It was first published in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X from December 2004 to August 2005, under the title Kobato (kari).

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.

[10] In April 2007, Newtype USA announced a special agreement with manga powerhouse Clamp to exclusively serialize Kobato in the pages of the magazine.

[12] In July 2009, Yen Press announced that they had acquired the license to publish Kobato in English in North America during their panel at San Diego Comic-Con.

[26] Lissa Pattillo of Anime News Network finds that the manga "is a delightfully charismatic read that's full of magic and mirth" and "evokes the charm of Clamp's shoujo series skill and has only just begun unraveling the mysteries of this likeable cast of characters".

[27] Theron Martin sees that the anime version "is often quite funny, not always predictable, and provides a solid story hook for future developments".

[29] Carlo Santos finds that "the series is either a ridiculous amalgam of fairytale dreck or a poignant slice-of-life with fantasy elements".