Kobato.

     Passion: a word of unyielding emotion, an art of captivation, and yet sometimes an expression of suffering. Passion is a more than suitable word for describing what is seen in the series Kobato. This series is laudable for its characters integrity and the continuous appeal of the story, marked with a great overall enjoyment. 
     The development of the many individual characters are outstanding along with the relationships that are shared among all of them. Even the supporting characters are connected to the main story in a magnificent manner. The many complex relationships that were developing were done in a way as such ... the audience could relate or reflect back upon moments and bring any emotion out, where the emotions can be played with by the writers and be more critically effective towards feeling like the audience is alongside the characters. This is also due to the effects of the wonderful music that fit perfectly with the seen and emotion that was present. The joyous music during the happiest of times along with the soothing and somber sounds during crestfallen times leading to the magical expression of emotion and showing the true passion of this series. 
     This series is representative of an art. The colors are magnificent; for instance, Kobato's apparel and expressions are gorgeous. The use of the strong color red does not overpower, yet instead gives strength to all the other colors of the spectrum. Along with all the characters, the scenery is equally astounding in the quality and scrupulosity. Along side the art, the story line is just as detailed and stunning in quality. The story is brilliant in its ability to stay specific to the overarching theme yet be so detailed that any tangent can be connected to the theme and become important for other events in both the past and future. This entire piece is a masterful work that is artistic in writing and imagery where all the details become individually important and equally as enjoyable. 
     Whether being the details of a house or the relationship between two characters, each piece is reliant upon every other aspect, and together, they create a single, spectacular, and unifying piece that is molded into this series. With each part playing its role to perfection and creating harmony, the sense of passion and desire that is within the heart of this series makes it a formidably enjoyable show for those who like anime of daily life, romance, cute characters, and emotional fluctuation. A full sense of passion.

Therefore, I have given this a masterpiece rating:
10☆'s for all the outstanding features. 

[first review]
Well....I have to say this anime isn't what i expected at all. I expected some regular girl just trying to fulfill something, and a happy ending.

Story: 10 out of 10
I love the story, it had a good slowness going with it. Yes, CLAMP usuals was going along with this, but had some twists that you might not expect. This anime brought me to tears at time but it always end up **** [not telling ;)]

Art: 9 out of 10
The art was nice~ Very Cute! I sure you will love the chibis. And if your a fan of CLAMP's work then ya i ... think you should watch this. But one thing that i didn't really like was how they mande the eyes. it's not sparkly but that's just me xD

Characters: 10 out of 10
You have to watch it to find out xD i don't want to spoil anything

Overall this anime is great. Cute,sad sometimes,funny, and much more!

Kobato
Rated: 9/10

Kobato was a series that I had really actually planned to pick up way back in autumn when it was released but decided against it. Although it was CLAMP, who's series I normally love, I had my doubts about Kobato because the storyline sounded so silly. However, I managed to finish it by marathoning the episodes, mostly because it was so sweet and had such a nice plot going for it, supported by loveable characters.

Kobato revolves around a character named Kobato who has to fill a jar with the "candy" that comes from curing scarred hearts. If she manages this, then she will have ... one wish fufilled.

Characters: 9/10
Kobato is the regular "incredibly cheerful, bubbly" shoujo main character that we've all seen a hundred times and yet there is something about her that manages to keep her from crossing the thin line leading to annoyance. In my experience, I genuinely found her very charming and I wanted her to succeed in her mission. Ioryogi quickly became probably my favorite character in the series, the general mean tempered guardian who really does care about Kobato deep down. Fujimoto was a little more difficult since it seemed like he remained with a constant scowl for 80% of the series but once again, there is a charm he has that prevents him from crossing into the realm of annoying.

Plot: 8/10
Although it sounds pretty silly, the light-hearted comedy/semi-drama storyline does work, and the way it leads up to the finale is rather well done. The conclusion is satisfying and although it really isn't all the mysterious, it still isn't something that your going to groan over.

Animation/Art: 8/10
I really enjoyed the classic CLAMP and for the most part, the animation was pretty well done with attractive backgrounds and nice colors.

Sound: 9/10
I really enjoyed the opening and the two endings this series had, and the background music was, for the most part, doing what it was supposed to be doing by enhancing the scenes emotion. The voice actors did well in their roles as well, especially the voices of Kobato and Ioryogi.

When I first came across Kobato, the anime at first glance seemed interesting but I wasn't sure if it would end up being my cup of tea. Now that I look back, I know I would have regreted not watching it because of how amazing it turned out to be.

