Regardless of whether he was or not, he felt like one. He stood out more than certain other main cast members and he was relevant to the plot.
I agree that he stood out more, but I genuinely believe it’s more of a flaw than some sort of plan. They just had to leave Yusa & Takajo behind because they realized they didn’t have time for them (one of the show’s biggest problems), and it just circumstantially happened that he became more relevant. Otherwise, I don’t think he was ever meant to be major, at least nowhere near as much as Takajo & Yusa. it just turned out that way because of the show’s own flaws. Who was genuinely moved by his death here? Because I have to say I wasn’t. As long as Nao was safe, I think in a way it was “alright”, because she was the important part there, not him. Although I’m speaking on feeling here.
Here’s a question, would Kumagami have been more interesting if we would have had some fly on the wall scenes of him talking to Shunsuke? I mean, he was the link between Shunsuke’s group and student council. He was the mysterious hand that gave the team missions and said hardly a word. If we could have had a teaser scene with him talking to Shunsuke about if “Yuu had yet realized his true powers,” that could have gotten the conspiracy hype train running at full steam.
I think there was already enough foreshadowing about Yuu’s powers, though. Even back in Episode 4 there was something fishy about it that we were all wondering, and got explained eventually.
What that would achieve, though, would be foreshadowing regarding Kumagami, so it might have had it’s potential, but I don’t think it would have made him any more interesting than he already was.
I would have loved to see more scenes that aren’t from Yuu’s perspective. They really kind of produced the whole anime to be from Yuu’s perspective, from what we’ve seen so far
Yeah, it would definitely be meant more to foreshadow Kumagami and make the viewer wonder if he’s an antagonist. Yuu’s power difference was foreshadowed sufficiently, but “the brotherhood” felt underdeveloped considering how important they ended up being to the series.
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Allow me to join the ending speculations once again. I initially assumed that Yuu will end the conflict by somehow using plunder globally, stealing all powers in one fell swoop
without having to actually travel the entire planet and visit every single power user, which I consider impossible to do within just 2 years. However, it’s not that simple. In ep12, Nao pointed out something that I had completely disregarded: Yuu will have to steal all existing powers and the powers that have yet to awaken. So using plunder globally just once right away won’t solve the problem, because new power users will emerge later.
Time for some simple math. Three years after Ayumi said she was 8 (ep10), the Otosaka siblings were supposed to get captured by the scientists. So Ayumi is at least 11 now, though we’ll have to assume she’s already 12. That’s because about 12 years ago, Charlotte passed by the earth and gave kids superpowers (ep12). Anyone younger than 12 can’t become a power user, since they weren’t around to eat Charlotte’s dust (literally). So we can safely assume that all potential power users will awaken in the near future, in other words, before Yuu loses his power in 2 years at the latest. Let’s say he’ll wait for at least 1 year just to be sure. Within that year, as suggested in ep12, he’ll have to raid foreign power user groups Shunsuke was talking about, acquire a power that allows him to detect other powers (along with the remaining powers of said groups), finally, acquire a means of using plunder globally. One of those groups will probably be in posession of such a means.
There’s alternatives (that may also be just steps in-between), like a power that allows Yuu (no pun intended) to teleport right next to a certain person. That would make visiting every power user within the time limit actually possible.
Didn’t they say that Charlotte was a long-orbit commet that passed every 75 years -or something?. Also, the scientists in Shun’s place are working on a vaccine for when those powers awaken. So why bother about the ones that have yet to awaken? Could there be any?
Ones from the last comet orbiting. Since Ayumi’s just awoke it’s safe to assume there’s a few more who are just starting or haven’t quite awoken yet.
I think the post-credits scene in episode 6 with Kumagami was supposed to be perceived as more important than people have assumed thus far.
Allow me to explain.
Going into episode 7, it’s more or less an implied notion that Kumagami was the one who saved Yuu, or at least assisted him after the first collapse in protecting him from death.
The fact that Kumgami is linked to Yuu by the companionship with Shunsuke and Nao, I believe this was supposed to be a way of establishing a stronger connection with the audience in the closing sequence of episode 11 after second collapse.
