Charlotte

So we get an explanation for the superpowers and it's really goddamn stupid

Also some other stuff happened, but too abruptly for me to really care

This series turned into a mess of forced drama after Ayumi's death. And I blame pretty much eveything that has gone wrong on the brother. If he had handled the situation better to save Ayumi the first time around, it wouldn't have been necessary to give the time leap to Yu. And this time, the entire mess happened because he didn't have a proper control over his subordinates and because his plan to save Ayumi made Yu too OP.

edited 12th Sep '15 6:37:09 PM by sorako

The one time edgelord would have been useful.

This show is such a meme.

Wow . . . That was some surprisingly decent English from that overseas terrorist dude.

In all seriousness, though, wow . . . This episode got really intense. I'll admit, I'm still a bit peeved the series is so linear in its portrayal of super-human and human interactions. I mean . . . Not everybody would try to kidnap them in this way, or torture them for "Research". Some people would find super-powered teens cool; many would use them to help their own organizations; this disturbing broad/vague view of what people with power (whether criminal syndicates or research labs) would do once they found out about something like this is painfully linear. I mean, this kind of thing needs an unbiased viewpoint to be compelling; the rather over-the-top viewpoint this series takes (confirmed when they reference back to witch trials from the 1600s) confirms how silly this is. Where are the humans who like super-powered beings; the ones who treat them like decent people? This perspective Maeda has decided to use on this series is way too ham-fisted.

Meanwhile, Yuu acted pretty ridiculously in this episode. I know he's a teen who hasn't killed anyone before, but he's driven by a desire to save his love interest and his brother's best friend. Yet, instead of sending these thug dudes sprawling to their deaths, he CHECKS THEM FOR WEAPONS!! He doesn't even try to have them punch each other! Considering the number of powers he has, this confrontation was totally contrived; there were so many better ways he could have solved this confrontation. I know they threatened him, but even so, he did NOT use the plethora of powers he's acquired well at all.

This is the biggest thing that made this whole thing feel overblown and unnecessary. For an idea like this that Jun Maeda wasn't cut short on (as far as I can tell, this was always 13 episodes), that he has a lot of creative freedom to work on, unlike Angel Beats, this seems surprisingly predictable and without meaningful thematic commentary.

On a random note, though, I have no idea how Nao got her clothes back on after collapse was used. It's possible she stuck them on after Yuu's intial collapse maybe broke the chains that kept her imprisoned, but that seems kind of far-fetched . . .

Clothes? What clothes?

I re-watched it,and you're correct; I didn't see the frame correctly.

...Okay. After the niceness that was episode 10, this episode was a stairway down. Most of it was just...irritating.

So crazy scientists weren't enough, so here, have some crazy terrorist organizations!

Despite having a truth serum on their side, Kumagami got beat up and tortured just because they could do such a thing.

Yu had so many ways of defusing the situation right from the start. With his primary power alone. Instead of a cavity search, why didn't he just possess and punch, or possess and free-fall? Guess he oh-so conveniently forgot that he owned punks that way. I blame his stupid, outburst. Guy lost some smart points there.

Kumagami biting it takes the cake, however. He dies because "drama" had to happen. Oh, beloved "drama". It bombed because it just reeked of too much stupidity!

edited 13th Sep '15 12:26:48 PM by Diamite

So after this, which do you think is better? This or Angel Beats? I think Angel Beats was a bit better, at least there some of the drama worked. Charlotte just felt so random and any "drama" that came was way too forced and dumb to be taken seriously for me.

Uh, Yu wasn't exactly looking to kill anyone. He intended to disarm those guys, was surprised to find they had no weapons, and then got slashed by someone he didn't know was there before he could do anything else.

Not sure what's 'forced' about the drama, either, at least compared to Angel Beats.

Torture plus sci-fi truth serum is actually a powerful combo. The torture makes you want to talk, and the serum makes you want to tell the truth.

I guess, but if they wanted him to talk, they could have held back and not punch his teeth out. I'm a bit surprised that he could speak coherently after that.^note I'm not really sure if someone can speak properly without teeth.

