboy Advance game, this too was released only in Japan.
Another PC-version game was also released in 2002, using Macromedia
Macromedia
Macromedia was an American graphics and web development software company headquartered in San Francisco, California that produced such products as Flash and Dreamweaver. Its rival, Adobe Systems, acquired Macromedia on December 3, 2005 and controls the line of Macromedia...
and Quicktime
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
as the background support. This game is called Communication Game, in which the player can "talk" with Chi and teach her to speak. It also contained some small games inside such as a keyboard typing game.
Reception
Reviewers consistently praised the production quality of the anime series, citing good sound and animation quality and detailed backgrounds. The adaptation was criticized for shifting the focus from Hideki to Chi, in particular for having episodes devoted to Chi "doing cute things" and providing fanservice.Critics generally agreed that the second half of the series was stronger than the first, as the story explored the moral and philosophical explorations of the relationships between humans and artificial intelligences, and whether the latter have free will.