Review - Charlotte First Half (1-6)

P.A. Works is back with Key in tow.  Charlotte, like 2010's Angel Beats, is an original animation project made by these collaborating companies.  Shows backed by Key are always massively hyped and do well commercially, so we will find out if it is well earned!

Now we know he isn't afraid of the goods!

Yuu Otosaka is handsome narcissistic dude who, somehow, has developed a super power: projecting his consciousness into another person's body for five seconds.  Nao, the driving force of the plot, recruits Yuu in order to take advantage of his abilities while rounding up others just like him; teenagers who develop and take advantage of their super powers.  She is quite a complex girl who is cheerful one second and somber the next due to a rough childhood and lack of trust in other people.  Maybe that's why her ability allows her to make herself invisible to one target?  Yusa, the shoehorned airhead moe idol and Jojiro, Nao's right hand man in the student council, mostly have served as comedic relief.  I do actually like Yusa, however, because of her super power: she can lend her body to wandering spirits.  So far, though, only the soul of her deceased elder sister takes possession of it, which is when Yusa's character comes to life with a complete 180 in personality and a violent temper.  Jojiro's power allows him to move at a very high rate of speed, which usually leads to him getting injured because he has no brakes.  These four make up the student council and together track down individuals with special abilities.  Finally, the character that is so sweet she will literally raise your blood pressure, Yuu's little sister Ayumi.  Ultra energetic and super cute, it was obvious she would be the one who would trigger the series' turning point in episode six.  Not really anything out of the ordinary in terms of the main cast, they are a likable bunch with distinct personality quirks that make them fun to watch interact with each other.

The main cast from left to right: Nao, Yusa, Yuu, Jojiro

The first episode was incredibly entertaining, probably the most out of any first episode in the Summer season.  Funny pretty much from start to finish, it set the bar pretty high for me right out of the gate.  Unfortunately, as the show progressed it sort of boiled down into a supernatural slice-of-life, complete with Yuu having had join the student council at the school he was forced to relocate to due to his special abilities.  I have no idea why, but I didn't see that coming!  For some reason, I got the impression this show would play out sort of like Toaru Majutsu no Index; superpower battles between the good and the not-so-good, except, instead of sub-par J.C. Staff animation, superior and beautiful P.A. Works visuals.  Obviously I did not get what I had hoped for, but that's alright, the show is still very nice and has some massive potential that may or may not be unlocked going into the second half.  This being Key, you know these characters will have to suffer through some emotional stuff, which gives the show a tough job in having to balance the tone from scene to scene and episode to episode.  It's sort of all over the place to be honest, especially when you consider the end goal of the show is to stimulate your tear ducts a little bit.  The characters are well written, though, which is a plus because who wants to watch an anime whose characters are bad?  One gripe I do have, however, is that Yuu seems to have lost that self-absorbed attitude after the first episode, which is pretty disappointing to me, as it made him stand out a lot more.

Ayumi being adorable.

Due to the slice-of-life aspects Charlotte has developed, it was sure to take a sudden turn into darkness at some point.  The aforementioned episode six was that point, leaving us with a nail-biting cliffhanger and tons of uncertainty; not only for the characters involved in the accident, but for the show itself.  Will it revert back to target-of-the-week with superpower hijinks after moving past the most recent event?  Who was it that was trapped and presumably severely injured by the collapse of the school building?  This show can pull off something good if it doesn't lose itself in RomCom mode from here on out.  Maybe these scientists that turned Nao's brother into a lunatic will show up disguised as rescue workers and take Ayumi away, forcing the student council to plot a rescue mission?  That sounds pretty cool, considering the kidnappers will probably have a few goons with super powers to throw at them.  We'll have our answer come Sunday.

Would you let her record you?

The voice cast is great, especially Ayane Sakura as Nao.  I have become a big fan of her talent over the last year or so.  The opening theme, performed by Lia, is easily my favorite out of all the others this season.  So if you are on board for some silly SOL-turned-angst-in-the-blink-of-an-eye action, you should definitely give Charlotte a try!


First half gets a 7/10 from me.

Cheers!

Purple Crab