Chobits Volume 1

by CLAMP

Book Overview

Chi isn't your average humanoid computer. She can't do word processing, she can't connect to the net, and she's incapable of interfacing with other persocoms... But, when the hapless, technophobic Hideki rescues her from the scrap heap, and takes her home, he finds that she may be more advanced than her childlike behavior lets on.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1931514925
• ISBN13: 9781931514927
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: TokyoPop
• Length: 1 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.1" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 16 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 11

Customer Reviews

Alright condition for a dollar

I ordered this for 1.40 as i had a free book reward, regardless even though its yellowed and used (labels etc) it is still worth what i payed. Thank you!

A boy and his persocom

"Persocoms-beautiful, obedient...fully functional. They're perfection." "You hear about it all the time. A guy finds a nice girl, takes her home. Then it turns out she has some sort of special powers, and she'll fall madly in love with the guy." So in Chobits, presumably set in a future where persocoms are computers created like beautiful women, seems to be a next stage in evolution, kind of like the Stepford Wives. And persocom designers have to be men, given the location of the on-switch. Yes, it is down there! Yet there is the mention of a man persocom, so who knows, maybe women design those! Struggling cram school student Hideki Motosuwa wants one; they are darned expensive, but as everybody has one, he feels out of touch. He says, "I want someone to read me my e-mail. I want to play games. I want to download the latest porn!" Ok, calm down, Hideki! But it's frustrating, and besides, as he says, "It's not like you find persocoms lying around." Well, that's exactly what happens! He finds a cute-looking persocom with amber eyes and long wavy platinum blonde hair thrown amongst the garbage. He finally activates her, but all she can say is "Chi." He names her that, but despite being unable to speak much, seems to understand him, and even hugs him after a flying leap when he compliments her on how she looks in her clothes or . In consulting with his cram school classmate Shimbo, the beginnings of a mystery emerge. Persocoms are unable to move without an OS, yet Chi does. And when Hideki tried to plug her in, he got "No data" as a response. Shimbo tries to connect his own laptop, Plum, a cute pint-sized persocom with Arabic style pantaloons, for some first-hand diagnostics, but Plum gets fried. The same happens to the persocoms of Shimbo's computer-literate prodigy colleague, twelve year old Minoru Kokubunji. It's Kokubunji who thinks Chi might be a Chobit. Chobits are supposed to be artificial intelligences who can operate without an OS, meaning that they are as autonomous as people, not reliant on outside programming, but that's more an urban legend. Whatever she is, she's still an unregistered persocom, so is she a homemade unit? Yet, there is some self-installed teaching software in her, as she accurately recites Hideki's phone number. Chi's blank slate innocence and sheer cuteness is one the appealing things about her that makes her yet another of my favourite manga/anime characters. Her tendency to imitate Hideki's gestures of frustrations is funny. Hideki's attempts to teach Chi lend to the comedy. When Hideki tries to tell her his name, by pointing to himself, she equates pointing at objects to "Hideki" and pointing at everything in his room, says "Hideki" much to his exasperation. But Hideki gets help from his landlady Ms. Hibiya, who gives Chi some hand-me-down clothes. One scene is followed by Chi imitating a scene from a porn DVD, pointing to the actress and saying, "This is a tasty side dish (okazu in

Absolutley Beautiful

I love Chobits, it's my favourite manga ever at the moment and it pains me that some people out there disregard it as 'unoriginal' or even 'pornography'. ANYONE who says that this manga is porno simply because it contains some (minor) nudity are along the same lines as the people who wont let their kids watch Harry Potter simply because it contains witchcraft.Anyone who likes mystery and comedy should go get Chobits now, and if you have a brain you wont be disappointed. More about the characters.Hideki may appear to be your typical shonen git but he's actually pretty hilarious!Chii is the very definition of 'kawaii' and 'innocence'.Sumomo stretches the kawaii factor off the limit!I'd give this ten thumbs up...if only I had that many thumbs.

