When I saw the name Charlotte on the summer anime list, I thought it was just going to be some cutesy moe anime (I avoid previews when I can unless it’s a second or third season). Charlotte was not even close to being a moe anime though the Yuu’s little sister is a really cute kid with big saucer eyes, then again, everyone had saucer eyes ESPECIALLY the girls. His little sister is like the epitome of moe with sugar and honey added.
Yuu is a model student with great grades and a bright future. Ok, maybe he’s not. He’s using a supernatural ability to take over bodies for 5 seconds at a time. He keeps using this ability over and over until one day he’s caught by the Hoshinoumi Academy student council head Nao Tomori. Nao Tomori forces Yuu to transfer to Hosihnoumi Academy where they can protect students with supernatural abilities. Yuu joins Nao on the student council and helps her to locate and secure other supernaturals.
Character development is one issue I did have with the show. It happens with all the Jun Maeda shows it seems. This is my opinion of course. You always get solid art, good music, some emotional drainage but the characters can sometimes seem lopsided. Maybe Yuu can happen to someone because he goes through so many things but it seems like he’s just going with whatever happens and has no moral compass of his own. Maybe I’m wrong but that’s how it seems. I like most of the characters but wish Yuu could stay on one side of the equation or even explore the dark half a little more instead of making him feel like a blank slate and people can just write in the personality they think he should have.
Being that Jun Maeda is the man behind Angel Beats and Clannad, you expected good, solid, consistent art and good music. But the plot had issues just like Angel Beats. The plot starts off slow and it works for the most part but when they get close to the end they rush to the conclusion, sound like Angel Beats? The story of the anime probably should have ended with the 12th episode, then have another season. The 13th episode seemed like it could have been done over a full 12 episode cour by itself.
Charlotte was a standout from the summer 2015 season. Unfortunately a lot of the summer season fizzled out but Charlotte kept getting better and better overall, even though it had some issues. It’s a show I have no problem recommending to someone though I wish they had more than 13 episodes to tell the story because the ending seemed rushed and may eliminate a potential 2nd season.
Currently watching the English dub and it’s just as good as it was before though it seems to be a bit funnier. I may have to watch the sub again to see if they spiced it up a little for the English audiences because I don’t remember it being as funny as it seems to be now.
[yasr_overall_rating]
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