Chobits is serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine (katakana = yangu magajin).
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Chobits
Chapter 2
Manga by CLAMP
Translation by Kristin [not for profit!]
Key:
() = hand-written text (not printed)
** = action/description
[] = clarification
{} = translator's editorial comments
pg. 59
Cover page: Our persocon girl looking demure and slightly hopeful.
pg. 60
Bars of morning sunlight fall on Hideki as he lies zonked out on his futon. Consciousness comes
slowly and painfully.
Hideki: Urrrrrrrr... it's bright....
Squeezing his eyes shut, he rolls over away from the window.
Hideki: Man, I really gotta get one of those light-blocking curtains. (But I don't have the money.)
Suddenly a pair of wide dark eyes and a cute nose appear in very close proximity to his face.
Persocon: Chii.
Hideki: UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
His scream rings out above the rundown apartment complex.
pg. 61
He scrambles to the other side of the room in terror before focusing in on the bewildered
computer girl's ears. [She's wearing one of Hideki's t-shirts, which is much too big for her,
but shows off her curves reasonably well.]
Hideki: *calming down* Oh, that's right.
[Image of SD Hideki hauling his prize away from the trash heap with the word "TAKEOUT" above it.]
Hideki: *vastly relieved* I found a persocon last night!!
pg. 62
Persocon: ....Chii?
Hideki: I guess you can't say anything but "chii," huh.
Persocon: Chii.
Hideki: Well, after all, you were lying in the trash heap. *patting her on the head* (Probably
there's something broken in there somewhere.)
He glances down in surprise as the persocon's hand clutches at his shirt. She is gazing up at
him with an expression of fearful pleading worthy of an abandoned kitten. {Oh, gawd...why am I
having Clover 4 flashbacks?}
pg. 63
Hideki turns red.
Hideki: Aw, don't look like that. *patting her on the head again* You worried I'm gonna throw
you out?
He smiles warmly.
Hideki: I found you, so I'm gonna put you to good use.
She perks up at once...
pg. 64
...and throws her arms around Hideki, hugging him tight.
Persocon: Chii.....
He squeezes back.
Hideki: *hearts* [thinking] Damn, she's cute--all sleek and warm. If it weren't for these
ears, she could be a regular girl. I think I could start to understand the guys who name their
persocon.
He draws back and looks at her.
Hideki: Um, hey.
Persocon: Chi?
pg. 65
Hideki: I don't really know what to call you, so can I call you "Chii"?
The persocon looks thrilled, and goes in for another squeeze.
Hideki: [thinking] And her--her breasts are soft, too... *turning violently red* WHAT is
with me, getting worked up over a persocon!?
He pushes her back swiftly, and she blinks in confusion.
Chii: Chii?
pg. 66
Hideki: A-ANYWAY! We gotta figure out what "Chii" can do! (Like, what did the guy before me
use you for? Accounting? Calculation? Internet?)
Chii: Chii.
Hideki: THAT'S RIGHT!!
His gaze shifts to the other side of the room, and we see that he does indeed have a few worldly
possessions, after all: a tv and an impressive pile of rumpled clothes and publications. He
jumps up from the futon and starts digging through the mess as Chii looks on.
Hideki: I still have that computer book that one guy at school gave me. Ah, I know it's in here
somewhere.
Chii picks up one of the magazines he has thrown aside in his search and examines it. It turns out
to be a porn mag entitled, simply, "Nudity."
Hideki: FOUND IT!
Beaming, he lifts up the book and turns to show it to Chii.
Hideki: This, this is....
pg. 67
Chii, meanwhile, is innocently doing her best to mimic the various poses of the girls in the
magazine, and Hideki's t-shirt is big, but not big enough to cover, um, everything.
Hideki: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH (I can see her--)
He snatches the magazine away from her.
Chii: *blinking* Chii?
Hideki: And what am I getting all sweaty about? This is a persocon! Take it easy, big guy!
He turns back to Chii and points sternly.
Hideki: Anyway, you sit! (Got that?)
She obeys, wide-eyed and SD.
pg. 68
He opens the book and begins to read.
Hideki: Okay, first, "To check your persocon's performance, in the personcon's ear is...."
He discovers that Chii's ear opens to reveal a three-pronged cord.
Hideki: Ah, here it is. This thing, huh. "Connect to your TV monitor," it says...
He does so.
Hideki: I wonder if this is gonna work. I brought this thing from home, so it's really old.
Nonetheless, he smiles with anticipation as he plugs in the cords.
Hideki: [thinking] They're all over the place, right? Girls who get found, and then stick around
for good.
Chii sits quietly, looking a little blank.
Hideki: [thinking] They're always really cute!
pg. 69
Hideki: [thinking] And they have mysterious powers, are all-purpose, and fall in love
with the guy they live with! *thumbs-up* Right! They'll do anything for you!
Cooking, cleaning, and other stuff too!
He turns red again.
pg. 70
Hideki: THERE'S LOTS OF 'EM! (Wahahaha) I'VE READ ABOUT 'EM! It's like finding a girl Doraemon!
Chii: Chi?
Hideki: *tears of joy pouring from his eyes* So, I really am a lucky bastard!?
pg. 71
Hideki: Okay! "At this point, a set of specs will appear on the display, and...."
(?? Specs? What?)
The screen reads:
NO DATA
Hideki: Huh?
He reads on.
Hideki: If the alert "No data" appears, either the data has been lost, or the model has not yet
been formatted in-store. In this situation, please have OS software installed in-store. Without
software, the persocon cannot function."
pg. 72
Hideki: *freaking out* AND THE REASON I BROUGHT HOME A PERSOCON OFF THE STREET IS THAT I DON'T
HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY---!!
He covers his face with one arm and bawls.
Hideki: YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS ISN'T A GIRL DORAEMON---?!! [Kanji above his head: LAMENTATION]
Chii: *mimicking his pose* Chi--?
To be continued in the next issue.
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Note: I'm calling Chii a "she" since she definitely looks female, even if she isn't technically
gendered in the way living things are. Just can't bring myself to call anybody with a body
like that an "it." ^_^;;;
Comments etc. to kolson00@yahoo.com
Sekai Seifuku
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Fountain/4000/ (
geocities.com/tokyo/fountain) (
geocities.com/tokyo)