Post by Bytor on Apr 2, 2012 19:46:20 GMT -5
-Details-
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Company: Madhouse Studios
Format: 26 episodes
Dates: 2 Apr 2002 – 24 Sep 2002
-Visuals- 8.8/10
The animation, especially the backgrounds is typically crisp and clean. the true star I believe is the characters however. They are, to use a cliche term, simply cute as can be. Each is drawn well and they are certainly a good looking bunch but above and beyond all of that the over the top expressions and exclamations simply make this an adorable anime to watch, and I don't mean that in a cutesy make me nauseous kind of way nor in a too cartoonish as to be totally unbelievable and chibi kind of way either. Instead what you have is animations which while at times certainly silly still look nice and fit the personalities of the characters wonderfully. Now, be ready for plenty of fanservice and be certainly ready for EVERY female to exhibit and demonstrate this attention to fanservice, lol. Having said that nothing is truly hentai levels but there are various and many references to sex and sexual content. It doesn't detract or take too much away from the visuals but be forewarned it is there.
-Sound- 9.6/10
The voice acting in this anime is some of the best I have ever heard! Period. Hideki and Chi are both so wonderfully voiced that I simply cannot ever hear either name again without visually picturing each of the characters, and no way is that a bad thing! Instead it is a perfect marriage of animation and vocals, and who could ask for more!
-Characters- 8.5/10
Hmmm...this is a mixed bag in a huge way. Not so much in a hit or miss in character development but more so in a gross generalization and stereotypical depiction of characters on the one hand and on the other a complex and certainly convoluted development of some individual characters. Hideki and Chi certainly develop as individuals as the story unfolds and the ramifications of their growth pretty much is the story. On the other hand the vast majority of peripheral characters are caricatures of the typical male infatuated with females and the females as objects...so...yeah...hmmmmm
-Story- 8.8/10
Hideki is a struggling student who was raised on a farm an moved to the big city to attend school. In this version of modern/near future japan pretty much everyone has a persocom, a personal computer typically shaped like a member of the opposite sex. Being somewhat strapped for cash Hideki cannot afford one, but lo and behold he finds one seemingly thrown away as garbage. The story is devided into three basic parts. Part one concerns Hideki "teaching" Chi how to speak and act in society. Part two deals more with their growing relationship while part three deals more with the mystery of the Chobits and what exactly Chi is. The different parts of the story are all entertaining and certainly lead into each other but I do understand some may feel the story travels from fanservice to seriousness way too quickly and also way to unbelievably. I totally disagree. I feel the story built on itself wonderfully and had a great continuity and while it retained it's humor it also, even at the early stages had it moments of seriousness. I adored the entire (well, almost) story, and while I certainly enjoyed the more frivolous parts I also enjoyed the more serious aspects and appreciated the questions as to what defines love and self awareness immensely.
-Overall- 8.8/10
Simply put for 95% of the time, the first 95, this is a very enjoyable watch. unfortunately at the end it suddenly decides to try and take itself too seriously. I'm still gonna give it decent scores but if it had stayed a simply comedic love story i have to imagine I would think it was one of the best I've ever seen...oh so close.