Chobits-
Volume 3: Darkness Descends
(MVM Region 2 PAL DVD)
(2004)
review by Blackgloves

Studio Madhouse's anime adaptation of CLAMP's acclaimed Manga, "Chobits" continues in this third volume from MVM which gives us a bumper crop of five episodes! Once again, the formidable combination of Studio Madhouse's crystal-clear animation and the all-female Manga team's vivid character design produces an addictive instalment in the ongoing technological fable about a boy and his lifelike computer which takes the form of a cute young girl, This is the series where the existential traumas of surviving in a modern, gadget-filled environment are inextricably entwined with the coming-of-age worries of the average Japanese male pubescent teenager. With this volume some questions from previous episodes are answered and a few new mysteries are revealed; but most of the episodes here concentrate on that familiar brand of risqué humour and slapstick comedy known in Japan as 'Ecchi'.

After the mysterious events of the last few episodes where Hideki's Persocom, Chi came into contact with a mysterious female voice and eventually created a power surge which affected every other Persocom in the city, Chi goes back to the bookstore with her first paycheque -- earned at the bakery -- to buy Hideki a present. While browsing, she notices the second volume of the book which had a strange effect on her when she first read it: "The One Just For Me" continues the tale of a strange, cartoon figure and its search for love in a city where everybody is obsessed with their artificial Persocoms. The story seems to have some obscure resonance for Chi and she buys it ... along with a pornographic magazine of the variety she has noticed Hideki often purchases! This leads to another in a long line of embarrassing situations for the red-faced teen -- but it turns out to be the least of his worries: the clash between the horrors of computer maintenance and Hideki's understandable nervousness with the attractive female form of Chi leads to a big crisis when he realises that Persocoms have to be washed regularly! This episode is classic "Chobits": full of the sexy innuendo, slapstick humour and mystery. On the plus side, Hideki's continuing dilemmas with his artificial female seem to be drawing him closer to the large number of real, flesh & blood attractive females in his life. Here, Hideki's beautiful landlord, Hibiya helps him out with a potentially difficult situation.

The next episode brings some answers to some of the questions surrounding the purpose of Chi; for it has long been known that she is unlike any other Persocom in that she has no pre-loaded operating system or memory. This has been what necessitated Hideki's tortured efforts at teaching her everything about life from scratch in the first place: something that is made all the more difficult by Hideki's own lack of experience in life! The reserved young internet wizz, Lord Minoru and his beautiful Persocom Yuzuki approach Hideki with some tantalising information about Chi: an anonymous person has sent him a picture of a mythical style of high-tech Persocom known as Chobits. This type of Persocom has more human-like qualities than the more common variety -- but the picture seems to be of Chi! The book Chi has purchased brings her back into contact with the strange internal voice which appears to confirm her origins, despite her lack of memory of her own past. Meanwhile, Hideki's love life is hotting up: his lovely co-worker, Yumi invites him on a date to the cinema! This is another crucial episode that fills in many details on both Chi and other characters in the series such as the remote Lord Minoru -- who turns out to harbour a tragic secret.

The next three episodes abandon filling in more details on the main story arc and concentrate on isolated stories instead. The knockabout humour of the series comes more to the fore here: "Chi Confirms" is a pastiche of the Kaidan genre of Japanese ghost stories, with Hideki and Chi investigating a dark secret in their apartment building where a woman was once, allegedly, murdered! "Chi Plays" is a saucy tale in which Yumi's dad gives Hideki a DVD player and encourages him to rent out some pornography! But, while browsing the adult section of his local DVD store, he runs into Minoru and Yuzuki who give him a disc that will allow him to play an online game with Chi! With the help of his pal Shinbo, Hideki is initiated into the complicated world of online service providers and internet games, but Chi's virtual reality persona emphasis her unusual origins once more. The last episode of this volume: "Chi Goes To The Beach" starts out as a chirpy, light-hearted affair; but when Chi jumps into the ocean to swim with dolphins, Hideki attempts to rescue her (even though he cannot actually swim) because Shinbo tells him that Persocoms cannot be immersed in salt water for prolonged periods. Obviously, it ends up being Hideki who has to be rescued by Chi -- leading to more questions about Chi's unusual abilities.

This volume features the usual pristine anamorphic widescreen presentation with English and Japanese audio tracks and English subtitles. The extras consist of the familiar art gallery, non-credit opening and closing sequences and trailers. This quirky series continues to entrance with its bizarre mix of elements and is still one of the more fascinating of the many anime titles on the market at the moment.