Think of it this way. The show focuses on Yuu and Nao heavily, and Kumagami was basically the guy who pushed forward the plot (Help Nao find users, helping Shunsuke form the syndicate, and being the victim because of his power) and not only that but he saved the lives of both Yuu and Nao. The two characters the show has been trying to get you attached to the most.
If you think about it that way, it really lets you appreciate Kumagami’s character a lot more in my honest opinion.
I’m of the opinion that it’s impossible to capture all the abilities in just 2 years. I wager he’ll either fail, find a way to extend his power, or turn into a monster, as was heavily foreshadowed before
So after a lonnnnng talk with the forum’s most rebellious moderator aka Yerian, I decided to post this on here as well:
This is the one page that gathers all my writings on Charlotte so far, all 11 episodic articles. A short intro and some precautionary measures will lead you to all the links, be sure to read that part too as I always fear they might not be the usual “review” type stuff most would naturally expect. The response from people interested in the series has been quite positive, I’ve even managed to make Charlotte into one person’s top summer anime!
My article on episode 12 will come either tomorrow Friday or Saturday before the anxiously awaited finale airs.
Hope of some of you read & appreciate my work~
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Hey, maybe Shirayanagi Yumi will make one last appearance in episode 13? I mean, yeah, it’s not like they have all that much time to spare in the last episode, but that would give Yuu a bit of closure, right?
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So Charlotte is over and I can now update my crazy ol’ rating scheme, which some of you may remember
Charlotte had pretty decent characters. I felt they were more interesting and fleshed out than Kanon, AIR and Clannad, but simply hold no bar compared to the others.
I quite liked the setting of Charlotte, what with the whole powers and everything, but I would have preferred it to have a more somber tone to it. Personal preference, I guess.
The theme of Charlotte is a bit hard to gauge for now, but I feel a lot of it has to do with one’s self. Following Yuu’s own development was, I feel, the most important part of the story as a whole, and I had a lot of insight on how it could apply to my own life.
The story of Charlotte is, well, meh. It lacked a direction and proper foreshadowing for many of the series, and a lot what happened converged to a single point: the promise to come home. Even that promise was pretty lackluster in terms of what happened, and I rate it as such.
Emotional Impact is Charlotte’s weakest point. I gained little to no emotional impact from this series, as a lot of the dramatic points were not given enough time to be savored, both before and during the scenes.
The music, however, makes up for a lot of things. The BGMs were absolutely great, and the How-Low-Hello and ZHIEND songs are sounding amazing so far. I can’t wait to get the full length albums! It ain’t no Rewrite, but it sure is damn good.
So yeah, that’s how I rate charlotte compared to other key series. By itself as an anime, I gave it a 3/5 on Hummingbird which, in my standards, means average.
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Alrighty, so since I finished Charlotte and I havent posted a single post about it, Im gonna drop a huge bomb of thoughts and opinions. Altho people will surely hate me for the most part what I say, I dont give a shit because if you know me well enough, you could have guessed early what Im about to say haha. So no h8 and no jundgerino plz :p.
First of all I want to say a few things about the “little” details of Charlotte I loved. I have discussed this the other day on discord with pepe and everyone. I have noticed it right away in those first episodes, but the each effect of the superpower that someone had was always displayed by the same color or visual effect. And I really liked that and noted it as a big plus. It may sound kinda stupid, but I loved how levitation was violet and then nao’s disappearence was always this TV signal effect .
I also have to say that Charrlote itself is really awesomely deisgned in graphical way, and to me it looked appealing and nice to watch. I was really getting this nice sense of it just by looking at the eyes for example or the background landscape or w/e.
Also this will sound really weird but Im going to compare Yuu to Kotarou a little, idk why but w/e right. I kind of liked how Yuu had this badass character on the outside, but at the same time he was really sensitive inside. If we take Kotarou for example in some of the routes he becomes stronger, and so his mindset does. In a sense that he can do this and that and wont be afraid … this is hard to explain, but when it comes to Yuu, and especially 12nd ep. He was like, NOO I cant do this alone how the fk am I gonna do this right? So even tho he has all those powers he is still scared. (well who whouldnt be) . And I kind of like this “progress” of a characters mind and strenght itself, and how are they gonna accept it. And to be completely honest. I was 100% satisfied how they made main protagonist behave n stuff and partly it is because of the 13rd episode. (I was seriously hoping to see all his sides of behaviour, and I got it, so win win for me).
