Chobits — Tome 1

The first volume of Chobits gently lays down all the foundations of the series. Hideki Motosuwa, a young man newly arrived from the provinces to prepare for the entrance exam of a Tokyo university, discovers one evening a Persocom abandoned on a pile of trash — these humanoid personal computers so widespread in this alternate version of Japan that most households own at least one. With no budget whatsoever for buying such a device new, Hideki brings the machine home regardless, more out of compassion than calculation. He quickly realizes something isn't right: unlike other Persocoms, which can function as soon as they're switched on thanks to a preinstalled hard drive, this one can only say a single word, "Chi," which becomes her name. She remembers nothing, cannot walk or speak, and must relearn everything like an infant discovering the world. This premise, both endearing and faintly unsettling, sets the very particular tone of the series: a social comedy about student life in Tokyo, punctuated by light scenes (Hideki's desperate efforts to make ends meet, his clumsiness around Chi, the teasing of his neighbors and classmates), yet threaded through with darker questions about urban loneliness, the growing place of technology in human relationships, and the responsibility that comes with "owning" a machine capable of learning and, perhaps, feeling. We also meet Hiromu Shinbo, the kindly teacher at the prep school Hideki attends, and Chitose Hibiya, the enigmatic landlady of the building where he lives — two characters whose importance will keep growing throughout the following volumes. CLAMP pays particular attention to Chi's characterization in this first volume: every word learned, every gesture mastered becomes a small event, and the reader watches in real time the awakening of a consciousness, never quite sure whether what they are witnessing is mere simulation or an authentic discovery of the world. This volume closes on a still-fragile cohabitation already charged with affection, and on the first question, barely sketched, that will haunt the whole series: who is Chi, really?