Ranked #312

Kobato.

I have to admit to being won over by Kobato before ever seeing the first frame of film. One look at the artwork for this series and Kobato's beautiful clothing and settings and I knew this was going to be something for me. Thankfully I was also rewarded with an enjoyable and heartwarming story. While Kobato doesn’t exactly break any new ground, it’s a light hearted series that should make anyone smile, with just a touch of drama to keep it interesting.

Kobato herself begins as a bit of a mystery, tasked with a mission of healing the hearts of others in order for her to be granted her own wish. Despite being a hopeless idiot and incurably moe, Kobato does the best she can helping others. She is guided and protected by Ioryogi, an important figure from the spirit world who appears to Kobato in the form of a stuffed animal. The reasons for her mission, her origins, and the reason for Ioryogi's appearance are explained as the story unfolds.

Most of the plot is going to be fairly predictable to anyone who's seen many series like this and the early episodes are a bit formulaic. However this does change as the plot thickens over the last half of the series. I found the pacing to be good and I never felt that it lingered or stalled for too long in any place for me to get bored with it. Maybe the only exception would be the first half dozen episodes, with their similar and episodic plotlines. I was never blown away with any of it despite Kobato's overwhelming cuteness, but the ending story arc is both heartwarming and heat wrenching. But I did like the ending overall and felt it wrapped up the series nicely and tied up all the loose ends.

The main reason to watch Kobato is for the titular character. She is overbearingly adorable in every way. Her character design is extremely appealing and she has possibly the best wardrobe I have yet seen in anime. Kobato could be the poster girl for moe; she’s earnest, innocent, naive, lacking any common sense, and impossibly stupid. On the surface one would probably think she lacked substance as well. While you could definitely say this early on, due to the length of the series and the time spent growing and developing her character she eventually becomes a great all around protagonist, instead of just a moe figurehead.

Kobato's main foil would be her guardian Ioryogi. A quick tempered spirit stuck in the form of a stuffed animal, he is constantly berating Kobato for her stupidity and chastising her for not staying on task. However despite his gruff nature it’s obvious that he really loves and cares about her too. The relationship between them is the source of a lot of the shows humor, and I found the pair to be quite a delight to watch.

The other most important character to the story would be the introverted and standoffish Fugimoto. I am not really a big fan of Fugimoto's type and always feel this is an overused cliché, particularly in shoujo and romance anime. I don’t think I will ever understand why girls find this kind of guy to be appealing. Why would you want to break down the guys emotional barriers and deal with all his baggage when there are plenty of other guys who are actually nice to you? Someday I hope to understand this mindset.

The rest of the supporting cast is handled well and for the most part quite interesting. Sayaka is the most important, as the head of the preschool that Fugimoto and Kobato work. The great majority of the story takes place at the school and revolves around their efforts to save it from villainous loan sharks. Sayaka is given some back story and development but most of the remaining cast remains mostly static. They push the story in the right direction when needed and then fade from view. This is a good thing since it allows the show to focus on those who deserve the screen time.

I am not particularly a huge fan of CLAMP artwork and designs. While their drawings are undoubtedly brilliant and beautiful (particularly when drawing children), I never liked the skinny and malnourished looking characters. However, I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t the case in Kobato and the production studio opted for a more normal look. While everyone is still a bit too thin, they don’t look like they are starving to death. What really won me over and why I think this is perhaps the most visually appealing work yet was Kobato and her beautiful clothing. Also, being a CLAMP product you can expect are to see plenty of references and cameos by familiar characters from their other works. It is nice that at least for the important ones, they don’t seem to reuse the same old models with different names. This may or may not be a bonus to some fans, but for me it was refreshing.

The series music, the OP theme and the in between songs are cute and very fitting of the series nature. In addition the acting is solid all around. Kobato's seiyuu is suitably adorable sounding and brings out her personality. Though it does become a bit grating and overly cute at times, it is a minor annoyance and it probably wouldn’t work as well with a more mature sounding voice.

Overall I found Kobato to be a rewarding and wonderful viewing experience. If you like cute and adorable things, CLAMP, light hearted and touching stories with a hint of romance; then Kobato should be high on your list. If you really dislike moe or need action to be entertained than this is something you should stay away from. While it may not go down as an all-time classic, Kobato will leave you with a smile.
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Amazing, that's the one word I would use to describe Kobato.

I don't give 10's to animes I didn't think was really, REALLY great, but for the first time in a good while, I decided on a ten.

Story-9 The plot of Kobato. starts out simple enough- a girl assigned the task of healing peoples' wounded hearts. The first half of the series covers the bases of the overall objective- cases of Kobato doing her work. Even those I though were awesome, but as the series hits its second half, Kobato.'s plot thickens and develops into a masterpiece. In the first half, we see glimpses of the dark realities of life beneath the bright, cheerful character of Kobato. However, in the second half, as those subplots develop and deepen, viewers can see another facet of the anime Kobato. From the very start Kobato. deals with very real life details- a misunderstanding with a friend, a tragedy with a lover, family problems... but in the later half, we can see a whole new facet of Kobato. It cuts deeper than an anime where a girl has the objective of fulfilling her dream. Debts. Love. Death. Tragedy. Farewells. We see all of these events changing and forming a much more mature Hanato Kobato

Art-10 I loved the art- I loved it! The details are intricate, the colors and effects wonderfully done. I don't think I could have asked more of the creators in the art except perhaps actually letting viewers distinguish the ages of the characters. Otherwise, perfect, in my opinion

Sound-10 The soundtrack for Kobato. was one of the best I've ever heard. My favorite soundtrack up until the point I saw Kobato. was the True Tears Soundtrack, but Kobato, in my opinion can give True Tears a run for its money. The sounds vary- cheerful, light, heavy, peaceful... Both soundtracks are masterpieces that both support and improve the anime much.

Character-10 Character. Yes, I'm one of the people who don't enjoy a book, movie or anime with shallow characters. At one glimpse, people may think Kobato, the main character as just "moe" and empty-headed, but as the series progresses, all the characters- Fujimoto and Kobato noticeably- grow and mature as they learn important life lessons through their trials. The storyline doesn't go "easy" on them: the lessons they learn are tough, yes, but also shape and define who the characters are: The characters are all very deep, even if they don't seem so at first.

Enjoyment-10 I both laughed and cried watching Kobato. I laughed at the antics that went on in the story, but I also cried at the sad or heartwarming parts: Kobato is an anime that can give you both. It blows off your stress at times, but also warms your heart. It shows the darkness in our society, but also the hope and dreams in it. It shows miracles and second chances- all of these through a simple, 24-episode story.

Overall-10 Overall, I give a ten. I would give an eleven if I could. Kobato is something that viewers of all ages can watch- it's an anime I would recommend to anyone, anyday. You could watch it with the whole family, your siblings, friends, whatever. All I can say is to not miss out on this anime. It is one anime that will strike an impact and something you will always remember. read more