Title: Chobits
Volume(s): 8
Creator(s): CLAMP
Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left
Publisher: Tokyopop
MSRP: $9.95
Genre(s): Science Fiction
Rated: Older Teen (16+)
If you’re a fan of Japanese comic books then chances are you’ve heard of CLAMP. The fab four of Japanese comics has created some of the most diverse, and in many cases some of the best comic book series ever. From the ultra cute “Cardcaptor Sakura,” to the pointless but cute “Miyuki-chan In Wonderland,” and the gothic fantasy “X/1999,” CLAMP has created a series for each genre, for each gender in their career. “Chobits” is one of their newer series, yet it’s easily one of their best as it asks a question that, with proper thought, could make for a very interesting debate:
Can a robot learn to love?
Okay, so this may not have the most "original" premise, but this comic handles the premise much better then some movies I've seen in the past five years. The series opens up with the lead Hideki, a poor college student who's been kicked out of his house by his mom and dad and sent to town to learn a little bit about the real world. Upon entering the town that shall be his new home he see’s something that he’s never seen before: A Persocom. What is a persocom you ask? A persocom is a glorified computer that it designed as adult women. If not for their computer ears and odd looking eye’s these computers would look like a real person. The point of a persocom is to take care of tasks that the owner has programed it to do. Tasks ranging from helping out at a job, cleaning the house, paying the bills, and searching porn sites...well, it IS a glorified computer! These persocoms are cool, useful, and like a boy in a toy store when he see’s the latest action figure for his favorite super hero, Hideki WANTS one of these things!
Problem is he’s low on cash, and these computers are rather expensive. After settling into his new apartment (Best friend neighbor and beautiful manager included) Hideki goes for a walk one night, and thinks about how cool it would be if he could find a persocom just lying in the garbage for the taking...and at that very moment guess what he finds in the garbage? You guessed it, a persocom tied up with white bandages and thrown away. Hideki believes that God is truly on his side that night, and spends a couple of hours carrying it to his apartment (Just for the record, these rhings are HEAVY). Once he gets his new toy home he’s faced with the dilemma of how to turn it on. After checking every spot on her body for the switch he finally finds it...on the most private of spots a girl has. Once he turns on the persocom he discovers an interesting thing about this machine: It doesn’t know how to say anything except “chi”, can’t walk very well, and doesn’t seem to know much of anything. So now Hideki has the problem of figuring out how to teach this persomcom about life, and he has to come up with a name for her.
After some thought Hideki decides to name this persocom “Chi” since that’s all she can say. Once Chi is up and running some interesting mystery's come up anout Chi. She has no programing in her system (Which means she’s technically not supposed to be able to function properly), no one can hack into her data base, and one of Hideki’s friends finds a picture of a persocom on the internet that looks like Chi, and this persocom has the word “Chobits” written on her leg, which were persocoms that people weren’t sure existed or not (No one had ever seen a Chobit before, so it was assumed for years that the Chobits myth was just a rumor some internet junkie started). From the way the story starts it doesn’t sound like love comes into the story at all. However once you get to volume three the myth of the Chobits are combined with Hideki’s growing affection for Chi, and this quickly turns into a sci-fi romance that doesn't treat it's readers like idiots.
Friends warn Hideki that persocoms are computers with programs, and whatever love they express is not real love, but simply programed love. Hideki starts to fall in love with Chi, but can a robot truly and honestly love him in return? Does a mere “object” even deserve love in the first place? Well you’ll have to read the story to find out, just let me give you the heads up that this story will take your thoughts about what love is and turn them upside down. A couple years ago the Stephen Spielberg film “A.I.” attempted to ask the same question that this series does, and as much as I liked that movie, the question it was trying to ask got lost somewhere along the way, and the movie never did give anyone anything to think about when it came to the “robots loving humans” idea. This series on the other hand leaves lots of room for debate, makes you question whether or not robotes are capable of love, and it is one of the deepest stories written about love.
If you want a romance story that’s unlike anything you’ve ever read before then “Chobits” is the series to read. Yes it’s about love, but it’s written in such a good way both men and women should be able to read this love story without feeling weird or embarresed. It’s romantic enough without being mushy, and deep enough without being confusing. CLAMP is one of the best comic book teams in the world, and may very well be their shining jewel in their crown of great comics!
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -