The Servbot, known as Kobun (Japanese: コブン) in Japan, is a type of fictional sentient robot that appears in an assortment of video games and associated media developed and published by Capcom.
Within series fiction, Servbots are a group of childlike robots who follow their creator, the pirate Tron Bonne, as her loyal but incompetent henchmen.
Servbots have appeared in a number of official promotional material and merchandise released by Capcom, and have also been subject to fan labor efforts.
[5] A frequent running gag within the series involve the incompetence or ineptitude of various Servbot units, leading to disastrous outcomes and consequently punishment from Tron.
[13][14] The Servbots' appearances in other games developed by Capcom include Bionic Commando, Street Fighter X Tekken, and Onimusha 3: Demon Siege.
The Servbot is incorporated into Dead Rising series protagonist Frank West's moveset in the latter's crossover fighting game appearances.
[24] Other noteworthy Servbot-themed merchandise include a collector’s pin featuring Tron Bonne riding a Servbot mecha,[25] and plush toys.
[4][3] In response to a December 2012 announcement by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) about plans to send a 13-inch-tall humanoid robot to the International Space Station (ISS) during the following year to serve as assistants for human astronauts to carry out experiments on the station, Ian Chant from The Mary Sue compared the robot's concept and role to the Servbot, which he believed to be a close analog.
He praised a story arc which made a gag out of the Servbots' desire to seek redemption by opening a restaurant, which is misinterpreted as a bank-robbing operation by other characters.