When it comes to other characters tho, Im kinda 50/50 on that. You know, it would be nice if characters like Nao’s brother got more attention, but they just mentioned him like once and then poof suddenly he became unimportant.
I really like the design of every other characters tbh, Kumagami or Yusarin, whoever, I really liked how they displayed them.
Now the story,
The story itself, had a good idea and a point to it, but what really put me off a little was the pacing. Like 5 episodes or so, and seriously almost nothing happened. But, I knew that Key is going to have this … uhhh how do I put it. A bigger impact of the story itself. Rewrite spoilers ahead - What I mean is, that in rewrite the things that was happening wasnt only in japan, but planet included… everywhere right? And for some reason I knew that they are going to do something similiar in Charlotte. It really reminded me of rewrite in that sense. It reminded me of Terra route for some reason haha.
Music, ohoho boy that was one of the best things in Charlotte and I think everyone could agree. When I heard the opening for the first time I was kinda like “hm okay thats nice.” But then I started watching the eps, and the bravely song started growing up on me lol. And now everytime I listen to it I go insta goosebumps. As for background music and funny scenes music. I think they did a phenomenal job on it. It kinda had this glitchy feeling sometimes, but that’s what Charlotte suits imo.
Also ZHIEND, the way Key are trying to visualise the music is just something I really love. I think the first time I saw something like that was in angel beats with Iwasawa (the headphones). AND THE SAME THING, when Yuu got to listen to ZHIEND’s songs from Nao and found himself in that place UGGHH THATS JUST… YES DAT! :D.
And lastly the emotions. I… expected more of Charlotte in terms of emotional impact. I mean, they tried to put emotions and tried to make you go feel-ish mood where it didn’t really work. But there were times that had a big impact on me, I have to say that yeah. Especially the scene on the 13rd ep where Yuu wakes up, I couldnt stand the look of Nao’s face. Maybe it is because that I tend to put myself into other people’s shoes and then feel the way they do… if that makes any sense to you. But It kinda got me into this depressing moment somtimes, for example where Yuu always reminded himself that he cant use the time jumping ability, or the fact that he saw his sister die. Its just… Imagine being in that situation, it will be there with you, in your mind. And that sucks. So yeah I kinda got depressed xd.
Sorry for the longer post and all the spoiler tags :p. I hope I brought something new and that I didnt repeat someone else’s ideas.
Again this is my opinions and I think a lot of people will not agree with me, but w/e I am who I am right :D? Peace
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My general overview of Charlotte can be found on my blog. It obviously has spoilers in it, and is written for people, that have watched the full anime too. Here is a link
I guess I’ll “review” the show on here, since that’s probably not something I’ll ever do on my website.
Charlotte is a very interesting show I felt - but as I’m sure we’ll all agree, it suffers from quite a few problems.
The production values don’t pose any problem - the animation is classic P.A. Works, they know what they do and do it to great effect, although I do have to admit that I was surprised to see them keeping their trademark style even when working with Maeda again, I thought they’d go back to their AB style. The soundtrack is, very obviously, quite excellent. On that end, I see no problem.
Now as for the characters, well that part is very mixed to me. I absolutely love Yu & Nao, think they’re both incredibly interesting & that Yu’s development is legendary considering he’s fleshed out better than 99% percent of protagonists from shows twice or even thrice as long. Nao is marvelously subtle. But, unfortunately, those two’s brilliance sacrifices the other characters almost entirely. I understand why in this case, but between Yusa & Takajo who get less development in 10-13 episodes than Shunsuke in like 4 and those characters who appear one and never come relevant again (including Sala, despite her contribution being “erased” by the time travel), there’s a lot to criticize where the characters are concerned. I simply felt none of them were truly fleshed out or shown to be really relevant, the two main aside of course.
