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Do you ever wonder why you’re rarely if ever in the situations found in Anime? It’s likely because you have common sense. Just as you cannot have a hero without evil, you cannot have these adventures without stupidity; a whole lot of stupidity.

In essence that’s what drives the plot of ChäoS;HEAd. The frustrating story can be somewhat attributed to our demented otaku protagonist but more so to the writers for burning through 10 episodes before any semblance of character development occurred.

Thank goodness the staff that made ChäoS;HEAd was mostly scrapped for Steins;Gate.

On MAL ChäoS;HEAd is listed as an alternative setting to Steins;Gate but there’s ... no real relationship between the series; it’s like the equivalent to that retarded cousin that you won’t admit as family. If Steins;Gate is the reason you’ve come to this series you’ll be awfully disappointed as I have been.

The premise of ChäoS;HEAd is that delusions and reality are not so different from one another and that through beings called “Gigalomaniacs” who are capable of projecting their delusions to other people; reality can be morphed.

“For example, if you sent a mental image of what person A is thinking to a hard disk recorder and turned it into a video recording and then somehow transmitted that information to person B’s brain. That would mean person A’s mental delusion would become person B’s reality; your thoughts become part of the world.”

As explained by the protagonist Takumi Nishijō in episode six.

That’s all incredibly interesting if not flawed for the amount of plot holes this generated throughout the series. You see changing one’s perception of reality and changing reality itself are two things all together.

If for example a speeding car is heading towards person A and person B sends the delusion that there is no car, what would happen? Of course person A will still be hit by the car and sent flying even if in their mind there is no car. See the properties of reality (i.e the force of impact) cannot be altered just because you believe otherwise. This same reason is why believing you can fly doesn't mean you can fly or that when your buddy sneaks up behind you and smacks the back of your head it still hurts like hell; no matter what happens in your mind and that whether you’re aware or not, reality still occurs.

In other words, just because you perceive reality does not mean reality is only that of what you perceive.

If you understand that then you’ll understand that ChäoS;HEAd is nonsensical and flawed. That and you’re also a stable person; congratulations you’re sane.

What’s more absurd is that they spent the majority of the episodes explaining this phony theory and expecting viewers to buy into it. They even created the formula Fun^10 X int^40 = lr2 to justify the anomalies that occurs in the series. I was actually tempted to ask my math prof about this but then again I do want to succeed in the course.

ChäoS;HEAd wasn't scientific and by no means deserved the Sci-Fi label. It’s alright for anime to be absurd but not when they've committed so much to be otherwise. If ChäoS;HEAd had just skipped the redundant explanation by saying that it was magic and progressed the story, the series would have been far more enjoyable. There was clearly a lot more that could have been included as ChäoS;HEAd the visual novel was far more expansive and has fared far better than the anime series.

Being a harem, expectations for character depth was low at best and this series did not disappoint. As always each girl follows a generic archetype with very few characteristics that would warrant your attention. Every heroine is simple in nature and has an uninteresting issue which amazingly resolves itself with no direct involvement from the protagonist. Throughout the series it is often difficult to see the need for so many heroines as most of them barely contribute to the story.

The protagonist however was certainly different. Takumi Nishijō is one of the worst written characters I've experienced to date. He could be described as an idiotic socially awkward high school otaku bordering becoming a NEET with no sense of realism or values to speak of. Also being a delusional pervert, Takumi often confuses reality with his fantasies which is often abused by the producers to insert fan service. These poor characteristics managed to drag the series out for 10 episodes as Takumi continually denied his responsibilities and preferred to live in his delusions. Even when his friends are threatened and his life is constantly in danger he ignores it and continues his day by saying “This has nothing to do with me.” Indeed, his common sense is lacking to point where he can’t contemplate that if people want to kill you there has to be something to do with you. This is a weak character that does nothing but panics in just about every scene with an issue and always waits for other characters to resolve it for him. Worst of all Takumi’s character development was also practically non-existent with the extent of it occurring in five minutes of episode 11 whereby he accepts his role in the story and through unknown means suddenly knows how to fight and utilize his powers perfectly.

The plot is actually thin enough to expect you to accept that kind of nonsense.

Another flaw is giving girls swords. Is this the sexist in me speaking? Well if you watched any of the action sequences or even the OP you’ll notice how bad they are. The ridiculous stances the girls take are clearly otaku bait and no one knows how to fight in this series. The action sequences are incredibly flimsy and slow as the writers felt that they had to pause all action and explain every occurrence on screen otherwise we wouldn't understand. This all leads to some of the worst action sequences I've ever seen.

The animators were also very lazy. They seemed to have tried hard to cut down on the amount of work by blanking backgrounds with speed lines during action sequences and abusing zoom ins and outs of still frames. Characters and background components seem to try very hard not to move at all. Often only one thing moves at a time during each scene as if they were taking turns. Motion of characters and objects were often rigid and unnatural. The animation style was decent and acceptable but ultimately the animation was poor overall.

As for genres the mystery component is lacking and is quickly forgotten after the first few episodes. The protagonist doesn't investigate each mystery preferring far more to ignore reality and dive into his delusions and games. By the end of the series the mystery component resolves itself and ends anticlimactically all without any deductive work by the protagonist. This inevitably leaves bundles of questions unanswered and many mysteries unresolved all the while with the sense that it was all pointless. This was especially insulting as the draw of the first episode was the mystery and for it to go completely underdeveloped only leaves a bitter taste.

The only thing decent enough to speak of in this series was the sound. The voice actors were okay with the exception of the voice of Takumi who did a splendid job capturing the essence of creeping terror. The sound effects were decent; sounding realistic but often weren't matched perfectly with the animation. The soundtrack choices were okay as they did represent the feelings of each scene but weren't strong enough to instill it into the viewers.

ChäoS;HEAd started out promising with a great pilot episode. By utilizing the end as the start, a relatable character (assuming you’re an otaku) and the lure of a mysterious killing it certainly managed to do everything right in drawing you into the story. However as the story progresses seemingly unending flaws and plot holes become apparent, destroying what expectations that you have established. As the series continues you become more frustrated with the direction it has taken and each episode becomes less enjoyable. By the end you realize this is another series that has tried to do too much yet did nothing right at all.

You will perceive this series to be bad because in reality it is bad. Not even a Gigalomaniac will be able to change your mind.

How much is your future worth?

That’s a great concept question to start a series off before it proceeds to insult your intelligence.

From the outlook C may appear to focus on economics, witty dialogue, and perhaps even action. Well, it’s a trap.

C is actually a series that consists of plot holes which builds on plot holes so as to continue with plot holes. There is actually no element in this story that is properly developed enough to truly attain a genre label. For example this series puts on a facade that it is based on economics using words like micro, macro, mezzo, inflation and even phrases ... such as “overheated economy” while it doesn't encompass the actual meaning of these words.

Why do that?

I’m convinced that the writers opened economic and business textbooks and took out and used every cool sounding bolded term without understanding the definitions. That or they have no idea what they're writing about or how to write.

While there is some sort of action, mystery, and what even looked like romance; none of these were suitably developed and expanded on as the series tried to do too much with too little commitment.

Coming to this series off a recommendation from Spice and Wolf I could not be any more disappointed or insulted. I tried hard to give this series every chance possible to be liked and as a 19 year old second year university accounting student I thought I could relate to the protagonist Kimimaro, who is a 19 year old second year university economics student.

Aside from the studying and lifestyle that every student stereotypically has I couldn’t relate with him. Actually Kimimaro is a character not to be messed with. This isn’t because he wears impenetrable plot armour but because he can’t grasp the opportunities in front of him nor justify any of his actions through a logical thought process; it’s frustrating. He is a character that manages to lose focus of his values early on in the story and fails to establish new values as he lallygags his way through the story.

Honestly how did he make it to university?

The antagonist Mikuni however is a far more mature character with believable ideals and justifiable actions. As the overlord of the Financial District he does his best to minimize its damage and save Japan. However as the plot was so poorly formulated all his hard work and sacrifice is wasted as the magical rule that the protagonist is always right (even when he isn’t) and always wins was enacted.

I won’t spoil the ending for you but the scheme that was implemented would in reality have crippled a country’s economy permanently and ceded its control to another nation; in other words, economic suicide was the solution of choice. Ridiculous right?

Now if you have any knowledge of economics and business stay away from this series as you will have headaches from the ignorance of the writers. The story was so disastrous that the rules that it established are changed in a moment’s notice for the sake of continuing the plot.

It's as if playing a game without rules. It's just no fun if you don't know how to win.

The one saving grace for this series was its animation. It’s beautiful like Bakemonogatari with great landscapes that are plain yet marvelous. Though really if you wanted beautiful animation you could just watch Bakemonogatari right?

Ultimately C is a series that forgot the original concept that drew in its viewers and develops in the wrong directions. Had it truly focused on dialogue, economics, and business this would have been a great niche series that would have likely fascinated a mature audience. Sadly this series tried to do too much and ended up being a badly developed battle anime with a hint of mystery and a poor excuse for romance.

This is my first review.

Mirai Nikki OVA is essentially a preview/condensed version of the first episodes of the TV series. In short it was suppose to serve as the introduction to one of the best series of last year.

I say suppose to as it did not do a good job.

What it managed to do in eight minutes was introduce the protagonist Amano Yukiteru, the basis of the story and give us a peek of what was to come.

Normally that would be fine but it lacked what made Mirai Nikki such a big hit. Killing, blood, mystery and the Queen of Yanderes, Yuno.

Yes, as intricate ... and interesting as the story goes it is incomplete without Yuno. With little about her in this OVA, viewers are either misled, unconvinced or oblivious to Yuno's murderous and insane antics.

It's just not right to start the series believing Yuno as "normal".

Now the OVA did show off the stellar animation and the perfect backdrop of music but being as condensed as it is, it's hard to follow and even confusing.

If you really want a taste of Mirai Nikki just watch the first episode of the series. However if you're like me up at four in the morning with nothing better to do but to watch the OVA of a series you've already seen and loved, then by all means watch this OVA.