Comments on: Chobits Book 1

By: Tokyopop Loses Kodansha Titles » Manga Worth Reading

Tokyopop Loses Kodansha Titles » Manga Worth Reading — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:00:26 +0000

[...] CLAMP series — Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Clover — have already been announced as coming in new omnibus editions from Dark Horse. Del [...]

By: Motoko Kusanagi

Motoko Kusanagi — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:38:28 +0000

To Summer: …Ummm… Having never read it before, how can you be a big fan of Chobits?

By: Comics Worth Reading

Comics Worth Reading — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 16:58:04 +0000

[...] When I reviewed Book 1, I concluded that this series both plays to and pokes fun at geek fantasies of a girl that will obey one’s every command. Book 3 continues in the same vein, only more so. [...]

By: Edna

Edna — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 01:26:27 +0000

i like you.Finally someone who likes Chobits other than me!I have all the books& ive seen all the DVDs.I dont like the ending though.No marrage,no kissing,no hugging,nothing!That stinks.CHI IS PERRRRRTYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Hidiki is MINE!But I like this website though!!!I just hope you like Inuyasha & Ghost In The Shell too!!!!!!!!!!!God Bless you!!!

By: Comics Worth Reading

Comics Worth Reading — Sun, 12 Mar 2006 14:43:26 +0000

[...] Absolute Boyfriend is similar in premise to a gender-reversed Chobits, but the tone is different. There are few explorations of the nature of identity or what it means to love here; instead, it’s heavier on the comedy. That’s especially true of the last half of the book, where the boyfriend starts going to school with Riiko, and she has to keep his nature a secret from the other students, including the suspicious Soshi. [...]

By: Summer

Summer — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 17:49:03 +0000

I always wanted to buy a Chobits book, or the whole series. But I can’t seem to find any. I’ve been reading alot of the reviews and I think I’m getting to know a bit about it. Sometimes I Google search Chobits and I find alot of pretty pictures of Chii. I’m a big fan of Chobits. I’ve also read a few other books by Clamp(Cardcapture Sakura, Tsubasa, xxxholic)
Go Chobits! Go Clamp!

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 21:48:42 +0000

Why do some women write Witchblade or draw impossible Image-style chicks? Those are the jobs they get, or the jobs they want, or the only jobs they think will sell.

It’s not the fan service that bothers me at times about Chobits, by the way — it’s the story premises and attitudes. The fan service, while there, is much less than in other titles some women also enjoy.

By: Ed Sizemore

Ed Sizemore — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 17:08:17 +0000

Lea and Johanna, Let me get your personal reactions on this question. Clamp is an all female creative team. Why do you think they would put out a book where there is a fair amount of fan service? They could have told the same story without lewdness. Do you think they are pandering to their audience? I ask this because a couple of the Clamp title have made me wonder why women would put out such material. (Of course, I never saw the creepy side of Chobits, so I’m not the most perceptive person in the room.)

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:29:04 +0000

Lea, I don’t think you’re the only person who found the book problematic. (I have more reviews of future volumes coming later in which I touch on a bit more of that topic.) It walks a very fine line with a lot of room for individual reaction and interpretation, which is one reason I kept reading the series. I couldn’t get a handle on author’s intent, and the various interpretations (of which “creepy” was one) kept warring in my head. And you’re right, there are a lot of similar books that aren’t as interesting or balanced. (Batgirl, in the American arena, springs to mind — as you say, immensely powerful, but pre-verbal, unable to speak.)

The only other CLAMP book I’ve liked was Suki — the others all bore me (emphasizing pretty pictures over story) or disturb me (such as The One I Love).

By: Lea

Lea — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 06:54:13 +0000

This officially makes me the only person creeped out by Chobits.

I didn’t really see enough slyness in it to buy that Clamp was making fun of objectification. (Or, assuming they were, and not just cranking the handle on the money machine, they failed at taking the piss.) Not when I bought the art book and it was picture after picture of Chi on her knees with her rear raised.
I wanted to do a Steve Martin in Roxanne, screaming, with the book in my hands, selling it back to the dealer I’d bought it from to get rid of it. (I sold it myself, instead, in less than ten minutes.)

The fact that Hideki can never physically consummate his relationship with Chi, lest he wipe out Chi’s memory, says a great deal to me about why this book had the following it did with male and female fans.

Some of my distate is from being sick to death of childlike, gorgeous, immensely powerful “other” girlfriend stories. A girl with the body of a woman and the innocence and trust of a child has a rather creepy subtext to me.

And I love Clamp’s work. But not this.

Just my “AhhH! Ahhh! AHHHH!” two cents.

By: Jake Forbes

Jake Forbes — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 05:16:23 +0000

Chobits is kind of the grand finale of Clamp’s “What is Love?” period. Cardcaptor Sakura, Suki, Wish, The One I Love and Chobits are all about this theme. CCS does an amazing job of exploring the question from a child’s point of view, Chobits I think does an excellent job of looking at that question from an adult point for view — only with salacious and sci-fi trappings. I especially like the stories of the pastry chef and the waitress girl (can’t remember their names– been too long!).

By: Ed Sizemore

Ed Sizemore — Tue, 31 Jan 2006 17:47:31 +0000

Johanna, What I liked about the series was how it got more mature and nuanced as the story progressed. Chi goes from being merely a computer to a real person, abet one made of wires and silicon. In the end, the series deals with the nature of real love, personhood and self understanding. Once I finished the series I couldn’t wait to read it again at a slower pace to appreciate more the character development and the various implied philosophical debates. This is the series that really got me to look at Clamp’s other works.