Kobato. (こばと。) premiered in Monthly Sunday Gene-X in January 2005. Seven chapters were released under the title of こばと。(仮) (Kobato. (Kari), Kobato. (Temporary)), but the series was put on hiatus in late 2005. It returned to publication in Newtype magazine's November 2006 Japanese edition; the story has subsequently been restarted at an earlier point in the original timeline. The story features a mysterious young girl, Hanato Kobato, who works in a local kindergarten.
The first volume of the manga was released by Kadokawa Shoten on December 26, 2007.
Kobato. was original published in 'Monthly Sunday Gene-X' in 2005 and was put on hiatus that same year. In 2006 Kobato. returned in the magazine 'Newtype' where it appeared monthly.
In English, Kobato. appeared in 'NewtypeUSA' but as of February 2008, the magazine ceased publication.
Plot
Kobato is a sweet and perky girl, but also extremely naive about the world around her. She has a "mission" to fill her mysterious bottle with people's hearts she heals so her wish to go a certain place can be granted. However, the restriction is that she is not allowed to fall in love with any person whose heart she heals.
As Kobato attempts to fulfill her mission, she is accompanied by Ioryogi, a spirit in the form of a dog plushie. Because Ioryogi is responsible for a punishment that has been applied to him and his friends from the spiritual world, he must guide Kobato and ensure that she succeeds her mission so he and his friends might return to their true form or else, they will never return to their true form.
Age: Unknown Gender: Female Voice: Kana Hanazawa (JP), N/A (EN)
A strange and naïve girl with a kind heart, never wanting to see someone suffer or get hurt. She is very innocent and dedicated. It is also noted that she is a beautiful singer. Despite her role as the titular character, she is a bit of an enigma within the series, as her origins have yet to be explained. She seeks to heal the hearts of others, resulting in the filling up of a mysterious bottle called a "flask" with the suffering of those people's hearts so that someday she will be able to go to a certain place that she really wants to go. It has been implied that she came from another dimension. She seems to have no memories of her past. Cameos & Appearances: CLAMP in Wonderland2
Age: Unknown Gender: Male Voice: Tetsu Inada (JP), N/A (EN)
Kobato's companion, who appears as a stuffed toy dog that she carries around. He's actually very foul-mouthed, short-tempered, and cruel; his features twisting horrifically when aggravated or enraged. He tends to scathingly criticize or hit Kobato for her naïveté and stupidity and often calls her "Dobato" (lit. Stupid Dove). Despite the lack of respect he shows Kobato, he will always acknowledge her efforts when he feels she deserves it, and seems to be set on helping Kobato achieve her goal. He is seen to really care for her and comforts her in his own way when she is down, such as patting her head to encourage her. Cameos & Appearances: CLAMP in Wonderland2
Age: Unknown Gender: Male Voice: Tomoaki Maeno (JP), N/A (EN)
A blunt, sarcastic young man working at the same kindergarten as Kobato. He is also Kobato's neighbor, living in the same complex under the ownership of Chitose. He has known Sayaka for many years and appears to have strong feelings for her, showing much concern over and being fiercely defensive of her. Upon first meeting Kobato, he is rather suspicious of the unusual girl, as he does not want Sayaka to be hurt by another person. He often pokes fun at and teases Kobato, which is unusual as he generally ignores people he does not like; as a result, Sayaka interprets his actions toward the girl as affection. Regardless of his initial distrust of Kobato, he has shown signs of warming up to her and now seems to care about her well being. Kobato notes that he appears to be hiding some emotional pain of his own.As a child, Fujimoto was an orphan taken in by Sayaka's father and did not get along with his peers. He had been studying to become a lawyer, but stopped going to his college classes when it became apparent Sayaka's need for help had become increasingly desperate. He works at various part-time jobs throughout the day in order to help support the kindergarten, as he is attached to Sayaka and feels indebted to her family for taking care of him in his youth.
