Kobato. is a 24 episode anime adaption of the manga of the same name by CLAMP. The series premiered in the autumn of 2009, animated by Madhouse and with scripts supervised by CLAMP's Nanase Ohkawa[1][2] and XxxHolic writer Michiko Yokote. The anime began its broadcast on October 6, 2009.[3]
Hiromi Katō, the character designer of Kobato. said that "Kobato. itself is kind of different from past CLAMP works, especially the way the eyes are drawn, we are trying to make it as close as we can to the original. The costumes will change in each episode."
The opening theme Magic Number is performed by Maaya Sakamoto and the ending theme Jellyfish no Kokuhaku by Megumi Nakajima.[4] A second ending theme, starting from episode 20 is Watashi ni Dekiru Koto performed by Megumi Nakajima.
| # | Title | Original airdate[5] |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "… Wishful Girl." "… Negau Shōjo." (…願う少女。) |
October 6, 2009 |
| Kobato arrives in the Human World and takes on several tests presented to her by Ioryogi in order to prove herself worthy of the bottle. She has varying degrees of success in these tests, but after her singing calms a crying baby, she receives the bottle. | ||
| 02 | "… The Konpeito's Shine." "… Konpeitō no Kagayaki." (…コンペイトウの輝き。) |
October 13, 2009 |
| Ioryogi tells Kobato she must heal people's heart in order to fill her bottle. She runs into a man giving out tissues and helps him out by taking the whole box. While passing them out, she walks into the same stranger from before. Kobato follows him to say thank you, and ends up at a nursery. She finds out that the stranger, Fujimoto, works there, and spends the days playing with the children there. At the end of the day, she finds a boy from the nursery on a swing set. He tells her that his mother can't pick him up yet because she has to work, but asks Kobato not to think badly of her because she is working hard for his sake. Kobato praises his mother, healing his heart and earning her her first Konpeito. | ||
| 03 | "… The Rain's Gift." "… Ame no Okurimono." (…雨の贈りもの。) |
October 20, 2009 |
| Sayaka-sensei spots Kobato sleeping in a park and takes her to a friend, Chitose Mihara, who gives her a room in her apartment building. Kobato runs into a school girl outside and the next day after failing to help anyone, gets her umbrella stolen and runs into the school girl again, who lets Kobato borrow her umbrella. They meet again later and Mustumi sees her friend and crush Katsuragi underneath an umbrella with a girl. The next day, Kobato asks Katsuragi to share an umbrella with Mustumi. Mustumi meets him and after talking about it he agrees and they leave together, giving Kobato another konpeito. | ||
| 04 | "… When the Green Leaves Flourish." "… Aoba no Tokimeki." (…青葉のときめき。) |
October 27, 2009 |
| Kobato meets a sad looking angel Kohaku in the streets and sees her again the next day with the man Kohaku loves. Kobato follows her and sees Kohaku's power of rain. After talking to Kohaku, Kobato is determined to make Kohaku and her lover go on a date. Kobato takes part in a lottery to get two amusement park tickets, but ends up with an crocodile doll. She bumps into Fujimoto, who gives her his tickets for the stuffed animal, and she hurries to Kohaku again, giving her the tickets. At the amusement park, another angel appears saying that Kobato only has a year before the magic bottle is taken away from her. | ||
| 05 | "… Firefly's Promise." "… Hotaru no Yakusoku." (…ホタルのやくそく。) |
November 10, 2009 |
| While trying to learn about reading a picture book to the children, Kobato meets the author of the book, who asks her to not read it anymore. Wondering about his strange request, she decides to find a way to cheer him up, and in the process gains another konpeito. | ||
| 06 | "… Little Hide and Seek." "… Chiisana Kakurenbo." (…小さなかくれんぼ。) |
November 17, 2009 |
| The staff of Yomogi Nursery plan a field trip with the children but before departing Kobato receives a call from a man who claims that the nursery will be shut down; Ioryogi stays behind to do some investigation about it. | ||
| 07 | "… A Kind Person." "… Yasashii Hito." (…やさしいひと。) |
November 24, 2009 |
| Kobato finds that Fujimoto forgot a report at the nursery and while looking for him at the university to give it back, she runs into one of his friends Domoto, a young man always prone to help others and worried about Fujimoto's anti-social behavior. | ||
| 08 | "… A Kitten's Lullaby." "… Koneko no Komoriuta." (…こねこの子守歌。) |
December 1, 2009 |
| Kobato finds a stray kitten and decides to take it home with her. However, Chiho and Chise say that their mother does not allow pets in the apartment and the three decide to look for a owner for the cat, but once they do, the two sisters begin to remember how lonely they feel, and it is up to Kobato to cheer them up. | ||
| 09 | "… Memories of Summer." "… Natsu no Kioku." (…夏の記憶。) |
December 8, 2009 |
| The Nursery is on Summer break and Kobato must help two girls whose friendship is strained after one of them begins to dedicate herself almost entirely to photography. | ||
| 10 | "… The Day of the Organ and the Boy." "… Orugan to Shōnen no Hi." (…オルガンと少年の日。) |
December 15, 2009 |
| Kobato gets to know more about Fujimoto's childhood through Sayaka-sensei. | ||
| 11 | "… Detective Kobato Hanato." "… Tantei Hanato Kobato." (…探偵 花戸小鳩。) |
December 22, 2009 |
| Yomogi Nursery is having problems repaying debts, and Kobato decides to help out at Tirol Confectionery. She ends up playing detective when she and co-worker Yumi see their employer looking in poor spirits. | ||
| 12 | "… Silver Eyes." "… Gin'iro no Hitomi." (…銀色の瞳。) |
January 5, 2010 |
