Ranked #690

Kobato.

Kobato is a girl of currently unknown origins (I say heaven, but I digress) whose job is to "heal" the hearts of the world around her. Every time she heals a heart, a candy-like gem will appear in a glass bottle in which she carries around. When this glass bottle finally fills up, she will get her wish granted. Thus, the story of Kobato follows her attempts to find people to heal.

Story
Oh boy... Where do I even begin. The whole storyline has been put out so slowly I've lost interest. Even as a major fan of slice of life and non-related episodic anime (in which my favourites include Hidamari Sketch and Aria, as well as being a fan of Sketchbook and GA), this doesn't draw me in in any way possible

Art
For some plus points, I've always been a fan of the animation Madhouse does, and this is no exception.

Music
Music is decent, except when Kobato sings. It's too darn fake-sounding.

Character
Boy oh boy number 2...

The anime appears to have 3 main characters. Starting with Fujimoto, the guy appears to be an absolute jerk, but "becomes nicer" after meeting up with Kobato. Appears to have some issues that he helps Kobato find an owner for a stray cat after telling his college classmates he doesn't want to help them isn't very convincing. Secondly, Kobato's character is highly annoying. Her naivety is beyond that of even a child, or maybe the word should be stupidity? Or bimbotic? Either way, this is the first time I did not like a Kana Hanazawa character. The third main in Ioryogi is possibly the most likeable of hte trio. That said, the bossy, fire breathing stuff animal is no Mokona or Keroberos, and pretty much insults the great "stuff animals" that we have seen by CLAMP thus far.

Enjoyment
While fire breathing, klutzy antics can be enjoyable once in a while, seeing every episode REALLY gets old, and poor characters and a lack of the heart warming feeling from a slice of life anime really kills off the enjoyment.

Overall, this anime has gone is a very poor direction. If I was new to the slice of life genre, watching this will make me want to permanantly avoid it. I had such high hopes for Kobato. Poor CLAMP production, poor Madhouse production. Disappointing. read more

I'm not someone who can't live without shoujo. In fact, I usually hate everything of the genre with a passion. Kobato. seemed like a happy exception to the rule, but after a few episodes, it became apparent that old habits die hard for me (or rather "shoujo sucks" is still upheld).


==[Pros]==

- Visuals. Like most CLAMP works, Kobato. has great character designs and is an artistic triumph. I usually hate chibi, but the chibi here is well-placed, albeit done a bit frequently.

- Kobato. She is a great character, reminiscent of Yotsuba in her curiosity and innocence. Her easily earned smile and ability to talk straightforwardly are traits that give off a childlike feel and ultimately make for an intriguing main character and an equally interesting plot.

- All of the mysteries. Why exactly is Kobato here? What is she? Does she even change clothes? Great questions... if left unanswered.


==[Cons]==

- The mysteries look like they're going to be solved. Ioryogi meets figures from his past and Kobato is mentioned more than once in his speech. I don't want the show to focus on the mysteries surrounding Kobato. All I want to see is an innocent girl interacting with the world around her. Is that too much to ask?

- Non-episodic nature. The early episodes are slice-of-life and run smoothly, but when Kobato gets hired, the show gets bogged down. Add to this an overall story, and the original slice-of-life qualities that I found impressive in Kobato. have all but vanished.

- Focus becomes Kobato's airhead qualities instead of her innocence and naivety. I want to see the world through Kobato's eyes. I don't want to see Kobato's eyes flat on the floor.

- Ioryogi is (as of ep. 6) in the show for comic relief and as a gateway into Kobato's background. Both of these purposes aren't exactly beneficial: fire breathing and sudden outbursts become old by episode two and learning Kobato's background answers questions that don't need to be answered.

- Fujimoto sucks. I hate him. Nothing about his character is even remotely appealing.


==[Conclusion]==
Great start for a shoujo, but ends up shifting direction from an interesting story about an innocent girl to a boring story about a bumbling fool and her mascot's uninteresting past. read more