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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Rent | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:1903#1552] |
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Chaos;Head was a series that juggled a multiple number of genres throughout its run involving sci-fi, psychological thriller, mystery, otaku focus, action and harem romance. Such a volatile mix, especially for a 12-episode series, had its potential to make this show a train wreck yet despite some glaring issues, this series does succeed for the most part in making use of its multiple genres. Much of this series is focused on the developments of Takumi's character as he finds himself dragged into a series of bizarre murders that he wants no part of looking into, especially as he gets mysterious links on his computer that reveal the murders before they occur and his hikikomori lifestyle. His character does start off as utterly pathetic wanting nothing to do with the real world whenever possible and clearly suffering some form of paranoia as he fantasizes about one of the game characters he has in a figurine collection. This paranoia does worsen for him as he gets further dragged into the string of mysterious murders as he comes across a number of mysterious characters he isn't sure whether or not to trust and finds himself at points unsure whether or not whatever he imagines is in reality, thus doing enough to keep the viewer guessing if what they are seeing is real or one of Takumi's delusions. As for the whole mystery to the series, Chaos;Head slowly unveils more bits to the bigger picture of the string of murders being pulled off with the introduction of new characters, details on the exploitation of triggering paranoia via science and a powerful corporation with their own sadistic plans. Several of the characters introduced are of course the several girls that normally interact with Takumi at a number of points throughout the series. At first glance, they may seem like your typical dating sim character archetypes with sinister motives involving Takumi. Yet as the show progresses, there is more light shed on many of the girls introduced giving you enough sense of how they turned out and having legitimate reasons for being with Takumi throughout the series besides trying to hook up with the guy. However, all is not perfect with Chaos;Head. Compared to the other girls, Rimi's character felt a bit underdeveloped as her reasons for sticking with Takumi didn't seem as strong as the other girls and not much is fleshed out about her past before she became a Gigalomaniac. Not to mention I couldn't find myself buying Takumi and Rimi as a couple by the end of the series due to the lack of build up and development over the relationship becoming as such. Other issues I found with the show include the shallow villain once they reveal themselves and a shoddy ending that felt rushed and cliched. Chaos;Head did do well for the most part in juggling its multiple genres creating a decent plot focused on Takumi's paranoia and the unveiling of the reasons behind the string of murders taking place throughout the show. Despite some snags with development on a few characters and a messy ending, this was one of the better visual novel game spinoff titles I had a chance of seeing as of late. Last updated Saturday, April 16 2011. Created Saturday, April 16 2011. | ||||||||
| Buy | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
 Xenoknight
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[series:1903#2967] | ||
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HONORABLE MENTION ANIME WINNER - Most Mind-Boggling final review soon... What in the world is this! I'm speechless. This title certainly has originality going for it (and then some). A busty delusion that looks like Lala, beautiful women that have murderous intentions, and a main lead that is a total loser in the real world and cowers behind video games and anime (that sounds familiar - LOL). I think I found another great title... Ep 2: I had my eyes glued to the screen with this ep. Yua seemed like the girl of every man's dreams but that was too good to be true it seems. The scene where she shows her true goals was something to behold. I was actually kind of scared for a second there (LOL - that is a first ladies and gentleman). This title is insane. I can't describe it but it is just insane... Ep 3 was unbelievably intriguing. I really can't stand how powerful this series is. Every ep makes me more and more interested and I still can't understand that this is still the beginning of the series. How much more intense can it get? I would be a fool not to consider this a winner. Let me confirm a few more eps of this insanity first. Ep 4: I can't believe the nature of this story. I'm stunned after every blasted episode. I don't need any more evidence. I know true genius when I see it and therefore, this title makes the list. I can't remember when I had this much fun watching an anime (outside of my elite titles of course). Ep 5 was heavy on life ideology and philosophy, similar to the nature of xxxHOLiC. Things go from insane to outright impossible (but that's normal for a title of this caliber). We finally get some insight on just the what hell is going on. This title