martin48 - 2015-09-28 03:58:46

Just simply looking at the synopsis of this anime makes me want to doze off. There isn’t not a single thing that I found remotely interesting or original in this anime. High schools, teenagers with superpowers, overused slapstick humor, all the typical shit plague most anime nowadays. And it doesn’t help that it is also written by Jun Maeda, a writer whose work always are far more concerned with manipulation the viewers emotions even when it doesn’t make any logical sense. But since I didn’t have anything good to do with my time, I decided to watch this anime despite being put off at first. Now thirteen episodes later, what do I think of it now? Well to put it simply, this show was one of the worst experience with anime I had all year.

To be blunt, the story of Charlotte is messy and stupid. For the first half of the show, the show is just another slice of nice nonsense. To make myself clear, I have nothing against slice of life shows, but this one completely devoid of any charm or wit. None of the humor is particularly funny, since most of it comprised of overused gags and slapstick. Nothing occurs plot wise since all the characters do is dicking around playing baseball, go camping, and help other superpower teens. And you know what? If that was all the show was, I would just discarded as another forgettable rom com and would even bother to write this review. But atlas, Charlotte takes a sudden tone shift and becomes almost an entirely different show. Without spoiling much, the writer tries to make the series far more dramatic and serious. But since there was almost zero effort put in to make the viewers care about the characters or story, everything comes off more comically stupid rather that emotionally touching. The thing becomes unfocused mess with one of the most erratic and inconsistent tone I have seen. It alternates between comedy, moe, sad, intense, and boring at a whim as if this was written by Hideo Kojima. And it doesn’t help that the show rushes so much plot at end it becomes ridiculous. Then the show end on a grand whimper, resolving everything with plot conveniences and deus ex machinas,

As for the characters, they are flat and shallow as you can get. There are far too many characters for a twelve episode series, and it doesn’t help that the show does very little to make the viewer care for the characters. Instead of trying to flesh the existing characters so the viewer can get to care about them, the show just waste its time on comedy and constantly introducing new characters. Honestly, I can only remember the characters for whatever superpower they have instead of any characteristics or traits. The only character I remember was Yuu because he is just basically a copy of lelouch vi britannia.

Even the animation and soundtrack fail to stick out from the norm. While PA works shows generally look polished and crisp, but this is one looks mediocre at best. The character designs are bland and the only thing about the animation that does stick out were the detailed backgrounds. And even those were wasted on a dull and uninteresting setting.

Charlotte is a show that tried to be everything. It tried to be a comedy, it tried to be a thriller, it tried to be a tear jerk, and tried to be sci Fi. Yet it doesn't focus on any of those aspects and fail to accomplish anything. Charlotte fails to be funny, it fails to have memorable or relatable characters, it fails to have an interesting or coherent world, and it fails make any sense whatsoever. It felt if Jun Maeda wanted to jam a dozen concept in the show instead of being focusing on anything. Half of the show was is the character dicking around, and when the show decided to get an actual plot, the show was almost over. In the end, this show broken beyond repair and should be avoided at all cost.

Message me if you have any questions or concerns

keebler.rebekah - 2015-09-27 19:49:14

Charlotte is an interesting anime about special abilities, coming from the mind of Angel Beats and Clannad creator Jun Maeda. The series ran from July 4 to September 26 of 2015, concluding with 13 episodes.

Warning: the following contains spoilers for the entire show. 

If you want a simple recommendation: Watch it, especially if you like Angel Beats.

Synopsis: Special powers of many different kinds start appearing in Tokyo. For Yuu Otosaka, his ability is the switch bodies with people for 5 seconds at a time. What he uses this ability for is not very noble, however. He uses them to pick fights with people, to peep on girls, and worst of all cheat on tests.

But a certain organization catches wind of Yuu's ability and forces him to join their school. This school is filled with ability users to protect them from scientists capturing ability users and turning them into weapons and lab rats. Yuu is called to join the people who forced him into joining the school - the student council. Noa Tomori, president of the student council, and Joujirou Takajou take Yuu, and use his to find more ability users.

Unlike other series that Maeda has made, Charlotte is a bit different. The show uses less of the emotional devastation that either Key series I previously mentioned, but Charlotte still has the amazing characterization that both Clannad and Angel Beats had. 

