Charlotte | Episode 1
GingaDaiuchuu: I wasn’t expecting the protagonist to be such a bad person at the beginning. Though I couldn’t help but grinning every time his devious plans worked. Probably because… I likely would’ve done the same with such a power…
Hopefully this can become as good as Angel Beats!, without the rushed aspect.
Jun Kuga: Really amused me just how much of a dick Yu is. We’d all do the same though. Even the skirt thing.
Especially the skirt thing.
Not sure about little sister yet though. She’s come across as a bit bratty, almost like Fuko-lite, or like Kyon’s Sister. Given the history of Maeda, she could go either way.
Really loved Nao though. She’s sure to grate some folks badly, but… yeah, she’s fun.
Buckeye: Yeah, it’s hard to figure out who Ayu is exactly at this time. I’m thinking she is more like Mei Sunohara considering that her brother doesn’t have his head on straight in a much different way.
_PS_: I loved it, I loved it, I loved it. I loved how depraved Yu was and it was only because he thought he was the only one in the world with paranormal abilities. Hell, I probably could have followed 12 episodes of manipulative bastard Yu. But the rest of it was all kinds of beautiful. What a fantastic way to introduce a character and his abilities.
Loved the funny bits, a lot more than in Angel Beats so far. Nao is fantastic. Takajo is fantastic – loved his capture of Yu. And Yu is indeed very nice-looking.
This is the first show of the season that’s really grabbed me. I am so on board. Bring it, Jun.
Hitsugi Amachi: While I found the whole use of his power for selfish gains to be pretty funny, as well as the imperfect powers of the others, I’m left with questions as to where this is going. If this is all going to be a setup for just another “let’s make them cry at the end” story…I think I’ve developed immunity to the formula by now. I would like to see if Maeda is capable of just going for straight comedy, not comedy as a setup for tragedy (like Little Busters proved to be by the end). I’m kind of worn out on the formula.
The animation and designs are quite nice. PA Works quality as usual.
Sly05: The hints at the existence of an older brother who Yu and Ayu forgot about does suggest this will follow the usual formula of wacky school hijinks followed by tragedy. Angel Beats and Little Busters were more misses than hits with me so I may be tiring of the formula as well, although I’d certainly love for something as emotionally impactful as Clannad if they can pull it off. We’ll see where it goes, but so far I’m liking the devilish protagonist and humour.
Sensuifu: I might be in the minority who liked Angel Beats, but it’s a little too early to tell whether this will turn out to be the same. I have a feeling it won’t though. The characters somewhat give off a more comical vibe with their supernatural abilities, so to completely neuter their ‘talents’ and turn the show into serious melodrama would be a quite a feat. Not saying it can’t be done, but I think the gap between the characters changing from ‘unbelievable’ to returning to a more normal, realistic cast, might be more difficult than what we’ve seen done with Little Busters for example.
Episode 2
Buckeye: Nao sure has been through hell there seeing that they had dreams that were shattered by having special abilities. Instead of Nao studying to go to a prestigious school and her brother hitting it big with his band, they are forced to go to the boarding school designed for such children together, and Nao’s brother was experimented and has become a completely different person devoid of everything. I knew I was in for the feels, and here’s the first dose of it with Nao having to live like this.
EmperorBrandon: Haha, I love how Yuu gets girls swooning right as he transfers into class, and just as he looks so smug and up to mischief again, he notices the two are around to keep him in check.
Fun to see how Tomori carries out her job with someone else this time. She takes it very seriously, though, and with the emotional revelations later on, it’s easy to see why she is so dedicated. Yuu starts to get some empathy here, particularly when he appropriately thinks about what his own sister could go through. With the missing family member hints from the first episode, though, there may already be something in their past related to this.
Hitsugi Amachi: The best moment was when the Teleporter went to get sandwiches. That was a well-played comic scene.
The story with Nao’s older brother…here we go, some of the “you must feel sad” feels being brought in, though obviously not the main point. And, for those who were pointing to “the lost family member” in the first episode…well, we now have a theory as to what actually happened. And where Yuu and Ayu might find that missing brother?
I like the humor. I’m not really interested in the schmaltzy bits. But I’ll stick around for another.
Sensuifu: so much for my impression that it wouldn’t turn melodramatic, at least not happening this early..
As for Yu and Ayumi’s brother, I’m guessing he’s this ‘certain someone’ that Nao is referring to. I’m curious to see how the backstory of this plays out.
Yamada2: The humor is awesome here. The super fast dude is hilarious especially when he tries to save the day and then acts like nothing happened.
We get some info on Tomori and why she’s so determined to not let these special children run amok. The little bits of emotional stuff are starting to surface now. It was done nicely I guess. This had me at the humor already and I think they might pull off the emotional part well too.
GingaDaiuchuu: I’m definitely not feeling as into this show as I wanted to from a new Key show. Of course all the best ones don’t start off that amazingly, but unfortunately this is another one that’s only going to be a cour, so we’re not really that early on compared to much longer ones. Hopefully Maeda can still pull out something to get me close to crying (it’s what he’s best at, so if we can get another example of that I’ll be perfectly happy), but I don’t see it being the most promising yet.