the beautiful world: Kobato's touching moment- an overview (part 1)

by CLAMP

Kobato was a nice anime with some very sweet and sad moments, that invoked contemplation on some life issues that almost anyone faces. Yet it wasn't perfect. Some moments were strong some other more weak. It was spirit-uplifting though and very warm, so I watched it till the end.

(Warning: Image heavy)

I must admit that I'm a bit disappointed always when a CLAMP work is adapted into anime, because it's never enough to justify the beauty of the manga: from the awesomely beautiful character and background design to the strength of plot. In the end of the anime there were many unaswered questions (who Ioryogi and his friends were, why did they fought with Heaven, why did Ioryogi took Kobato under his wing, why Kobato died and what happened to the Kobato's-dimension-Fujimoto and how were the two of them related). Also, the end didn't make much sense for me...wasn't Kobato supposed to go to her dimension? Why did he end up with our well-known Fujimoto. AND: most importantly MADHOUSE or CLAMP made a mistake that might have gotten unnoticed by many. In the first episode, when Kobato sang a song for the baby under the cherry blossoms, Ioryogi comments on how sweet is her voice and compares it to Kohaku, who was an angel. I assumed back then, as every logical person would, that Kobato must be an angel. And that under her hat there were a pair of dove's wings, since Kobato means dove and the logo of the series as well as her bag and the bottle star a dove. BUT, it seems that half-way through the series someone decided that, no, Kobato won't be a heaven creature. She'll be a soul- duh??? And under her hat there's a glowing crown. Then where ~~the hell~~ does the dove image stick? Why is she named like this? CLAMP give names that enclose a fate or a feature of the person who bears it. And if you don't believe me, check these pages: ioryogi is in love with kobato??? and if this isn't kobato, who is? I stumbled somewhere on net on these enlighting pages, yet I searched and couldn't find the one who first pointed this out, so sorry that I can't credit anyone. I REALLY MUST read the manga...

One last complain: CLAMP starts recycling somehow the designs of her characters. The girl with the umbrella in early episodes as well as the wife of the writer looked like Yuzuriha from X a bit. And Fujimoto looks like Syaoran with a long ponytail and Kobato a bit like Sakura with hair extensions... (I wonder how they wash such long hair...mainly how long it takes to dry...especially Fujimoto didn't have much time for hair care...) Ok, the themes are themes. Always reoccuring, like hitsuzen. But kurogane's anime blog showed another resemblance: in the ending episodes, the barrier and hands 'touching' resemble Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (TRC) ...interesting... Not that bad a thing...

Now let's go to what I liked a lot about this series. One thing was Kobato's song, that to be completely honest I'd like to have more than one. Because it was the same song over and over again. Yet its lyrics are marvelous, the melody is 'heavenly' (pun intended :P) and the different visual representations of it were more than nice. My favourite one is of episode 19, Christmas night with Fujimoto.

Flowers bloom in spring, oh, summer unfolds in the sky
They’re engraved and sparkling in my heart
Rain falls in the morning, even on a day when I shut the window
The light overflowing to my chest is from above the clouds

Joy and sorrow, I hold everything close while I’m walking
They’re things that firmly join my hand and your hand together

Autumn is at the waterside, winter lurks at the treetop
There’s a boundless kindness deep in the world
Every time when night comes, let’s offer a prayer
Let’s quietly greet the day to come tomorrow

Oh, a voice calling out from far, far away guides me
As if it smiles, as if it sings, the sound of wind echoes
Joy and sorrow, I hold everything close while I’m walking
They’re things that firmly join my hand and your hand together

Translation from Words of Songs

And since I mentioned the Christmas episode I can't forget the beautiful subtle way that emotions of love were conveyed in the series. Especially Domoto's. He didn't say any cheesy line like 'I love you'. He confessed his feelings in a non-direct way telling Kobato that he likes kind-hearted girls like her. Surely, someone can object and say that he's a coward and he should be straight-forward especially with a baka like Kobato. I, myself, always support straightforwardness in expressing emotions. I can't smell my nails to understand what the other person really wants and feels. Yet Domoto's feelings moved me. He started escorting her home, too. Now, don't tell that this isn't cute and sweet!

And what I liked the most are the moments that follow (screenshots of this part are taken by Kitsune on Kitsune's thoughts, I didn't have the patience to screencap more than two episodes-see part 2):