I watched this anime back in 2003... I loved it... then, ten years have passed. And by some happy coincidence, i obtained the Blu-Ray for it. I 'm watching it right this days...and I must say that is a very simple touching story.
Can be fun, extremely fun...the first half of the story is a naive good guy (Hideki) dealing with his new lifestyle (a very hard way o life for anybody, you must admire him to resist that much) and struggling to make his new acquired persocom, Chii, to understand and learn form the world. Try to put yourself in his situation: is like a new single-dad... he has been put in a very stressful situation... and the show turns it into a comedy situation... it's simply precious. We meet the rest of the characters: the smart neighbor, Shimbo and his little energetic "desu" persocom, Sumomo; The childish teacher, Shimizu, the rich introvert kid, Minoru and her persocom, Yuzuki, Yumi, the sweet co-ed of Hideki in the bar he works; Ueda, the manager from Chiroru and Chii's boss at work, and Chitose, the kind-hearted manager. They are such a colorful and positive cast that makes the series so light to follow.
As the series progressed, we catch some hints that there is something dark, sad in the air, we are not sure what it is, but we feel it. Then the second half is spiral of revelations that can be extremely emotional. ALL of the characters start to show their hidden secrets, one by one they shock us to the point of taking a moment to understand "what the f**k just happen".
To really understand their feelings, the story has its sub-context: technology alienating people. How technology advances, making our life easy, but at the same time, people are drifting apart? Why people close themselves, relying just in the new advance gadget? This show doesn't provide an answer, it just gets a resolution from a good story, and that 's part of its charm: you have to get the answers yourself. While in other shows, this means "the director didn't want to provide an answer" in this "the answer is extremely personal, the story ends, everything is solved, but the context don't" that's quite nice.
Sadly, the quality of this anime has decreased by his original run, but that's no obstacle to enjoy it. As another great anime, Serial Experiments Lain, it can be watched, and the story became so timeless, that you will enjoy it any year of your life.
Can be fun, extremely fun...the first half of the story is a naive good guy (Hideki) dealing with his new lifestyle (a very hard way o life for anybody, you must admire him to resist that much) and struggling to make his new acquired persocom, Chii, to understand and learn form the world. Try to put yourself in his situation: is like a new single-dad... he has been put in a very stressful situation... and the show turns it into a comedy situation... it's simply precious. We meet the rest of the characters: the smart neighbor, Shimbo and his little energetic "desu" persocom, Sumomo; The childish teacher, Shimizu, the rich introvert kid, Minoru and her persocom, Yuzuki, Yumi, the sweet co-ed of Hideki in the bar he works; Ueda, the manager from Chiroru and Chii's boss at work, and Chitose, the kind-hearted manager. They are such a colorful and positive cast that makes the series so light to follow.
As the series progressed, we catch some hints that there is something dark, sad in the air, we are not sure what it is, but we feel it. Then the second half is spiral of revelations that can be extremely emotional. ALL of the characters start to show their hidden secrets, one by one they shock us to the point of taking a moment to understand "what the f**k just happen".
To really understand their feelings, the story has its sub-context: technology alienating people. How technology advances, making our life easy, but at the same time, people are drifting apart? Why people close themselves, relying just in the new advance gadget? This show doesn't provide an answer, it just gets a resolution from a good story, and that 's part of its charm: you have to get the answers yourself. While in other shows, this means "the director didn't want to provide an answer" in this "the answer is extremely personal, the story ends, everything is solved, but the context don't" that's quite nice.
Sadly, the quality of this anime has decreased by his original run, but that's no obstacle to enjoy it. As another great anime, Serial Experiments Lain, it can be watched, and the story became so timeless, that you will enjoy it any year of your life.