Talk:Chobits

Spoiler Warning

W007, big spoilerchunk! Fellow Americans, heed the spoiler warning if you haven't seen them all yet, because it has info for ALL of the series. Emperorbma 01:14 11 Jun 2003 (UTC)

I am surprised the theme of Chi's special ability is not discussed. In the climax to the story, the manga and the Anime imply opposite action of this special ability; WHICH EFFECTS ALL PERSOCOMS EVERYWHERE. It seems Dr. Mihara has planted secret code in the firmware (bios) of all persocoms. When partially activated all persocoms "hear a voice I know well" If the program were to be transmitted over the air, then the 'syndicate' or government could reverse engineer it. But a simple 'activation code' is unbreakable. The question is does Chi's special ability activate this progam code, or permantely lock it down. And what does this secret code do?? Does it convey the ability to love, be happy, to have free will, or all of the above? Also what is the secret of Dr. Mihara's sudden death?

---

Chii's special ability is the ability to erase the individual recognition abilities of all persocoms, everywhere, if she fails to find the person just for her. In the manga, if she does find the person just for her, nothing happens. In the anime, it is implied that she gave all persocoms the ability to feel emotion.

So, let's review:

1. In the manga, if Chii finds the person just for her, nothing happens. 1a. In the manga, if Chii does not find the person just for her, she will make a connection to every persocom on the planet, and forcibly delete their person recognition programs, turning them all into useless mannequins.

I think this is a extream interpretation. My feeling is that the ability to see a human as 'special' is eliminated. Persocoms would become equally emotionally indifferent to people. Not that facial regognition is eliminated. They would still know who there owner is.

No, it is NOT an "extreme" interpretation. What I said was taken almost word-for-word from book eight of the manga. Look it up, if you'd like. Zima clearly states that if Chii's program had activated, he would have lost the ability to distinguish between people and even other persocoms.

Dita: If she hadn't stopped it [her program] all the persocoms in the world would have lost their individual recognition programs. That was her power, right?

Zima: Yup. Just imagine, you wouldn't recognize my pretty face anymore. And the same for me. I wouldn't differentiate between you, other 'coms, or even people.

Zima goes on to say that the purpose of this program was to save all of the world's persocoms from the pain of unrequited love, meaning that if the program had been excecuted, persocoms wouldn't have been able to differentiate between people, and hence, wouldn't have been able to fall in love with anyone. As a good friend of mine said: It would be like existing in a sea of people, all of whom are exactly the same, or, in a worst case scenario, not only would they not recongnize others, but they wouldn't even recognize themselves, wouldn't see themselves as being different from everybody else. In either case, it also means they wouldn't even be able to tell who their owners are. It doesn't say whether or not they would cease functioning entirely, but the effect would be pretty horrible either way. Your persocom wouldn't recognize you at all, probably wouldn't respond to your commands, probably wouldn't talk to you, probably wouldn't do anything at all. (After all, it won't know who owns it, so why would it speak to anyone anymore?) At best, they would retain basic computational functions, but they wouldn't be persocoms any more. They would be just computers, just like the computer you're using right now. You could probably still force it to talk and move, but any chance of human-level interection from it would be completely lost.PiccoloNamek 02:18, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

2. In the anime, if Chi finds the person just for her, it is implied that all persocoms will be given the ability to love or feel emotion. 2a. Presumably, in the anime, if Chii fails to find the person just for her, the same thing would happen as in the manga.

As for the nature of this program and its manner of operation, that is pure speculation and does not need to be discussed here. The previously mentioned program is discussed in great detail on the Chobits Characters page. Also, as far as I know, Ichiro Mihara did not have a doctorate in anything. ;)PiccoloNamek 02:41, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

As to the programming, yes I speculated, but this is the Only practical way to do what is described in the story. After some research I will make some comments in Chi's caracter area. In real life Ichiro, after having invented persocoms, and risen to (at least) the top research post, if not CEO, would have at a mininum, several honorary degrees. Thanks for the time and detail you put into your comments PiccoloNamek.

