PS: I have this review on my Hubpages, so I will just rewrite it here and summarize a bit. So here it goes.
This review will have 4 parts, Story Review, Character Review, Music Review and Art Review. After all the reviews, there will be an Over-all Review where a summary of all review will be given. If you have any comments, suggestions and all, just comment below! Enjoy reading!
This review will have 4 parts, Story Review, Character Review, Music Review and Art Review. After all the reviews, there will be an Over-all Review where a summary of all review will be given. If you have any comments, suggestions and all, just comment below! Enjoy reading!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! Don't read if you want to watch the show first.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Once every 75 years, a comet named Charlotte passes near Earth. It leaves a cloud of dust that when inhaled by pre-adolescent children, there will be a chance to gain some superhuman powers and abilities.
Yuu Otasaka is one the children that awakens his power due to the phenomenon. He has the power to possess someone he looks at for five seconds. He used his power to become the top of his school.
One day, a girl named Nao Tomori exposes him. She has the ability to become invisible to one person whom he targeted. She then forced Yuu to transfer to Hoshinoumi Academy and join the Student Council of which she was the President. The purpose of the student council is to ensure the safety of all ability user. Because some adults are experimenting on those who have powers and ability. So they need to make sure that those ability user are taking precautions so they won't be captured. They are joined by Jojiro Takajo, a boy who has the power to move fast but he has no control on stopping it." - from my Hubpages
Review
At first, the story is just like any high school anime characters living and having the time of his life, but with a twist - that is the characters have hidden powers or abilities. In our main character's case the power to posses someone he looks at. The story unfolds and you will thought it will be just a bunch of kids recruiting others with powers. But as the story goes, the darkness in the anime begin to show. Then the story became very complicated as flashbacks and time traveling has been introduced.
I actually enjoyed the show. At first, I kind of think of it as boring and very light. But as the story unfolds and each character's story was told, you will feel the darkness and the heavy tone of the story. I will give the story 4 out of 5. ★★★★☆
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| From Left to right - Yuu, Jojiro, Nao and Yusa |
I will only include the main characters in this series.
Yuu Otosaka - the main protagonist in this show. His power was thought to be just a possession of the person whom he sighted on for a mere five seconds. But as the show progress, it was revealed that his power is one of the strongest known to have been existed. He can also steal the power of the person whom he possessed and harness it as if it's his own. Also, it will erase the power on the person on whom he possessed. He was a a selfish and egotistical person at the start of the series. He uses his ability to be the top on his school. After the events in the Charlotte Yuu's personality changes. He and Nao became a bit more closer and develop a relationship.
Yuu's story is quite a roller coaster. From the start, he is just a boy wanting to be the top of his school by using his power. Then, he was recruited by Nao to be part of a group that protect all the ability users from the elders that experiment on them. Some incidents happen and made him so depressed and totally change his personality - become eaten by his darkness. And many more events happen, from highs to lows. He's character have been so damaged and changed in this show.
Nao Tomori - she is the President of the Student Council of Hoshinoumi Academy. Her power is to made him undetected to the person she wanted not to be seen. In short, she will become invisible to only one person she chooses. She wanted to help all the ability users from the exploitation being done by the elders. The adult have been known to experiment on the children that gained powers. In fact, his brother is one of the victims of the exploitation done by the adults. After that, she bowed to protect all to the adults. She is quite narcissistic and hardworking. She is also short-tempered. Nao became close with Yuu and she tells every secret she had hidden to him. She eventually falls in love with Yuu.
Jojiro Takajo - He is one of the members of the student council of Hoshinoumi Academy. His power is the ability to charge at high speeds. He called it teleportation because everyone in his surroundings slows down and he become so fast. He doesn't have the control over his power, so if he goes fast the tendency is him to be injured or him flying into things just to stop. He overcomes it by building up muscles and by wearing a protective gear inside his clothes. He doesn't much have to add to the story. He's just an addition to the student council and his power is one of the running gags of the show, along with Yuu's body state while possessing someone.
Yusa "Yusarin" Nishimori - She is the lead vocalist of the band How-Low-Hello and a teen idol of sorts. She is also known as Yusarin. Her real surname is "Kurobane" but her agency changed it since they thought that the name was not appropriate for an idol. Her power is that she became a medium, where any spirit can possess her. She doesn't know that she has this power. She only knows that she always sleep walks or some sort. The only one spirit that possesses Yusa is her sister's spirit, Misa. Misa always possesses her sister's body to protect her. Like Jojiro, Yusa and Misa is somewhat "just an additional" character. They don't have that much of an impact in the storyline. The only redeeming part for this character, unlike that of Jojiro's, is that the story of Yusa, her sister and her family is a bit heartwarming and very moving. 
Misa Kurobane - She is Yusa Nishimori's elder sister who died in a motorcycle accident six months prior to the show's beginning. She always possess her sister in order to communicate to others and also to protect her sister. Her power is the ability to create and control fire. Misa and Yusa are polar opposites in terms of personality. Yusa is a bit of a girly girl while Misa is somewhat boyish type girl.
Ayumi Otosaka - She is Yuu's younger sister. During the start of the series, she shows no sign of having an ability. It made Yuu at ease, since the adult will never target his sister. But during one event on the series, where Ayumi's life was put in a danger (and her eventually dying), she was revealed to have an ability so powerful that it also took away her life. Her ability is the power to make everything around her collapse. It was said to be one of the strongest power also, like his brothers ability. When her power awakened, the building where she was collapsed, eventually killing her. This is when the real story unfolds and changes the mood of the story. Her character build up was so on point that it made Yuu's character stronger and darker. Her being the only person in Yuu's life made it easier to understand why Yuu became like that when Ayumi was killed.
Review
I don't actually like nor love all the characters in this series. I think some of the characters are just added even though they don't contribute to the story. The story will still be the same even if they are written off on the story. Also, the powers of the main characters are so weird and not that reliable. I know this will sound silly, but I expected that they will have a good fight or battle scenes in this show. I mean, the characters have powers or ability and all shows with powers and abilities always showcases battle and fight scenes. But with this show, they never focus on the abilities developed by the children. Overall, my rating for the characters in Charlotte is 2 out of 5. ★★☆☆☆
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Art & Music
One of the things that you will remember in an anime is that of its soundtrack and animation. With Charlotte, there is noting memorable on its opening and closing theme. I never actually picked it up. I never remember that I actually wanted to listen to its theme. I tend to skip it because its "meh" for me. One song I like in this series is the song of the band Zhiend. The song perfectly fits the story revelations on where it was used. I remember it gives me the proper feels. So I rate this show's music 2 out of 5. ★★☆☆☆
The art and animation is also one of the factors that will make you say "yes" to an anime. With the story of the show, characters having powers, visiting different places and countries, the sceneries, all of it was superb. Every details they put was so great. One of the scenes in the show is that Yuu visited different places and countries to plunder the powers of other children. One country he visited is the Philippines. You will be amazed on how intricate and how detailed they made every scene. It almost looks as if it was the real deal. With that said, I will rate the art, 4 out of 5. ★★★★☆
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OVERALL: 3 out of 5 ★★★☆☆
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment