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Chobits Volume 5 
Details
Director: Morio Asaka
Catalogue Number: MVD2055
Certificate: PG
Date Released: February 13th 2006
Screen: Widescreen 16:9
Languages: Japanese; English - Dolby Digital (2.0)
Stereo
Subtitles: English
Duration: 100 minutes
Synopsis
When Hideki goes to school, Chi goes to her job at Tirol. However, today Chi never made it to work - she's been kidnapped!
Hideki frantically searches for Chi with the help of Ueda, the Tirol's manager. Ueda empathizes with Hideki's loss and reveals his own tragic experience. What other dark secrets remain hidden in this world of Persocoms?
Episodes comprise:
17. Chi Helps
18. Chis Disappears
19. Chi Waits
20. Chi Wants
Extras
- Full colour Art Gallery
Cover
click image to view large version
To view the whole cover... click here
Review
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 Japanese Ed. Some trailers for GSG and Ikki Tosen (aka Battle
Vixens). A stills gallery, but this is just 15 scenes from the anime itself,
so I don’t really see the point in it.
Content: (please note that content portions of a
review will contain spoilers)
Episode 17 starts with Chi acting more and more like someone in Love (with
Hideki), and this causes Hideki to become concerned, as he begins to worry
(again) that he might take advantage of her, and the fact she isn’t
human is once again preying on his mind.
On her way to work Chi picks up another of the books she’s been reading, and as she’s engaged in her perusal, someone sneaks up behind her and is kidnapped!
Later that evening Hideki gets a phone call and realises that Chi is missing! Despite frantic searches he (and Sumomo) can find no clue as to her whereabouts, and so at dead end, he feels he has no other option but to call for the help of Minoru Kokubunji and his persocom Yazuki.
Meanwhile Chi wakes up (OK, we’ll skip over that obvious flaw) in a strange room, captive of one Yoshiyuki Kojima- computer geek and all round cad. For company she has a very small persocom called Kotoko to keep her informed. What’s interesting about Kotoko is that she appears to express a very personal views about herself- an almost human-like quality.
In the next episode Hideki continues to look for Chi, but also with the help of Mr Ueda (store owner where Chi works). And this is interesting, as it seems that Mr Ueda was once married to a persocom (don’t ask). Mr Ueda and his persocom is a sad tale for sure. Towards the end of the episode, once again, the connection between Mr Ueda and Yumi is strongly hinted at, but we remain in the dark to the full details.
Episode 19 brings us back to Chi and her situation at the hands, and probes, of Kotoko (boo, hiss, hiss). He connects his entire PC collection up to Chi in an effort to hack her core program and find out what turns her on (literally).
A spot of luck enables Minoru, and the newly returned Shinbo, to ascertain the probable location of Kotoko aka Dragonfly. And a race begins as “R” heroes attempt to rescue Chi from a fate worse than death (or an MS update, whichever is worse).
Thanks to Kotoko’s improper advances towards Chi, Chi’s self protection system activates and once again all the persocoms in the city start acting strangely. This allows the guys to find and rescue Chi (hurray).
In this final episode of volume 5, Shinbo has decided to pack up and move in with Ms Shimizu. And Hideki settles back down to a “normal” life again, although recent events have given him cause to reflect upon Chi.
Desiring to know more about Chi, Hideki asks Minoru Kokubunji to gather as much information on the Chobits series as he can- from this we learn much that may be prevalent to Chi’s current situation.
In an effort to hack into a secure system that might reveal more information about Chobits, Minoru Kokubunji’s persocom, Ms Yazuki, takes it upon herself to perform the hack, with unexpected results.
In Summary:
This volume is nowhere near as amusing as previous releases, but what
we loose on the entertainment swings, we gain a little on the plot roundabout.