| Kobato and Ioryogi are in a park, when an old acquaintance of Ioryogi's, Ginsei, shows up. Ginsei steals Kobato's bottle, causing a fight between him and Ioryogi. | ||
| 13 | "… The Angel and the Protected Person." "… Tenshi to Mamoribito." (…天使と守り人。) |
January 12, 2010 |
| Fall comes and Kobato and Ioryogi spot a giant Ginkgo tree. While collecting fallen leaves from the tree with the children, Kobato learns that it is to be torn down, and decides to look for a way to prevent it. | ||
| 14 | "… That which is Sought at Sunset." "… Tasogare no Sagashimono." (…黄昏の探しもの。) |
January 19, 2010 |
| Kobato and Fujimoto take the children to pick some potatoes when they spot a boy stealing some potatoes for himself. After tracking down the culprit, they find that he actually ran away from his home tired of his grandfather's yelling. | ||
| 15 | "… Secret Wish." "… Himetaru Inori." (…秘めたる祈り。) |
January 26, 2010 |
| Sayaka falls ill and Kobato does her best to aid on her recovery. | ||
| 16 | "… Mysterious Life-Form." "… Nazo no Seimeitai." (…謎の生命体。) |
February 2, 2010 |
| The timeline for the nursery to pay their debts is running out and Kobato convinces the children to hold a bazaar in order to raise funds to prevent it from being closed. Later, Kobato meets face to face with Okiura, the debt collector and is told that he is actually Sayaka's husband. | ||
| 17 | "… Mysterious Life-Form, Part Two." "… Nazo no Seimeitai, Ni-gō." (…謎の生命体、2号。) |
February 9, 2010 |
| While advertising for the bazaar, Kobato finds a worn down Ioryogi who was struggling to protect his precious box of baumkuchen from harm. | ||
| 18 | "… The Warmth of a Chilling Wind." "… Kogarashi no Nukumori." (…木枯らしのぬくもり。) |
February 16, 2010 |
| Winter arrives and Kobato is warned by Ioryogi that she must accomplish her mission until next spring. To complicate matters, one of Okiura's thugs hangs at the nursery's door intimidating the children's parents until he collapses on the ground and Kobato takes him to a hospital along Domoto. Later, Kobato hears a surprising confession from Domoto, what she misunderstands. | ||
| 19 | "… White Christmas." "… Howaito Kurisumasu." (…ホワイトクリスマス。) |
February 23, 2010 |
| Christmas is approaching, but Fujimoto has been treating Kobato very coldly, making her feel certain that he now despises her. Domoto, who has been paying special attention to Kobato recently, walks home with her, but she breaks down and tells him about her problems with Fujimoto, saying that she can't stop thinking about him recently, but her heart aches whenever she does. Domoto decides that helping her and Fujimoto make up would be the perfect present for Kobato. | ||
| 20 | "… Travelers." "… Tabi o Suru Hito." (…旅をするひと。) |
March 2, 2010 |
| WIth Valentine's Day coming up, Kobato wants to throw a party at the nursery, and decides to start working at Tirol again to pay for it. After work, however, she sees a flash and hears some voices, one of them much like Ioryogi's. They turn out to be world-jumping travelers Syaoran, Fye, Kurogane and Mokona, who she ends up letting stay in her room until they have to leave again. They decide to work to pay her back. At Tirol, Syaoran says that he has someone waiting for him, but he does not know when he will be able to see her again. They all have to leave again after only a night, but have earned enough money that by Valentine's day Kobato has more than enough to pay for the party. | ||
| 21 | "… Spring's Footsteps." "… Haru no Ashioto." (…春の足音。) |
March 9, 2010 |
| Okiura shows up again, demanding payment. Kobato gets very worried, and decides to wait outside his office until he speaks with her. She waits for a very long time, and when he comes out she asks him about his feelings for Sayaka-sensei. She passes out from the cold rain, and Okiura carries her back to the nursery, where Sayaka and Okiura are finally able to resolve the tension. Ioryogi stares out the window at the first blossoms of spring... time's up. | ||
| 22 | "… The Day of Goodbye." "… Sayonara no Hi." (…さよならの日。) |
March 16, 2010 |
| The Nursery is torn down, leaving Kobato with a sense of despair. She knows that she wants to help out Fujimoto, but she doesn't have the time left. He walks away from her, thinking she was only pitying him after the accident he had, and her heart hurts but she doesn't know why. Usagi shows up with a message from heaven, and Ioryogi gets on his hands and knees to beg, "Just one more season." | ||
| 23 | "… Kobato's Wish." "… Kobato no Negai." (…こばとの願い。) |
March 23, 2010 |
| The due date of Kobato's mission has come, yet Kobato has not filled the bottle. She says goodbye to everyone except Fujimoto, who then finds her in the park. When Fujimoto hears the truth about Kobato, he does not want her to leave, and a Konpeito comes out from him which fills the bottle. Kobato's wish is finally granted but it is more of a curse then a wish. Due to the contract, Kobato must leave Fujimoto and go to the place she wished to go to. | ||
| 24 | "The Day to Come Tomorrow…" "Ashita Kuru Hi…" (あした来る日…。) |
March 23, 2010 |
| After Kobato leaves, everyone forgets about her. Fujimoto suddenly remembers her after seeing a Konpeito of hers, then rushes around asking people if they remember Kobato. All of them say no until he asks Kohaku. She tells him the truth about Kobato, and that they will surely meet again. Next there is a time skip of at least four years, when Fujimoto becomes a lawyer. When Fujimoto is asked to help with a case of inheritance, he meets Kobato at an old estate, who has forgotten the previous memories. Kobato's memory is later recalled by the Konpeito Fujimoto gives her and the song she is asked to sing. Finally we see all the lives Kobato touched when she was gathering Konpeitos. | ||
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