Words can't describe how much I loved this anime. It was so heartwarming and cute, you didn’t want to stop watching. Kobato had a tear-jerker side imbedded into it, just like a jewel on a ring, making the piece even more beautiful. CLAMP did a wonderful job constructing this masterpiece, taking a semi-generic idea and keeping ... it fresh and out of the box. The character's personalities made this story worthwhile, along with the breath taking art. Kobato inched its way into my heart, forgive me if I'm being too biased, making its mark on my top 10. The story has laughter that will keep you smiling and sadness that will wet your eyes, so grab a few tissues. Most of all Kobato's relationships and bonds made the anime come together, in friendship and in love.

As all animes stand, there is always room for improvement, yet I feel that Kobato was excellent exactly the way it is.

When i first read the description for the show i was a little reluctant to watch it. Because i thought it was going to be one of those overly cheesy,kinda funny, not very interesting type of story. But i have to say the plot of the story really surprised me.

The story line was creative and the show to me was very funny. Even the romantic moments in the show were very cute and easy to relate to.

I thought that the characters were very well done. In this anime it ... is very easy to Fall in love with the characters, epically Kobato the main character.

Honestly i wish that the anime was longer. The reason I liked this anime so much was mostly because of the plot. The plot was definitely different from other animes i have watched and trust me i have watched a LOT of anime, and it's hard these days to find an anime that's somewhat different. Some animes are predictable and somewhat cheesy in a lot of ways but not this one.

The art was good i think. Not the best i have seen but not the worst either.

So overall it's definitely one worth to watch. And once you do you get sucked in in till you have watched the entire series.

Decent storyline, but not really worth the watch unless you can stand the first 18 non motivating episodes of KOBATO GANBARAREHEORWO
However, the last few episodes are quite good.
One thing that caught me was the great artwork in this anime.
Personally not worth the watch, as it seems to be targeted toward a younger audience.

For as long as I've heard of Kobato, I had always wanted to watch/read it. I have been on and off with the manga and still haven't finished it. I've recently finished the anime and basically, it's another work of CLAMP.

CLAMP is a great shoujo group with famous works like Card Captor Sakura, xxxHolic, Wish etc. It's a group of women who make cute stories and handsome male characters for girls to read and look at. Because all the stories are made by the same group, they have this privilege of incorporating older stories into their newer ones, eg. Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Kobato does this ... too with Chobits and Wish incorporated into the anime/manga. There are also references to other anime. I think that this incorporation really made Kobato fun for me. I was soo excited whenever I saw Kohaku as I love her character soo much.

ANYWAYS. The story was quite interesting, just only in the last 3 episodes. It's a slow paced anime and does not rush through the story at all. Each episode is a new day of what silly/helpful things Kobato will do. It's similar to TRC how each episode is a story in itself that doesn't really continue with the actually plot. You move through Kobato's day to day life with the same ongoing jokes. I personally did not find it very entertaining. I skipped about 3-4 episodes because I didn't want to know what Kobato was doing. I wanted to know why the things were the way they were and how it would turn out. I believe there was one episode which particularly touched me, episode 17 I think. You could probably watch episode one then skip all the way to about 19-21 without missing a lot. For me, it was boring, but then again, I prefer fast paced anime.

Besides, the slow paced middleness, the ending really did touch me. I will admit to crying at the end and maybe in episode 17. Where CLAMP really tried, all the feels did come through. Being a made by girls, made for girls thing, they really do know how to bring out the tears. The ending was well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The characters. You see quite a few recurring characters from other CLAMP works which made me really happy. The main character is your typical dumb klutz who everyone hates. I hated her character so much. It was so typical, like CLAMP didn't even bother trying to bring out an original character. I didn't feel that there was a lot of character development. Each episode was basically Kobato trying to awkwardly help someone out with Ioryogi and/or Kiyokazu yelling at her with Chitose and/or Sayaka being supportive of her really clueless actions. You do see some character development towards the end of the series but I don't feel it was really justified.

CLAMP's artwork is generally incredibly beautiful. As I said before, CLAMP knows what girls want. The designs are typical designs with the scarily lanky and tall characters but they are still sooo pleasing to the eye. I just love the character designs. I've always loved CLAMP art. I was a bit disappointed with the lack of dresses Kobato wore. There were only about four? One for each season I think. I was really looking forward to new dresses because Kobato is just soo cute and it perfect to play around with dresses. The manga art is even more beautiful with such detail. I know you do get to see it in the last ED (I'm not sure if there's more than one) and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

Sound, I'm never really too sure on sound. Nothing stood out to me though. None of the OPs/EDs, no really fitting BGM or anything. I'd just say average.

