ChäoS;HEAd (TV Anime)

ChäoS;HEAd anime trailer

ChäoS;HEAd Anime Opening

ChäoS;HEAd anime promotional picture

ChäoS;HEAd is the anime adaptation of Nitroplus and 5pb.'s adventure/horror visual novel of the same name. Produced by Madhouse, it aired from October 15, 2008 to December 31, 2008 and was released in English in November 29, 2011 by American anime distributor FUNimation Entertainment on DVD and Blu-ray.

FUNimation’s official description:

Takumi is an anime-obsessed recluse with a fetish for two-dimensional girls. His dirty little cyber secrets land him in real-life trouble after a chat room encounter with the mysterious General leads him to the scene of a gruesome murder. In the blink of an eye, Takumi goes from a caffeine-addicted gamer to a paranoid murder suspect caught up in something called the New Generation madness. Between the police and a gang of girls with giant holographic swords, someone is watching his every move. As the world constructed around him begins to unravel, Takumi will discover that nothing – not even his own life – is what it appears to be. Welcome to ChäoS;HEAd. Can you survive reality?

Episodes

01 - Boot Up (起動, Kidō) - October 15, 2008

02 - Ego (自我, Jiga) - October 22, 2008

03 - Contact (接触, Sesshoku) - October 29, 2008

04 - Commencing (初動, Shodō) - November 5, 2008

05 - Guidance (先導, Sendō) - November 12, 2008

06 - Embracement (抱擁, Hōyō) - November 19, 2008

07 - Realization (自覚, Jikaku) - November 26, 2008

08 - Linkage (連動, Rendō) - December 3, 2008

09 - Rejection (拒絶, Kyozetsu) - December 10, 2008

10 - Purification (洗礼, Senrei) - December 17, 2008

11 - Independence (自立, Jiritsu) - December 24, 2008

12 - Mission (使命, Shimei) - December 31, 2008

Major differences from the VN

• Rimi Sakihata appears as Takumi's friend at the end of Episode 1 (shortly after him seeing her at the Cruc-affixion crime scene) instead of the middle of chapter 3.
• The 6th New Gen case, Finger Food, is entirely absent in the anime.
• The part where Takumi goes to the O-Front building and Nanami's hand is cut off does not happen in the anime at all.
• However, in Episode 10 when Rimi goes to save Nanami from Gen'ichi Norose, her hand is missing. Then in Episode 11 Nanami's hand is present again, and from the way she uses it to interact with objects it is not an illusory hand like it was in the VN.
• Episode 8 (which happens shortly after when the O-Front incident happens in the VN) is entirely anime-only and is not based on the events of the VN. In it, Sena Aoi, Kozue Orihara and Nishijou Takumi go to N.O.Z.O.M.I. headquarters to fight Gen'ichi Norose and destroy Noah II. After they succeed, it turns out that Noah II was just a prototype and Norose they fought was a delusion created by it.
• The Committee is not mentioned at all.
• Takumi's pants and necktie are green instead of blue. This applies only to Takumi; everyone else's school uniform looks the same.
• Daisuke Misumi does not wear an earring.
• When not realbooted, DI-Swords are mostly transparent, glass-like objects.

Opening Movie

「Chaos;Head」 Opening (N6 Anime) 「F.D.D.」 《 Waifu2x 4K 》

Ending Movie

Chaos;Head (Ending Theme)

Reception

Despite the positive reception of the visual novel, the anime reception was mixed. While some viewers were positive about the setting and the story, others offered criticisms which often revolved around complaints of confusing storytelling, poor pacing, and an inability to sympathize or connect with any character.

The most predominant criticisms however, came generally from fans who played the visual novel and were related to the amount of cut content from it. The original ChäoS;HEAd takes approximately 25 hours to play through on auto speed, while its expanded re-release ChäoS;HEAd NoAH takes an estimated 45 hours to complete. The anime, on the other hand, is only about 5.5 hours long, leading to an inevitably extremely truncated version of the original story.

Still, notwithstanding the above points, the anime is not seen as negatively as it seems when considering its overall reception by all types of viewers. The atmosphere and the mystery surrounding the story, as well as Takumi's personality, being some of the aspects holding viewers' interest. While it can be argued that because of the shortcuts and lack of substance compared to the visual novel, it is perhaps not the best introduction to the series. By itself, the anime tends more toward an average/high average rating.

Merchandise

A series of limited edition DVDs of the anime were released throughout 2009, with the title Chaos;Head (number) [DVD+Figure Limited Edition], which all included an additional figurine. A Rimi figurine was bundled with the first ChäoS;HEAd DVD (released March 4, 2009), a Seira figurine wtih the second ChäoS;HEAd DVD (released March 25, 2009), a Nanami figurine with the third ChäoS;HEAd DVD (release May 22, 2009), which were all manufactured by VAP, and a Nanami Nendoroid figurine with the fourth ChäoS;HEAd DVD (released June 24, 2009), manufactured by Good Smile Company. The Nanami Nishijou figurine by Vap notably has brown hair instead of blonde.

Rimi Sakihata figurine bundled with Chaos;Head 1 [DVD+Figure Limited Edition]

Seira Orgel figurine bundled with Chaos;Head 2 [DVD+Figure Limited Edition]

Nanami Nishijou figurine bundled with Chaos;Head 3 [DVD+Figure Limited Edition]

Nanami Nishijou figurine bundled with Chaos;Head 4 [DVD+Figure Limited Edition]