Well it always comes down to this. Which is better, the anime of the manga? I just want to tell you all right now that I usually prefer the manga to the anime, just warning you. And in Chobits I think that might be true. But I’m going to point out some things that annoy me about both. Here ya go:
First of all, in the anime I don’t like the way Chii is portrayed. I mean yeah in both she’s very innocent and doesn’t know much, but in the manga she actually gets some scenes where she thinks for herself or figures something out on her own. In the anime she’s just another blonde that can’t do anything for herself. She just follows everyone around and always gets stuff confused. They could give her just a bit of common since. And her hair! In the manga it’s this beautiful silvery-brownish color and it always looks so beautiful. In the anime it’s blond and looks plastic (though I guess it is kind of hard to translate the hair from manga to anime).
Next point: Hideki. Yes I know he’s perverted and gets into lots of embarrassing situation, but the anime takes it too far. It sometimes makes him seem like a cowardly pathetic slob that relies on everyone else. I like Hideki, I think he’s funny and a really nice guy, but in the anime he seems to do everything wrong. Paired with Chii it gets kind of hard to watch sometimes.
Okay so now that I’ve dissed the anime I’ll give it a little credit. One thing the manga doesn’t do is show much of the side characters. I mean it is about Chii and Hideki but I want to see more of the little guys. In the anime it seems as if Hideki actually is friends with them. In every episode he ends up doing something with Shinbo, Sumomo, Minoru and Yuzuki. It’s nice to see them more; it makes them seem like real people. Also you see Hibiya more often. When he’s in school Shimizu always is acting sarcastic and getting on his case for sleeping in school. I think it’s nice to have them get more screen time, because they all have really interesting personalities!
One thing I can’t decide is whether or not I like all the side stories in the anime. It gives the word in the story more depth and we get to see more of what Hideki’s world is like and what there is to do there, but sometimes it’s just too much. We don’t need to see a WHOLE episode about Chii buying underwear or Hideki freaking about a ghost story, even if they are fun to watch.
Okay, now that you’ve read all that, I want to make it clear that I absolutely adore the manga and anime, why else would I spend so much time on this site? But don’t take my word for it, go out and experience them both for yourself and make your own decision. This page was only pointing out my pros and cons to the anime vs. manga. If I find any more points I'll be sure to ad them!
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