 Less of a focus on Hideki's antics with this volume of Chobits & more on those around him - specifically Ms Shimizu & Shinbo. Does it make a difference to the show?
14 - Chii Entertains
It's a hot midsummer, and Hideki's having trouble concentrating. It
doesn't get any better when Ms Shimizu arrives at his apartment late at
night and announces she's staying over... Lucky guy. :) Hideki tells
Shinbo next day what happened, but is surprised at Shinbo's angry
reaction - and gets his first hint that something's going on between
student & teacher...
15 - Chii Doesn't Do Anything
Shinbo's 'eloped' with Ms Shimizu (well, gone on an extended onsen
holiday...) & left Hideki in charge of Sumomo. After having left
without saying anything (the first Hideki knows of it is when neither
Shinbo or Ms Shimizu turn up for class), Shinbo spends most of the
episode on the phone, explaining himself to Hideki.
16 - Chii Provides
Hideki's exam grades are going from bad to worse. Ms Shimizu (speaking
by phone from the onsen...) knows the problem - Hideki isn't really stupid,
he's just lousy when he's under pressure. With the final mock exams
approaching, Hideki takes time off from work in order to study - but
his plans go awry when he loses his wallet, leaving himself with no
money to live off. And so it's time for Chii to provide...
17 - Chii Helps
It's 'spring cleaning' time at the apartments (even though it's not
spring), and Hideki & Chii are roped in to help, with Sumomo
provides cheerleading and slavedriving facilities. But there are some
hints given that the caretaker isn't all she appears to be - during a
quiet chat with Chii, she appears to know about Chii's 'previous' life,
and there's an unusually large number of data & power cables
running through the building. Could she have had something to do with
Chii's creation?
Shimizu-sensei can come & stay with me anytime... :) Anyway, the
shift in focus onto Shimizu & Shinbo's relationship provides a
welcome break from Hideki's usual antics (they're fun, but not all the time),
so I enjoyed this disc a bit more than the previous volumes. As well as
the Shinbo story, there are also a few heavy hints dropped in the final
episode of the disc about the caretaker's role in all of this - she's
obviously aware of Chii's past & seems to have taken on some sort
of protector role for her, so I'm curious as to where that aspect of
the story will go (didn't see past this point when Chobits was on the fansub circuit, so I genuinely don't know where the story is going from here!).
The underlying theme of persocoms -vs- humans gets a bit of airing
here as well, in Shimizu's reasons for running off with Shinbo, but
it's not covered too deeply & will probably be revisited later.
This was actually quite a good disc - the Shinbo / Shimizu thing was
a bit of a surprise (although in hindsight there were one or two hints
dropped), but mainly the focus on some of the secondary characters made
it that bit more enjoyable. My doubts about the shows replay value are
still there - although from here on in it'll be all new to me, so we'll
see if that makes any difference.
Still can't wholeheartedly recommend the show, though - probably a
'rent first' title. Into the 'Your Mileage May Vary' bin with it.... |