Overall, I could've spent my time better but as a CLAMP fan, I would've regret not watching Kobato. I'm not saying that it's bad, just shoujo isn't my genre anymore. It's a kind of typical shoujo with the sweet bits of fantasy that CLAMP does so well. Nothing really happens but when it does, it really hits home. I would say if you like shoujo, you would like this anime. For those who don't like this anime, stay away from it. It will most likely be a waste of your time. With those who want to watch it but aren't a fan of shoujo, you are very welcome to skip episodes. Like I said, the only real important bits are at the very start where everything is introduced and the end where the feels are. If you already know the premise, you could pretty much just skip to the end coz nothing happens. A few background info is given in around episode 7 (not sure at all) so watch out for those. They can make the ending make a bit more sense, though not all of it is clearly explained. Some things were still left unanswered. Kobato is a good shoujo, but nothing much else. That's really all there it :)

Honestly i enjoyed this anime every step of watching each episode, had lots of laughs and few tears, it was also sad to see the kinda-garden being knocked down, after the whole story revolved around that but happy that in the end everything worked out,
Koboto is a Funny one some how watching her, try to do so many things but end up screwing up things in the end but also still manages to keep every one happy around her happy, and how she would tick Ioryogi off and how he would go off at her it was so funny how he would bread ... fire hahaha, every time i would laugh

basically i am glad this anime had a happy ending i couldn't wish for better, i was so sad in eps 23 how koboto left and Fujimoto couldn't remember her, but in the last episode she came back and in the end remembered him and every one around. i had happy tears hahaha not many i get those while watching anime, just means i love the anime so much and happy to watch it any time

so hope others enjoyed it as much as i do

After reading the plot synopsis I expected a cute, heartwarming, fantasy/magical girl kind of experience. While it IS cute and it certainly IS heartwarming, I wish it was more fantasy-driven. Sadly, the fantasy elements remain very scarce throughout the anime (which is too bad because there was great potential). What you ultimately get is a sort of dull slice-of-life/drama/comedy kind of thing.

Too much of the story revolved around that damn preschool Kobato and Fujimoto worked at. There are episodes when the viewer easily forgets that there's supposed to be a fantasy element to this story. When it DOES get pointed out, everything is so ... vaguely explained that by the end of the story you're not even entirely sure you understood it right / what it is that ACTUALLY happened that made Kobato and Ioryogi come to Earth. Like, the actual events are never explained. Neither is Ioryogi's origin and all the different worlds that supposedly exist in the Kobato universe. (I'm doing my best not to write any spoilers here.)

The comedy is lazy and repetitive. Kobato is clumsy and/or does something stupid, Ioryogi yells at her and burns her. Wash, rinse, repeat.

There were certain moments that induced a lot of feels (the last two episodes especially!), but there were also certain moments where it either felt overly dramatic, or it fell flat and I ultimately felt nothing. So yeah. Overall, a big meh from me.

I would've given this anime an even worse rating had it not been for the overall cuteness and the good feels it occassionally brought me. It's not the worst thing I've ever seen, I just think there could've been done a lot more and there's a lot of wasted potential.

Also, Fujimoto can go suck a d*ck.

This is my first review and I'm going to do it on one of my favorites.
Kobato is about a girl who is on a mission to collect "konpeito" in order to have her wish granted. Her wish is to go somewhere that she wanted to go to. As the story progresses, she collects konpeito and works at a nursery.

Story: 10/10
The story is an interesting comedic and romantic concept. It is not quite common to see a story about how a person was granted a lifespan of four seasons in order to achieve her goal. This was a captivating storyline.

Art: 10/10
The artwork is similar to Tsubasa ... Resevoir Chronicles, which was nicely done. The art of Kobato's smile was a cute and beautiful smile that captivated my heart. The details on the background and plant forms are beautiful and nicely detailed. The illustrator and animator made perfect use of their artistic talent on this.

Sound: 10/10
The music and background music fitted into every single episode. It matched with the mood and was perfect. Kobato's was perfect in the anime including Fujimoto's. The seiyu's did a good job on the acting and voice overs.

Character: 10/10
The characters of this anime was nice. The characteristic of Kobato was of a caring mother was a good representation of her character. Fujimoto was somewhat of a tsundere character that may seem to piss of the audience. As the story progresses, his personality gradually becomes into a caring character. The inclusion of the crossover between Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles was a plus.

Enjoyment: 10/10
The story has an enjoyable theme. The romance in the anime may be slim, but the comedy seems to never end. The caring personality of Kobato seems to have grown on me and it was nice. Kobato just seems to make this anime worth watching.

