Wolfe reporting.
So, Chaos;Head (alternatively: ChäoS;HEAd) was one of my first anime (way back when), believe it or not. In retrospection, I realize that I was seriously fortunate when it came to picking anime as a newcomer. Chaos;Head (カオスヘッド) comes from two pieces, カオス (the concept of chaos or pandemonium; transliterated: kaosu) and ヘッド (head; transliterated: heddo). So, the English rendition of "Chaos Head" is actually a really sharp translation. Of course, based on the transliterations, I can't wonder how powerful the English language was in the word choice (I mean, kaosu heddo, seriously?).
Chaos;Head is definitely a strange anime, but I seriously adore it. It has 12 episodes, some better than others. For genre, it's considered as follows: psychological, sci-fi, supernatural, thriller, and romance. I could show you portions of the show, and you could consider it creepy, dark, and supernatural. I could show you other portions of the show, and you could consider it almost-traditional High School date-focused anime. For somebody who has an odd taste for the High School date focus, and yet absolutely adores dark and disturbing elements, this was an absolutely golden anime. It's very clean, too, which is nice.
I'm also starting a new judging category (well, I'm actually re-vamping an old one)! Rather than the "OP" section, I now have a "power balance" section, taking a point away from "animation style". I'm also now adding to the "characters" section by providing pictures and names of the "major" (and sometimes minor) characters. I'm getting pretty close to my final lineup, I reckon. A big thanks to those who've had to bear with me as I underwent my evolution.
I give it a 10.5 / 13! (=80.8%)
Concept: The concept behind this anime is complex (and that's an understatement). In fact, even through my fourth or fifth watch-through, I'm still left with questions unanswered, and at this point I don't think complete 100% understanding can even be achieved. The larger underlying concept isn't actually revealed and developed until later on, so I'll put in under "plot". The other concepts are focused on the main character, Takumi Nishijo, and... well, I won't say anything more on him under here, look to "characters". The only concept piece I can really throw at you is that there are Gigalomaniacs, people who can see "errors", and interact with these "errors" (most commonly in form of a Di-Sword and Real-Booting). Don't even get me into delusion synchronization.
Introduction Sequence: 0.5 / 1. I don't believe this introduction deserves full credit, nor does it deserve no credit, so I give it half-credit. While it doesn't exactly spoil anything directly, I think it's deceitfully lighthearted and harem-looking. The song doesn't really land well, nor do I believe it to fit the anime-- though the lyrics aren't bad. Personally, I skipped over it pretty much every single time, unless I was actually too lazy to move or paying attention to the translated lyrics. Anyhow, here it is: Link to Chaos;Head Opening.
Animation Style: 0.5 / 1. As another of my "personal" points (as opposed to "objective"), I've decided to mark this one down in animation style. The styles appeared repetitive and simple, and I feel that there were some artsy aspects that weren't there when I looked for them. I like being able to pause during a city show and admire the picture, for instance, but I found these moments to be drab and dull. While I believe these add to the anime, in an odd way, this doesn't mean I have to like them. I also wish that the eye-to-face ratio was a bit closer to the accurate styles I prefer; of course, I don't mind occasional eye exposition (like in Steins;Gate), but the eyes were always just slightly and uncomfortably too large for my tastes.
Examples:
Music: 1 / 1. Loads of the music isn't that good, actually, but there are moments when the right tune sends a chill down my spine, and that takes some talent. Of course, the mundane and normal moments in the anime are set equally to the dull and repetitive music background tracks. I personally love a good dose of fear, and so, rather than marking it down in music, I'll keep it where it is. OST: Link to Chaos;Head OST.
