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Title:
  Chobits vol 1 - Persocom

UK Distributor:  MVM

BBFC Certificate:  12

Suggested Retail Price (SRP):  £19.99

Episodes:  1-4 (of 26)

Audio Options:  English 2.0, Japanese 2.0

Subtitles:  English

Reviewer:  Rich (Webmaster)

 

With the release of Love Hina wrapping up this month there is a gap in the schedule for a romantic comedy, and MVM waste no time in filling it.

 Chobits is based on the popular manga of the same name by all-female creative team CLAMP, and follows the story of Hideki - a country boy who moves to the big city to get some extra tuition after failing his college entrance exams.  Once in the city he is captivated by 'Persocoms' - beautiful humanoid computers that act as an advanced PC and programmable companion - but after seeing how much they cost he realises he has no hope of ever getting one.  Because of this he can't believe his luck when he finds one seemingly abandoned in a rubbish pile!  He takes it home and manages to turn it on, but finds to his dismay that it seems to be broken - it has no operating system and can only seem to say 'chi' (which is what he names it), but it soon becomes clear that there is far more to this Persocom than meets the eye, plus it's female and damn cute...

The first thing that you notice about this story is the sense of familiarity.  You have a kind hearted male character who's failed his exams, a mysterious female character with hidden depths, and the usual clichéd peripheral characters - genius kid, sexy apartment manager etc - but in this case familiarity does not breed contempt.

 Like many modern romantic comedies Chobits has decent animation, cheerful music and a strong vein of humour running through it, and like many of its peers it is good fun and an enjoyable watch.  The four episodes on this first disc give a good impression of what the characters are like, and give some decent hints at future important plot elements, but in this volume it is comedy that wins out over romance.  Hideki himself is a good source of humour as he has a habit of saying thoughts out loud , much to his embarrassment, and there is also the insanely cute 'laptop' persocom Sumomo (who looks like a little chibi female genie), but the highlight of this volume has to be when Hideki has to buy underwear for Chi.  The episode is hilarious from start to finish, but really peaks when Hideki's friend persuades him to send Chi to buy her own underwear under Sumomo's guidance - the trials and tribulations they undergo (and Hideki's constant worrying) make for some classic comedy.  Chobits also has its own visual style too, which helps keep it fresh and interesting and there seems to be a little more depth to the characters than you initially expect.

It is true that Chobits doesn't tread much new ground, but it treads old ground in its own way and is highly enjoyable because of it.  The comedy doesn't fall into absurdity and there are hints that there is more of a plot on the horizon than you normally find in the genre.  This kind of romantic comedy may not be everyone's cup of tea but for those who like a bit of light hearted enjoyment Chobits is a very good example of the genre and is well worth a look.

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