A tasty side-dish

CHOBITS takes place in a not-too-distant future when personal computers in humanoid form are all the rage. Perpetually broke Hideki can't afford one, but he is lucky enough to stumble upon a discarded "persocom" lying in the trash while walking home from work one night. Seizing the opportunity, he takes her home and activates her, but she has no memory. He attempts to train her and seeks assistance from a twelve-year old programming genius, who suspects that she may be one of a rumored new model of supercomputer called CHOBITS.This is the first of a series of collections by the female manga collective known as CLAMP. For those like me, who find much of their work either too dry or too juvenile, this is something different. There's quite a bit of mild sexual humor (for example, there is a running joke regarding Chi's tendency to learn by copying others, including those she finds in certain magazines Hideki has scattered about his apartment) but it's not an adult book. Chi manages to be both adorable and sexy in an innocent way. It's one of the funniest things I've read in a while.

Something new from CLAMP

Just when you think that CLAMP has dished out all their best manga, when you think that all creativity must have been squeezed out of them due to their other titles hogging it all, they throw Chobits at you.At first, I was skeptical. I mean, an unlucky teen who has no real life staggers across a Chi, the coolest thing in robot-girl techonology and suddenly his life turns around? Haven't I seen this before? But once I delved more into the story, I was surprised to find there was more to it than meets the eye. There are many hilarious scenes in where Chi tries to learn how to act more "real" or human. It's a constant struggle between the two main characters to stay incognito because Chi is no normal robot. Yes, inside all the (mature) comical scenes, there are more serious ones. So far, it's been foreshadowing and nothing more, but it's quite enough to leave you hanging and wanting to know more about Chi's origin. Overall, I think any manga fan would enjoy this one, but I recommend you pay attention to the "16+" rating on the back. Some people may find it offensive, but I personally don't think it's that big of a deal. Some of the more...immature jokes that made me laugh are a sign of the great translation job done on the series. Definitely something you would want to look out for. Read Chobits and CLAMP will surprise you once again with their remarkable story-telling. This is manga that everyone should at least look into.

Another Clamp Triumph

Clamp has turned out of its normal way to create something totally new: a male targeted manga that still appeals to its young girl fans. Simply put, it is Clamp's biggest accomplishment since Cardcaptors. Although the animation is also good, (I've seen up to episode 11), the manga is a worlds away in quality and detail. I've read up to manga no. 4 in Korean, and I find it drawn to the very minute detail.Our main character comes to the big city in order to go into university. What's more, he's a country kid, unaccustomed to Persocoms, robots that are designed like humans, ranging from simple mobile phone funcitons to life size human jobs. Poor and sturggling, he finds a Persocom thrown away, who knows only the word Chi. There begins our story of Chobits. A rather unique way for love flourishes in Chobits, another signature detail tailored carefully by Clamp. And not only that, they did a cross checking of science fiction along with the romance, as well as dash in both dry and cute humour excersized in Cardcaptors. The art remains true to Clamp stylistics as well as the story crafting. However, whereas before girls before were expressed naturally, Clamp has changed that into placing many female characters as fan service girls.But that's besides the main point. :)Any young Clamp fan can tell you that she is pleased with Chobits. She will point out to you that Clamp still remains as one of the classic heartthrob manga creators, following the tradition of, "Of girls, for girls, and by four girls." She probably could also explain to you that Chobits is a love story, no matter what kind of twist that Clamp chucked in. The ever popular theme of impossible love is still what keeps those girl fans in line for next month's manga release.So, don't fret over your money because this is a worthwhile manga. Whether this is your first or your 50th manga (there is no last, by the way), you won't regret it unless you have bad taste, which ruins everything. As for the rating of 16+, disregard it please. That is a LIE, a DECEPTION. As I said, most of the readers are girls ages 10-16, not just 16 and over. Just hope that the anime also gets released here. :)