Angel Beats. Angel Beats was at least funny

That'd be reasonable for most characters, but we've seen him use his possession ability effectively in fights

edited 13th Sep '15 4:51:19 PM by Hylarn

While Yuu may have been in BSOD mode at the time, he did send a couple researchers for a long fall in episode 7. Also, wouldn't it have been more effective to threaten the short guy by possessing the taller dude and having the dude try and strangle him? He seems pretty cowardly, so he might actually have conceded to his demands. Perhaps he wasn't trying to kill them, but considering they survived the entire warehouse collapsing, they wouldn't have died after free-falling to the ground of the warehouse. Besides, he can knock them out, or wound them without making them fall anyways. And what about his telekinesis; there are objects around that he could throw at them/intimidate with them. While he may not be able to use that ability to lift people directly, he could lift them by their clothes since they are objects. Basically, Yuu's been shown on a few occasions to be pretty clever in how he uses his powers, and he uses them pretty poorly in the warehouse confrontation.

Besides, if they had weapons they intended to threaten him with, wouldn't they have taken them out in the first place? And if they did, he could just use his telekinesis to swipe them from the dudes.

edited 13th Sep '15 4:36:33 PM by Clannadisawesome

x6

Neither. I'd say they are about equal though that's because I don't think either show is as bad as the internet makes them out to be. Yes both shows have pacing issues and Charlotte has characterization issues but I still find them both enjoyable to watch.

It's not good. I still derive enjoyment from it, but let's not kid ourselves that this is quality television.

I thought the internet loved Angel Beats?

x2

You're free to feel that way though I disagee with the idea that Charlotte isn't good.

I've seen various places complain about Angel Beats!'s pacing and humor and generally put it down after Charlotte was first announced/first started airing.

Episode 12:

Well, I'm still thoroughly dissatisfied with this show, but this was a pretty strong episode. Yusa and Misa finally got a resolution to their character arcs, and I can now confidently say Misa is more than just an ill-tempered running gag. The way Maeda tied up these characters reminds me of how good of a writer he can be, and how endearing he can make his characters when he brings his A-game. If he had put that much effort into episodes 2-5, it would have saved me from a mostly boring experience.

Meanwhile, Ayumi and Takajou get to make somewhat entertaining appearances. It's just a shame that unlike Yusa, they don't get any character development. The love confession was also well-handled, being fittingly awkward without really being cliche or untrue to the characters involved. Shuunsuke's BSOD which essentially served as a callback to Yuu's was understandable, even if it was a bit underdeveloped.

On a minor note, I'm somewhat glad to see some explanation as to how the syndicate/government-funded scientists find all these super humans. It's a bit convenient to just say "well, they also have super-powered beings who can find other super-powered beings", but at least it's something.

Also, how in the world are they going to do a final episode? To me, this felt a lot like a finale.

Huh, that really felt like the beginning of a new arc, or a "and the journey continues"-type ending. Though I suppose the finale being almost guaranteed to have pacing problems only makes it more fitting for this series

So, I really did not like this episode. Lots of character send-offs, but the directing isn't emotive enough to feel it. And more emphasis on the idea that the powers are inherently bad, which the show hasn't done much to support

Yeah; the show does play up the powers as a disease when in reality, the only big reason these powers are bad is because cruel organizations/syndicates try to kill you for it. I mean, if the government organizations and syndicates didn't needlessly mistreat these superhumans and offered them decent paying jobs in exchange for their services, would it still be considered an inherently bad thing?

I think it's supposed to be considered an "illness" because they have it for such a short time. They only have the powers for what seems to be about 3-4 years.

Plot twist: He becomes All For One.

Sad. There was good potential for this, but it tripped too many times.

They do mention that a couple of times, but just because something only lasts for a little bit of time, it doesn't mean it's a bad thing. The only powers that are subconsciously activated are collapse and Yusa's ability. The only reasons these powers are a big problem is because the antagonists make it once.

Heh. Twas a great resolution of Yusa/Misa's character arc. Made me happy, even though Misa has moved on.

The confession was good. Since it was Nao, it was like a normal conversation between those two.

Lofty goal you have there, Yuu. Perhaps, too lofty. ...Never was a fan of the "powers are super bad" angle. It's only bad because of stupid crazy scientists and stupid crazy terrorist organizations.

I got a little misty eyed during Misa's scenes.

Is this really a 1-cour series? How many episodes are confirmed left?