Chobits is printed by Tokyopop (mixx) and is priced at $9.99, or around
£7.50. It is part of their growing "100% Authentic Manga" range. This
range is printed in the Japanese right-to-left format, eliminating
the need for flipping. So far only the first book from a range of
three (or more) is printed.
The cover art is wonderful, illustrating Chi, one of the main characters
of the story. Typically Clamp in style, hair flowing elegantly around
Chi, who is curled up in a white negligee, peering at the reader with
her innocent amber eyes. In contrast to this wonderfully feminine
picture is the small metal and plastic node in the place of an ear,
and the wires and cables that run from the electrical box Chi is seated
on.
The novel contains 12 chapters. The first chapter briefly introduces
the concept of persocoms, "Beautiful, obedient, fully functional.
They're perfection." Taking the concept of personal computers to the
extreme, pc's made in human (or sometimes animal) form. Hideki, obviously
would love his own persocom, but whatever he earns at "club pleasure"
is invested in his education at a tokyo cram school. On the way home
from work, Hideki finds a girl tied up in a pile of rubbish, worried
he approaches only to find she is a persocom. Obviously she must be
broken, old and unwanted. Nonetheless Hideki can't resist taking the
persocom home, after all, in Hideki's words, "one man's trash is another
man's treasure"
When Hideki finally locates the power switch the persocom emerges
from her bindings, a small and beautiful computer. She utters the
word "Chi", which Hideki takes to be her name. Chi hugs Hideki, and
he realizes how lucky he has been.
The rest of the book details how Hideki, a technophobe, comes to learn
more about Chi. Personally, my favourite part is at the end of the
Chapter 10, which lays the foundation for future plots. I hope they
are as intruging, involved and apocalyptic as this chapter hints they
could be.
Of course, this is Clamp, so I could be disappointed, but I'm not
going to stop reading Chobits.
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