Tutturu~! It took me awhile to finish this review, school, other online drama and whatnot. So here is my in depth evaluation/praise of the show Steins;Gate. I must say that I have excluded a lot of spoiling content so that I can have a legitimate review posted. This is my first review and I hope it informs you and gives you a different perspective of the show! The genre of Steins;Gate, from what I observed, was Sci-Fi, Thriller, and Drama. The demography reaches out to both Shonen and Seinen crowds. The concepts of time traveling, time paradox, time looping, time leaping, and the butterfly effect wereall presented very well. They were explained with a fluent, consistent logic and the concepts are supported by using time lines (in the show they call it world lines, when really it’s almost saying “parallel universe”.) Some may criticize Okabe’s ability to retain his memories through his “Reading Steiner”, which I personally choose to ignore for reasons I will say at the end of the review.
The setting is in modern day society and the conflict is between our main characters and a secret organization called SERN. The whole SERN conflict shows this kind of Terminator-feel to the overall plot and Okabe is basically John Connor in retrospect to the beloved Terminator series. Overall, the story is greatly supported by the several types of conflicts and plot progression being utilized all throughout the series. Steins;Gate also consists of addicting suspense that supplements the story with a fluent, chain-linked consistency that makes you crawl back for more—a well done job.
Characters are usually all too static in anime, rather than dynamic such as those you find in some Hollywood produced dramas. Here in this particular series, there is a gold mine of dynamic-range for personality and human-quality. A lot of the characters share this quality and all have some elements that any one person could relate to somehow.
Let’s start with Okabe Rintarou. He is just this loveable, hilarious mad scientist that starts off as a comic relief by acting as a mad conspiracy theorist. There are several attempts in different series that attempt the main character to act as a comic relief; Okabe accomplishes this attempt with ease such as characters from Gintama would capture attention. Albeit, the Engrish and Kurisu jokes could get old for some(I personally never get tired of his Engrish due to the excellent voice acting by Miyamo, Mamoru,) he has his frequent moments where you can’t help but to burst into hysterics. Besides the comic relief, he also has the strongest human quality. He shows a unique dynamic in such a way that nobody would expect: at first he is a seemingly arrogant college student that is a flamboyant conspiracy theorist, then later on he develops many different states of mind and expresses a diverse range of emotion/mood, finally he resets back to his normal self and shows empowerment. Okabe is by far one of the strongest characters I have ever analyzed in an anime title.
Ah, a fan favorite: Makise Kurisu. She is as tsundere as they come—in a good way though! The presentation of her tsun side definitely shows the dere in moderation; they definitely kept this cliché at an appropriate level—making her, in my opinion, one of the better tsunderes in the anime world. As a main character, she too has a dynamic personality that develops as well. Even the tsundere part of her personality supplements her character development, like all “dere” types should accomplish. Her dynamic spectrum is unique to the tsundere type: she appears at first to be a stubborn know-it-all, and then they utilize the tsun-tsun personality to such consistency that later on it makes sense that she’d eventually show some weakness. She too later becomes an empowered character and my respect for this is inexpressible.
Tuturu~! Mayushi is certainly the clearest example and definition of “cute”. Hit-or-miss, give-or-take, you can’t really get pissed off at her character mainly due to the fact that she can be anybody’s friend at any cost. Being the role of the “childhood friend” of Okabe, she shows an excellent example of exactly what friendship is. She is always so happy and optimistic, and then becomes somewhat of a push over because of her pure maiden self—always too kind to really voice herself unless it was urgent (this exact point here is what drives the plot for half of the series with Okabe.) Lastly, she shows her dedication to keep true to her friendship to motivate a depressed Okabe and return him to his original character with her traits alone. Head-to-toe, inside-and-out, she brings joy to all viewers at some point.
SUPA-HACKA DARU!!! Itaru fills in the role of the typical otaku, with the twist of being a super hacker. He is a fan of another main character Feiris NyanNyan and shows his otaku qualities through his worship of her. The majority of his character is utilized as comic relief. He is, however funny and loveable. Outside of his perverted sense of humor at times, he does express emotional value at times such as: shock, sadness, and even shows constant determination as technician and hacker.
