Yuu Otasaka had it all.
He was the top student in school, had the key to every ladies heart,
lead a pretty fun life. Oh and he was
able to do this because he has the power to possess anyones body for about five
seconds. So yeah, he cheated but what
else are you going to do with an unexplained power like that? Turns out, Yuu isn’t alone and when a pair of
students with powers come looking for him, his worlds comes crashing down. Now Yuu is enrolled in a new school, along
with his younger sister, and he’s been tossed into the student council. The culprit behind this upheaval, Nao, a girl
who can vanish in front of one person and loves her camcorder. She wont say why Yuu is here with her and her
accomplice, the terrible teleporter Jojiro.
But this new school is filled with kids with powers…and Nao is
determined to protect them for whatever, or whoever, wants to harness their
abilities for their own purposes.
Welcome to the next level of high school scifi.
With a title as random as Charlotte, it’s kind of easy
for me to glance over it (it’s a title as strange as Bleach). However, while I was at Otakon, my friends
who had seen the Japanese Dub were hyping it up quite a bit. So I decided to check out the world premiere
of the English Dub that weekend. And…yeah
I was pretty entertained in all honesty.
Charlotte’s smartly written, goofy but sentimental and a gem that might
go unnoticed by many unless you’re in the know.
What made a lot of these first two episodes work for me
was Yuu. This kid is basically the
official, fan fiction offspring of Lelouch vi Britannia from Code Geass and
Light Yagami from Death Note. He’s
intelligent, if a bit of a cheater, and is a master manipulator. He’s also got his powers which make him equal
parts jerk and genius. I also like that
his powers have drawbacks, if he takes over a body, his own slumps over
unconscious, leaving him in plenty of awkward positions. Actually, for all the lack of explanation as
to where these powers come from (though it’s definitely got something to do
with a comet we see in the second episode) the drawbacks are pretty
hilarious. I love how Jojiro can control
his stopping when he teleports so he destroys roads and cafeterias when he
crashes. Sure he wears body armor but
that cant save injuries to his head…which Yuu notes in hilarious fashion.
I was a little caught off guard by how light hearted the
first episode was compared to the second.
Episode Two went into Nao’s backstory and things got almost
uncomfortably grim. It wasn’t until
later I realized that the studio behind this new tale is also the studio behind
the hit Anime, Angel Beats. That show
also had a funny first episode before blindsiding audiences with a heavy drama
filled second episode. It doesn’t
detract from anything really, having powers like these kids have is bound to
come with some emotional baggage of the epic kind. But there is a nice balance to it, at least
for now, I bet it gets more dramatic as the series goes on. Thankfully for all the heavy handed beats,
Nao and Yuu’s team ups are pretty fun.
Nao is the offspring of L from Death Note and Haruhi Suzumiya…from
haruhi Suzumiya, to me. She’s got a
great detective mind but also has a bit of an all controlling God complex about
her, it clashes pretty well with Yuu’s self centerness. They’re a good pair.
I’ll be looking to continue this one for sure down the
line. The mystery of the comet, or
whatever cosmic event that caused everyone to develop powers, seems very
reminiscent of the first season of Heroes (you know the good one with the
eclipse and all that). And im also
curious just what might be coming after Yuu, Nao and their school…almost sort
of X-Men esque. If that’s the case then,
“I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul who comes to that school…looking
for trouble.” My friends were right to
suggest this one to me. Charlotte left a
great first impression and I cant wait for more.
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