Chäos;HEAd - Episode 7

If you felt like you were finally beginning to get your head around Chäos;HEAd after the last episode, then be prepared to retrieve your dunce's cap and plant it firmly back on your head, as episode seven takes us on a deep dive into some of the craziness that has been going on in the series.

After the "earthquake" (which was patently far more than simply that) last episode, a fair amount of anarchy seems to be reigning around town, from looting to fighting. It isn't just the general populace that's uneasy either - Takumi arrives at the school looking for Rimi (just where is she for most of this episode?) but instead finds Ayase about to jump from the roof of the school building. Thankfully, her fall is broken by a garden beneath which she lands in, but was that patch of soft ground even there before she fell?


This is where we start to get dragged deep into some of the background of the story, references to a Dirac sea and all. For starters, we get confirmation over what I suppose you can call the main jist of the story, that delusions can become reality by basically implanting them in the heads of enough people - This is a process called "real-booting" by Sena, and is responsible (via Takumi) for the appearance of the garden which saved Ayase, even though he shouldn't be able to do so without a Di-Sword. As an extension of this, we learn that Di-Swords have to be real-booted to be used as an offensive weapon, at which point they can be seen by everyone.

On the other side of things, we at last get to see the inner workings of N.O.Z.O.M.I., who are experimenting in ways to force these delusions as reality upon the populace using signals which are transmitted by people on the streets carrying backpacks such as those we saw last episode. What is their aim with all this? We don't know exactly, but some Dr. Evil little finger in mouth-esque world domination seems quite likely.

As if that isn't enough delusion blue ice lolly to get your teeth into, the inevitable mysterious transfer student Kozue finally makes herself know as a major part of this story, proving her ability to communicate telepathically (and annoyingly too, so I guess every silver lining has a cloud in this example).

You know, if ever a series made me glad that I'd 'Blogging about it, it's this one - As the episode finished, I found myself with a mild headache and furrowed brow as I tried to process exactly what's what, but thankfully the requirement to take some time rationalising and explaining it all for this entry has allowed me to get my head around it and feel comfortable with where the story has taken us. Unfortunately, filling the episode with so much explanation and revelation made it feel a little more like a class at school where you know there's going to be a test the next day than all-out entertainment, but if you can get over that point then it was a passable instalment that at least has allowed the series to set out its stall and put up some big signs to point to where it's going from here.

From what I've heard online people who have played the game are starting to have real problems with the way that Chäos;HEAd is handling the story, but having not done that just yet am I thankfully continuing to enjoy the series by and large, even if this episode threatened at times to become a bit of a chore.