"Chobits" makes my poor PC feel bloated and ugly
Okay, so last payday I picked up the freshly re-released "Chobits", largely on the strength of it being a direct sequel to "Angelic Layer" (which, it turns out, is mostly only reflected in the manga- the anime lack all the direct references, to the extent that you can only find the connection if you know what to look for).
I'd say it wasn't quite what I'd expected- unlike "Angelic Layer", which is about as harmless as you can possibly get without dipping into nausea, "Chobits" is definitely not one you want to show to your kids. Whilst originally some clueless censor had slapped a PG rating on it (presumably following the time honoured train of thought of "Anime == Cartoons == For Kids"- idiot), it's recently been yanked from shelves and re-rated as R13, presumably after many, many parents inevitably complained.
So, here's the setup: An unspecified amount of time after "Angelic Layer", the conventional PC has been replaced by Persocoms- artificially emotive, mobile computer systems. Whilst they seem to have manufactured in various forms- there's at least one in the series that seems to be vaguely rabbit shaped- they mostly seem to be built to look and act like uncommonly pretty girls (there are also male ones, but only a few are seen, and always in the background. There are also chibi, shoulder riding versions that function as PDAs). These are able to perform just about any function, from the usual PC functions (through various ports to attach peripherals), to running errands, to working in retail.
The main plot revolves around one particular Persocom and her gradual development from mindless (if highly responsive) automaton to eventual sapience, much in the style of the better Asimov robot stories. This being a CLAMP anime, there is also an overlaying romantic subplot, between said gynoid (feminine for android- look it up!) and her owner- largely revolving around the morality of such a thing, such as in the Liu-bot episode of Futurama ("Don't Date Robots!"), as well as the gradual revelation that Chi (the 'droid in question), whether by design or by accident, actually has genuine emotions.
In contrast to the sweetness of the romantic plot (and it is all very sweet and cute once the main human character gets over his teenage-boyitis, and stops drooling), is the darker subplot of exploitation- there are plenty of bad, bad men our there who'd love to use an overly-trusting persocom for their own nefarious purposes. Fortunately, this is presented as a Bad ThingTM, and offenders are dealt with accordingly, before things get to the point where they actually become disturbing.
So, overall, I enjoyed it- it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was fun nonetheless. There were a few bits that made me a bit squeamish, and a few that made me blush a bit, but there wasn't really anything more explicit than on the first couple of episodes of "Torchwood" (it's all about context and contrast, as hilariously demonstrated by Kamiyama in "Cromartie High School"- it's nothing we're not used to seeing on TV, it's just a shock seeing it animated). I'd reccomend it to anyone with an open mind :)
Oh, and in parting, and on the subject of gynoids:
Eep! O.o
I'd say it wasn't quite what I'd expected- unlike "Angelic Layer", which is about as harmless as you can possibly get without dipping into nausea, "Chobits" is definitely not one you want to show to your kids. Whilst originally some clueless censor had slapped a PG rating on it (presumably following the time honoured train of thought of "Anime == Cartoons == For Kids"- idiot), it's recently been yanked from shelves and re-rated as R13, presumably after many, many parents inevitably complained.
So, here's the setup: An unspecified amount of time after "Angelic Layer", the conventional PC has been replaced by Persocoms- artificially emotive, mobile computer systems. Whilst they seem to have manufactured in various forms- there's at least one in the series that seems to be vaguely rabbit shaped- they mostly seem to be built to look and act like uncommonly pretty girls (there are also male ones, but only a few are seen, and always in the background. There are also chibi, shoulder riding versions that function as PDAs). These are able to perform just about any function, from the usual PC functions (through various ports to attach peripherals), to running errands, to working in retail.
The main plot revolves around one particular Persocom and her gradual development from mindless (if highly responsive) automaton to eventual sapience, much in the style of the better Asimov robot stories. This being a CLAMP anime, there is also an overlaying romantic subplot, between said gynoid (feminine for android- look it up!) and her owner- largely revolving around the morality of such a thing, such as in the Liu-bot episode of Futurama ("Don't Date Robots!"), as well as the gradual revelation that Chi (the 'droid in question), whether by design or by accident, actually has genuine emotions.
In contrast to the sweetness of the romantic plot (and it is all very sweet and cute once the main human character gets over his teenage-boyitis, and stops drooling), is the darker subplot of exploitation- there are plenty of bad, bad men our there who'd love to use an overly-trusting persocom for their own nefarious purposes. Fortunately, this is presented as a Bad ThingTM, and offenders are dealt with accordingly, before things get to the point where they actually become disturbing.
So, overall, I enjoyed it- it wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was fun nonetheless. There were a few bits that made me a bit squeamish, and a few that made me blush a bit, but there wasn't really anything more explicit than on the first couple of episodes of "Torchwood" (it's all about context and contrast, as hilariously demonstrated by Kamiyama in "Cromartie High School"- it's nothing we're not used to seeing on TV, it's just a shock seeing it animated). I'd reccomend it to anyone with an open mind :)
Oh, and in parting, and on the subject of gynoids:
Eep! O.o