Overall: 10
The anime had a great impression on me. It was showing an enjoyable atmosphere and it lightens up my heart. The characters and sound was great. It's not exactly like the modern fighting and school life anime. It's a bit different and has a great plot. I hope others would enjoy this anime as much as I did.

I don't think I've ever cried more than twice during an anime series, but I broke the record for this one. Kobato is one of those gorgeous stories, with both sweet moments and ridiculously sad moments, which just makes you go through a roller coaster of emotions throughout the whole anime.

Story: 8/10
I must admit, at the beginning I was a little skeptical. As soon as I saw a cute girl with a talking soft toy and a magical flask, I immediately thought this would be a Cardcaptor-Sakura-alike anime (not that I have anything against Cardcaptor Sakura, I just thought this show would have a lot ... of shoujou-magical-girl type elements to it). But boy was I wrong! Yes the first half of the anime focuses on how Kobato, the heroine of this anime, heals people's souls in order to fill the magical flask and fulfil her wish. But even the way that Kobato acts to heal people is not in a magical way, instead she helped them by talking to them, singing to them and by helping them as a complete human being (so things that even you and me could do!). In fact, it's best that you not think about this anime in terms of magic, I completely forgot that there was magic involved until I heard the stuffed toy talk lol. The story is more about how Kobato finds her place in the human world, and how she understands other people's hearts and minds by living in this world, which, at the beginning, is for the purpose of filling the magical flask. But, as you get into the series, the more characters she helps, the more entwined they become with her own life, and eventually she becomes part of the community of people, living with them and striving to protect the people she loves. She ends up working at a local nursery, where she learns about all the different characters in the nursery and how she can help them out, purely because she cares about them with her own heart.

Character: 9/10
The main heroine here, Kobato, is absolutely adorable! She reminds me a lot of Tohru in Fruits Basket (which you should also check out if you like this anime!) because she genuinely cares about other people and because she always seems to say the right things at the right time to make you feel better. It's hard not to love Kobato; even though she is a little bit of an airhead, she really makes this anime very sweet and light-hearted, and the way she helps someone just makes you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside (even though the person being helped isn't you lol).

Then there's the stuffed toy dog that she carries around everywhere called Ioryogi, who is somewhat like her guardian, but is completely the opposite of Kobato. He is hot tempered and gets annoyed very easily, and he always seems to be frustrated by Kobato at the beginning. But, like almost everyone else, he warms up to her as the show goes on, and I really like how you get to see him worrying about Kobato and not just himself.

Although Kobato ends up helping a lot of people along the way, I think the two main people who she forms a connection with are Sayako sensei and Fujimoto. Sayako sensei is the gorgeous lady who runs the nursery, but who struggles with debt problems, and struggles to keep the nursery going. Fujimoto is a law student who spends more time helping the nursery and juggling part-time jobs rather than studying so that he can keep the nursery alive along with Sayako sensei. I think these characters add much more emotional drama to the anime, because behind the happy faces (well, Fujimoto's face isn't as happy, but nevertheless) that they show their little nursery kids, they hide much deeper and darker secrets that prevent them from being truly happy. But, as Kobato discovers, there's more to them than just a desire to keep the nursery going, and we eventually dig back into their past to draw them out and solve the problems wrapped up in those secrets. I particularly loved the (extremely) slow and gradual impact she makes on Fujimoto, because he is the biggest mystery from the first episode all the way till the last episode, I honestly didn't think he would budge at all from his harsh and self-contained attitude!

Sound: 9/10
The music in Kobato is very heartwarming, particularly the song that Kobato sings right at the beginning (which she sings again at some points throughout the series and towards the end). It's just soft and beautiful, and it suits the anime very well!

Art: 10/10
This is definitely worth a 10/10, the characters look beautiful! I especially love Kobako, because she has lovely long hair and because she is put in four different outfits for the four different seasons (so you can place the anime in the different seasons). The children in the nursery are also really cute, and overall, the art just makes the anime even more enjoyable to watch.

Overall Enjoyment: 9/10
Without giving you any spoilers, I just wanted to say that, towards the end, I realised that I just didn't want to lose Kobato, it makes you want to cry in those last few moments of episode 23 and 24! The story may have been a little simple, but I just loved the life and relationships that Kobato made for herself in the time she was given the magical flask, because towards the end it becomes more about her love for others rather than about the magical flask. It's something that I'm really glad of taking out of this anime, and very applicable to life in general.

If you're looking for something sweet and heartwarming to watch while you sip on some milk with biscuits (makes the anime even more sweeter, trust me!), Kobato is definitely a good choice!

