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Chobits Volume 4 
Details
Director: Morio Asaka
Catalogue Number: MVD2054
Certificate: PG
Date Released: October 17th 2005
Screen: Widescreen 16:9
Languages: Japanese; English - Dolby Digital (2.0)
Stereo
Subtitles: English
Duration: 100 minutes
Synopsis
Ms. Shimizu invites herself for a stay-over at Hideki's for some interesting games. Meanwhile, there seems to be more going on when the ever-joyful Shinbo appears to be depressed and won't talk about it. And as Hideki and Chi assist Hibiya cleaning the apartments, Hibiya reveals a startling fact about her past. What can Hideki do to help everyone and still study for his exams? Will he ever find time to eat?
Episodes:
13. Chi Goes To The Ocean
14. Chi Entertains
15. Chi Doesn't Do Anything
16. Chi Provides
Extras
- Full colour Art Gallery
Cover
click image to view large version
To view the whole cover... click here
Review
After a 3 months hiatus, the Chobits series continues once agin- and I’ve been missing it.
Audio:
I listened, alternating between Japanese and English audio with each episode
change. Both provided a solid 224K stereo, but not much is the way of
left or right directional sound, it all comes from the front. Either sound
track is good, so you pays your money and takes your choice as it’s
a win-win option.
Opening song is called Let Me Be With You and is a really great track, lots of toe tapping beat. The alternate closing song used on this volume is called Mermaid which is OK, but I think I like Reason to be better.
Video:
Video was very good, and the 16:9 aspect looked very good on my TV with
decent colour. No problems with TV or PC play back on this volume. I don’t
know if this was transferred over from the master or it’s an R1
translation but nothing appears to have been lost in the process, and
no artefacts were seen, although the characters are a little soft around
the edges.
Menu:
The menus have a bit of Mac feel to them, and they are presented as though
one is viewing a computer screen. All the links worked quickly and whichever
option you chose always got you a picture of Chi (s’no bad thing).
Extras:
We get a clean close and Japanese Op. A stills gallery, but this is just
15 scenes from the anime itself, so I don’t really see the point
in it. Usual promo trailers (Kiddy Grade & FMP) and that’s your
lot.
Content: (please note that content portions of a
review will contain spoilers)
Episode 14 begins with a heat wave, and boy is Hideki suffering without
any air-conditioning in his apartment or the school. Still, somehow he
makes it through the day’s high temperatures and gets back home
without destroying anything. Alas, each day has 24 hours, and in that
time Hideki can always be relied upon to get into at least one embarrassing
situation: Ms Shimizu arrives late at night and wants to stay over (hubba,
hubba)! There follows scenes of drunken debauchery that would shock a
nun…. OK, I exaggerate and nuns are easily shocked. Still, it got
a few guffaws out of me before the end, not the least was Chi commenting
that Hideki (down below) was “average sized”. Of course the
real question is what’s with Shinbo and Ms Shimizu?
The next episode finds our angst~y Hideki mulling over what he witnessed at the end of episode 14. Not too mention the subconscious questions he now begins to ask himself about his feelings for Chi. Only the situation moves on of it’s own accord when both Ms Shimizu and Shinbo disappear, leaving Hideki confused as to what it all means.
Hideki makes a late night trip over to Minoru Kokubunji, in order to gain some information. And we learn some back story about Ms Shimizu, and her personal life. The culmination is that we find out what’s been happening between Ms Shimizu and Shinbo- there’s a lot of love in this episode (sniffle).
There is also a dark side, as we begin to see Hideki wonder whether it’s “normal” to love a persocom.
Episode 16 sees Hideki failing to miserably at school, with his point average score (straight Es) way below what’s needed. He doesn’t wallow too long as a call from his friends gives him the advice and inspiration he needs to get out there and do better. And so with his newfound resolution and fervour he begins to study himself into the ground, and Chi doesn’t know how to help him. Then Chi hits on the idea of cooking a surprise meal for Hideki that will surely help him in his studies. In the end, despite a very bad start to Hideki’s week, everything works out in the end.
The final episode in this volume has Chi, Sumono and Hideki helping Ms Hibiya do a spot of dusting in the apartments. Sure the first half of this episode is filled with still scene shots, but we’ll forgive it because it’s so cute. Only this is what the makers wants us to believe, as they lull us into a false sense of security.
Ms Hibiya - mild mannered manager of the apartments – turns out to know something about Chi, not to mention persocoms in general. And by the end of this episode we are left in no doubt that we are on the verge of a major plot breakthrough, as two strangers begin to stalk Chi.
In summary-
This volume surprised me in that it not only continued to amuse me, but
even managed to start moving the main plot along again (at the end)- a
big surprise.
It’s cold and wet outside, but I don’t mind, because Chobits gives me a warm snugly feeling inside.