Here we have Suzuha Amane, a fun and high-spirited girl that would never seem to have anything mysterious about her until after the plot develops. Simple words I can say to describe her is that she is a curious character. She is a tomboy in all aspects, she rocks the look and has the swag and cuteness factor to pull it off. She too has her human qualities: she is viewed with this enthusiastic persona, then is an ever so weary and shows threatening body language, then shows the same determination that Daru has, then becomes stressed, and then back to her normal self. Here we start to see a trend of the characters all returning to their normal states…
Feiris NyanNyan~ She is simply the other moe factor alongside Mayushi and plays the role of the ever-so cute neko girl. A fun, energetic, cute, lovable, and playful girl puts the sugar to the spice in this show. Her trend for personality is less dynamic than the rest of the characters: starts off as a cute, playful neko girl, then begins to break down emotionally and falls in love, then returns to normal later on.
“Urushibara Ruka. The mannerisms and voice of a woman... No... More feminine than any woman. But he's a guy. Taller than Mayuri, but so very thin... But he's a guy. Looks great in a miko outfit... But he's a guy. It's already twilight And yet, it's so hot. The cicadas are crying. But... He's a guy.” –Okabe. Okabe pretty much hit the bullseye on Ruka’s entire character—the dangerous bishonen. The moe factor is deceitful, yet so powerfully cute. He is kind, shy and awfully self-conscious overall. There are slight dynamics for Ruka such as playing shy, later sucking up and becoming a bit brave for once, experiences heart break, then follows the trend of returning to normal. A bit flatter than the rest of the characters, but still is a very entertaining character.
Moeka is the last person I wanted to cover, note my sarcasm. She is the fan base’s least favorite due to her involvement in the plot. She plays the role of the popular pretty girl, although it seems as though she acts like a mute… odd combination there for sure. She is easily and reasonably a hate-able character because of her total structure and involvement, just everything about her can give her hate—yet this is why she receives so much attention from the fans. She is interesting; however, that she has this psychological issue from the obvious attachment to her cellular device. Even she can receive love from some fans due to her “emo” part of her. Her human qualities are a bit odd and she could come straight out of an Edgar Allen Poe tale: she comes off as a dandere at first, then turns absolutely insane, then goes back to her dandere self. It’s a bit bland compared to even Ruka, but she receives the right amount of attention anyways from her demograph.
The character designs are well done, original and very contemporary. The movement and flow of the characters are flawless as well as the background and scenery. The concept illustrations of world lines and such are presented with amazing touch without the use of any computer graphics. Over all ten out of ten for art.
The voice acting is excellent, emotionally moving, adorable, and unpredictable with the dialogue alone. The emotional drive that comes from the voice actors at certain parts are so well done, that their contribution to the entertainment is one of the key factors of a superb feeling a viewer may get while watching the show.
I noticed that most of the time, the music is either very low or non-existent. I find this to be appropriate for this show and not some cheesy xylophone sounding music during casual moments. During the softer, more melodramatic times they sound a piano piece that utterly captures, raptures your attention and emotion and manipulates the atmosphere and feel of the moment. The score is excellent and consistent.
The opening song “Hacking to the Gate” by Kanako Itou is an anime masterpiece in of itself. Here’s why I say this: the beats are set at an acceptable tone/volume, the guitars are kept at a constant rhythm that gives a good name to J-Rock for those who are especially unfamiliar to the genre, the vocals are pretty good (the vibrato isn’t heavily used in her voice, her tone and pitch are stunning, and she has a very powerful voice—I think I just became a fan of hers.) The ending song “Toki Tsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku by Yui Sakakibara” is another appropriate song for this series that starts off with a soft instrumental that should really get you on the tip of your chair, awaiting for something epic. It is a mellow song and interesting at the same time.
Funny how the genre of Steins;Gate is “thriller”; I was thrilled in the sense of utter excitement. My eyes were literally glued to the screen as I, while doing my usual Otakuthon, watched each episode with the suspense one would have when receiving X-Mas presents. There were many moments where I would burst out into laughter, rewinding those parts obnoxiously. There were times where I simply balled out crying, tearing up so much that I had to pause the show in order to finish crying up a river. There were also times that had me blush for how utterly cute and adorable some of the scenes were—be it romantic or moe. Even as a guy, I found a lot of the material awesome.
