Review of Chobits: Vol. 4

Introduction

Chobits takes place in a not too distant future, where computers and similar gadgets have evolved into Persocoms. Designed to be companions for people, they are technological devices in robot bodies that look completely human except for the ears, with a degree of intelligence and personality, and tailored to the needs of their owners.

Hideki Motosuwa is a Ronin, that is he has failed his entrance exams for university, and is playing catch up by enrolling in a prep school to get his grades up to scratch. He`s left his home in the country and moved to the city for this, finding lodgings as well as a job in a bar to pay the bills. He`s shy around the opposite sex, though he has a healthy interest in girlie magazines, or Yummies as he calls them. He`s surprised to see the number of Persocoms in the city; it looks as if everyone has got one of the expensive items. He knows he`ll never be able to afford one, so it seems serendipitous when he finds one discarded. He`s not exactly savvy about technology, but fellow student and neighbour Hiromu Shinbo along with Minoru Kokubunji help him reactivate Chi. But Chi is a blank slate, one that miraculously appears to be operating without an OS. Hideki is soon spending his spare time teaching Chi, but Chi manifests some odd traits. Just where did she come from, and what was she before her memory was wiped?

This is the fourth volume in Chobits, and contains 4 more episodes.

14. Chi Entertains
It`s summertime and Hideki is baking in the heat. It`s hard enough to study at the best of times, but when the air conditioning at the prep school is out of order, it becomes next to impossible. Shinbo is late, and asks to borrow Hideki`s English notes, and then oddly offers to lend him his persocom Sumomo. Before Hideki can wonder why Shinbo wishes to part with his permanent companion, his day gets even more confusing when his beautiful prep school teacher shows up at his door, asking to spend the night. With the heat stifling, and Ms Shimizu playing drinking games with Hideki and Chi, this is going to be a long night.

15. Chi Doesn`t Do Anything
Hideki`s trying to make sense of things, and it isn`t easy when he wakes up to Sumomo`s exercise routine. Apparently Shinbo slipped her into Hideki`s backpack without him knowing. While he tries to understand if that night with Ms Shimizu was more dream than reality, he heads to prep school. Only their teacher isn`t there. Worse, he can`t find hide or hair of Shinbo either. While Hideki is busy fretting, he gets a phone call from Shinbo. Apparently he`s eloping with their teacher.

16. Chi Provides.
After his recent results, Hideki is more worried than ever about passing his exams. A phone call from Shinbo and Ms. Shimizu persuades him to enter the National Mock exams to gain more experience. It`s time for some serious revision and he takes a week off work to study. Only he loses his wallet and his living expenses. It`s hard to study when you`re starving. Chi decides to help.

17. Chi Helps
The landlord Ms. Hibiya is spring cleaning, so Hideki, Chi and Sumomo all decide to help clean the apartments. As a reward for her help, Ms. Hibiya gives Chi a curious present. Meanwhile Hideki decides to dust in a mysterious room on the top floor, and finds an Aladdin`s cave of cabling. It turns out that Ms. Hibiya knows more about Chi than she is letting on.

Video

Chobits gets a clear and sharp 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. The stylised animation has a simple pastel palette, avoiding bright primary colours for a more muted gentle colour scheme that complements the story ideally. The character designs are simple but effective. I did notice a brief moment of pixellation is the 3rd episode on this disc, but it was an isolated occurrence. Other than that, this is a splendid transfer.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 2.0 Stereo English or Japanese. The subtitles are translated from the Japanese, and there is also an option to have just the signs translated. As always, I listened to the Japanese track, and it is accomplished well enough, with noticeable Stereo separation. The English dub is serviceable, but not astounding, the biggest drawback of which has to be the voice chosen for Chi, which sounds monotonous and out of character. In a more and more common occurrence with anime, the music is excellent. I loved the opening theme, "Let Me Be With You" and my toes were most definitely tapping. There is a new theme for the end credits on this disc, "Ningyo Hime" that perfectly suits the change in tone for the episodes.

There was a minor problem with the subtitles. Normally the captions translating the dialogue are yellow, while any signs that are translated are done so in white text. However, the timing was off on this disc, with a line of dialogue getting a white caption just before a sign is translated in yellow. It`s a minor problem that doesn`t affect the viewing experience.

Features

Apple Mac style menus, the Japanese ending (with the old tune), trailers for Full Metal Alchemist and Kiddy Grade as well as an art gallery containing 15 stills, and that`s your lot. There is also a simple jacket picture that displays when the disc isn`t spinning.

Conclusion

Up until now, the Chobits series has been agreeable stuff, light, fluffy entertainment that doesn`t challenge but proceeds at its own pace and gradually establishes the characters through a series of quirky stories. There has been the occasional hint and foreshadowing of something overreaching, but nothing too stunning. That changes completely with the advent of the fourth disc and its episodes. In this disc, the world that has been built up and the characters that inhabit it begin to pay off, and we also return at last to the mystery of who Chi is.


The first two episodes look at the effects Persocoms have had on society, as we get the big reveal about Shinbo`s relationship with Ms. Shimizu, the prep school teacher. Shimizu is married of course, but it`s a marriage with three participants, the third being her husband`s persocom. She embodies the pain that these robots can cause by their very existence. When one can program the perfect companion, what`s the point in putting an effort into a relationship? Shinbo understands this, which is why Hideki ends up with Sumomo under his care. Of course Hideki is blissfully unaware of what is going on with his friend, so he`s more than surprised when Ms Shimizu comes knocking on his door, and given some of the fantasies he`s had nosebleeds over in the past, he`s more than a little nervous.

Hideki is a likeable enough chap, unsuccessful, well meaning though awkward, and with a habit of talking to himself. His relationship with Chi is at the heart of the story, and it`s a tender, warm affection that he has for her. This relationship begins to change on this disc. Up till now, Hideki has been teacher cum father figure to Chi, which is as platonic as it gets. He`s tried to separate people from persocoms in his mind, although he hasn`t always been successful. But Chi`s impact on his personal life has remained limited to the apartment and the odd excursion. This relationship alters when Hideki loses his money. He`s desperate to study, but too hungry to even look at his books, yet he insists on not accepting Chi`s money. Chi takes the initiative and decides to care for Hideki regardless. After this, Hideki can no longer look at her as childlike, and the end of this third episode shows how their relationship has changed.

The final episode brings us back to the Chi storyline with a crash, although the start doesn`t look too promising. Spring-cleaning doesn`t bode too well for an exciting episode, but this is a story with some choice revelations. The apartment`s landlord Ms. Hibiya reveals a relationship with Chi that stretches back before her memory loss, and she also reveals a facility with technology that even puts Minoru Kokubunji to shame. It also becomes apparent that there are sinister forces out there looking for Chi, and the final scene on the disc of two dark figures, looking as if they have escaped from The Matrix adds some menace to the story. With such a brief glimpse, it`s hard to draw an opinion, but given the gentle pace and light feel of Chobits to date, it seems like an extreme change in style. The next volume will tell though.

The slow paced stories and character development thus far pay off handsomely with the episodes on this disc. If you have been keeping pace with the series, then these four episodes will surprise, but also start to make sense of all the pieces of the jigsaw. Chobits has come into its own with this disc, and I certainly look forward to how the story will develop from now on.