Phew, well the minute this episode started I had a bad feeling. Looking back now, it was probably the lack of opening that unsettled me but I didn’t realize it at the time. All I knew with every fiber of my body was that something was about to go horridly wrong. I didn’t want to be right, I paused the episode for a bit because I knew pressing play would make my fears come true.
Well I was both right and wrong at the same time. Something awful did happen, not the awful that I expected but it was suffering none the less.
So they go to meet with their brother, all is fine and well. Ayumi is perfectly willing to accept him back as their brother despite not being able to remember him. We also learn that they aren’t going to be allowed to leave the research facility until Yu’s powers go away seeing as he’s fairly dangerous with the powers that he’s plundered.
It’s not a bad deal, they can provide them schooling and things to do. There are the other ability users to hang out with. Things are actually going pretty great, up until the point that Kumagami notices another ability user and goes out to go to the school.
At which point we find that my fears were entirely founded, as we discover that their driver and another fellow ability user was being threatened. A foreign terrorist group had them captive and he was ordered to bring Kumagami too them in exchange for his family.
Ah, um, I watch a lot of horror anime so I guess when I’m expecting it. It doesn’t bother me as much but the torture here was just…I guess maybe it felt a little out of place and that’s why it was so shocking to me.
In the end they inject him with some kind of truth serum to make him spill everything.
Then they kidnap Tomori. No the series did not forget about the romance it’s been building up. So with Kumagami and Tomori as their hostages, they call Shunsuke and tell him that he needs to send in Yu. Alone. Which is of course, a problem but we’ll be fine. He can time leap if anything goes wrong and then they can think of a new plan.
Or so was the plan until one of the terrorist slash one of his eyes so it becomes completely useless and I guess that you need both eyes to time leap. Curse these powers and their crazy rules!
Of course, as a response to that he starts to freak out and what power activates when you start to freak out? If you guessed ‘Collapse’ then give yourself a pat on the back and get ready to grab a pile of tissues because it’s happening again. I have to say, luckly, it’s not as bad as it could of been. We don’t suffer any, MAIN character losses. Though Kumagami is not as lucky, to protect Tomori from dying. He covers her and takes the steel beams that were going to hit her in his stomach instead.
The other ability users get there and Shunsuke doesn’t exactly have to ‘watch’ his best friend die, but he does have to hear it. Have to suffer hearing him die. Are you bloody kidding me!? Just as he was becoming really important, just as we got to know him as more then the soaking wet helper. GAH, I’m not crying. You’re crying! Though once again, I suppose this could of been worse. Somehow, I was expecting this to turn into a ‘You have a time line where you saved your sister, but your girlfriend dies instead’ sort of thing going on here. [Though I believe the amount of people who shipped Shunsuke and Kumagami jumped up a ton, i mean, there was plenty of material for the ship in the backstory but this was just…I’m just saying.]
The last important part of the episode to note is ‘Charlotte’ the meaning behind the series name. Charlotte is a commit that very rarely gets close to earth, but when it does it drops a special powder that unlocks powers in young people. The last time this happened according to the series, was right before the witch trails. In fact, ability users were what they called ‘witches’ back in the day. That’s a pretty cool concept and I love the use of history to help explain it.
We have two more episodes and I don’t feel like this is the last we’ve seen of the terrorists. Their leaders are in custody, but I don’t feel ‘safe’ yet if you know what I mean. Perhaps if next episode was the last one, I would have a less nagging feeling in the back of my head. Perhaps the last two episodes will be nice, maybe we’ll get a good date between Yu and Tomori…maybe things will…
Oh yeah, Jun Maeda….
-gross sobbing-
~Midnight
Charlotte is a strong show, but this was easily its worst episode. Holes are everywhere.
1. Yuu’s looting ability: if he steals someone’s ability, then goes back in time, does that person still have his own ability?
2. What was Shunsuke thinking, sending Yuu by himself without any preparation?
3. if they know that Pooh was going to be tortured and interrogated, why can’t Yuu go back in time, and wipe his memories, or simply have everyone follow Pooh and wipe out the bad guys without them getting any intelligence about Yuu’s abilities?
4. Why did Shunsuke risk his organization, as well as hundreds of lives, including that of his own brother, just for the family of a traitor who put them in harm’s way himself?
1. Yes, whenever he goes back in time, its not just turning back time but jumping to another route, something like: you are on 2 similar paths A and B, but B is a bit slower, so you go “back in time” by going from A to B while A still continues. Remember he was looting the ability to permeate through walls, but now that guy has his ability again but yuu can still move though objects
2. I think it is hard to prepare someone for an unknown situation where you dont know where the place will be, how many there will be and what weapons/abilities they are going to have
3./4. the problem is the ability of Pooh to find other users. they were gathering intelligence from when they even started to build their organization/school so wiping his memories from there would mean that it does not exist. the other thing is, they dont know who the enemy is, maybe the ones present in that hall are just small fish and besides they have to deal with them either way. but yes i have to admit that it got me mad too that they are literally sacrificing hundreds of ppl for a traitor.
i wonder why he didnt just kill those two guys when he had the time to take control over their bodies to check for weapons but i guess killing and come up with a plan in a stress situation is pretty hard
I agree so much with this. ESPECIALLY #1. Time travel is really tricky; if it isn’t done right, it can be riddled with holes. Yuu even said to Shunsuke, “Does that mean I can go back in time with you now?” So basically, he took Shunsuke’s power but now Shunsuke has it. I guess people can justify it somehow, but that’s a pretty sloppy way to duplicate powers.
Statistically, your fourth point makes sense. Based on the numbers, it would be better to save the larger number of people. But realistically, could you sacrifice innocent lives? (Not you personally, just anyone in general.) I’d like to think I could, but I know I wouldn’t be able to do it. And it’s the same for Shunsuke. He did all of this initially for his family. If anyone, he understands how much family means to someone.
1. If he goes back to time the exxperience, memory of having stolen someones ability remains so he can use it in the past, but he didn’t actually steal it yet so they still have their own power
2. Shunsuke was thinking Yuu has enough powers to protect himsef and others, in wortst case he could still use time travel.
3. You are right on this one but maybe they didn’t want to use it because Shunsuke got blind because of overusage
4. You have to see it from a diffenrent point of view, The “Traitor” was a former ally and he became a traitor to save his family so I don’t think there is anything wrong. Every other person would probably do the same, won’t they ?
about 4. .. would you really sacrifice your own family and friends to save the family of that one ally? i highly doubt that but maybe thats just me
i think there was something mention on his ability.. plundering an ability means to take away an ability.. but they are still getting their abilities back in another timeline where their ability wasnt taken yet
I just realized that Ayumi’s love for astronomy was foreshadowing the “charlotte meteor problem/title”…Smooth…now this is how you foreshadow kids.
Fisrt time watching the episode makes me want to cry, then after I think about it, it feels like a force tragedy out of no where. It would be better if that is the scientists or the government but a group of terrorists? Really? Just after he talks about terrorists?
I am still wonder who is the ability holder that Pooh just found and didn’t have time to search for that person. If it turns out to be relevant to the plot it would be awesome. Healing ability?