Plot: 4 / 4. Oh, good heavens, the plot. I la-love this plot. For one aspect, we have an almost-classic High School date-focused anime. We have girls falling left and right for the main character, who (see the "character" section) doesn't really deserve that at all. The thing is, unlike other normal anime, the main character is mostly apathetic to this affection-- he's only into 2-dimensional girls, particularly Seira. Then there's the other (and more heavy) aspect: the main character is delusional. Sometimes you'll be confused and realize that he just had a delusion (which he perceives as reality). Other times you'll be confused because you assumed something to be a delusion when it wasn't. And, my favourite: sometimes, it was a delusion, and then became real... or was it precognition? Did a delusion become reality, or was the delusion a foresight of reality? Of course, the main character has always felt like someone's eyes were watching him, leading him to always ask the question: Those Eyes, Whose Are They? The plot gets wonderfully thick, but only later on in the episodes, and so it is with a twinge of sadness that I must say no more regarding the plot, besides that it's amazing!
Characters: 3 / 4. As much as I love this anime, I definitely have some character points to knock down. The main character is an "otaku", one who stays home whenever possible to watch anime and play video games. That's all he does, attending school only as much as absolutely necessary to graduate. He's referenced to be a bit of a pervert (having more erotic tastes in manga, if I recall), but this isn't highlighted strongly, thankfully. He's also heavily delusional and pathetically weak. As much as I hated the main character's weakness and lack of evolution, it seemed perfectly viable, and even when he was more able, his actions always seemed accurate. As much as I liked Rimi Sakihata, she was as inconsistent in Chaos;Head as Inori Yuzuriha was in Guilty Crown, for heaven's sake! Her actions (and what these actions said in regards to her feelings towards the main character) were definitely inconsistent, and she was given virtually zero back-story. While there are other characters I could attack, I can see reasonable explanations (excuses) for them not having back-story and/or character development. Again, for those who didn't catch it: be warned, seriously weak main character (like Raki in Claymore). Pictures: Takumi Nishijo, Rimi Sakihata, Nanami Nishijo, Ayase Kishimoto, Yua Kusunoki, Sena Aoi, and Kozue Orihara.
Power Balance: 0.5 / 1. This is where I definitely mark the anime down for the pathetically weak main character. I actually like having the women roles more powerful than the male roles (just because it's refreshing), but this doesn't mean that I like pathetic male roles. Souta from Guilty Crown was weak, for example, but at least he was in on the power balance. Also in Chaos;Head, the main bad guy is seriously overpowered, and has seriously zero back-story.
While they deserve a pretty little "you tried" sticker -- and they definitely could have been worse -- they still needed a lot more balance or at least variability.
Addictability: 1 / 1. This anime wasn't addicting at first, at least, not in the traditional sense... it was odd enough that I wanted to go on, but I didn't have any sort of defined desire. Once the plot thickened a few more times, though, I was hopelessly hooked.
If you like the High School date-focused anime, and the supernatural and dark-focused anime, and don't mind the pathetically weak main character, you'll love this one. Generally, if you like the concept of delusions, you'll adore this one. I recommend it, and I personally love it.
Wallpapers:
AMV's:
Delusions - A really fitting AMV, the best-cut one I've seen for Chaos;Head (not saying too much, mind you).
Don't Stop (Innerpartsystem) - This one's pretty good! I like this song in AMV's.
Own Little World (Celldweller) - Had to post this one (I love Celldweller), it's pretty good.
Black Skies (Bleed the Dream) - It's not bad, and it shows both sides of the coin.
Tormented Soul - I actually like this, even though it's not really an "AMV" per se.
There was a really popular (upwards of 1 million views!) AMV I found almost immediately-- it was terrible! In fact, most of the ones I found had poor cuts and the background music was unrelated to the cuts (or poorly related).
Next Time: Date A Live or SAO. I know I keep saying SAO, and I'm not sure why I'm putting it off. Felt the sudden urge to do a Chaos;Head review this time, so you never know what's next.
Wolfe out.
