Chobits

[There is no such thing as an objective review. Interpretations and opinions of all forms of art and expression are subjective.]

Ideally, romantic partners should view themselves as equals. In the world of Chobits, there exist persocoms. These lifelike androids that can perform nearly any role—personal assistant, servant, or even a surrogate partner. Naturally, one of Chobits’ primary subjects is the relationship humans have with their persocoms.

Hideki, the young protagonist, is out in the world on his own for the first time and has no idea how real life works. He desires a persocom of his own, but hasn't the funds. With a stroke of luck, he finds a particularly pretty discarded persocom laying in the trash and takes it home. After she awakens, this adorable android can only say one word: chi. Hideki names her thus. Naturally, Hideki is charmed by Chi. However, the Chobits’ characters warn him over and over again to not fall in love with her. And since Chobits touts itself as a romance, viewing Hideki and Chi's relationship from that angle is…interesting.

Age and maturity are not mutually exclusive. Both Hideki and Chi exemplify different kinds of immaturity: Hideki knows little of the ways of the city, and he is completely incapable of fending for himself. His bills are unpaid, he cannot cook, and he makes no effort into improving himself. Someone who cannot stand on their own will naturally rely on someone else. While it can be healthy to rely on other people, including a partner or spouse, striking a balance between reliance and dependence is a tricky thing to navigate. But for a character like Hideki, taking initiative is a foreign concept, as the rest of the characters hold Hideki’s hand in helping him take care of Chi. As he teaches her to speak, to dress herself, and to do the chores, he himself continues to stagnate. No matter how good a person is at heart, someone with the complete inability to fend for themselves will not be able to support another.

Chi, who has the appearance of a grown woman, also has the mentality, speech, and mannerisms of an elementary school student. The disconnect is exacerbated with Chi’s frequent sexualization: she gleefully buys Hideki girlie magazines, she gets roped into filming pornography—innocent all the while and comes out none the wiser. She is near totally reliant on Hideki to instruct her what is acceptable and what is not. The dynamic Chi shares with Hideki is much closer to a father and daughter relationship, rather than husband and wife. But Chobits does not see it that way. Instead it equates Chi's incorruptible infantilization with purity. And thus, so is Chi and Hideki’s relationship.

They are perfect just the way they are. After all, why bother improving yourself when your robot girlfriend doesn't know any better? Why bother doing any chores or labor when the cute machine finishes it all in a matter of minutes? What’s the point of getting a job when the humanoid AI has already gotten one for you? Why bother pursuing a relationship with a living, breathing woman when you have a perfect, obedient android girl instead? The way Chobits interprets its ideas on AI and human relationships becomes a bit more concerning when all but one of the named persocom characters are female with male owners.

Chobits is a misguided romance wrapped in a pastel aesthetics, and dragged down by contrived humor that chiefly relies on yelling, overreacting, and putting Chi in awkward situations. While it dares to ask if falling in love with AI rather than a human is okay, it never truly follows through. However, in all instances, a male human has chosen a female persocom over a female human. While Hideki does not make such a choice, the only thing Chobits has to say is that Hideki and Chi’s love for each other is pure.

Love may conquer all. But if one person in a relationship is unwilling to make an effort, then it would be delusional to call them partners. While Chobits not only puts android women over those of flesh and blood, it is also insistent that as long as partners love each other, then everything will be perfect. If this is truly Chobits’ ethos on what romance is, then thankfully there are plenty of other fish in the sea.