Charlotte seems to be the "Key" title that sticks out the most from the bunch. Not only is it an original story, but it also has a darker and more complicated story. Yes. COMPLICATED. As it is a Key title, many people got hyped up for it before it came out and it has become one of the most popular shows of not only the Summer 2015 season, but in 2015 as well. So how is it really?
Story: 3/10
As with all the Key titles, Charlotte starts off as this happy, school feeling slice-of-life show. A few episode later it dives down into deeper and darker themes with the characters revealing something different about them. The entire show mostly plays out on the darker moments rather than the school life and that is something I appreciate from it. However, it doesn't save the story from being a rushed mess. Like Gakkou Gurashi, Charlotte's story doesn't know what it wants to be. It jumbles from a happy slice-of-life show to dark action show with a hint of mystery. The story seems as if it's changing it's mind every 5 minutes from the two themes since it wants to be both but it doesn't know how. Also, it's very rushed. We have a death in episode 6 from a character we should care about but the anime gives us so little time with that character. Instead, it gives us a baseball episode and a camping episode. Those episodes should've been used for us to learn about the characters more. Every episode after episode 6 is a Steins;Gate wannabe mindfuck. Only not that good kind. With a rushed story and such little episodes, everything seems to complicated to follow.
Art: 5/10
Charlotte was brought to us by studio P.A. Works. Responsible for shows like Angel Beats (another Key anime) and Nagi no Asukara. And the production values for those shows are beautiful to look at. While the shows themselves may not hold up well, they still have beautiful art and animation all around. This however, kind of does that, just in a very toned down kind of way. The animation in the opening is beautiful and really brings out P.A. Works potential with their animation skills. Not only that, but the colors and backgrounds (excluding some of the character designs) mix in pretty well. Another thing I like is how when the tone shifts, the color pallets would change in tone and it does it wonderfully. But the rest of the animation is pretty mediocre. The characters movements seem very sloppy and a bit too quick for the type of anime this is. Also, the hair and the eye combination for some of these characters just doesn't mix well together. Nao's sea foam type hair and dark blue eyes just seem so off. The lead singer for the band who is blind has pink hair and light blue eyes just looks so mismatched. The animation isn't terrible or bad by any means, but for P.A. Works, it's kind of a let down.
Sound: 5/10
Highlight of the show. This show gets props for having a great opening and ending song. The opening gives out a happy, cheerful but subtle deep themes that just fit perfectly for the show. The ending is a much more so somber that also fits the show well. Also, the show has a great cast of voices that all put great effort into their performances. However, even if the sound is good, the soundtrack on the other hand is lacking. It sounds just like a bunch of things we've heard of before and some of the soundtracks that play do not match with the scene the anime is showing us. However, that doesn't weigh out the good performances by the cast.
Characters: 2/10
OH BOY HERE WE GO. The worst part of Charlotte. Nao while actually a pretty interesting character doesn't do much or develops. Otosaka, the main lead, goes from a bad ass to a bland and uninteresting character by episode 3. Otosaka's sister plays a major role in the show but she's the same moeshit, "ONIICHAN!" stereotype we've seen in a billion of other shows. Rest of the characters? Who cares? They don't do much to the show or show up at all. Even the new character don't do much at all. They're just there to give Otosaka his orders while just standing around. What am I supposed to feel for this idol chick with her dead sister ability? NOTHING. Since the anime barley gives her any screen time. The guy with the glasses not only has no point to the anime, but he's one of the most pointless characters I've ever seen. Key's worst characters to date.
Enjoyment: 3/10
I liked some of the action moments and watching Nao. That's it. Most of the time I was just checking the time and begging this anime to be over and done with. It was painful to sit through to the point I felt like dropping it. I very much dislike dropping series and I didn't want this to be my first.
Overall:
Wasted Potential: The Anime.
Charlotte has a misguided and jumbled story, average animation (though not exactly a bad thing), HORRENDOUS CHARACTERS, and a rushed ending that makes you go, "What was the point of it all? Why did I watch this atrocity?" P.A. Works has never really been good at drama anime or good at anything in the matter, but this feels like a new low for the studio. And I though Glasslip from last summer was a bad anime by P.A. Works- and even though it's bad, it's not Charlotte bad. I really would like to see something good from P.A. Works for once. FOR ONCE. I guess that's too much to ask. I recommend staying away from this series. Even though it has a good opening and ending and a good cast that gave out great performances, it doesn't save the show at all.
3/10