This is the special review for the latest CLAMP anime.

A bit shocked but I am glad it ends.

Kobato finally achieve its dream and be with the person she love who is Fujimoto-san. Need second season? No! its completely end!

Listed as Fall season anime 2009 at Oct 6, 2009 to Mar 23, 2010 with 24 episodes adopted from CLAMP original story, Kobato. Producers: Madhouse Studios, NHK, NHK-BS2

Kobato is a sweet and perky girl, but also extremely naive about the world around her. She has a "mission", which is to fill a mysterious bottle of hers with the suffering from people's hearts so her wish to go ... a certain place that she desires to go can be granted. However, she must not fall in love with a particular boy she works with and whose heart she must heal.

Source : MAL

Art : 8.75/10

I fell in love with Kobato. Her brown eyes browny hair, long wavery hair style even sometime its not shown how it supposed to be, then her stylish and cute clothes. It shown what’s CLAMP even it only Kobato.

Some other honorable mention for the art :

-The childrens. Like Kobato, they are kawaii

-Effects. Such as magical effects. The first is when Kobato got her konpeito. Then the most epic is the snow effects when she sing to Fujimoto.

-Backgrounds. They do it detailed. I like the most is when Kobato sang for the Ginkgo tree, it is really wonderfull and browny! It makes me fell in love with the beautiful of Ginkgo Biloba :’)

Edited from 8 to 8.75

Story :

9.2/10

Cant make it higher, sorry. Kinda slacking of when Kobato stops healing people, it made me bored to watch. It even cross to my mind to drop it. Luckily I am waiting and holding on to watch it until the ends. My sister really love this series so it is because of her also, thank you sis. :*

Kobato efforts for reaching her dream, that’s the main reason I into this anime. So when she stops her effort makes me disappointed.

It have a happy ending though. Of course it should be happy ending! But creating a love scene before it ending, it is just like CLAMP! And it do makes it EPIC. Some other why you call it EPIC story line :

- The truth about Kobato as a dead person and wish to loop the time for the person she love.

- The truth aout Ioryogi as a heaven being and there to help Kobato.

- Then the problem for other characters who then healed by Kobato. It is the way how people have a problem in their live.

Morale Values :

- Don’t give up! I will do my best!

- Don’t be naïve for helping people. Try your best to help them, and don’t afraid if you make them disappointed.

- Manage your time

- Practice makes perfect

- Don’t be ignorance

- Care about each other, respect each other.

- Have problems? Communicate it

- Don’t be selfish, try to understand public interest than your self interest.

- Friends may not last forever, cherish them and treat them nicely.

- Treat plants and animals nicely, they are living creature created by God.

- Believe your self, then you believe others.

- Cherish all of thing that you have currently nicely with gratefull. Maybe you can have it in the after life.

Some of the life reincarnation thing is not included because it’s irrational.

There are still some more I mean many morale value if you think more. You can see how epic the story is.

Edited from 8.5 to 9.2 :D


Characters : 8.5

Every character have their own personalities and problems that I have mentioned before at the art. They described nicely. The voice actor also. Not forget to mention the cross over characters. I think it’s a waste space of episode, but maybe you think it oppositely. Well, its CLAMP after all.


Sound : 9


The Opening song by Maaya Sakamoto, “Magic Number”

As CLAMP usually do, they invited Maaya Sakamoto, to have her to sing the opening is perfect, the music is really showing what Kobato is.

The Ending songs:

#01: Jellyfish's Confession (by Megumi Nakajima (eps 1-19) just one word, meaningfull.
#02: Watashi ni Dekiru Koto ( by Megumi Nakajima (eps 20-23) not really care of it. Sorry.

Kobato voiced by Hanazawa Kana. Also the reason why I watch this series. Her voice is cute and beautiful. Match to Kobato characteristic. A bit bored of her character song, “Ashita Kuru Hi- Yuki no furu machi” but it do have a really beautiful voice.


Overall rate : 8.8/10

For a slice of life genre it reach that high rank. Congrats CLAMP for making such epic story, congrats and congrats for Kobato the moe and cute and determined girl for reaching her dream.

This is definitely one of the best animes I've ever seen.
I would recommend it to someone that enjoys becoming a little emotional from animes, personally the ones that make me cry I would say are the best kind, and Kobato was perfect for that.
Everything about this anime is amazing, every episode leaves you with a happy and heart-warming feeling.

I wholeheartedly give this anime a 10.

