Chobits
Synopsis
Hideki, or Motosuwa-kun, is a 18 year old farmer who decides one day to become a Tokyo University student. He moves to Japan’s capital in order to attend a preparatory class for the entrance exam. Upon arrival almost like a tourist, he is awed by the fact that everyone has their own Persocon: a robot, no more like an android since they resemble the human anatomy, that acts as their personal servant helping out in daily chores form carrying groceries to home cleaning. They are more like computers since each persocon has it’s own built in hard drive, and they can instantly send and receive e-mail to one another. Hideki stumbles upon what appears to be a discarded persocon lying near a dumpster and decides to bring it home. After turning it on, the first word she says is ‘Chii.’
Review
Although it’s from a different anime series, I’d like to quote from Episode 11 of To Heart because I believe it captures the philosophical questions prevalent in Chobits perfectly: Man: ‘What’s the difference between a machine and a human? Machines are made by humans, but that’s not the case with humans. But, come to think of it, living creatures are in fact creations. Coincidence, environment, and nature…What’s your opinion? About the differences between humans and machines? For one thing a machine is incapable of thinking. It can only act out the program it has been given. No matter how successful a machine is, it can never become human.
‘Hiroyuki-san: ‘Whether we are talking about pigeons or robots, if it can laugh or cry or just enjoy being with you…If it’s something like that, that’s good enough for me.’
The Breakdown
Chi is adorable. When Hideki found her she was not pre-programmed with an OS. So raising Chi correlates to raising any human child. It is cute watching Chi’s reactions to Hideki explaining the meaning of certain phrases and places. When we first meet her, she mimics Hideki’s movements. But as she becomes proficient in her vocabulary and understanding, we see her steadily become more and more human.