Yuu Otosaka has the ability to slip into other people’s mind and control them for five seconds at a time. He has been using it to get good grades, but after he is caught by the enigmatic Nao Tomori, he is forced to transfer to a special school to safeguard children with these powers from discovery. At this supernatural new school, he is forced to join the Student Council where he uses his powers to hunt down other young people who are using and abusing their own powers.
While it has a synopsis that sounds pretty standard, Charlotte has an impressive creative pedigree behind it that translated into a low-key but pretty great series. If you are looking for more anime recommendations like it, then we have you covered.
Anime Like Charlotte
For Fans of Special High Schoolers
Beyond the Boundary
As the last surviving member of her clan of spirit warriors, Mirai Kuriyama must use her special power of fighting using her blood in order to subdue Youmu, creatures that are the manifestation of negative human emotions. One day at school she happens across Akihito, a rare half-breed Youmu in human form. Immediately trying to kill him, she finds out he is an immortal being and the two strike up an impromptu friendship.
The set up between Beyond the Boundary and Charlotte is the same. A bunch of kids with special abilities form a club. They then differ in their purpose. Beyond the Boundary has them fighting demons around town while Charlotte has the kids tasked with going after others with powers that are misusing them.
Kokoro Connect
One day, for seemingly no reason in particular, the members of the Cultural Research Club start randomly switching bodies with each other. It becomes utter chaos, especially when members of the opposite sex start switching. However, when you are wearing someone else’s skin, it is hard to keep your most guarded secrets inside.
In both Kokoro Connect and Charlotte, you have a club full of students that constantly have weird things happening to them. In Kokoro Connect, they don’t so much have powers, but start switch bodies. In both series, these powers start to become a catalyst for the drama in the show.
Sakurada Reset
Kei lives in the seaside town of Sakurada, which is filled with people with various powers. One day, he meets a girl named Haruki on the school roof. She has the ability to reset things to three days prior, but even she does not remember when she uses it or what happened. However, as Kei has the power of a photographic memory, he is able to remember. The pair join the Service Club to start trying to help the people in town.
The premise between these two anime series is actually a lot alike. A bunch of people are manifesting powers, and some children try to help people with them. However, while Charlotte is light-hearted and dramatic, Sakurada Reset manifests a sort of mystery plot involving a government agency trying to use those with powers.
For Fans of Descent Into Tragedy
Angel Beats
Otonashi wakes up without any memories, only to be told that he is dead. What’s more, a rifle-toting girl named Yuri suddenly asks him to join the Afterlife Battlefront to wage war against the Angel that rules this world and the unfair god she serves. Unable to believe Angel is evil, he tries to talk to her, but the meeting does not go as planned. From there, Otonashi gradually discovers more about himself and the mysteries of the afterlife.
A bunch of kids are bound together by circumstance, and while they don’t have powers in Angel Beats, what it does have in common is drama. Both shows start off rather fun, but then slowly turn more dramatic and eventually sad.
Madoka Magica
Madoka Kaname and Sayaka Miki are your typical middle school girls, but one day they encounter a cute creature named Kyuubey that offers to grant them one wish. In exchange for their wish, they must become magical girls and protect humanity from witches. While Sayaka accepts right away, Madoka is more hesitant, not knowing what she would wish for. However, her decision is even further delayed when the mysterious Homura Akemi, a transfer student, begs her not to accept.
Both of these series start off the same way. Everything is really bright and upbeat, but then things go downhill from there. Both series involve kids with powers, but those in Madoka Magica don’t really get to help people so much as they try to keep people safe from an unseen threat.
Akame ga Kill
Tatsumi is a naive boy from a rural village that makes the trip to the city in order to join the military and help his hometown. However, after he is rejected, he ends up joining Night Raid, a group of assassins part of a revolutionary movement to overthrow the government. From there, he must fight a brutal and increasingly bloody shadow war.
The key difference between these shows is the level of action and violence. Charlotte is more of a dramatic series, but Akame ga Kill is violent action. However, what they both have in common is that they heavily dab on the tragedy over the course of the series.
For Fans of Disadvantageous Super Powers
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Senpai
On a day like any other, Sakuta is in the library, and there he spots a wild bunny girl. This wild bunny girl, or rather, Mai Sakurajima, a semi-retired actress dressed like a bunny girl, catches no one else’s eye. In fact, Sakuta seems to be the only one that can see her on that day and on many other days. This phenomenon, called Puberty Syndrome, is rumored on the internet. As Sakuta decides to solve the mystery, he grows closer to Mai and other girls that suffer the same malady.
Having supernatural powers seems so great, right? While both series will show you how much they can suck for some people. Not every supernatural power makes you a superhero, and more than likely, they would just get in the way. Both shows are also nice romances, if that is what you are looking for.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Kyon had long given up on his belief in the supernatural until he meets Haruhi Suzumiya. Haruhi, a strange girl in her own right, is interested in all things supernatural, but laments the lack of intriguing clubs on campus. Kyon, however, inspires her to create her own club, and thus, the SOS Brigade is born. Unfortunately for Kyon, he is also roped into joining this new club dedicated to all things supernatural.
Unlike Charlotte, Haruhi plays things a little more coy with who has powers at first. However, once you get into it, supernatural powers are nothing but trouble for everyone involved.
Steins;Gate
In a rickety old building in Akihabara, mad scientist Rintarou Okabe and his lab assistants work on so-called future gadgets. However, their most successful contraption to date, the Phone Microwave, a machine that can turn bananas into gel, also has the added function of sending emails into the past, thus altering the flow of history.
While no one in Steins;Gate has powers like in Charlotte, the series does focus on time travel. Time travel seems like a good thing to be able to do, but what the series ends up being about is trying to fix all the compounding problems that are caused by it, not unlike Charlotte where the powers are just big problems.
Do you have any more anime recommendations like Charlotte? Let fans know in the comments section below.
You should include plunderer somewhere in here