There is my full criticism and review of Steins;Gate. I gave it a ten-out-of-ten status mostly because of the emotional roller coaster I had with it. It isn’t about “how believable” an anime may be no matter how close to reality it is trying to resemble. We all watch and seek entertainment simply to be entertained. Albeit there are many, upon many things that needs criticism. I just didn’t feel that this particular show deserved hardly any criticism, so my overflowing hormones force me to over look some of these in-depth details. Can’t wait for the specials and many more things to come along from this series! El. Psy. Congroo.
Recommended
“No one knows what the future holds. That’s why its potential is infinite.” Okabe Rintarou (Steins;Gate) Such a powerful quote, from an anime at least just as powerful. It’s one of the many wise quotes featured in the excellent time travelling tale called Steins;Gate. It is a story praised by many, and I think the show is definitely worthy of all its praise: it’s an excellent piece of work. Steins;Gate is, in essence, a unique anime. There’s not a single show that I found to be comparable to Steins;Gate. But why does everyone think of Steins;Gate as such a masterpiece? Story: 10/10 Steins;Gate is about Okabe Rintarou, a “mad scientist”who spends his time hanging out in his laboratory with his friends Mayuri and Daru. Ocassionally, they manage to invent futuristic gadgets, though these are never worth mentioning. The first few episodes may turn you down, as it seems like your general slice of life/comedy anime. However, when their most interesting invention, the Phone Microwave, turns out to be able to send text messages through time, everything changes: the text messages sent to the past have a huge impact on the present. When Okabe, in a horrifying way, finds out about an evil organization called SERN, and their ways, he is forced to use time travelling methods to prevent from getting captured – and stop their plans. This (around episode 9) is where the amazing Sci-Fi thriller fires up its engines, and puts the viewer on the edge of their seat. What follows is a fascinating (somewhat complex) plot, which manages to blow your mind each episode. Steins;Gate is not just your generic time traveling show; the plot is executed perfectly. Hardly ever before have I encountered such a well thought through plot as featured in Steins;Gate. The show features several jumps in time, but still manages to keep the viewers’ attention without confusing them. The pace present in Steins;Gate is not lacking either – in fact, from episode 9 onwards the show holds a perfect pace. Piece by piece, the mystery of the events that happen is unveiled, working towards a fantastic, satisfying ending. (Which is very rare, especially for a show with such a complex plot) Story - and plot wise, Steins;Gate is pretty much an unprecedented piece of art, and I think it might stay so for a while.
Art: 8/10
This is the field in which Steins;Gate lacks the most. Steins;Gate isn’t a show with a huge budget, and therefore it is to be expected that the art isn’t jaw-dropping. However, this doesn’t mean that the art is bad, or that the drawing style is unbearable. In fact, the goal of the art is to portray the atmosphere as well as possible – and it does: the art style simply has a way more realistic feel to it than your generic anime.
Sound: 8/10
Amazing voice acting, nice opening, and decent BGM. There were quite some moments where I think there could have been made better use of background music, which is why it misses out on a perfect score here. Nonetheless, very solid sound overall.
Characters: 10/10
What can I say, the characterization in this one is just fantastic. The characters are written in such a way that you are bound to like them. They all have their own likeable and recognizable traits, which are perfectly described from the start: Makise Kurisu the tsundere, Daru the nerd, Mayuri the childish girl, and so on. I found myself having a weak spot for Kurisu in no time. There’s hardly any character development, but I think this is not necessarily a bad thing; it would only distract from the fantastic plot that is ahead of the viewer. The only character which, logically so, develops, is Okabe: you’ll find him changing in character over the course of episodes, due to the events that unfold. But this is all for the better: this development is, again, done exceptionally well. The development has a very realistic feeling to it (And so do all the characters in general), which makes the story as a whole even more compelling.
Enjoyment: 10/10
Steins;Gate is one of the few shows that manages to score a 10 on enjoyment for me. Like most people, I found Steins;Gate hard to get into, as the first few episodes don’t really cover much ground. However, once the engine got running, I was hooked. I couldn’t refrain myself from watching episode after episode, slowly crawling to the awesome ending ahead. And I think most people would; as the plot is set up in such a way to keep you hooked each episode. If you are a fan of Sci-Fi, then you will surely enjoy this anime – but that’s not a necessity. Steins;Gate is an anime that is very likely to keep you hooked. So go ahead, you won't waste your precious time. In fact, you might want to go back in time to watch it again!
