Sumomo

A tiny Persocom that fits entirely in the palm of a hand, Sumomo brings a welcome burst of energy and humor to every one of her appearances, in a series otherwise crossed by often weighty questions. Overflowing with vitality and driven by boundless devotion to Hideki, she comes up with initiatives as touching as they are clumsy to help him, helping to lighten the mood during the series' most tense moments without ever settling for the easy role of a mere comic gadget. Her friendly rivalry with Kotoko, the other mini-Persocom in Hideki's circle, produces some of Chobits' lightest and most memorable sequences, in which the two tiny machines compete in ingenuity to protect or help their respective owners. Despite her size and her mostly comic register, Sumomo is never reduced to a simple foil: her sincere loyalty and keen powers of observation make her a privileged witness — and, at times, a discreet but decisive actor — in the events affecting Hideki and Chi throughout the series. She embodies, in her own way, another facet of the relationship between humans and Persocoms explored by CLAMP: that of a joyful, uncomplicated companionship, far from the more troubling shadows surrounding other characters in the story.