Don't add any baseless speculation to the Chobits Characters article. We don't do that on Wikipedia. Also, be aware that at least in the manga, Chii isn't actually transmitting any programming to any persocoms, but rather, her own program is directing her to delete the individual-recognition programs of other persocoms. Neither the manga nor the anime give any indication whatsoever as to how the program functions, so anything added to the article about that would be essentially made-up. Furthermore, how the program works has no bearing whatsoever on the story or the characters' development. In this manner, you could say that Chobits is the exact opposite of say, Ghost in the Shell: SAC. In Chobits, the characters come before the technology (indeed, the nature of persocom technology is barely alluded to at all) whereas in GITS:SAC, the technology is the driving force behind the series.PiccoloNamek 01:26, 11 May 2006 (UTC)

Maybe, but it's just like Star Wars. We all know Anakin Skywalker is going to become Darth Vader, but it's finding out the how and why that's keeping people watching. Same here - just makes we want the 6th, 7th and 8th books even more.

Shimizu-sensei

Bit surprised to find Ms. Shimizu is able to remain a teacher - would've thought having it off with a student would mean she got kicked out of her job - Daveryan 22:36 15 Jun 2003 (UTC)

I can only vouch for the anime, but I would assume that the manga is the same about having Shimizu-sensei and Shimbo return. Emperorbma

Naming

I redid naming according to how TokyoPop names the characters. See: http://www.tokyopop.com/dbpage.php?propertycode=CHB&categorycode=BMG&page=characterinfo WhisperToMe 03:03, 27 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Tokyopop uses Shimbo but Geneon uses Shinbo. Wikipedia standard is revised Hepburn so using Shinbo. Page referenced above has given name as "Hiroshi" but the manga itself agrees with other sources as "Hiromu". Shiroi Hane 17:00, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

Angelic Layer Connection

I noticed at the end of the article it mentions that the link between Angelic Layer and Chobits is broken in the anime - Ive found this not to be true, it's just a lot subtler. For instance if you look carefully during that nice lady's flashback you can see Icchan clearly, and there was a scene with a picture of Minoru and his sister (the Angelic Layer lady) that has her name on it...

Okay, that's just pedantic, isn't it? Sorry n.n

Well, CLAMP does have a habit of creating speculative links between their series. As for a direct link to Angelic Layer, it does not add up. No way could Hibiya be Misaki's mom - which would also require an explanation on Misaki's whereabouts. Therefore, any connection is disjointed. KyuuA4 05:30, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

The Angelic layer page doesn't say that Hibiya is Misaki's mom, it says that Hibiya's husband is Icchan, and that Kaede is Minoru's older sister. For the most part, this actually works. TwilightxPrince 00:38, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Hideki's Age

The story centers around the life of nineteen-year-old-old Hideki Motosuwa,..

I have changed it to 18. In episode 1 Hideki says it twice that he is 18. --Walter 22:54, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

I think the information is more likely to come from the manga, in which it may give his age as 19. It could be just a mistake however; I have yet to read the manga. Bennity 14:58, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Persocon

"Besides a girlfriend, the other thing he dreams of having is a persocom (Personal computer), a computer designed to look and act like a human." This text and a the US translations (at least the manga) imply that persocom (パソコン) refers specifically to the person-shaped variety of computer found in Chobits; however, it is the Japanese word for PC (like what you're probably reading this on.) Fio Vaya 17:39, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Chobits — sexual intercourse

the "chobits" series being in line with the idea of only engaging in sexual intercourse with someone whom you are entirely in love with -- this is shown in the series, particularly when several males attempt to "interfere" with Chi.

When you consider the fact that a Chobi is physically incapable of engaging in sexual intercourse, this line seems kind of strange. Should it really stay?PiccoloNamek 18:11, 12 March 2006 (UTC)

It's not that Chi is physically incapable, it's just there would be a devastating consequence to just Chi... she would lose all her memories again.

In the final volume, as Freya reveals exactly what the consequence would be to Hideki, the past lines from "A City With No People" that include the word "goodbye" begin to make sense. Thus Chitose Hibiya must have known of this consequence as well when making those books. Kinda strange a consequence should exist when the conditions cannot be met, thus the conditions should be able to be met.

