Despite my usual disgruntledness, people who know me know I'm a sucker for just about anything anime. Give me a good anime, and I'm in an annoyingly happy mood for quite some time afterwards. Chobits is a action, comedy, and romance series. It fits right in with shows like Ranma ½ and to lesser extents, Ah! My Goddess, and Sailor Moon. The jokes are hilarious, the characters are lovable, and the obviousness of the fan service rivals that of Evangelion.
I have to admit, I get very involved with anime. I cheer for the hero, at times the villain, mourn the loss of favorite characters, and take great interest in the lives and loves of the characters. Chobits is very easy to relate in this manner to. Hideki is as simple and honest as they come, yet human. Picture a cross between Tenchi, Keiichi, and Ranma as well. Chii is a great character, cute and innocent. She can be every bit as funny and interesting as Hideki, even when speaking a single word. She makes a great pair with Sumomo, a mobile persocon who belongs to Hideki's best friend.
Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me explain a little about Chobits since the majority of even anime fans probably don't know much about it. The gist of the Chobits story is about a farm boy turn city slicker named Hideki. He's in cram school, trying to get accepted into a college. When he gets to the city, he's amazed by "Persocons". Turns out they're everywhere. After making a few friends he learns that they are basically walking computers. looking human, acting human, but by their programming only. He dreams about how great it'd be for awhile, but ultimately knows he's broke. As he's walking home at night, he finds Chii. just laying on the curb in the trash. He saves her from the garbage heap, takes her home, and activates her. Turns out she knows almost nothing. No common sense, no language, nothing. He figures that's why she was thrown away to begin with, but why look the other way with such good fortune? He takes it upon himself to teach her about the world while trying to lead his daily life.
The show never ceases to stay interesting, and the stories range from serious to all out joke fest craziness. The jokes are certainly aimed at an older audience. They have all the appeal of Ranma ½. Hideki loves adult magazines and movies, and there are several very funny jokes about it. Unlike most anime guys, he's not blind to all the cute girls around him either. He's far less shy about it than Tenchi and Keichii, but he's still a good guy at heart. For the most part, the series is clean and lovable. There's extremely little out right nudity, mostly just a ton of cute fan service.
One thing I really like about Chobits is that it's very upbeat. Not just the humor, but the generally message of the anime. Going through Hideki's life, his job, his classes, his troubles and watching him fight through them all. CLAMP is great at this kind of overall upbeat anime, and Chobits is no exception. It's a great anime that I recommend to just about anyone old enough for the adult themed jokes. You might want to preview it before you have your younger siblings or kids watch it.
