Chobits

Have you ever wondered what the future of human-machine interaction will look like? A question that by its very nature doesn't only concern the people working in its respective industries but a question that has the potential to affect us all. One only has to take a look at the invention of smart-devices over the last two decades to properly understand the significance of the question "How will technology shape our understanding of human interaction as well as our understanding of decidedly non-human interaction?".
Chobits as a series falls exactly under this umbrella-term of "Human-computer interaction". As part of the romance and sci-fi genre this really shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Still it's interesting to look at this show from 2002 under this light. And that is part of what I will attempt to do right now.

Still I'd like to begin the actual review section of this review with the usual topics:

1. General Overview

The anime (an adaptation of a manga series with the same name) follows the "everyday life" of the young and technologically (and academically) inept Hideki Motosuwa and his robot companion Chi in 22nd century Tokyo. A city that still feels decidedly "antiquated".

1. Soundtrack

The soundtrack is nothing to write home about to be honest. It basically is what you'd expect from a romance and comedy focused show from the early 2000s. Slow melodies, soft female voices as backdrop whenever needed and overall nothing too special. Though I have to admit that the first few seconds of the opening theme are quite catchy in combination with the accompanying visuals. Chi comes to life and so does the song and the visual punctuation in the form of a spark is a really fitting start for each episode.

1. Animation and Art

Speaking of visual clues this is an area that didn't manage to leave an overall positive impression. While I don't expect stunning visuals and animation quality from a romance show I'd still like to see proper lip syncing...or rather I'd like to see lip movements at all. There were quite a lot of scenes (even if far from the majority) in which the characters conversed without any noticable lip movement at all wich unfortunately is enough to break your immersion a bit. Other than that though I hardly have any complaints.

Now that that's out of the way we can focus on plot and themes a bit more. As mentioned in the introductionary section of this review the show does indeed tackle the topic of technology's effects on human interaction both with humans and with technology (in this case robots). The focus obviously is on the interaction between humans and human like robots (so called Persocoms). Unfortunately the show really only begins to dive a little bit deeper into these concepts towards the end of its episode count. Nonetheless it is the source of most major conflicts that arise over the course of its plot. Many characters are burdened with a negative past due to this invention called persocoms. The loss of real human connection is the most commonly seen theme in this regard. A real problem once we take a look at our current social problems. The show is at its best in exactly these kinds of moments. When our characters (and towards the end especially our main character) are forced to confront their own reality and to ask themselves the questions "Are persocoms better than humans?", "In which way are they different?" and "What does it mean to love a machine compared to loving a human".

Since this show belongs to the romance genre it is quite self explanatory that it allocates a lot of its time towards the very last of those questions. The manga and the anime also differ quite widely in this regard (especially due to the very different endings). While I don't want to spoil anything I do see it as necessary to point out that the manga ending (from what I know) seems far more nuanced and especially less like utter wish-fulfillment. I will let you explore the show's answers to the above questions on your own though I wish it spent more time tackling each in a more fleshed out manner. Especially interesting are the peculiarities of Chi in comparison to the rest of the persocoms and how her being a far superior model to the rest affect both the nature of all thematic questions I have brought up so far as well as their answers or even potential sets of considerations.

Now for one final critique: The nature in which romance and especially its sexual component was portrayed, bordered on utter cringe for me personally. Seemingly random "sexual" mini skits are a regular occurrence. And the slapstick soundbites in the backgroudn really don't help to lessen the nosebleeding immaturity. Some might call that comedy I call it a waste of screentime especially after a certain amount of repeating interactions. In the same vein I find the obsession with the phrase and concept of the "one just for me" one of foolish naivety. And while you can certainly explain these behavioral characteristics from a pure logical perspective in the show (programming of course) I fail to see the necessity of the inclusion of such a blatant focus. In fact such a concept (I guess its equivalent would be the concept of soulmates in human terms) if one wants to include it at all would work far better in moderation. At least in my opinion.

But enough cirticism. I stil enjoyed a large part of the show. And Chi is obviously extremely cute. There is no arguing about that. So do I recommend it? Sure I do (if you can endure its negatives). Though it might be a better idea to read the manga is this particular case. I myself haven't yet done so but from what I've heard it's usually regarded to be the superior version of the story. So what are you waiting for? Strange coincidences, weird technological design decisions and a tokyo straight from the 1990s await you on this journey through the past's future.