Please let me heal you!
Kobato Hanato has a wish. There's a specific place she wants to go to, but she is unable to travel there. In order for this wish to be granted, she's been tasked with filling up a large glass bottle with healed hearts. Her progress is overseen by Ioryogi, a foul-tempered blue stuffed dog who has his own reasons for seeing Kobato succeed: if she doesn't fill the bottle before the end of the fourth season, he and his colleges will be permanently stuck in their current, less powerful forms.To start her quest, Kobato is dropped into a small but thriving city. At first, her attempts to help the troubled all fail; earnest and cheerful though she is, she lacks a certain amount of common sense. In fact, she winds up being helped by Sayaka Okiura, a gentle woman who runs and teaches at a local kindergarten. She hires Kobato without any reservations, something that irks her employee Kiyokazu Fujimoto, a handsome young man with a sarcastic streak.
As her days at the kindergarten unfold, Kobato will learn what it truly means to heal wounded hearts... and maybe even fall in love.
Kobato. (こばと。) is an urban fantasy seinen manga by CLAMP. It started serialization in Monthly Sunday Gene-X in 2005 before moving to Monthly Newtype in 2006. It ended in 2011, finishing at six volumes. Yen Press released the English translation of the series.
A 24 episode anime adaptation premiered during the Fall 2009 season. Production was handled by Madhouse. It is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.
This series provides examples of:
- Anti-Hero: As it turns out, Okiura is not actually that much of a villain. It's revealed that he's playing the part of the villain to keep his father from getting involved. He still has genuine feelings for Sayaka.
- Balance Between Good and Evil: In the manga/anime, Heaven, Hell, and the Otherworld follow strict pact of nonaggression, with violators getting turned into stuffed animals.
- Big Bad: Okiura is the main antagonist, but he's really protecting Sayaka from the real villain, his father..
- Book Dumb: Subverted: Despite not being very street-smart (at all), Kobato does seem to understand the basics of how the world works, such as knowing what a prostitute is, but not realizing that's what others thought she was in the first chapter.
- The Cameo: Misaki, Tamayo and Ringo from Angelic Layer; Toya and Clow Reed from Cardcaptor Sakura; Chitose, Chi (renamed as Chiho), Freya (renamed Chise), Ueda and Yumi from Chobits; Kakei, Kazahaya, and Rikuo from Drug & Drop; Primera from Magic Knight Rayearth; Hinata and Shiro from Suki A Like Story; Usagi-san (as a costume) from Wish; Yuko, Watanuki, Himawari and the Lady Fortune Teller from ×××HOLiC. As expected from CLAMP. Ushagi-san appears as a messenger of god, just like he did in Wish, and both Kohaku and Shuichiro from the same manga are featured often.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Kobato mostly early on. Justified, since she has no memories and very little knowledge of the world.
- Crash-Into Hello: Kobato bumps into meeting both Takashi and some unnamed woman.
- Crossover:
- Both the anime and the manga cross over with Wish.
- The anime now crosses over with Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-, as of episode 20.
- And ×××HOLiC in episode 17.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Kobato keeps running into people and sometimes delicate objects.
- Dead All Along: Kobato herself, though the manga and anime provide different explanations for how she died. She always wears one of her nice hats, and not having her hat ever removed is Serious Business, though the fact that she wears several different ones means she can take them off. Turns out the reason for them is to hide a spiritual crown that signals her as being dead.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Kobato. At the end when she starts to disappear, she confesses her love to Fujimoto.
- Everyone Can See It: Sayaka often teases Fujimoto about having some kind of affection for Kobato. Doumoto even said that she seemed to be "very important to him".
- Expy: Kobato and Fujimoto look disturbingly like older, longer-haired versions of respectively Sakura and Syaoran from Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-. With major personality changes.
- Flanderization: In the anime, Kobato can come off as more stupid rather than naive, and Fujimoto's even more jerkass than in the manga.
- Gecko Ending: The anime received one due the manga being on hiatus at the time of airing. Kobato fails to fill her bottle with konpeito. But before she can be erased from existence, Fujimoto arrives in time for her to tell him that he was her "most important person". This causes Fujimoto's heart to heal and the konpeito that is produced pushes her mission result from "failure" to "pass". But unlike the manga, Kobato is not allowed to change her wish. This results in her returning to her loved ones and being erased from everyone else's memories. Because of this, Ioryogi and his gang give up their chances at returning to their true forms in order for Kobato and Fujimoto to reunite and gain their memories back.
- Genki Girl: Kobato is quite enthusiastic and energetic at times.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Okiura's Father, that is the boss of the recurring main antagonist Okiura, and the true villain.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Okiura's justification for closing down the nursery, since he wanted to protect Sayaka from his father.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Is there anyone in the manga who doesn't claim this at some point?
- Invisible Backup Band: Kobato uses hers right off the bat in the anime. She's accompanied not only by a piano, but also by synth effects, a spotlight, and flower petals.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- Fujimoto, for all his bluster, is honestly concerned about Sayaka, even to the point of juggling multiple jobs for her.
- Ioryogi. He constantly punishes and yells at Kobato, but secretly cares for her very much.
- Mysterious Past: Setting the other characters' pasts aside, even Kobato's past and reasons for her "mission" is unknown.
- Never Bareheaded: Kobato herself is never seen in public without some kind of hat. This turns out to be justified, since her hats hide a spiritual crown which indicates that she's actually dead.
- Perpetual Poverty: Kobato has very few belongings.
- Rage Against the Heavens: In the manga/anime, it's mentioned that Ioryogi's current form is punishment for trying to start a war with Heaven. It's never stated why, but it's implied he did it for love. In recent chapters of the manga, it is confirmed that he started the war to obtain an angel he loved.
- Reincarnation Romance: Kobato reincarnates and is reunited with her beloved Fujimoto in the ending. Both anime and manga.
- Rescue Romance: Fujimoto saves Kobato from a Dirty Old Man the first time they meet, and sure enough, there is a romance between them.
- Running Gag: Kobato falling down, lampshaded by Ioryogi ("Her running gag strikes again...")
- Sealed Evil in a Teddy Bear: Ioryogi. We don't know exactly what he is unsealed, but he caused a lot of trouble in Heaven, where he is hoping to return.
- That Came Out Wrong: When Kobato attempts to heal others by asking them point-blank 'Please let me heal you!'. This either labeled her as a weirdo or, by one man, a prostitute.
- Unlimited Wardrobe: Kobato's outfit changes every day. This is weird, considering she has little money, and her only possessions are a futon, a bottle, and an empty suitcase. Though this is probably the least mysterious thing about her.
- Work Off the Debt: Fujimoto is working not for himself, but instead to alleviate Sayaka's debt.