The series has a lot of very good and rather funny character chemistry which make the group seem much more like friends that most other anime make the main cast out to be. There is a very real tension and relaxation among several of the characters that portray them as actual friends. But the story can also kick it in to an emotional state to show the darker, more broken, and softer sides of some of the characters - Yuu and Nao especially. 

What the series does not do entirely well is to tie up all of the loose ends the story made up. Such as the girls beating up Nao or the crazy girl trying to kill Ayumi. Even so of the more important things like Yuu being at the concert and remembering things from a different time line or reviving the time leap power seemed a bit convenient at times. However, most of these seem to has little substance over the story, so they are forgivable. In any case, what the story does well, is what is the main focus in the overall story. 

Animation is rather impressive. Being done by P.A. Works, I expect nothing less. There was little to no CGI, very good movement throughout the series, and very few moments that didn't fit in terms of animation. 

What did bother me a bit was the very similar character design to Nagi no Asukura. Not that all of the characters fall into the same boat as being extremely similar, but several characters, mainly Ayumi and Yusa, look pretty close to the Nagi-Asu.

Music is something I always look for in anime. And the one things that never failed to impress me was the music. Whether is be Zheind's post-rock concert or the nice orchestral background music, I always felt the music fit in to each scene.

The overall voice acting is nothing less than astounding, though, I would like to see how Aniplex makes a dub of this show if they ever decide to do that. Props to Kōki Uchiyama for his very impressive portrayal of Yuu in the series. The most impressive voice acting of the show came from his crazy, almost psychotic rampage that Yuu does at different points of the show, really show Uchiyama's prowess.

I enjoyed this show, probably more than I imagined myself enjoying when I first started it. It's good to note that I watch 8 episode in one day, on the first day of my college life - that's how much I enjoyed this show.

For a recommendation for the show, I would say watch it. It's a very good show, probably not the best or worthy to be on some elitist's list of top 100, but it's a great show that shows Maeda's write skills. If your a fan of Angel Beats, Clannad, or Little Busters, you will probably enjoy this show. If not, try it anyway.

Charlotte is available on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Veiwster, Anime Labs, and Animax for those people that have access to those resources. Currently the series is not available in a physical copy anywhere but in Japan.  

utreutel - 2015-09-27 17:16:25

Jun maeda fails to learn from Angel Beats and creates a show held back by poor writing, a lack of episodes, and a tendency to waste time.

lwalter - 2015-09-27 13:07:14

- REVIEW -
1. ART & ANIMATION
The character designs are like your typical Key show, some look ok, others look generic, but to be honest the character designs look like a bland Angel Beats re-hash/palette swap. Artistic background and designs are amazing, as expected from P.A WORKS everything is touched upon from the smallest details and feels lively and colorful... Never a dull moment when they do their backgrounds.
Animation-wise the show lacks it in later episodes where time just stands still most of the time and characters seem to sit in stone talking for a decade while the episode just flows until it ends. It feels sloppy at times, but at some others it looks good. But overall the characters distract you from paying much attention to the animation errors so you probably won't notice them.

2. SOUND
The soundtrack in Charlotte is great, like all Key shows, but of course. SAD MUSIC DOES NOT MAKE THE SHOW ANY BETTER THAN IT SHOULD BE! Just because it made you cry.
It has a certain charm to it that it'll never get tiresome if you're a fan of relaxing tunes and insert songs. OP & ED's are great aswell, it just proves to show how Maeda knows how to handle his audience when it comes to music.

3. STORY & CHARACTERS
Jun Maeda is known for making the script of most if not all key shows, and just proves how lously he does it, it focuses more on the moment when you're suppose to feel bad or cry and not developing the actual characters to make you feel like they are a part of the cast. In most cases they feel like wooden planks who cry for the sake of depression, and that he has no idea what character drama or how a character could be written without feeling like a plot device.
The directing is somewhat better because Maeda isn't directing it, but that isn't saying much. There is almost no tension because it gets killed by a predictable outcome, character interaction feels like they are loafs to be loafs so people can laugh along side them.
STORY-wise the show lacks any decent outcome and through the most basic things it's as predictable as ever, and like every key production it ends with an overblown ending that either, makes the viewer facepalm from stupidity asking why? Or making them cry a river just because the song was sad. Or these blobs got sad because someone died, the story lost its tension and interest after the first episode. It wasn't surprising it was just over blown for the sake of making ISFP's or people who like goofy characters because they could relate to them.

