Newtype05
31-01-2005, 07:47 PM
*warning- this thread will attract a lot of trolls, post at your own risk!*
The other thread was getting out of hand and I asked to be closed. So here I will keep it very simple and clean, because Chobits deserves a good praise.
I like an anime series that offers more than skin deep in the plot, but I never expected Chobits to be as deep and multi-layered for a supposedly a lighthearted coming of age romance comedy. I tend to stay away from anime that's:
1. Pure fanservice
2. Cutesy and corny
3. Little to no plot
I feared Chobits was applied to all three, but it wasn't so. There were very little fanservice, if there were any. Chobits is cutesy but not to the extent that I thought it would be, humor and story actually outshined the cutesy part. Chobits is one of the well devised plots with a strong supporting ensemble in which each one of them played a pivotal role in the story. I really liked how the story didn't concentrate just on the two main characters with filler support setup, it just makes for a weak setting, and almost becomes a claustrophobic thing where nobody exists besides the main characters, which ultimately discredits the world that is created in the story. I also hate that aspect because it feels like they were strapped in the production budget and couldn't afford to expand the setting.
Chobits is a funny series with an engaging plot device to keep the audience in suspense, and it's more than one-dimensional so even if you don't like the girly design style, there's plenty of other stuff going on to keep you busy that you don't really notice it. But above all the most unexpected surprise was the deep underlying message. It was very intelligently presented without the need of any spectacular visuals nor overly dramatic climax to make its point across. Just showing the tears of supposedly shut-down amnesiac Chii was as powerful as anything else could've been. The balance of comedy and romance was almost flawless, I never got tired of both aspects, they just kicked in at the right moments with good timing.
The most interesting thing about Chobits is the irony of Chii being the most aware in terms of the needs of being human than anybody else, and posing the question to the audience almost as a forgotten realization to be recognized again. The concept of artificial intelligence is very strongly illustrated here, and Chii really embraces being "human" thus her character really takes on a crucial role in the whole story. Characters like Chii that have deeper subconscious and thoughts really stand out as a strong individual, and her popularity just maybe because she's not just a cute character, Rei Ayanami of Evangelion is another good example.
The comparison to Cowboy Bebop was only natural as I was watching both series at the same time. Now, I've already seen CB the movie, which I really liked, so I was expecting the same thing from the series, however, it turned out to be plot-less, and not even that funny either. So with the two aspects that I was expecting down the drain, I looked for other stuff that could redeem this overated series. The characters, nothing really unique here, their personalities are pretty much stereotypical, Jet the sturdy sidekick, Faye the female fanservice vixen, Spike the reluctant hero, and Ed a character that is strangely non-human like in behavior, my only guess is that Ed was supposed to be a robot, but they thought it was too obvious of a Crusher Joe ripoff so changed it at the last minute. The way Ed was assigned to be in charge of the hacking strongly supports my theory that Ed was supposed to be a robot or a computer. Most episodes revolve around constant bickering and double-crossing and arguing among main characters, which I suppose they wanted it to be a comic relief thing, but never works. The story within each episode is formulaic at best, with each main character taking a turn in having the spotlight. This is not a good ensemble, when they can't even present the characters as a crew instead of one by one. It would've worked better if the characters were interesting, but none of them really stand out as individuals. I shook my head in disgust when they dedicated the whole episode to the stupid dog. When CB couldn't get any more formulaic, they just had to throw in the classic villain character Vicious to make the matters worse. CB does have its moments of depicting the adventures in a cool manner, but severly lacks the substance needed to support beyond the visuals.
In the end, Chobits left a better impression and totally blew me away with its strong story and characters. Cowboy Bebop on the other hand was a disappointment.
The other thread was getting out of hand and I asked to be closed. So here I will keep it very simple and clean, because Chobits deserves a good praise.
I like an anime series that offers more than skin deep in the plot, but I never expected Chobits to be as deep and multi-layered for a supposedly a lighthearted coming of age romance comedy. I tend to stay away from anime that's:
1. Pure fanservice
2. Cutesy and corny
3. Little to no plot
I feared Chobits was applied to all three, but it wasn't so. There were very little fanservice, if there were any. Chobits is cutesy but not to the extent that I thought it would be, humor and story actually outshined the cutesy part. Chobits is one of the well devised plots with a strong supporting ensemble in which each one of them played a pivotal role in the story. I really liked how the story didn't concentrate just on the two main characters with filler support setup, it just makes for a weak setting, and almost becomes a claustrophobic thing where nobody exists besides the main characters, which ultimately discredits the world that is created in the story. I also hate that aspect because it feels like they were strapped in the production budget and couldn't afford to expand the setting.
Chobits is a funny series with an engaging plot device to keep the audience in suspense, and it's more than one-dimensional so even if you don't like the girly design style, there's plenty of other stuff going on to keep you busy that you don't really notice it. But above all the most unexpected surprise was the deep underlying message. It was very intelligently presented without the need of any spectacular visuals nor overly dramatic climax to make its point across. Just showing the tears of supposedly shut-down amnesiac Chii was as powerful as anything else could've been. The balance of comedy and romance was almost flawless, I never got tired of both aspects, they just kicked in at the right moments with good timing.
The most interesting thing about Chobits is the irony of Chii being the most aware in terms of the needs of being human than anybody else, and posing the question to the audience almost as a forgotten realization to be recognized again. The concept of artificial intelligence is very strongly illustrated here, and Chii really embraces being "human" thus her character really takes on a crucial role in the whole story. Characters like Chii that have deeper subconscious and thoughts really stand out as a strong individual, and her popularity just maybe because she's not just a cute character, Rei Ayanami of Evangelion is another good example.
The comparison to Cowboy Bebop was only natural as I was watching both series at the same time. Now, I've already seen CB the movie, which I really liked, so I was expecting the same thing from the series, however, it turned out to be plot-less, and not even that funny either. So with the two aspects that I was expecting down the drain, I looked for other stuff that could redeem this overated series. The characters, nothing really unique here, their personalities are pretty much stereotypical, Jet the sturdy sidekick, Faye the female fanservice vixen, Spike the reluctant hero, and Ed a character that is strangely non-human like in behavior, my only guess is that Ed was supposed to be a robot, but they thought it was too obvious of a Crusher Joe ripoff so changed it at the last minute. The way Ed was assigned to be in charge of the hacking strongly supports my theory that Ed was supposed to be a robot or a computer. Most episodes revolve around constant bickering and double-crossing and arguing among main characters, which I suppose they wanted it to be a comic relief thing, but never works. The story within each episode is formulaic at best, with each main character taking a turn in having the spotlight. This is not a good ensemble, when they can't even present the characters as a crew instead of one by one. It would've worked better if the characters were interesting, but none of them really stand out as individuals. I shook my head in disgust when they dedicated the whole episode to the stupid dog. When CB couldn't get any more formulaic, they just had to throw in the classic villain character Vicious to make the matters worse. CB does have its moments of depicting the adventures in a cool manner, but severly lacks the substance needed to support beyond the visuals.
In the end, Chobits left a better impression and totally blew me away with its strong story and characters. Cowboy Bebop on the other hand was a disappointment.