Story - The story was about this girl who lost her lie due to an accident, and is given a chance to be reborn. She signed a contract, so she has to heal peoples hearts and fill a bottle with "confetti". Ioroygi is a stuffed animal that accompanies her throughout the time limit of four seasons ( a year ) he changes during that time. Kobato touches the lives of many different people, including a guy, Fujimoto, Kobato gets his confetti at the last moment, when she is about to leave, and Kobato gets her wish granted. After four ... years, they meet again.

Art - I loved the art in this anime, especially the different outfits Kobato wore in the 4 seasons. The art was outstanding, it fit every moment of the anime.


Sound - I loved loved loved the song Kobato sang, it gives me a warm feeling and calms me down. One of the best soundtracks ever.

Character - From the first episode you might think that Kobato is just a clumsy, and honest girl. But as you watch the anime, you can see the changes in Kobato even though shes still the same person as she was in the first few episodes.

Enjoyment - I really enjoyed this anime, and watched it for the third time already, this anime made me cry and laugh and left an impact on my life. I couldn't stop thinking about it after I finished it. It has no need for a 2nd season because the ending was perfect. A 2nd season would only ruin the anime. I loved this anime, it is one of my favorites.

Overall - I give this anime a 10 overall. Trust me i would give it a 20 if I could! I highly recommend this anime, you don't know what you're missing if you decide not to watch it!

Kobato is not for everyone and im going to tell you why in a brief overview

Story 8

The story was original and sounded fantastic to me, however they could have done more with it. The story had its ups and downs first few episodes had me rolling and i really enjoyed them, then somewhere through the middle it got a little repetitive and somewhat old. Dont get me wrong it was still good but the ending is what made this very good. nice ending to an overall nice anime it really made the middle episodes worth it.

Art 10

Im sure you have read other reviews on ... this and im not the biggest art guy but kobato's Art was Fantastic. i would feel bad not giving this section a 10, it was just beautiful to look at and i would say alot of people will watch this just to see the Art.

sound 9

the music was nice it really fit the mood great, the OP and ED were nice as well as the song Kobato sings along with fujimoto playing the piano/organ.

Characters 8

Kobato was lovely in fact my new crush and iroyogi was a great comedy relief that kept the pass going and made this anime. fujimoto was ok nothing special but he does shine brightly in the last 3 episodes. I just absolutely feel in love with Kobato, if i could i would out here in anything and the same goes for the Plushie haha. If you substituted those two with any other type of character this would be horrible.

Enjoyment 8

It really made feel good after watching this, the only reason it isnt higher is due to the middle it was average, and the reason its this high is because the ending if you watch you will understand as well as the character that made this.

overall 8

just a re telling of the above statements, it really was good it was original, the characters were nice and the art and sound were out of this world.

The first thing that caught my eye on this anime was that it was by CLAMP. So, naturally, I expected it to be good.

Kobato was a wonderful anime and heart-warming too. At first, we know next to nothing about Kobato which prompts you to watch more. In the beginning of the anime, the theme is light-hearted and a bit of comedy (I know I laughed a lot just in the first episode). But near the bottom half of the anime, the plot develops more.

And in the last episode, I cried :) This was an anime I really enjoyed watching not only for ... it's art; but also the story, characters, and plot.

I give this sweet little anime a 90/100

I'm going to confess this: 2009 was NOT my best year, nor was it my favorite. Not because of anime (admittedly for me, 2009 was a pretty awesome anime year for me), but because of a lot of crap going on in my life. Whenever I feel down or just want to relax and take my mind off of things after a rough school day, I just sit down and watch my favorite anime, or just the ones that really make you feel good and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And lately there's been a boom in ... warm, good-hearted and pleasant anime in recent years thanks to Junichi Sato and the team behind the anime for Kozue Amano's manga, Aria. But the anime I'm reviewing isn't a Sato anime. It's a CLAMP title, and it's none other than Kobato!

Kobato is the story of a sweet and kind-hearted girl named Kobato Hanato who, with her abusive and ribald-natured stuffed canine companion Ioryogi (whose real name is Iorogi but she calls him the former because she can't say his name right), travels to earth in order to fulfill a mission which requires her to heal people's injured hearts and put those healed feelings into a little glass bottle (with a dove at the top! Cute!). Why? Because Kobato wants to go to a certain place, and to get there she has to completely fill the bottle with healed hearts within a year (in the anime at least). Simple enough, right?