HaHaiiroTama
October 13, 2013
Recommended
The subject of time travel is no stranger to the world of anime, so it takes a lot of work to make a time travel story stand out. For Steins;Gate, that hard work paid off. This is by far the best-executed time travel story that I've ever seen in my experience with anime, and if you haven't seen it yet, you're definitely missing out! Story: 10 The story revolves around the antics of Rintarou Okabe, a self-proclaimed mad scientist that goes by the alias "Hououin Kyouma," as he essentially dicks around with time and subsequently deals with the consequences of his selfish actions. I'll be completely honestand say that the incredibly slow and random start to the anime threw me off so much that I re-watched the first episode 4 times over the course of 6 months before I could resolve to just pushing onward and finishing the anime. However, this slow start is balanced out by the fast-paced second half. By the end, it was answering questions that I never thought to ask, pointing out the significance of things that had long been discarded by my mind, and that sense of tying up loose ends is just the most refreshing feeling to have after dealing with so many time travel stories that are too lazy to clean up after themselves.
Unlike many time travel stories, especially in the world of anime, Steins;Gate has no noticeable inconsistencies objectively. I say objectively because this is a science fiction story, and that makes it really hard for everyone to agree on it. The thing is, none of us have experienced time travel in the way the characters in these science fiction stories have (and if you have experienced it, I'm very sorry for making assumptions), so there isn't a clear right or wrong way to write a time travel story. Obviously, if a story contradicts itself, something went wrong. But Steins;Gate seems to obey its own rules, and while a lot of people have made very compelling arguments that point out flaws in Steins;Gate's concept of time travel, they all make assumptions about how time travel works, and no one can really say for sure how things would change if we altered the past.
In the end, this isn't a science textbook, it's a science fiction anime. It's not supposed to be 100% believable, otherwise we wouldn't be able to watch it and say "wow, that was unbelievable!" I give the story a 10/10 because it was interesting, well-researched (many ideas are borrowed from other works of science fiction and played with), and overall just plain entertaining.
Art: 8
I really prefer talking about the art of a particularly spectacular-looking anime or else a particularly underwhelming-looking anime. Since the art in Steins;Gate is neither extremely good or extremely bad, I'll rate it an 8/10 for not influencing my opinion of the anime in either direction. Consider it a passing grade, basically where we should expect the art quality of anime to be in this day and age. Anything better would be remarkable.
Sound: 9
I can't say much for the soundtrack, but the voice acting is awesome! Okabe's seiyuu is all kinds of talented, but everything good about the sound in this anime, and really, everything good about life in general, can be summed up in the maniacal laugh of Hououin Kyouma. I can't really speak for the English dub, and while I love Michael J. Tatum's work in Baccano, what I've heard of the dub sounds to be sorely lacking compared to the Japanese voices. Miyano Mamoru is just so cool! Sonuvabitch!
One thing of note about the soundtrack is the lack of one for a large portion of the anime. During quiet moments, rather than listening to quiet music, you're usually just listening to nothing. This is something that I've seen a few times, and I think it's pretty cool. It accentuates the importance of those scenes that do have music, and at the very least creates a nice contrast of mood, not between happy and sad music, but between silence and... not silence.
Character: 10
You should know that while not each and every character is the pinnacle of how great anime characters can be, they're all very interesting, entertaining, and Hououin Kyouma can handle being the pinnacle of just about everything.
But really, my rule for judging a character to be good is that I either like them or appreciate how much I don't like them. There are characters that I like and characters that I don't like in Steins;Gate, but all of them fit, and none of them are pointless and annoying. And yeah, Okabe is startlingly charismatic, and that can take an anime pretty far in the character department.
Enjoyment: 10
This anime made me laugh maniacally and cry silently. It also made me think, and it rewarded my thoughts by having closure and clarity, which left me more than satisfied. Easily a 10/10 anime, and now one of my favorites that I've seen!
