Charlotte is an original anime series with the concept written by the minds from Key, who is the developer of high emotional impact visual novels such as Clannad and Planetarian. The anime is 13 episodes long with an OVA. We’re introduced to Otosaka Yuu, who possesses a special ability. He is able to take control over the body of someone for a maximum of five seconds. Although it is more like that he transfers his consciousness over, leaving his own body exposed (which often just collapses onto the ground). Unfortunately, we’re shown that he’s quite a bit of an immoral character. He uses his ability to his advantage, from cheating to getting revenge.
What happens though is that the world is filled with young people like him that has special powers. Tomori Nao is another, who is able to become invisible in front a specific person or Takajo Jojiro who is able to teleport. Their powers are considered incomplete since there are limitations. They track down Yuu in order to force him to help them find others with special abilities. They tell him that his power will eventually fade away as his grows older.
The anime has a strong first episode as we’re shown just what type of person Yuu is. He uses his powers in various situations and the pacing is good when Tomori and Jojiro turn up to effectively blackmail him into helping them. Then it kind of turns into a show where they track down others with the abilities such that organizations with a darker objective won’t find them and subject them to inhumane experiments. This leads to it feeling like a generic anime where the plot doesn’t progress much each episode.
Despite his selfishness that was shown in the first episode, Yuu ends up turning pretty quickly into a stereotypical good protagonist. This was disappointing since it removed his one point of difference. As expected, Tomori ends up becoming an important person to Yuu. She influences him for the better, and Yuu doesn’t realize it until later on (even though it’s really obvious to viewers). Like several of Key’s games, the plot has a high focus on familial bonds.
The same structure for each episode keeps repeating until around the halfway point. This was when it hits you hard with a surprising development. The anime did a pretty good job at lulling you into a false sense of security, slowly building up your familiarity with the characters before throwing in that hard hitter. At first, it isn’t a major emotional moment; it’s shocking sure, but nothing too influential. However, the effect it has on Yuu, and how he recalls those day-to-day moments that he realizes that he never truly appreciated them, is when the anime truly shines.
Unfortunately that peak goes as quickly as it comes. By the time the next episode comes, things kind of revert to normal. Yuu seemingly goes back to his normal life pretty quickly and that’s a bit disappointing. And then the anime goes right back into a massive peak, as it unveils a massive explanation on the abilities, conspiracies and the history before everything in the show. However, it introduces various plot holes or questionable points that are glossed over. You feel that some characters had made decisions before fully comprehending or considering the more obvious risks. While it doesn’t quite ruin the anime, it’s there always at the back of your mind.
And then it subsides from there, the momentum couldn’t continue until the very end. As it tries to wrap up such a large scale issue, it can feel too naïve and optimistic. It is too much for one person to solve and yet that is exactly how the problem was resolved. It becomes a messy ending in that it tries to cram too much into the final episode. Its developments are predictable, as is the ending. The OVA takes place between episodes 4 and 5, and takes on the same structure as those earlier episodes. In it, the group finds another ability user and confronts them in a bid to stop them using it and drawing attention to themselves. It adds nothing to the show’s lore and one of the only reasons to watch it is to see the interactions between Tomori and Yuu.
Overall, Charlotte is really uneven. The pacing goes all over the place. Just when you thought all that slowness was worthwhile, the peak rapidly falls off a cliff. There are times where you think if it is all worth it, and it is a hard question to answer. There was a lot of potential, and a significant chunk of it was realized. The animation was great, there were some touching scenes but the ending as well as the generic feel of the earlier episodes dampens the enthusiasm somewhat.
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