Kobato

is a Japanese manga series by Clamp. It was first published in Shogakukan's manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X from December 2004 to August 2005, under the title Kobato (kari). It was later serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Newtype magazine from October 2006 to July 2011. Its chapters were collected in six volumes. The story features a mysterious young girl, Kobato Hanato, who works in a local kindergarten. In North America, the manga was first published by Newtype USA and later licensed by Yen Press. A 24-episode anime television series adaptation by Madhouse was broadcast from October 2009 to March 2010.

==Story== Kobato is a sweet, perky, cute yet naïve girl who has a contract: in order to be allowed to go to a certain place, she must fill a mysterious bottle with people's "healed hearts", but the condition is that she must do so before four seasons end. As Kobato attempts to fulfill her mission, she is accompanied by Ioryogi—a spirit in the form of a dog plushie. Because Ioryogi is the cause of a punishment imposed on him and his friends from the spirit world, he must guide Kobato and ensure that she succeeds in her mission; so that he and his friends might return to their true forms.