4. PRODUCTION VALUES & ENJOYMENT
Production values are great, yes they are that good. Detailed put alot of work and heart put in All key shows look great and sound great but that's all.
Enjoyment-wise unless you're a fan of stupid things and goofy comedy or a crybaby this is for you, for me this is boring, uninspired, dull and boring.

mitchell04 - 2015-09-27 11:50:34

This show had some good episodes.

like 2 good episodes.

think about it. 2 out of 13 episodes were good. And only about 70% of those two episodes too.

Actually, the Animation and Sound were good. That's it.

bblick - 2015-09-27 00:49:55

This show is great in my opinion. I watch shows to enjoy them so please take this review with a grain of salt. I was skeptical on whether to watch this show or not, but I'm damn glad I did. The character were very unique in this show and the animation and sounds were truly spectacular. I wish the ending would of been a bit better but overall this was a very enjoyable show to watch.

rosenbaum.imelda - 2015-09-23 10:34:38

I really enjoyed this series, even though it was basically the Days of Future Past storyline of the X-Men. The voice acting, characterization, and animation were all perfect. Certain elements of the story were predictable enough though that it lost emotional impact. Overall one of the more solid shows of the season.

steuber.fredrick - 2015-09-19 20:17:57

Charlotte is a special kind of anime as is all of Jun Maeda's works. It is more easily compared to Angel Beats! than Clannad, though both great works of art on their own.

This anime does not fail to convoke feelings and emotions through our relationship with the characters and the hardships that they suffer throughout. Angel beats ended with a bang in order to make us cry. But in Charlotte's case, the ending seems to be a lot more subtle but still leaves you with a strong of heart-ache. Kind of like crying without tears.

The story takes into account themes of friendship, love, family, loss, and sacrifice. Similar themes that we see in other works. Charlotte achieves to portray these themes in its own and quite adventurous way. 

Not only that, but just the general setting that Charlotte achieves is enough to evoke emotions beyond simple understanding. A lot of times, the characters look up at the starry blue night sky. We are pulled into this beautiful world and spend a lot of time in it. Everything is so vivid and amazing. Combined with an impeccable score that drives its way into your heart and the amazing attention to detail in the art, the world itself is enough to make us sad to say good-bye.

If you're looking for an anime to make you cry your eyeballs out, you won't find that here. But you might just be glad that the lack of tears allows you to see the beautiful message the Charlotte puts into our hearts.

tkerluke - 2015-09-13 05:22:57

i have to give this one a perfect score in all categories, as far as im concerned the story is competently original and a fantastic idea. there is ton of character development literally tons plot twists and depressing moments that pull at your heart strings. the soundtrack is a true masterpiece while the opening and closing themes are okay some of the songs in this literally gave me chills. i absolutely love the animation the bright vibrant colors make me happy just looking at it. this is an absolute must watch no matter what genre you prefer.

icie97 - 2015-09-09 03:13:20

The only reason I dropped any points is that it doesn't quite stack up against my all time favorites, but I honestly can't say there is anything I actually don't like about this anime...

Epic story (with some crazy unexpected twists), unique/interesting characters (some EXCELLENT ones: like the little sister),  just enough romances for my sappy heart to get excited, but not so much that it clouds the story line. It's also seriously funny, but still deeply emotional. I just can't put my finger on what tiny little element it's missing, but you should definitely check it out because it's really high quality stuff. 

If you're in the market for an epic love story this is a tiny bit weaker than some of the "greats:" Skip Beat!, Kamisama, Kimi ni Todoke, Toradora!

BUT if you're looking for a generically great story that happens to have some romance (like Chihayafuru or Akatsuki no Yona) then this is a great choice!

The lead character is very accessible and sympathetic. You grow to really love the lead female and two main "sidekicks." If I was being nit-picky I might say the leads could have a tiny bit more depth/slower development, but I do really really like them, and given their circumstances I think it's good they stay a little mysterious. 

Just watch it...you'll see.