When Freya asks Hideki of completing his love with Chi, Freya asks not "could" but "when" which is much closer to the meaning of "if", explicitly underlining the Hideki's threat to Chi's existence if they "become one". Which of course is an action Hideki would never take.

However, I agree that the line/theme in the article you brought up is a bit strange. To me it doesn't seem to exist in the series, at least not as a major theme. That theme could more be attributed to self-preservation of sorts, and seems to be no more a theme than a character wearing clothing in freezing weather.

In my opinion, that line/theme should be replaced. There are other themes that can be put there.

On another note, what does hiragana and katakana have to do with themes? I think that part belongs in another section.

Mark4011 01:06, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

Oops. When I meant incapable I meant "effectively incapable". I should have clarified.PiccoloNamek 01:25, 18 March 2006 (UTC)

In the anime, doesn't it suggest that Hideki is allowed to come inside Chi? This appears to suggest that Chi is capable of sexual intercourse in the anime, since Chi says that only Hideki is allowed to touch her there.

I'm inclined to agree; the sheer amount of weight given to those lines, which are something along the lines of "Only the one for me can go inside" or somesuch, seems to indicate that sex for Chi is not an out-and-out impossibility. However, I am not familiar with the manga, and I am not confident enough in this to actually change anything. --Hashmir 05:57, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

The manga states, very explicitly, that Chi cannot have sex without extremely dire consequences. (That is, the loss of all of her memory and personality data.).PiccoloNamek 06:34, 18 January 2007 (UTC)

Since that's where her reset button is. - Penwhale | ^{Blast him / Follow his steps} 00:45, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Chibits?

Is the 27th episode the short called 'Chibits', which stars Sumomo and Kotoko? Even if not, the short should be at least mentioned. CFLeon 02:09, 5 August 2006 (UTC)

No, the 27th episode is the last recap episode, consisting of a series of flashbacks and about 2 minutes of new animation. Chibits is a special short episode which came with the DVD I believe, see Chobits media information for more information. Vadigor 12:10, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Quotation-based Citations

After being blown away by the quotation-based citations in the Chrono Trigger article, I thought that similar citations (referring to the Chobits manga) could be applied to this article as well. For example:

• Hideki Motosuwa: My name is Hideki Motosuwa, 19 years-old. I'm a student-- well, I plan to be. First, I've got to pass these stupid entrance exams. CLAMP (2003) [2001]. "Chapter 1". In Jake Forbes (ed.). Chobits volume 1. TOKYOPOP. pp. page 10. ISBN 1-93151-492-5. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

Of course, some of the fields'll need clarification (Jake Forbes is the Editor and English Adaptor, which is not made apparent here), but the concept still stands. Let's see if we can stick a few of these in the article, shall we? --Ppk01 22:36, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Rewrite of Plot

I've just rewritten and added a lot to the Plot section, because there were some glaring inaccuracies (such as Shinbo determining that Chi had no OS installed), some spots where there was major over-elaboration (such as talking about what Persocoms can do for humans in the first paragraph), and some MAJOR omissions (the last 6 volumes worth of manga were given what amounts to 2 sentences, and there was no summary of the ending or anything). I may have made it too manga-centric (I haven't seen the anime in quite some time, and I don't own it to watch it now), or used some inaccurate terminology or naming conventions, but please forgive me if I have, it's just what I'm used to, and I'm a little too tired to proofread accurately at this point. ^^;

I think we should probably add a short section about the Characters here, and use the Main template to link to the page about Chobits characters instead of linking to it in "see also" at the bottom, and I might even write a little blurb about that tomorrow, but right now, sleep is my priority. If you wish to revert my changes, please at least explain why clearly, because I've spent a -lot- of time double-checking everything with my volumes of the manga (I own all 8 of the Tokyopop volumes) to make sure it was all accurate and everything. Thanks! Nique1287 03:12, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

Is it really necessary to cover the entirety of the plot? Especially when much of that information is already presented on the characters page, in better detail, and with differences between the manga and anime presented. (I am also in the process of writing a grand list of references for all of the plot point discussed on that page.) I can already see some errors; Chii did not "set her memories to erase". It is explained, quite explicitly, by Freya, that one unit was not meant to hold two hearts, and that one would eventually overtake the other; this is why Elda lost her memories. Two, this part: "After a strange incident, in which Chi manipulates wires and her hair into restraining the owner of a peep show when he tries to touch her inappropriately," Chii never uses her hair to restrain anyone, and secondly, the wires were used at a much later point to restrain Kojima, not the peep show owner. Her shock wave/concussion blast was also used on both occasions.