So, Chaos;Head (alternatively: ChäoS;HEAd) was one of my first anime (way back when), believe it or not. In retrospection, I realize that I was seriously fortunate when it came to picking anime as a newcomer. Chaos;Head (カオスヘッド) comes from two pieces, カオス (the concept of chaos or pandemonium; transliterated: kaosu) and ヘッド (head; transliterated: heddo). So, the English rendition of "Chaos Head" is actually a really sharp translation. Of course, based on the transliterations, I can't wonder how powerful the English language was in the word choice (I mean, kaosu heddo, seriously?).
Chaos;Head is definitely a strange anime, but I seriously adore it. It has 12 episodes, some better than others. For genre, it's considered as follows: psychological, sci-fi, supernatural, thriller, and romance. I could show you portions of the show, and you could consider it creepy, dark, and supernatural. I could show you other portions of the show, and you could consider it almost-traditional High School date-focused anime. For somebody who has an odd taste for the High School date focus, and yet absolutely adores dark and disturbing elements, this was an absolutely golden anime. It's very clean, too, which is nice.
I'm also starting a new judging category (well, I'm actually re-vamping an old one)! Rather than the "OP" section, I now have a "power balance" section, taking a point away from "animation style". I'm also now adding to the "characters" section by providing pictures and names of the "major" (and sometimes minor) characters. I'm getting pretty close to my final lineup, I reckon. A big thanks to those who've had to bear with me as I underwent my evolution.
I give it a 10.5 / 13! (=80.8%)
Concept: The concept behind this anime is complex (and that's an understatement). In fact, even through my fourth or fifth watch-through, I'm still left with questions unanswered, and at this point I don't think complete 100% understanding can even be achieved. The larger underlying concept isn't actually revealed and developed until later on, so I'll put in under "plot". The other concepts are focused on the main character, Takumi Nishijo, and... well, I won't say anything more on him under here, look to "characters". The only concept piece I can really throw at you is that there are Gigalomaniacs, people who can see "errors", and interact with these "errors" (most commonly in form of a Di-Sword and Real-Booting). Don't even get me into delusion synchronization.
 |
| Di-Sword example, from this forum. |
Introduction Sequence: 0.5 / 1. I don't believe this introduction deserves full credit, nor does it deserve no credit, so I give it half-credit. While it doesn't exactly spoil anything directly, I think it's deceitfully lighthearted and harem-looking. The song doesn't really land well, nor do I believe it to fit the anime-- though the lyrics aren't bad. Personally, I skipped over it pretty much every single time, unless I was actually too lazy to move or paying attention to the translated lyrics. Anyhow, here it is: Link to Chaos;Head Opening.
Animation Style: 0.5 / 1. As another of my "personal" points (as opposed to "objective"), I've decided to mark this one down in animation style. The styles appeared repetitive and simple, and I feel that there were some artsy aspects that weren't there when I looked for them. I like being able to pause during a city show and admire the picture, for instance, but I found these moments to be drab and dull. While I believe these add to the anime, in an odd way, this doesn't mean I have to like them. I also wish that the eye-to-face ratio was a bit closer to the accurate styles I prefer; of course, I don't mind occasional eye exposition (like in Steins;Gate), but the eyes were always just slightly and uncomfortably too large for my tastes.
Examples:
 |
| This is a very common shot. Source. |
 |
| I love this shot. Source. |
Music: 1 / 1. Loads of the music isn't that good, actually, but there are moments when the right tune sends a chill down my spine, and that takes some talent. Of course, the mundane and normal moments in the anime are set equally to the dull and repetitive music background tracks. I personally love a good dose of fear, and so, rather than marking it down in music, I'll keep it where it is. OST: Link to Chaos;Head OST.
