In my (limited) experience in being part of the anime community, I have come to realize that there are 3 types of anime out there: the universally acclaimed, the universally despised, and the anime that happen to fall in the center. The first two are self-explanatory, but the latter needs a little more explanation: this sort of anime is often the sort where fans often take contrasting opinions, with there being some who love it to bits, some who absolutely hate it and others still who don't really care for it either way. Chaos; Head is percisely this sort of anime: it's not quite bad
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enough to be unaminously disliked, but doesn't excel quite enough or everyone to have a positive opinion of it. Why is this however? Well, let's get down to it...
Story: 8/10
The opening episodes had such an engaging hook to them that I couldn't help but get drawn in: a delusional otaku caught up in a murder mystery, but due to the fact he IS delusional, neither we nor he can be sure what's real or what's not. It was an original hook, and one that intrigued me thoroughly, however the follow-through to this hook felt.... lacking. The story was good in and of itself, with the exposition, plot-twists, climax and ending all feeling appropriate and enjoyable. Why such a low score then? Simply put, pacing: there's not nearly enough time to grow attached to many of the characters, nor are you able to process the explanations given to you without having to take a few minutes after the episode and think about it. Additionally, it felt like the show could've used a little more... I dunno, calm time: time where nothing truly important happens, but there is additional scenarios and conversations between characters in order to give the audience some room to breathe (though I'm not sure how that'd happen with the main character being a hermit). I enjoyed the story throughly for what it's worth; it just was several tweaks (or perhaps simply were several episodes) short of being a masterpiece.
Character: 8/10
All the characters, as aforementioned, represent some sort of stereotype: the withdrawn otaku, the overly sweet and protective love interest, the tough tsundere character, the ditzy yet adorable child-like character, etc. Yet somehow, I still enjoyed them all nonetheless: sometimes they felt flat and couldn't represent anything but their prominant personality trait, but with all of their unique and (appropriate, given the show's theme) tragic backstories, they felt fleshed out and more real to me. And of course, props must be given to the show's lead Taku: he gets the most character development out of anyone else in the show, and is truly memorable because of the fact that the dorky, cowardly and socially inept don't usually get the spotlight in anime. Unfortunately, it is because of the fact the rest of the cast feels so stereotypical that they are not quite as memorable, nor do they leave a lasting impression on you when the anime is said and done; however, they were enjoyable to watch and played their roles in the show well, and that's as much as I could hope for.
Art: 7/10
The designs felt uninspired, the animation felt like lesser quality and sometimes it felt like the show lacked fluidity; however, it is cohesive and does manage to effectively convey the right emotions to the audience when it needs to, and is not nearly as painful to watch as it could've been. Plus, I love the OP and ED, especially the latter, so points go to the show for that.
Sound: 9/10
Takumi's voice actor did an AMAZING job; he really nailed the various nuinances of the cowardly, dorky and occasionally creept Takumi Nishijo, yet did so without making him become completely unlikable. The rest of the cast unfortunately was not nearly as amazing or memorable, though the voices all fit the characters rather well. Additionally, the soundtrack was extremely well done; as aforementioned, the OP and ED themes were particular highlights for me.
Overall/Enjoyment: 8/10
To reiterate what I initially stated, this is not a masterpiece: there are many anime better then this one, and by no means will this be liked by everyone. However, I personally liked the story, the character and the soundtack well enough to the point where I will likely add this to my shelf at some point: I WOULDN'T pay $60 bucks to buy it (Canadian price :p), but perhaps used on Amazon or on sale from RightStuf.com. This will never be a highlight of my collection, but it in my opinion, it's worth owning and experiencing nonetheless. Not everyone wil agree, but in my opinion it is at least worth watching a few episodes: the protagonist and story alone warrant this anime a chance, regardless of whether you will enjoy it overall.
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Dec 6, 2013
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In my (limited) experience in being part of the anime community, I have come to realize that there are 3 types of anime out there: the universally acclaimed, the universally despised, and the anime that happen to fall in the center. The first two are self-explanatory, but the latter needs a little more explanation: this sort of anime is often the sort where fans often take contrasting opinions, with there being some who love it to bits, some who absolutely hate it and others still who don't really care for it either way. Chaos; Head is percisely this sort of anime: it's not quite bad
...
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