Forum - View topic

EP. REVIEW: Charlotte

Gina Szanboti wrote:

kinghumanity wrote: Yuu's mother died, and Ayumi has been replicating the recipe for Yuu ever since. That was stated quite clearly this episode. Please quote the dialog where they explicitly say she's dead and not just "not around." Someone else said the parents were divorced or separated and custody was given to an essentially absent uncle. I don't remember myself, so I'm asking for something more concrete than "no longer around."

Sorry, I watched the Mandarin subs. Mandarin retains the original Japanese flavour much better than English does.

I'm guessing that the English translators took the liberty to use "no longer around" as a substitute for "died", for some reason.

So, I went back to episode 1 in order to clear all doubts. Yuu clearly states that their mother divorced their father, and then shoved their custody over to their uncle, which is why Yuu resents her. So their mother is probably still alive and well. In fact, maybe the lady in black we saw at the funeral WAS their mother... which would make her a very heartless and uncaring person. Probably wasn't. Who knows. Anyway, problem solved.

Morals of the episode : beating and knifing people is totally ok as long as they're punks but smoking a joint ? Hell no, you're the lowest of the low, man.

So, I went back to episode 1 in order to clear all doubts. Yuu clearly states that their mother divorced their father, and then shoved their custody over to their uncle, which is why Yuu resents her. So their mother is probably still alive and well. In fact, maybe the lady in black we saw at the funeral WAS their mother... which would make her a very heartless and uncaring person. Probably wasn't. Who knows. Anyway, problem solved.

purplepolecat wrote:

Jacut wrote: Morals of the episode : beating and knifing people is totally ok as long as they're punks but smoking a joint ? Hell no, you're the lowest of the low, man. It's not about morals. As Nao pointed out, if he started on the coke while already in a violent self-destructive spiral, he likely wouldn't be able to recover. Personally I thought this was a very powerful episode. Yuu's journey through depression felt very real. Nao's revelation that she had been watching him the whole time was an amazing twist. The redemption through home cooking ending was a little cliche, but I don't think it was really the omelette rice that saved him. He was looking for a reason to get his life back on track.

I agree 100% with everything you said.

I usually see "twists" coming, but I was so engrossed in this episode that I quickly forgot little things, like the "free salad" or Nao's conspicuous absence from the episode.

She showed up at the right time, too. Doing lines of coke is seldom appropriate, but that would have been the worst possible time for it.

Yuu's relationship with Nao seems a lot more "real" to me than most anime relationships do. While there's enough distance between them that he won't step in while she's being bullied, they're still close enough that I don't think anyone other than Nao could have given him the figurative (and literal) kick that he really needed.

Morals of the episode : beating and knifing people is totally ok as long as they're punks but smoking a joint ? Hell no, you're the lowest of the low, man.

Jacut wrote:

Morals of the episode : beating and knifing people is totally ok as long as they're punks but smoking a joint ? Hell no, you're the lowest of the low, man.

I don't think it was ever moral, but they WERE punks and even seemed to be criminals, judging by the fact that they were essentially a gang.

“I can't do it! Not the side there you. I can do it! Once me there you!”

It'd [sic] hard to believe that there are only five episodes left.

Yuu's already shed his jerk-ish tendencies to become a valued and caring friend. Now, the show is starting to confront Nao's self-harming tendencies and inability to rely on others.

Quote:

It'd [sic] hard to believe that there are only five episodes left.

Considering all the as yet untouched plot points I discovered by going over the OP with a fine toothed freeze-frame, it's hard for me to believe too. Never mind the mystery of the vaguely remembered family member, the school's benefactor, and the other faction that showed up at the school on D-Day, we apparently have at least 3 more powers to show up, not to mention spoiler[unknown particles, a vaccine study (?!), and however all this is related to the long period comet Charlotte.] Either this ride is just getting started, or we're in for one hell of an info dump.