060 - Chobits vol. 3

060 - Chobits vol. 3

Author: We Appreciate Manga™ July 18, 2021 Duration: 43:24

We talk about true love in the context of cheating, extramarital affairs, hyper realism and simulations! And is there parallels between Pinnochio and Chi? Skip plot summary @3:22

060: Chobits vol. 3

Chapters 25 to 36

By CLAMP

Translation by Shirley Kubo

With Lettering by John Clark

We talk about true love in the context of cheating, extramarital affairs, hyper realism and simulations! And is there parallels between Pinnochio and Chi? Skip plot summary @3:22

Topics

  • How CLAMP create a cerebral and intimate story but juggle mystery.
  • The affair between Shimizu and Shimbo. Hideki's true love definition.
  • "A City with no People" Simulation, Jean Baudrillard and finding your soul mate and being happy in a desert of simulation and loneliness.

Plot Summary

Hideki spends his morning watching Chi sleep and wondering what happened the night before. He still has Sumomo with him and when he tries to contact Sumomo's owner Shimbo, he finds that he has run off with his teacher to a romantic getaway. It becomes clear that their teacher is having an extra marital affair.

The teacher Takako Shimizu recalls Hideki's words about love and marriage, that you can't help who you fall in love with but if it is true love, they must be willing to live with the betrayal and guilt that comes from having an affair. It's not long after this that Shimbo gives ownership of Sumomo to Hideki.

And Hideki gets Chi a job giving away sample pastries. With the money she buys lewd magazines for Hideki and the new volumes of her favourite book "A city with no people"

But Hideki starts to question his feelings about not buying Chi gifts, after all Chi isn't human but like many Persecoms she is made to resemble one and Hideki wonders why they are made like this.

Meanwhile two mysterious characters leave behind them a path of destruction as they trace the steps of where Chi was, when Chi seems to have an emotional response they are able to pinpoint the position. It is unknown if these two characters, Zima and Dita, know they are being monitored by Hideki's Landlady Chitose. And when Hideki receives an anonymous grainy image containing what appears to be Chi and Chitose in a lab, Chi has no memory of this and Hideki starts to become concerned enough to ask Minoru Kokubunji for help. And so, a mystery regarding Persecoms and Chobits starts to brew.

 

Pop culture references/Product Placement: 

  • H.323 codec is used since late 1996 for broadcasting live video conferences and video calls,The most common standard is H.264 used by youtube, Netflix, amazon prime video and many more. But that's because its pre-recorded video.
  • Dukylon café reveals a shared universe to another story, which ran from 1991 to 1993, it's called Clamp school defenders. Basically, Dukylon café is a cover for a heroic power ranger's base. P544 of the Darkhorse omnibus.

Facebook - facebook.com/weappreciatemanga/

Instagram –  weappreciatemanga.co.uk  

Twitter -   @RealJamesFitton

Website – Weappreciatemanga.com

Email – Weappreciatemanga@gmail.com


There's a particular kind of magic that happens when a friend hands you a book they love, especially when that book is a manga. We Appreciate Manga captures that exact feeling, beginning each conversation with a personal recommendation before letting the discussion wander into deeper territory. Hosted by the team at We Appreciate Manga™, this series is less a formal review and more like eavesdropping on a thoughtful, sometimes rambling, chat between enthusiasts. You’ll hear them explore how specific stories resonate, why certain artistic choices matter, and the very real comfort these illustrated narratives can provide during difficult periods. It’s a celebration of the medium that goes beyond plot summaries to appreciate manga as a unique and powerful form of visual storytelling. Think of it as your audio companion to a vibrant, anime-adjacent book club where the panels come to life through conversation. New episodes of this podcast have been available since August 2022, offering a consistent space to connect with the art and heart of these stories.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 136

We Appreciate Manga
Podcast Episodes
076 - Ghost in the Shell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:17
Our cyborg season ends with possibly the most influential cyberpunk manga. One that would inspire the creators of the Matrix movies with its mix of action and Cartesian philosophy. Known by its native title, Koukaku Kido…
075 - Junji Ito's Tomie [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:38
What type of podcasters would we be if we didn't cover horror manga before All Hallow's Morning? So, for this spooky time of Halloween, James and Will talk about the classic horror villain that is Tomie! Skip synopsis @…
074 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 9 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:29
James tells Steven about the two non-cannon endings of Battle Angel Alita, draws comparisons between the James Cameron / Robert Rodriguez movie adaptation and the anime, as well as bring up how much the mangaka suffered…
073 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 8 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:53
Only near the conclusion of the original manga run do Steven and James find out that they have been reading different translations. Which spurs talk about the differences between the two. Including the original video ani…
072 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 7 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:29
We talk about more characters and moments in the cyberpunk epic, Gunnm, including a very supernatural dude who uses psychometry. Plenty of coil guns and stone tape theory talk in this one. skip summary @5:00 and remember…
071 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 6 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:15
Volume 6 a.k.a. the TUNED arc follows Alita as she joins a ragtag group of mercenaries. And James and Steve can't help but compare it to films like Aliens, War movies and Westerns, not bad for a cyberpunk story, no? Skip…
070 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:53
James and Steve discuss which other actors would have played a good Desty Nova, story-wise Zapan returns to settle the score. So basically, we get Karma as a theme! Skip plot summary @5:51 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.…
069 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 4 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:08
The conclusion to the Motorball arc where we see lots of CONTENT WARNING violence and the first example of gratuitous nudity in the cyberpunk manga; interestingly it's not from Alita! Skip synopsis @ 4:31 Email: WeApprec…
068 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 3 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:40
Alita demonstrates more of her badassity in the beginning of the 'Motorball' arc, which featured prominently in the James Cameron/Robert Rodriquez movie. Skip synopsis @ 4:04 Email: WeAppreciateManga@Gmail.com 068: Battl…
067 - Battle Angel Alita vol. 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:04
A deep dive critique into the cyborg fantasy that is Battle Angel Alita a.k.a. Gunnm! Alita fights a werewolf that wears shades, as you do, but is her love strong enough to save Yugo? Sorry for the technical issues guys,…