When Kobato disappears from the Yomogi Kindergarten, although his memory of her has been erased, Fujimoto finds himself crying helplessly, and he tells Sayaka and Kazuto that he feels he ..."just lost something incredibly precious." Years later, when Kobato (in a new body that looks exactly like her old one) comes to the kindergarten to be interviewed to help, Ushagi descends, and Fujimoto's memories of Kobato are restored. Cameos & Appearances: CLAMP in Wonderland2
Age: Unknown Gender: Female Voice: Fumiko Orikasa (JP), N/A (EN)
The teacher and principal of Yomogi Nursery, a local kindergarten where Kobato works. She has known Kiyokazu since he was seven; the age when her family adopted him. She also went to the same high school as Chitose. She is a kind and trusting person, willing to let Kobato assist her at the school even with Fujimoto's obvious mistrust. Upon meeting Sayaka, Kobato wishes to heal the apparent emotional pain in her heart. Sayaka is in debt due to an event in the past involving her father; in spite of this she continues to try her best at keeping the school going. Sayaka was once married to Okiura, the debt collector who frequently pesters her to close down the school. Despite having already divorced him, she has yet to change back her last name for unknown reasons. Cameos & Appearances: TBA
Age: Unknown Gender: Female Voice: Houko Kuwashima (JP), N/A (EN)
The kind and generous landlady of Kobato's apartment and Sayaka's old classmate. She is married and has twin daughters, Chise and Chiho. Fujimoto also lives in Chitose's apartment complex. Cameos & Appearances: Chobits, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Chiho & Chise Mihara
三原 千帆 & 三原 千世, Mihara Chiho & Mihara Chise
Age: Unknown Gender: Female Voice: Megumi Nakajima (JP), N/A (EN)
Mihara Chitose's twin daughters. Like many children in the series, they are apparently very fond of Kobato. In the anime, while the two had helped Kobato find an owner for an abandoned kitten, the two had begun to remember how lonely they were. Kobato sings a song to cheer them up, and their hearts are healed. Cameos & Appearances: Chobits, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Kazuto Okiura
沖浦 和斗, Okiura Kazuto
Age: Unknown Gender: Male Voice: Shin'ichirou Miki (JP), N/A (EN)
A debt collector who appears at the end of the fifth chapter. He is also has some association with the Yakuza. He is noted in the series for smiling a lot and smoking. Okiura appears to be responsible for the constant impending closure of Sayaka's kindergarten and is also Sayaka's ex-husband. He seems to enjoy pestering and aggravating Fujimoto, the latter whom despises him for hurting Sayaka in the past. He seems to have developed an interest in Kobato following his first meeting with her. Despite his cheerful and collected nature, he has shown hints of a slightly more sinister side, possibly due to his Yakuza background. Okiura seems to show what may or may not be some genuine concern for Sayaka, despite his continuous threats to close down the school. Cameos & Appearances: TBA
Ginsei
銀生, Ginsei
Age: Unknown Gender: Male Voice: Daisuke Namikawa (JP), N/A (EN)
A mysterious creature who wears an eyepatch whom shares a history with Ioryogi, though he now appears to be on poor terms with him, and often challenges him to fights. Ginsei also has frequently stated that Ioryogi's current form is not his true form and also seems to be aware of Kobato's mission. He does not think highly of Kobato or Ioryogi's relationship with Kobato. It is implied that he wants Ioryogi to return to 'Heaven' for unknown reasons, as it was Ioryogi who took Ginsei in and trained him. In fact, it has been mentioned that Ioryogi was the one who gave Ginsei his name. Ginsei's appearance, like Ioryogi's, is implied to not be his actual form as when he stands atop a building overlooking Ioryogi and Kobato's apartment, his shadow is that of a young man with short hair. Cameos & Appearances: TBA
Genko
玄琥, Genko
Age: Unknown Gender: Male Voice: Rikiya Koyama (JP), N/A (EN)
A bear that runs a baumkuchen (European cake) shop in the middle of the woods in another dimension, and Ioryogi's acquaintance. One has to walk through the narrow space between the wall and a specific street light pole in order to have access to that dimension. Like Ioryogi, his current name, form and job are not his real one. By Ioryogi's request, Genko will use his information-gathering skills to find the whereabouts of Yomogi Nursery School and its employees. Ginsei reveals that Genko is an aristocrat from the other world. Cameos & Appearances: TBA
Suishou
水晶, Suishō
Age: Unknown Gender: Female Voice: N/A (JP), N/A (EN)
An angel with Kobato's exact appearance and voice. She met Iorogi when she got stuck in a tree and Iorogi was avoiding his duties as a prince of the Other World. They fell in love, and Iorogi started a war with Heaven so Suishou could be with him. However, due to the war, Kobato died. Without much hesitation, Suishou merged her soul with Kobato's, begging Iorogi to petition God for Kobato to be given any extra time possible.
