(Big spoilers about the ending ahead, so avoid this review if you don't want them)
I want to start with the things about Charlotte that I disliked and then conclude with the things that I actually liked. So here we go:
Starting with the series pacing. It was downright horrible the entire time. People who watched Charlotte complain that the first 6 episodes were pretty slow. In all honesty, i don't really think they were that slow, since most of them were pretty eventful in their own way. It`s not that they were slow paced in itself, it's just that the time constraints demanded the episodes to be much more fast-paced than they were.
The thing is, they ended up becoming waaaaaay too much of a burden on the rest since they had to finish it in 13 freaking episodes. So, here's the thing: if Maeda really knew that beforehand, then the pacing for the first 6 episodes and the "monster of the week" format is utterly nonsensical and unreasonable.
But my question is, did he really know he only had 13 episodes to work with from the very start?
I don't know, i may be giving too much credit to Maeda, but i don't really think he planned the series to be this short. Rather, I can't bring myself to believe that. Perhaps i just find hard to believe Maeda actually hasn't learned shit since he wrote Angel Beats. Because Charlotte was even more rushed than Angel Beats and the pacing problems were 10x more serious in here.
Still, it's not like all problems stem from the series lenght. While I do think it was the show's main flaw, I don't really think it was impossible for it to be at least a bit better than what it was if only they had managed to do things a bit differently, mainly by using the first 6 episodes in a better way. It would always feel quite rushed given how large the scope of the plot was, but at the very least some of this series blatant pacing issues would not be... well, as blatant and so in-your-face as they were. And hopefully an abomination like episode 11 would have never existed in the first place.
So, pacing issues aside, let's talk about mood swings. Suddenly switching from silly comedy to heavy drama every 2 minutes. That's Charlotte for you. Well, if i recall correctly, Angel Beats was a bit like that, too. And even though I dropped it very early, Little Busters was also like that. So I don't think it would be a stretch to say that this is part of Maeda's writing style, so at the end of the day you either like it or not. Personally, I think it worked as a bit of a double-edged sword in Charlotte. While there were some episodes where the mood swings happened more or less smoothly (episodes 8 and 10, for example), there were also episodes where it was an absolute disaster (episode 11, most noticeably), so it's naturally unavoidable that there were times when I couldn't help but feel disconnected with what the show wanted to make me feel in certain moments. There was also episode 7, where the drama felt mostly comedic, but in that case it was mostly the portrayal of Yuu's emo phase that made me laugh more than I should have.
Moving on to the characters, the rushed nature of the show obviously didn't allow side characters to get some proper development. And what little attention they got was mostly an afterthought, something that it was added here and there without much care or attention simply because there was just no time for more. Takajou remained a mistery the whole time and as likable as he was, he was also remarkably one-dimensional. He was the wingman/bro of the series, and that is all there is to his existence. No information about his past, zero character depth, literally nothing.
As for Yusarin/Misa, well I suppose it worked out surprisingly fine. Even if her development was also rushed, most of the serious scenes where Misa appeared were actually meaningful. The resolution to her conflict was still truly touching and possibly one of the best things about this show. As for Yusa, there was just no time to give more depth to her character other than the "genki idol who's kind to everyone" persona. Likable but ultimately shallow and forgettable, like Takajou.
As for Nao and Yuu, they got a lot more screentime than everyone else, so it's only natural that they also got more development. Their relationship was the driving force of the show after a certain point in the story, so the series success ended up being highly dependent of their chemistry and interactions. Maeda decided to throw a romantic subplot for the two main characters and so the romance became a key element in the series' overall enjoyment. Honestly, I think it could have been much better. But it also could have been much worse, as well. Once again, the main problem was how rushed everything seemed to be.
Same with Yuu's brother and the scientists' plot. It was awfully rushed and there more holes in there than in a planet-sized swiss cheese. It all happened too fast, most logic got thrown out of the window and the end result is what you see in the last 4 episodes. It's like the show was aware that it was free falling deep into a giant black hole but even so, it still tried to grow some magical wings and bullshit their way out of the mess it was in.
And hence the reason why we still got a happy ending, even if it was mostly thanks to a thousand deus ex machina plot devices. I think Maeda knew that if we didn't get a happy ending, the whole series would be even more of a waste than what it already was. I think it was a good decision, all things considered. A couple loose ends were tied thanks to it (Nao finally showing some emotion, Nao's brother getting better in this timeline and most importantly, Yuu getting rewarded after the unbelievably unfair task of having to save the world completely alone). To be honest, the promise Yuu made with Nao and with his brother was so maddeningly unreasonable and even outrageous that a part of me wanted Yuu to give in and say "fuck everything and all those bitches who made me do this alone, imma be the king of the new world now that i am basically a God!" even if that meant we wouldn't get an happy ending. Seriously, the whole thing was so stupid that I couldn't help feeling frustrated. Luckily for the protagonist, Maeda had other plans and didn't want the train to completely wreck so we got an happy ending where everything was forgiven and Yuu still got the Nao after conveniently losing his memories. Everyone is happy and all is right with the world. Well, other than the massive guilt Nao and his brother must feel after basically sending Yuu to a suicide mission, that is.
Speaking of good and happy things, the animation quality was pretty good and consistent the whole time. And that was certainly a good thing. The soundtrack was great. The episode with the Zhiend singer was good. The side characters were pretty likable. The SoL parts were much better than the serious parts. It also had that unpredictable/trainwreck quality to it from start to finish, and that was a good thing, too. Misa's backstory and the resolution to her conflict were pretty good. The story's premise had tremendous potential, despite 98% of it being completely wasted. Nao was cute. Yusarin was cute. Takajou was funny. The imouto was ok, I guess. All things considered, both Nao's and Yuu's development was somewhat consistent and mostly well done if you don't think too hard about it.
To sum things up, Charlotte was definitely enjoyable if you don't think too hard about it. The last minutes of the final episode were still touching if you don't think too hard about it. Happy endings are always good if you like the characters. And despite all its obvious flaws and while it's not a show I would openly recommend to other people, I still don't regret watching it at all, especially if I... well, don't think too hard about it and just enjoy it for what it is, without letting the bad things overshadow the good things. Which is not exactly an easy task, but hey, it can be done.