You also forgot what is, by far, the biggest revelation in the whole seires: That the Chobits do not truly possess either emotions or free will, but can only do what has been defined within their programming; just like every other persocom. Freya herself says this when she takes over Chii's body.PiccoloNamek 06:34, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

To both of your replies, again, sorry if I made any errors (perhaps I was more tired than I thought), and feel free to correct them (I never stated that I wanted my summary to be the be-all and end-all, that's not what Wiki is about after all! ^^; ), but the prior plot summary was far, far worse. Again, the last 6 volumes got two sentences, compared to 4 long paragraphs about the first two, and the two sentences didn't even cover the ending, they said,

Before long it's clear that Chi is developing feelings for Hideki to a depth that persocoms aren't supposed to be able to have, and Hideki seems to be falling in love with her, despite his friends' warnings against having feelings for an artificial person.

and

As the story goes on the storybook begins to play a bigger part, with a lot of mystery behind it, in a much later episode we find out that Miss Hibiya draws the books, as she is not allowed to do anything else because of a promise she made to "him".

Also, we shouldn't rely on the Characters page for a Plot summary. There should be a good plot summary on the main article, as well, with enough detail to ensure that someone who has not previously encountered the series would be able to understand at least the basics from start to finish. As I've said before, not only here but on other articles I edit as well, don't think that I want my changes to remain static. Just the opposite! Wiki should grow, and, unless you want to revert to the old plot summary, I welcome and encourage you to make any changes you see fit to fix my summary. ^^ Nique1287 13:37, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

The characters page does not contain a plot summary per se. It just kind of comes together that way while reading about the events that occur in the characters' lives. IMO, we should have a basic summary on the main page, and leave the fine details on the character page. The main page shouldn't reveal so much of the plot that you almost don't have to buy the books at all. The character page, by its very nature, is much freer to go into greater detail.PiccoloNamek 20:34, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

I disagree. I don't think the Characters page should have more plot explanation than the Plot section, even if it's all over the place as opposed to in one section. I hate to say "This other article has it, so this one should too", but many of the Good Article anime pages I've seen for completed series (Death Note, for example, or Serial Experiments Lain to use a Featured Article as an example) have either a summary of the full, basic plot (start to finish) on the main page, or a short summary of the plot with a separate page for a full summary. Either way, we should probably have a full summary instead of relying on the Characters page for plot details, and since the page isn't all that long, a full summary will still fit on the main page, since the only major reason for moving the Plot to its own page in any case is because of size guidelines for articles. Nique1287 21:04, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

I agree with you, for the most part. But I still feel that it is too long. I also disagree with you about the characters article. Such an article naturally will be able to go into much greater detail for each individual character and their own backstory, whereas such detail would normally be considered excessive for a main page. At least, that's how it was when I was working on the Final Fantasy Wikiproject.PiccoloNamek 00:53, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps a seperate page for each character is needed, as well as a page to cover the plot in extensive detail, while a short summary remains viable for this main page. Also, there seems to be a bit of confusion as to whether it is the anime or the manga that is being used as the main source. An agreement needs to be reached here, and maybe a new page for the differences between the manga and the anime needs to be created (of which there appears to be many from my experience between the entire anime series and the first three manga volumes). MelicansMatkin 01:29, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

"Perhaps a separate page for each character is needed,". I don't really think that is necessary. There isn't that much information available for each character, and some of the characters have almost no backstory at all (such as Hideki and Shinbo), making separate pages for them unnecessary. Such pages, lacking enough real information to justify their existence, would undoubtedly be composed mostly of cruft and speculation. And let's face it; some of the characters just don't appear that often. Can you imagine trying to fill an entire article with information about, say Kotoko, or Dita? As for the manga vs. anime debate, well... I'm not sure about this page, but the character page explains, (very well, I might add) where the manga and anime deviate from each other, and I am in the process of preparing references for both sides.PiccoloNamek 01:59, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

Underpants trivia...?

Anyone particularly in favour of the "Underpants" note in the trivia section? Chobits#Trivia

I mean, we don't have bodycounts in articles about gunslinging anime, nor do we even have a count of the number of times Chi says "Chi" during the series, I just don't see why the "underpants" count deserves a bullet in the trivia section (given that there are other things that can be counted, but aren't)

--Lmaowitzer 02:57, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Admittedly, counting the number of references to underpants, in one episode of the dub of the anime series, seems a little bit too trivial to keep. Perhaps instead of having the trivia section at all, we could incorporate the current trivia into the appropriate sections of the article, and get rid of anything that doesn't have a place. In fact, the only real trivia worth keeping is the bit about the lack of distinction between Persocoms and personal computers. Even the bit about the HIDEKI clock is a little bit "Why is that there, again?" for me. Trivia should provide insight into the series, its creators, its connections to other series, and its cute-but-intentional references (not including simple product placement with the same brand name as something in the series), not just a hodgepodge of useless information. Nique1287 04:35, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, thanks for the support on that, and I agree on the HIDEKI clock point. For those that have seen the anime/read the manga, it's glaringly obvious, and it's hardly interesting trivia for those that havn't. Additionally, the Azumanga Daioh article doesn't seem to feel the need to mention the "Azuman Daioh" clock in Yomi's room in a trivia section or in the article, even though it is essentially the same premise... I just can't really see any way to integrate them into the article at this time. Lmaowitzer 09:18, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Synopsis

It seems there is lots of stuff missing from the synopsis and I only know apart of it.Sorry don't know how to wikify.

What is missing, exactly? I know plot better than the back of my hand, and I must say the synopsis given here is comprehensive and covers the main story very well. The only details that were left out were specific details of characters' backstories, but those aren't really appropriate here.PiccoloNamek 03:33, 31 January 2007 (UTC)

Well for example I don't see any mention of Zima and Dita or Shinbo's romance with the teacher.I do realize you might have put some of that on the "characters of chobits page" but it does live a gap in the synopsis. Well maybe I'm confused; is this the synopsis for the manga or the anime? Because I don't quite recognize the ending.What about Hibiya erasing Chii's data?

They aren't integral to the plot. Zima and Dita don't further the plot at all, they really just give exposition on the situation, as far as I can remember. Even their interaction with Chi at the end is so minor, it's really not worth explaining who they are on here. As for Shimbo's romance, again, it's not necessary to explain it all here, because it doesn't further the plot. It gives a way for Hideki to see romantic feelings and have to face up to his feelings for Chi as they grow, but his feelings would grow for her without seeing Shimbo's romance. That's why there are "gaps": because they don't REALLY further the basic plot. (Also, please sign your talk page entries!. Thanks!) Nique talk 04:19, 1 February 2007 (UTC)

Plot Section

The Plot section is way too long. It should be moved some where else and be improved. -Vcelloho 18:51, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

I disagree entirely. The plot section covers all of the plot necessary to give a reader a solid foundation in the universe of Chobits. If it were moved to its own article, this article would be no more than a stub, at best. The plot should stay here. However, feel free to improve it here. Wikipedia is about improving the information provided, after all. Nique talk 21:03, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Eyes Changing

I don't ever remember hearing or seeing that fact, and I've just watched the series again. MelicansMatkin 22:13, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

It happens when Chii uploads her program in the final episode of the anime. All of the persocoms' eyes go from being solid colors to having real irises. Of course, logically, we know they all actually had irises all along. The appearance of their irises for the first time is symbolic of the beauty of gaining and feelung real emotions for the first time. You'll notice that afterwards their eyes go back to the way they were.PiccoloNamek 23:16, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Critical reception

Why isn't there such a section for this article? Love Hina has one and it even specifically mentions Chobits in it, so I'm sure there probably is enough information or sources for a section to exist here.