Charlotte is a new summer anime written by Jun Maeda and directed by Yoshiyuki Asai and runs through P.A. Works Studio.

I gave Charlotte an honorable mention on my anticipation list of summer animes. I decided to give it a watch.

Spoilers: Much like Rokka, and probably most of these episode one reviews, there will not be any major spoilers involving the series but of course we will be recapping the events.

Plot: A boy named Yu Otosaka has a weird power, he can use Ino’s mind transfer jutsu for five seconds to take control of someone. What he does with this power vary, if its a girl, he will “check” them out, if its a guy, he will inflict pain on wrong doers, but the biggest emphasis they make is him using his powers to cheat on tests. Two agents of a very special school are sent to catch Yu in the act. They recruit him to join the school to help bust people who abuse their powers.

Setting: The setting is Hoshinoumi Academy, Xavier’s school for the gifted(Just kidding but same premise). We haven’t even seen the school, I assume we will see it by episode two. So far, the setting has been Yu’s school and Yu’s house. I can’t comment on the setting but I do want to see what this school has waiting.

Characters: While I think Yu’s sister will play a role in future episodes, I will just be looking at the three characters with super powers. First, Yu. Yu, as I mentioned, can take control of peoples mind for five seconds. There are two major catches to this power. For starters, he has to be able to see them. This limits who he can control. Secondly, he also inflicts damage to himself from hitting his head on varies objects. I do not feel strongly towards Yu. He is a liar and a cheat and designed to be that way. The ending did put him in a position to be more likable moving forward, but so far, I am not a fan. Next, Takajo. I liked Takajo. I feel he could fall into the role of comedic relief, but I think he will be a fun character. He moves super fast giving him the power to seemingly teleport but he cant control where he stops so he runs into a lot of things causing him to be hospitalized countless times. Lastly, Tomori. She has the power to hide herself from a single persons visual recognition. She was recording Yu and is the one to bust him as well. I like her personality. I think the three of them will blend into a real fun group down the road.

Recap: Awesome anime. Definitely worth the first viewing. The first half was great, adventure packed, and hilarious. It kind of slows down after the first half. It ties up some loose ends such as Yu and his love interest and Yu and his sister moving. Lets break it down by categories:
Action: Did not rely on action to carry it. The most action is Yu getting beat up by Tomori.
Romance: I was actual interested in Yu and Yumi. Unfortunately, they killed it off so we will see if Tomori and Yu become something.
Story: I’ve already made the joke that this is X men with less powerful mutants, but that is what it seems to be. I’m into it nonetheless though.
Characters: A fun bunch so far and will only add more characters once we get to the school.
The world: Cannot comment on the world too much. I like the ideas of kids with super power but the world leaves a lot to figure out later.
Humor: The strongest point of this anime is the humor. Its not as funny as Amagi Brilliant Park, but it definitely will have you laughing.
The ending: Sadly, the ending was just a clean-up session. The meat of the show is in the middle. But the beginning was good enough to leave me still hyped for episode two

Verdict: A definite watch if you’re into a comedy about kids with super powers.