Chobits

Director
Morio Asaka
Production
Madhouse, Project Chobits, TBS
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
26 episodes
Year
2002

Chobits Volume 5: Disappearance

By otaku_kei
10th Mar 06

I find myself constantly questioning what to make of Chobits. As a highly rated show amongst anime fans, and possibly Clamps most famous work, Chobits has garnered admiration and respect just about everywhere, and for the most part it is easy to see why. The show works despite the shows protagonist being a loser with no direction and a proclivity towards persocoms that are far too close to jailbait! But Chi's overwhelming cuteness, and the fun that this show has with its audience manages to deliver the best from this story, a story that has captivated viewers from one side of the globe to the other! But as this show moves towards a conclusion the story is starting to take a darker turn, and questions about the true motives of some of the characters will be called into question.

This volume really was quite a surprise for this series. With events reminiscent of the early episodes where Chii gets coned into taking a job at a sex club, she once again becomes the focus of some unwanted attention! When snatched off the street by a very intense persocom aficionado it looks as if her life with Hideki may just be coming to an end. With Hideki frantically searching for Chii, and enlisting the help of everyone that he has met so far in this search for a persocom that he may just be in love with. But as his search goes on and more and more of his acquaintances relate their own problems with persocoms Hideki starts to question just what exactly he feels for Chii...

During this search though we find out more about the Chobits model as well. From online hearsay to evidential facts, the real reason behind the creation of the Chobits has started to be uncovered. Mrs Manager's part in the creation of the Chobits model is also starting to make sense, as well as her involvement in the books that Chii finds herself so attracted to. All in all many of the questions that have been building since the start of this show are starting to be drawn into an understandable thread, a path that will lead to the conclusion of this show over the next couple of volumes. But whilst this show may be making moves to explain Chii's existence it is still introducing new intrigues and questions, such as just who are those two sentient persocoms residing on a high-rise roof, and just what is their connection to everything that has come before?

This volume has taken this show in a darker direction than I previously believed it would go. A direction that I think works really well for this show, as there has always been some disturbing undertones to this show that could not be covered up by Chii's innocence at the world. With quite a lot of possibilities for how this show could go, this show continues to go up in my estimation of it. For those of you who have followed this show so far then of course this is for you, but for anyone that has been unsure of whether it would worth your time to delve into this show, I can say that these later volumes are certainly rewarding the viewers with a lot to think about.

R2 DVD Notes

Features: English Language 2.0; Japanese Language 2.0; English Subtitles; Textless Closing #2; Art Gallery;MVM Trailers

Release information: OUT NOW

Notes: Yet another volume from MVM that shows off the quality and care that they put into their market releases. And yet the extras remain nothing more than the standard extras that we would expect from any anime release.

-- otaku_kei 10th Mar 06

Chobits Images