Regarding the story: the setting is interesting, that’s undeniable. I love the “powers as a disease” angle. You also feel they really do take advantage of the setting well enough as Yu’s story unfolds, as his interior problems that stem from his condition are quite well painted. The message is superbly interesting & contrasted, although as that’s analysis I’ll keep it for my site. But where Charlotte falters, in my opinion, is the execution of it all. For all its good ideas, the ending was incredibly rushed and made the final ordeal feel too weak in comparison to what was to be expected given all the build-up, and one could argue that it’s because the global execution of the show was lacking. I can’t help but think that most of the episodes (except a few) were quite well executed on an individual level, they all had a very clear purpose and managed to realize it - but at the same time, when you put them all together, the result is that they had so much work left for the final episode, and that led to a somewhat weak ending, at least definitely so in terms of delivery.
Furthermore the story has obvious problems, for instance the matter of time - after Ayumi dies, Yu stays holed up for quite a few days and is able to run away freely, even though after he travels back in time, the terrorists make their plan a reality within less time than it took Yu to run away in episode 7.. Furthermore, one has to question the ultimate worth of episodes 7 & 8 if Nao ends up falling for Yu regardless - and those two episodes were easily my favorites in the entire show.
So yeah, as interesting as the setting & premise are, and as good as I found most of the episodes, the global structure has many frustrating problems. The main flaw here is how it all adds up rather than how each part works, which ultimately hurts the show as a whole quite a bit.
However that has to be contrasted with how dense each episode is, how much info one can squeeze out of everything. There’s meaning to almost every sentence, in fact almost everything is worthy of analysis. That’s one of the major aspects that made me like the show - its meaningfulness, and how so many things just come together to create a wonderful general message. Everything that is presented as meaningful to Yu’s story (since he’s the one to convey the message ultimately) does come to make sense at the end, so in that regard Charlotte is well built.
I also loved the subtle aspect to the show. So many anime just try so hard to make you understand how everything works and how each character feels at a precise moment - it’s a firework of tears, entirely silly lines, overly tragic music and other all too obvious visual elements. Charlotte is all but that - many times you have to pay a lot of attention to really get what each character is thinking or how they feel. It never forces you into understanding the super obvious message, and doesn’t make its characters into sorts of allegories of human beauty.
All in all I loved Charlotte as a meaningful story that made me feel really engaged - and also for being superb analysis material. But it’s also full of holes and other inconsistencies that keep it from being a genuinely amazing experience. It is quite excellent I think, but I’m not sure it’ll remain with our memories - although to be frank, it’s still better than 99% of what’s airing today, so it might stay simply because there’s hardly ever anything better, at least in its own genre, considering almost all good anime series are comedies those days (meaningful stories such as this one are an endangered species in the realm of anime, and shows that try to be that generally fail miserably - hey Glasslip, hey Plastic Memories!).
So yeah, those are all the thoughts I can muster at the moment. I might edit if new ideas come to me. I think the impression that will remain with me will be positive - but I can’t help the frustration seeing how it could’ve become a total masterwork with more time (I think additional time would have naturally fixed most of the execution problems & such). All in all I rate Charlotte pretty highly, but definitely far from as much as I could have, and it’s a shame.
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I agree with your sentiment on subtlety, but there is a very thin line between subtlety and just not giving the viewer enough information, and I feel that unfortunately Charlotte often crossed over into the latter.
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Well I won’t argue that Charlotte will please the casual viewer, to me it’s clear that’s hard & I’ve definitely heard many complaints from those, including some quite silly stuff that I’d rather not mention.
However in the end it’s up to the viewer to pay attention, and if you do watch Charlotte closely enough, you’ll see the subtleties because the information is most definitely in there if you watch out for it, it’s not invisible or so small that it requires 10 re watches. You just need to watch each episode once with enough focus, and you’ll get a good part of what you need in order to understand the main of it.
But then again, that makes the show sort of inaccessible to a certain audience, which can be considered a flaw in its own right, that I can agree with. But in another perspective, you can also say that paying attention is the viewer’s job, and that it’s their fault if they don’t get the subtleties. I’m more on the latter here, you simply can’t go into a work like this and think of watching it casually.
The problem is, even doing that, even with all the extra information, doesn’t fix the show’s problems.
I’m not saying it does, I admit that in my first post - but if you look at the vast majority of the criticism targeted at Charlotte, most of it is unfair & stems from this lack of understanding. I’ve only met very few people who didn’t like Charlotte and could actually make a decent case for their opinion.
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