It's actually not as simple as you think. This show may start off rather off-beat and a little cliche and bland at first, but as the series gets further to the end, it really shines and reveals itself to be something more. I often go by the philosophy that simplicity often shines better than extravagance, from simple stories to simple animation and anything in between. Kobato is the perfect example of this. It's story is simple enough and easy to either understand or get bored by. But oh lord the second half the show is what really makes it stand out like no other. I refuse to go into GREAT detail as to why, but I will say this: it focuses solely on its characters and by not forgetting what it wants to be.

Plus I kept smiling throughout every episode, not just because of how good it is, but because of one thing: Kobato herself. She may start off as a bit airheaded and somewhat childish (how old is she? 15? 18? She acts more childish than I do! And I'm autistic!), but the series really develops her character and does a great job at having her grow and mature throughout the show. Especially at the end (WHICH I WILL NOT TELL YOU ABOUT! Go watch the show to see my point!) where everything falls into place. Ioryogi the abusive fire-breathing toy pup was fun to watch too, even if I didn't exactly like his abusive behavior toward Kobato at times. The other characters, even the minor ones, are just as awesome too.

The soundtrack is nice and simple and sweet, ranging from little piano tunes to full melancholic violin pieces. It fits the show too. What bothers me is that I've often heard people say that this show has a rather low budget because of Madhouse (YES, Madhouse produced this anime, as they did with a million other CLAMP anime out there) being too busy on other shows. I don't think this is true. I think Kobato has great animation. To me, an anime with a low budget is an anime with badly drawn backgrounds, people with weirdly drawn bodies, body parts that just look out of place, and other stuff that just doesn't look right. Kobato has absolutely NONE of that. I actually think it has very nice animation, especially with the backgrounds (especially with scenes with flowers too. Very beautiful!).

While this show does have some flaws, they're relatively small so I won't point them out. In short, Kobato is a very simple, charming, nice, and pleasant little anime that gives you a nice, warm, welcoming hug and pulls you into Kobato's adorable mindset while showing you her perspective of the world. If you're looking for something nice and sweet to drag you away from the bombastic heaps of mecha, harem, and ecchi anime that are consuming the anime industry right now, Kobato is the show for you.

And on a side note, this anime got licensed by Sentai Filmworks. I'm so happy!

To put it simply, Kobato is a beautiful and endearing anime recommended for all ages. This anime contains sweet characters with laid back but meaningful episodes. Everything flows together in this anime. There are no fillers so every episode is used wisely.

The audience that would enjoy this the most are those who like fantasy with a slight touch of romance to the plot. This story also values other relationships as well like friendship.

What I like most about this anime is that it answers the main question/s with an delightful ending especially for the romantic softies, warm characters and beautiful color scheme.

Story: I would give ... a 10/10 but I'm in love with the anime so I might be biased,lol. So critically I would give it an 8. It can be a lil too slow paced for some. There isn't any action, it's light on the comedy and it's more slice of life feel to it than adventure even though Kobato journey is an adventure it's own right it's a humble one.

Art: I would give 10/10. The artwork fit the storyline and characters very well. The color scheme was warm and joyful, like main character Kobato and the story. The backgrounds were nice, nice details of the eyes (two tone eyes and white freckles). The artwork also had great sun beam (that's hard to describe but when you see the detail it's awesome). They had 3/D effects sneaked in there and that was excellent as well.

Sound: I would give an 8/10. I wasn't too hot on the music but it was nice not something I would want to buy though. There were no annoying voices! Yay!

Character: I would give 7/10. I give it a 7/10 because I would have like to known more about the twins and their mother relationship with their father if he existed.

Enjoyment: 8/10 I enjoyed this anime very much. I especially enjoyed Kobato's singing. That's what suckers you into the anime is the first song. I was really looked forward to more singing than what happened but I still enjoyed the anime regardless.

Overall: 8/10 If you can handle stories more about friendship than action this is anime for you. I would definitely rewatch this. I would recommend this anime to someone who like romance and stories about friendship more than any other genre it could be categorized as.

Sorry for any grammatical and/or spelling errors I didn't catch.

8 Story

Where do you wish to live if you’re given a chance? Watch Kobato and it might give you an idea. This is a story about a naïve girl named Kobato who came to earth to fulfill her wish, which is to go to a certain place. She has no memory of where did she came from. The only thing she remembers is her name and her mission why she go to Earth. In order to fulfill that wish, she has to find a mysterious bottle called “flask” and fill it with scarred hearts.
Kobato is only given one full season to fill ... the “flask”. She has to heal that scarred heart and upon healing there is a candy-like thing that will come out to that person she healed. During the story, we can see how Kobato regain her humanity. She learns how to feel, to be hurt and to love. She gains a lot of friends because of her pure heart. Even the reluctant Fujiwara become close to her. This closeness bothers her, for she is new to that feeling. She also remembers something her teacher told her. That she should not fall inlove with any person she cure the heart of.
There is also the noticeable crossover of Tsubasa Chronicles characters as part of their search for Sakura and other Clamp made Chobits, Xxxholic, and Wish characters but not the same person.
It shows different kind of love. It shows love for family, love for a friend, love for a lover and love for nature. An anime that will let you appreciate things that we often take for granted. Even with touch of magic it do relate in our society. The conflicts are “earthly familiar” that may happen to anyone.

