Chaos;Head (TV series)

Casey Brienza, Carlo Santos, Carl Kimlinger and Theron Martin at Anime News Network (ANN) reviewed the first episode as part of a "fall 2008 anime preview guide".[19][20][21][22] Brienza called the series "thoroughly enthralling" when at its best, and said that its imagery of death and destruction would be intriguing to viewers interested in apocalypse-themed works. She found the opening and ending themes "bright but boring", and noted that they were at odds with the story.[19] Santos, too, disliked the ending theme, combined with Takumi being an otaku with an imaginary girlfriend, saying that despite being "tongue-in-cheek" it felt too overt and annoying: he felt that Takumi's growing paranoia, the music and the art direction of the graphically violent scenes worked well to set the tone, but that the "fluff" involving Takumi's imaginary girlfriend and his sister disrupted the mood.[20] Kimlinger also noted the inconsistent tone, and called the female characters "painfully artificial". He was not opposed to the combination of the themes of "otaku alienation" and horror, but called the series' horror mystery an uninteresting mix of Higurashi When They Cry and Japanese psychological horror films.[21] Martin called the series a contender for "weirdest" anime of the season, and also compared the tone to that of Higurashi When They Cry. He liked the visuals and music, calling the latter "eerie" and effective.[22]

Reviewing the series as a whole, Santos found it uneven, with the story elements ranging from being "brilliant jaw-droppers" to feeling unfinished, giving the revelation of Takumi's true nature as an example of the former, and the conclusions to some character sub-plots as examples of the latter.[23] Luke Carroll at ANN and John Rose at The Fandom Post were critical of the story, saying that while its ideas and the question of what is and isn't real was interesting, the story felt rushed, with the game's narrative "squeezed" into too few episodes.[5][24] Rose additionally was disappointed in how the answers felt less innovative than the mysteries originally seemed.[24] The story was criticized by several reviewers as feeling confusing,[4][5][25][26] with Bradley Meek at T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews finding it confusing enough to quit watching after the eighth episode,[25] and Erin Finnegan at ANN calling it unwatchable due to how little it made sense to them, despite a promising start.[26] Chris Homer and Chris Beveridge, both at The Fandom Post, found the story engaging, however,[4] with the latter calling the climax "solid".[3]

Santos said that the series' "pseudoscience" felt dubious, but noted the illusory "Di-Swords" as well-designed and a useful way to portray characters battling through the use of their thoughts;[23] Carroll also enjoyed the use of "Di-Swords" in action scenes, but thought that it occurred too rarely.[5] Beveridge similarly liked the detailed visuals for the special abilities some characters use.[3] Santos and Carroll both disliked the character designs, calling them bland and stereotypical;[5][23] Beveridge, however, liked them, and appreciated their "solid feel".[3] Santos, Carroll and Meek disliked the animation, with the former two citing off-model characters, frozen crowds, static conversation scenes and a lack of fluidity,[5][23][25] and Meek calling it "a black mark on Madhouse's usually stellar record".[25] Rose, however, felt that the animation was "fairly strong".[24]

Carroll and Santos enjoyed the soundtrack,[5][23] with Caroll calling it "surprisingly well done".[5] Santos particularly noted the dissonance and silence used to portray the unrest and turmoil inside Takumi's mind and the contrasting piano melodies used when Takumi forms emotional connections to others as positives.[23] Santos and Carroll enjoyed Haberkorn's performance as Takumi, but found the remaining roles less well done;[5][23] Santos said that most female characters were handled like "plastic dating-sim stereotypes".[23] Finnegan, however, liked Karbowski's performance as Nanami, and compared it favorably to how the character sounded in Japanese.[26]