Instead, Iorogi begged on bent-knee that both females be given their lives back. If Kobato achieved her wish, both she and the Angel Suishou would be released. However, they would only have as long as Suishou's merging with Kobato would have given the girl, or both of them would die, and Suishou would never be reincarnated.
Suishou repeatedly says that while she found his old form "plenty wonderful", she also likes his current form as a stuffed toy, which Ioryogi dismisses. In the end, she is still joined with Kobato, as the illness that plagued Kobato's former life is still affecting her, though she is unaware of this due to Suishou's presence. Suishou explains that, when Kobato comes to the end of this life and reincarnates, her next body will be healthy enough that she will no longer need Suishou's support. Cameos & Appearances: TBA
Crossovers
General CLAMP Universe
The apartment complex owned by Chitose Mihara and her family in Kobato. appears in other works by CLAMP; it can been seen in Chobits, xxxHolic and,Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle in Hanshin. Although, each complex is slightly different.
Chobits
Chitose Hibiya of Chobits and Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle appears as Chitose Mihara, Kobato's landlady.
Chi and Freya also appear as Chitose's daughters, named Chiho and Chise respectively.
Hiroyasu Ueda appears in exam 3, still as the owner of the Chiroru bakery. He makes another appearance in exam 5, this time with his assistant, Yumi Omura and again in exam 7 to give Kobato an umbrella.
Angelic Layer
Suzuhara Misaki, Kizaki Tamayo and Seto Ringo make cameo appearances in exam 9.
Magic Knight Rayearth
Primera also appears in exam 9.
xxxHolix
The fortune-teller from volume 2 appears in exam 4 and plays New Year's games with Kobato. Her fortune-telling pendulum and sand-dish appear as well. She appears in the first episode of the anime with her grandchild.
Kimihiro Watanuki from xxxHolic and the black Mokona (aka Larg) make their cameo appearance in episode 17.
Suki: A Like Story
Asahi Hinata and Asou Shiro appear in exam 7.
Drug & Drop
Kakei, Kazahaya Kudou and Himura Rikuou make cameo appearances as background characters.
In volume 6 of Kobato., Kobato herself is wearing the school uniform for the high school Hinata from Suki: A Like Story attends in Drug & Drop.
Cardcaptor Sakura
Touya Kinomoto, Sakura's brother, makes a cameo appearance in Drop 5 of Drug & Drop wearing a bunny costume, working as a mascot with Fujimoto at the Green Drugstore.
Wish
Kohaku is shown and discussed by Ioryogi and Genko in Drop 13, and also makes an appearance at Genko's shop in Chapter 16.5.
In the anime, Kohaku is mentioned in Episode 1 when Kobato was singing.
Kohaku and Shuichiro also appear in the 3rd and 4th episode of the anime. They are later seen in episodes 10, 12, 23 and 24.
The description about Kohaku and Shuichiro made by Kobaku in Episode 24 corresponds with the storyline of Wish.
The bunny costume Touya Kinomoto wears resembles Ushagi-san (usyagi), a messenger from heaven in Wish.
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Toshihiko, one of the children at the kindergarten, has appeared several times in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle.
On Chapter 15 while Genko is explaining the worlds, a picture of Yuuko and Clow Reed are shown.
In episode 20, the Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane and Mokona end up in Kobato's world. This takes place after the completion of the Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle manga.
Trivia
Ioryogi was originally Tsubaki Nekoi's mascot for Clamp's self-caricatures.
Okiura's given name has yet to be revealed in the manga, though is given "Kazuto" in a magazine article pertaining to the Kobato. anime.