Charlotte - General Discussion

Key Discussion
#268

I agree on Charlotte being a big improvement on Angel Beats, the holes are still there unfortunately. I just don’t understand why he won’t get more than 13 episodes… I’d love to see him on a 2-cour series at least.

Charlotte will be amazing if it ends well enough. I’ve loved almost every moment of it so far, and the more I “work” on the series, the better I find it. If the ending lives up to expectations, it’s sure to be a brilliant series, in fact I think it pretty much has been up to now, although it’s scary to see them betting so much on that one episode. I hope they manage, because if they do, it can turn incredible - but I just feel like it can go anywhere from “just good” to “almost-close-to-masterpiece”, all based on a single episode, and I don’t like that prospect.

Good to see that some others are enjoying Charlotte too, it definitely deserves more love than it is getting in my opinion. I’ve loved it from the start, even with its obvious flaws, and the ending of episode 7 is a moment I might not ever be able to forget. I agree there are weird missing parts, that’s undeniable.

I have to admit that Angel Beats is my least favorite Key work. It just didn’t “grab” me as much as other shows/VNs, not even Charlotte. I felt there was too little impact until the end, and that ultimately it was far too ambitious for an anime, leading to the problems to mention.

1 Like
#269

Wasn’t this for Ayumi? They all walk towards the area where Ayumi watched the meteor shower thing. While Yuu and Nao fall to Earth, Ayumi jumps into the sky. Everyone looks on from where she once watched.
If I had to guess, it’s a “save Nao, leave Ayumi” thing.

#270

I could’ve sworn that that space was never filled. It would make sense if that space was filled until episode 7 or something but I don’t think it ever was.

#271

I was going to say “golden rule design” but nah, it doesn’t seem to fit.

#272

Let’s take a minute to appreciate Maeda’s little mind games, shall we?

Pretty much the moment Ayumi has been first introduced in a PV, people started saying “She’s SO gonna die.” A childish, pure and innocent little sister like her is pretty much destined to die in order to move the viewer’s hearts and invoke a change in some characters. Fast-forward to episode 5: Around the end, Ayumi was coughing. The voices prophesizing the loli’s death grew louder. It would only be a matter of time until her sickness kills her. At this point, Ayumi became a dead person that hasn’t died yet. …except it was actually just a normal cold. Maeda pulled a fast one on us… and then, after giving us a week of time to speculate, he killed the loli anyway xD
Oh, but the games didn’t end with just that. A few episodes (and an unexpectedly bloody flashback) later, time travel became a thing in Charlotte. The little sister could be brought back. And she was. So Maeda still refuses to kill important characters. Or so we thought. Come next episode, Kumagami dies a painful death.

So maybe, just maybe, we’re still in for a surprise in episode 13. I doubt it, but I can’t entirely dismiss it.

3 Likes
#273

Was Kumagami ever a “major” character though? The question remains. I don’t think so, his death was probably just a plot device to go on with the whole notion of continuity and underline Yu’s change for the better as he becomes the one to save a close one about to go down the seemingly bottomless of depression he had once gotten himself into.

I just hope the ending surprises me, as I haven’t managed to come up with anything even remotely satisfying knowing that, as you say, Maeda refuses to kill important characters. I also know he’s good enough to toy with the viewer the way he wants and create memorable endings, so I’ll trust him until the end, but I have many doubts going into that last episodes, although that’s also what makes me so impatient to watch it.

Then again, Charlotte has its own ways of being an unorthodox work for Maeda, so maybe he’ll go for the kill.

#274

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.

#275

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.

#276

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.

#277

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

#278

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.

2 Likes
#279

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.

#280

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?

#281

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.

#282

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.

#283

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

#284

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~

3 Likes
#285

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?

1 Like
#292

So Charlotte is over and I can now update my crazy ol’ rating scheme, which some of you may remember

new_ratings.PNG741×179 2.83 KB

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.

1 Like
#293

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

6 Likes