is the best I tell you... Ep 6 was too much. Things are now on a global scale and Taku needs to find what he is missing as quickly as possible before Shogun gets the best of the world! For the first time, I was kind of bored hearing about the GE-rates and the whole story with it. I know it was important but I got the gist of it and wanted the insanity to continue as soon as possible. Ep 7 was really tough with all the different explanations going on but after you cut out all the crap, you get the new Nozomi group who is responsible for the earthquake and wanting to create and make use of artificial Gigalomaniacs (Gigalo for short) (like Taku and the girls) for evil intentions (knew that was coming). Kozue, Aoi, and Taku form an alliance (against his will) and they vow to stop the Nozomi. Ep 8 was fierce! We get some solid combat as the team reaches the source of all their problems. The president of Nozomi attacks them and they have a great battle (though Taku was still a coward, he was the deciding factor that saved the girls). Ayase shows up as well and helps a little. Yua is nowhere to be found while Rimi meets with Shogun (!) to discuss how things should proceed. Looks like Taku can't be with her in the end and there is nobody else suited for him which means this title will lose out in that area or something very painful will have to happen to bend the rules of the story a little. Ep 9: "fun^10 x int^40 = Ir2". What an unbelievable episode. Frog keychains, Seven Knights of Gladiale, a captured little sister, a huge misunderstanding, and that damn Shogun. What is the deal with him exactly and why does it have to involve Taku? Damn this story for being so intriguing and interesting - LOL. Ep 10: WOW! Absolutely incredible episode as the final pieces of this mystery start to come together. This ep was unbelievable as we see two new Giglio become aware of their powers, the whole deal with Nanami gets revealed (that was a shocker), a certain character's death, the truth behind the main lead's existence, some powerful insight into a handful of characters (like Yua) and the enemy finally using the power of the Noah 2, forcing Shogun to reveal himself before a certain character to give that person their final mission... Outstanding in every sense of the word... At least we now know whose eyes those were. (LOL) I guess it's time to end this series because we've entered the final string of episodes... Ep 11: What else can I say!!! I praised this title to the absolute limit and with the events of this episode, I can only tell you to watch it for yourself to confirm my claims! I love this title to death and it's only going to get more and more twisted, sadistic, and unbelievable as we enter the final episode. My buddy Taku is not a weak a** coward anymore... (he became a "beast-warrior" overnight and is now a "G" for life ^_^) I think the end credit music is spectacular and truly embodies the perfection of this title. When she says "super special", I think of how "super special" this title really is and that (again) proves why it deserves honorable mention. Outstanding episode that had me at the edge of my seat... Ep 12: What a great anime adventure this has been... One of the best in the world. For those who have the same musical inclinations as myself, check out the end credits music in full (all final thanks go to gandouougi): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvw0_dQXg2s&feature=related Check out my award list to see some of the best anime titles in the world! Never forget Xenosaga. Last updated Thursday, February 12 2009. Created Thursday, December 11 2008. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Forbin
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[series:1903#1573] | ||||||
Analysis: All Fansubs Watched:
Sigh, my favorite series for 2008 trips on the last episode and falls flat on it's face. Episodes 1-10 were 'Grip the edge of my chair' Episode 11 introduced a character that had something 'missing' but it is back. WTF? Episode 12 was a completely rushed mess that should've been in broken into 3 episodes. Madhouse was obviously rushed on their 'crowning achievement for 2008'. The animation went from Great to Soso. Seira was done particularly well. Takumi on the other hand wasn't. It reminded me of Shuffle. Good mystery. Not enough of FES. Too much of Yua. (hehe) Rimi was unexplained. His sister's hand was unexplained. The ending was changed and not to the better. Norose was surprised that Kuropii can summon but already had her sample? All in all, a wonderful show with a crappy last episode (Except for the Harem Scene, that was priceless). And it's done! Last updated Monday, December 29 2008. Created Monday, October 13 2008. | ||||||||
| Rent |
 Stretch
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[series:1903#628] | ||||||
