Well the first episode of Charlotte is out and it was so good I had to watch it twice. Mostly because the first time I watched it was because I was making dinner and couldn’t pay enough attention. But I just got done watching it over again and let me tell you, this show will be dense.
Now if any of you are familiar with Jun Maeda’s work he tends to set up his thesis and universes in the first episode. So knowing that, I have scraped together my thoughts about some subtle signs that may turn out to be huge in later episodes. Granted I could be entirely wrong, but half the fun is speculating. Especially with a show like this.
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I want to start off with the title because in a Maeda/Key shows the title is always something that warrants further thought. The title is usually the first thing you remember about a show and the last thing you tend to think about. However in Maeda’s work the title usually serves as a critical piece to discovering what the show is about. The title Charlotte I think is attributed to a star or a comet. Seeing that the logo of the show has a comet in the design and for now I can see the comet being the source of these kids powers, its fair to draw a comparison. So lets just assume for now that the comet is named Charlotte.
The name Charlotte means “Free Man” so I find it rather peculiar that a comet named this is granting these kids with magical powers. From the main character Yu we can already tell that he has a lot of baggage. Maybe this comet is trying to free the people it grants with power from their current suffering. Nao clearly states that the power isn’t meant to last forever and that it’s often lost once adulthood is reached. So it’s definitely a possibility.
On the subject of powers lets cover them, shall we? Currently there are only their ability users so far. But seeing that Nao is a wrangler of sorts of kids who have these abilities, we’ll probably find more when Yu transfers to her school. Yu’s ability is that he can transfer his consciousness to anyone he can see for five seconds. In that time his body goes limp almost lifeless. Nao’s ability is that she can become invisible from one target. The time limit on this isn’t made clear. Jojiro can teleport but he isn’t fully able to control where he stops after he teleports. Yu makes the comment that these are all rather incomplete abilities. This may be contributed that these children aren’t complete yet and these powers are to guide them towards being whole. I’m sure all their powers mean something but I’ll save that till I know more about the characters.
Jojiro, Nao, Yu
As for our seemingly main character Yu, it seems that Yu has some problems. But what high school boy doesn’t have problems. For now all we know is that he hates his parents for the way his life turned out and he wants his little sister to feel the same way. He certainly has a devious side seeing that the minute he gets his powers he uses them to start fights and cheat on tests. It’s hard to tell whats the real Yu at this point. Because a lot of his inner monologues are horrible but on the outside he fronts as a caring person. It could just be him being drunk on his new-found power or something more.
To wrap up the episode Yu has a very strange dream. In this dream he sees himself walking along with his sister. But someone is walking beside them that he doesn’t recognize. Earlier in the episode his sister brings up remembering that they had an older sibling, but Yu denies that fact. So the fact that he’s seeing this person in his dream is rather odd. Could he be lying to his sister or has he just forgotten.
Most of Jun Maeda works have a big focus on family. and with the way Charlotte’s first episode played out, I think it’s safe to say that family will have a big role this time too. All around the first episode was enjoyable and I am eager to see the next episode