Plot: 4 / 4. Oh, good heavens, the plot. I la-love this plot. For one aspect, we have an almost-classic High School date-focused anime. We have girls falling left and right for the main character, who (see the "character" section) doesn't really deserve that at all. The thing is, unlike other normal anime, the main character is mostly apathetic to this affection-- he's only into 2-dimensional girls, particularly Seira. Then there's the other (and more heavy) aspect: the main character is delusional. Sometimes you'll be confused and realize that he just had a delusion (which he perceives as reality). Other times you'll be confused because you assumed something to be a delusion when it wasn't. And, my favourite: sometimes, it was a delusion, and then became real... or was it precognition? Did a delusion become reality, or was the delusion a foresight of reality? Of course, the main character has always felt like someone's eyes were watching him, leading him to always ask the question: Those Eyes, Whose Are They? The plot gets wonderfully thick, but only later on in the episodes, and so it is with a twinge of sadness that I must say no more regarding the plot, besides that it's amazing!
Characters: 3 / 4. As much as I love this anime, I definitely have some character points to knock down. The main character is an "otaku", one who stays home whenever possible to watch anime and play video games. That's all he does, attending school only as much as absolutely necessary to graduate. He's referenced to be a bit of a pervert (having more erotic tastes in manga, if I recall), but this isn't highlighted strongly, thankfully. He's also heavily delusional and pathetically weak. As much as I hated the main character's weakness and lack of evolution, it seemed perfectly viable, and even when he was more able, his actions always seemed accurate. As much as I liked Rimi Sakihata, she was as inconsistent in Chaos;Head as Inori Yuzuriha was in Guilty Crown, for heaven's sake! Her actions (and what these actions said in regards to her feelings towards the main character) were definitely inconsistent, and she was given virtually zero back-story. While there are other characters I could attack, I can see reasonable explanations (excuses) for them not having back-story and/or character development. Again, for those who didn't catch it: be warned, seriously weak main character (like Raki in Claymore). Pictures: Takumi Nishijo, Rimi Sakihata, Nanami Nishijo, Ayase Kishimoto, Yua Kusunoki, Sena Aoi, and Kozue Orihara.
Power Balance: 0.5 / 1. This is where I definitely mark the anime down for the pathetically weak main character. I actually like having the women roles more powerful than the male roles (just because it's refreshing), but this doesn't mean that I like pathetic male roles. Souta from Guilty Crown was weak, for example, but at least he was in on the power balance. Also in Chaos;Head, the main bad guy is seriously overpowered, and has seriously zero back-story.
While they deserve a pretty little "you tried" sticker -- and they definitely could have been worse -- they still needed a lot more balance or at least variability.
Addictability: 1 / 1. This anime wasn't addicting at first, at least, not in the traditional sense... it was odd enough that I wanted to go on, but I didn't have any sort of defined desire. Once the plot thickened a few more times, though, I was hopelessly hooked.
If you like the High School date-focused anime, and the supernatural and dark-focused anime, and don't mind the pathetically weak main character, you'll love this one. Generally, if you like the concept of delusions, you'll adore this one. I recommend it, and I personally love it.
Wallpapers:
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| Both sides of the coin. Source. |
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| Rimi and her Di-Sword, being pretty. Source. |
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| I think that's the "Whose Eyes Are Those" quote there. Source. |
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| I love this background. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy ^_^ (Source) |
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| Nanami and her Di-Sword. Isn't she cute? Source. |
AMV's:
Delusions - A really fitting AMV, the best-cut one I've seen for Chaos;Head (not saying too much, mind you).
Don't Stop (Innerpartsystem) - This one's pretty good! I like this song in AMV's.
Own Little World (Celldweller) - Had to post this one (I love Celldweller), it's pretty good.
Black Skies (Bleed the Dream) - It's not bad, and it shows both sides of the coin.
Tormented Soul - I actually like this, even though it's not really an "AMV" per se.
There was a really popular (upwards of 1 million views!) AMV I found almost immediately-- it was terrible! In fact, most of the ones I found had poor cuts and the background music was unrelated to the cuts (or poorly related).
Next Time: Date A Live or SAO. I know I keep saying SAO, and I'm not sure why I'm putting it off. Felt the sudden urge to do a Chaos;Head review this time, so you never know what's next.
Wolfe out.
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