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(All episodes watched--twice): After watching the first episode I didn't know what the hell to make of this show--except that I was liking it. A grim, apocalyptic opening scene cut to a snappy OP sequence which suggested a completely different premise. The character designs reminded me of harmless and quickly forgotten romantic comedies like Canvas 2. The next scene, where protagonist Takki is awakened by the girl of his dreams (literally) had the WTF effect on me. What is this, I asked myself; a harem? delusions? parallel universes? reverse time flow? This seemed a lot like Welcome to the NHK with perhaps a touch of Ghost in the Shell, since a good deal of the story involves people who are so addicted to computerized virtual reality that they disdainfully refer to ordinary persons as "3-D People". This is freaky--a series of bizarre murders have taken place and Takki finds himself involved. You never know whether the next scene will be real or imaginary; I don't know whether to laugh or get the creeps. So far, I was doing more laughing than getting weirded out, and was looking eagerly forward to the next episode. Episode two made more sense although it was still unclear exactly what was going on. At least I had a grip on what might be real, and the confusion is skillfully managed so that it doesn't become frustrating and annoying. I appreciate the brief refresher summary of events up to this point which is provided at the beginning of each episode. Somehow episodes of this show seem to be around 26 minutes long. I was giggling with anticipation and excitement as I watched, and the show did not disappoint me. Indeed, the thought occured to me that this might well be my favorite new series of the season. Having given this show some thought--being a favorite of mine, it's worth thinking about--it occurs to me that what's unusual here is that any event could easily be a delusion on Taki's part. Did he really witness a murder, or is it all a figment of his imagination? On the one hand this is original and intriguing, but on the other I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will ultimately make some sense. There are so many different factors, from Noah II, to Di-Swords, to Shogun, to earthquakes, etc, that I can't keep track of them all and how they relate to one another. What exactly is Taku, and what does it mean for him to 'awaken'? I gave up expecting everything to snap neatly together like a jigsaw puzzle at any point, and made the best of what I understood. Actually, given the unreliability of Taki's experiences, the plot of this show strikes me as making a good deal more sense than a number of ones in which the characters have perfectly stable minds (which is sort of paradoxical). At least Taki's scrambled brains are a quite rational explanation for bizarre experiences, whereas it seems that many shows don't offer the slightest reason why strange things happen. I like the one-liners, the weird comments (see below) which still make some sense in the context of this show, which demonstrates how outlandish and original it is. Weird stuff keeps happening, and I'm having a hard time keeping track of it all; what is futuristic high technology and what is just madness? But unlike some shows where this would be very frustrating I remain entertained and eager for more. As the show progresses, Taku finds himself involved in what ought to be a bizarre delusion, yet evidence is mounting that it is indeed real. But wouldn't someone who is going mad be able to rationalize it all? They say that if you fear you're going mad, you're not, because if you really were you wouldn't realize it. Yet there's just enough plausibility, just enough evidence that these things really are happening, that Taku cannot be certain whether he has gone round the bend or not. The result is a hilarious and intriguing tale which firmly holds my interest. Episode eight, involving an attempt to destroy the supercomputer "Noah II" was especially fun, since it was bizarre in such a way that I couldn't help laughing. In episode ten the weirdness is ratcheted up yet another notch as Taku finds that nothing can be trusted. It reminds me of the quote that "the only thing I can be certain of is that I cannot be certain of anything". Taku begins to wonder if he himself is real; I would say to him (by paraphrasing another great philosophical truth), that he cannot be as crazy as he seems to be if he doesn't exist to begin with! In episode 11 Taku learns the startling truth about himself; because in a sense he has nothing left to lose, he musters the courage to settle things for himself rather than relying on the six Gigalomaniac girls as he has always done up until now. Even though I didn't understand every single detail, I thought that the final episode did a pretty good job of wrapping things up in a manner which both makes sense and is satisfying--far too many shows don't manage that. The scene where Takumi finally gained the upper hand was thrilling; after being kicked around repeatedly he suddenly attains a sort of awesome coolness and absolutely crushes his evil opponent, which felt good. All-in-all, my impression of Chaos;Head is of an original, clever show, with a pleasing otaku format. I immediately expected to rewatch it someday, and in 2021 I finally did. Catch the Gigalomaniac montage at the Kendo Girl Scrapbook page! My favorite line: "Having a romantic comedy relationship with the devil woman doesn't make me happy at all!" --Taku Last updated Saturday, November 20 2021. Created Monday, October 13 2008. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese Game/Series Web Site | http://www.chaoshead.jp/ |
| Wiki | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos%3BHead |