8 Animation

The graphics is awesome. You’ll enjoy watching it since it has characters that are typical bishoujo and bishounen that are pleasant to eyes. It is neat and clear. It mostly used light and pastel colors that depict the mood of the entire show.

8.5 Sound

The background music suits the entire anime series since its relaxing although not as striking as other opening and ending songs. One of the highlight is Kobato’s singing on some episode that heals some of scarred heart of characters.

9 Characters

Since it’s a crossover of other characters from Clamp they are remembered whether they only made some cameo roles. The main character Kobato doesn’t have the strong personality that you’ll remember easily. She is the character that would let you think of the quotation “kill them with kindness”. You’ll also notice that her teacher, Ioryogi, may not be showy but really take care of her student Kobato. It also mentioned that the reason why he join Kobato was because it was is punishment for attempting to start a war with Heaven. He got a fondness for Kobato that we is even willing to sacrifice regaining back his true form for her happiness.

The series is a typical shoujo with a touch of magic and a slice of life that usually happen on reality. This is suited for young girls and young ladies who don’t want too much action and bloody scenes.
But because of this touch of magic, it makes some impossible things happen which saves the day. Although at first you’ll notice that it seems to be per episode series that usually ends with Kobato solving the day it do has a main story line and conflict that at first seems to be unnoticeable but arises at the middle of the series. This is one of series that seems ordinary at the start but will get you addicted as you watch. It also gives a satisfying ending that don’t give the feeling like “this should how they end it! or “why it end up like that?”

Kobato in and of itself is a pretty enjoyable, innocent anime if you watch episodes 1 up to 22. There is world building and buildup to a greater reveal in the background, whereas small stories about people and their problems of connecting with others are in the foreground. With her innocent and kind of clueless earnestness, Kobato manages to get through to all of them. It's calm, the pacing is relaxed, there are a lot of nice recurring characters as well as the usual Clamp cameos. It's a nice overall package.

Now the final two episodes however are a different beast. Kobato's wish that has been ... eluded to but has never been explained in more detail than "there is a place she wishes to go" gets revealed and it's actually pretty disappointing. There is no buildup to any of it, and there is a certain character relationship that develops gradually and fairly nicely, until in episode 23 the director decided to tell us that it was totally much further than the show ever presented and it feels unearned. The nicely weaved in details about the history of characters like Ioryogi and Ginsei are entirely ignored. It feels like the decision on how to end the show was made far too late.

Going into a little more detail, and spoilers from here on out - so proceed at your own risk! - let's get into the relationship between Kobato and Fujimoto.

At no point in the show does it feel anywhere near romantic. It progresses naturally, with stoic and efficient Fujimoto being annoyed with Kobatos childish antics at first, only to realize how her childlike innocence instills hope and has the power to mend relationships of those around her. He grows to care for her and to enjoy himself more. It's kind of understandable that Kobato grows to like him romantically, but not the other way around. Until the very end of episode 22, her keeps her at a distance, but by the beginning tof episode 23, we suddenly see a flashback of someone resembling him and someone resembling Kobato in what's clearly a setting different from the one of the show? It feels like the moment Kobato is gone from the apartment, Fujimoto just summons love for her out of nowhere and tries everything to get her back. Admittedly, he never says "I love you" or something like it, but it's still a huge jump with what he was comfortable expressing towards her beforehand.
And the whole "reincarnated previous lovers bound by fate" thing was just lame, dumb and comes out of nowhere. It feels like a shorthand for a development that was supposed to have been there, but ended up being cut out in favor of episodes that while not really considered filler, do have self-contained stories that don't amount to much.
Likewise the moment in episode 24, when all of a sudden, the reincarnated Kobato just gains her "memories" back through magic and that's the end of the show. It was really, really disappointing and kind of turned other exciting developments in the show sour for me since they didn't amount to anything and felt a little pointless in retrospect.

Overall, the show was enjoyable enough. If you like your calm, relaxing (if not quite Iyashikei) shows you'll enjoy this one, but don't expect the background details to amount to anything.