The eccentric, self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarou Okabe has become a shell of his former self.
Depressed and traumatized after failing to rescue his friend, he has decided to forsake his mad
scientist alter ego and live as an ordinary college student. Surrounded by friends who know little of
his time travel experiences, Okabe spends his days trying to forget the horrors of his adventures
alone.
While working as a receptionist at a college technology forum, Okabe meets the short, spunky Maho
Hiyajo, who
later turns out to be the interpreter at the forum's presentation, conducted by Professor Alexis
Leskinen. In front of a stunned crowd, Alexis and Maho unveil Amadeus—a revolutionary AI capable of
storing a person's memories and creating a perfect simulation of that person complete with their
personality and quirks. Meeting with Maho and Alexis after the presentation, Okabe learns that the two
were Kurisu's colleagues in university, and that they have simulated her in Amadeus. Hired by Alexis
to research the simulation's behavior, Okabe is given the chance to interact with the shadow of a
long-lost dear friend. Dangerously tangled in the past, Okabe must face the harsh reality and
carefully maneuver around the disastrous consequences that come with disturbing the natural flow of
time.
__Steins Gate 0 (Short Review)__ As the anime goes on, i feel as if Okabe Rintaro is choosing the Mayuri route, but this episode numer 9 have turned my mind around the other corner...the Kurisu route is more like a safe route in the game, even if the woman he loves is Kurisu in the anime, he still could'nt accept the death of his best childhood friend and went to the other world timeline witch Mayuri is alive and Makise Kurisu is dead, i still haven't watched all the episodes since the anime is still airing but i think it's a pretty awesome story, with the science experiments and logic, it gives thrill and expectation from the viewer, the best ending would be him finding the true answer (as he finds a world that mayuri and kurisu are alive and well), but to go there he needs to stop being afraid all the time, it's tiring after all this these episodes, he needs corage, and determination, this episode could have sent that message to him, he needed to meet Makise Kurisu one more time and have her encorage him, the kiss scene on the final minutes was amazing and i would not change it, just a line from him i would make him say:"I'll find way to see you again in a world where you are alive!" and make a badass face saying "see you again"... There are episodes where i know they are only Fillers and do not have that cherry on the top of the cake to make the story more interesting but all anime scens have one of these don't they? There must be a reason that Okabe Rintaro of the alternative wolrd have broken the time machine...he must had the premonition that the more a person uses it, the more he can't stay in that world for a long time, and you end up time leaping more times your mind can keep up... There must be a scientific theory that says that using too much of a time machine to change history is not a good thing for anyone, if you use it for personal reasons than it's even worse. Even in anime it is shown when he changed a little thing and akihabara anime world doesn't exist anymore, it's very shocking how little things can change how a person is gonna act or even if they are gonna be born, well getting back at the topic of the anime, i'm not very happy that Okabe preffers to stay in a world without Kurisu, because he trully loves her, and i can't change the fact that the creators made it that way to be more tragic and sad than it actually would be, so turning around the pace of the story like that is just like building the expectation of the viewer so that they keep looking for the next episode, i know that, i haven't played the game, and i expect the anime choose the Kurisu route in the ending...that would be the perfect ending for the anime! My critics are only that Okabe is being a Wimp guy since the first episode of this second season. They Must Kiss again! img220(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/16/7a/bd/167abd70620644aff40b68dd27925cb4.gif) img220(http://i.imgur.com/9943J3f.gif)
This review contains spoilers for Steins; Gate I only very recently completed the original Steins;Gate - Steins;Gate 0 had already begun airing by the time I finished my binge-watch of the first series. Watching the two shows back-to-back, I can say that Steins;Gate 0 is a worthy successor (kind of) to the 2011 masterpiece. I was excited just by the very premise of the show. Serving as a midquel (though you could argue that it's both a sequel and prequel (it's confusing, as time travel stories are)), the show follows an alternate outcome of episode 23 known as 23B, denoting it as the beta worldline. If you recall, in the original episode 23 Okabe becomes depressed after his failure to save Kurisu. He refuses to try again, but finds his resolve once Mayuri slaps sense into him. He then views a video sent to him from the future. 23B sets up the alternate timeline where Mayuri doesn’t convince Okabe to try again. This timeline is the one in which Okabe records the video for his past self to view. While it’s not vital, I recommend viewing 23B before watching 0. Furthermore, I do not recommend watching this show before Steins;Gate. Besides Steins; Gate, OVA, 23B, then Steins; Gate 0, a possible watch order is Steins; Gate episode 1-22, 23B, Steins; Gate 0,episode 23, episode 24, then the OVA. Steins; Gate opens up a new level of depth to Steins;Gate saga that fans are sure to enjoy. Like the original show, Steins; Gate follows Okabe Rintaro. In his depression,he’s retired the persona of Hououin Kyouma. It’s harrowing to see the difference. In 0, we see the depression he suffered in the original series taken to its logical extreme, and while it gives the show an air of dismalness, it’s quite interesting. You can even see the difference in clothing - with Kyouma of course sporting his white lab coat and Okabe donning a pitch black outfit. The characters you love all return for 0 with their personalities intact. Given that their personalities are the same, it’s always interesting to see how they interact with a completely different Okabe. While some characters (such as Faris) have slightly reduced roles, others (such as Moeka) enjoy more screen time. There are also some new characters thrown into the mix to keep the story fresh. Among these are the amnesiac Kagari and Hiyajo Maho, a former colleague of Kurisu’s who’s still reeling from her death. A character that many won’t expect even makes an appearance down the line. The animation and art direction is beautiful as ever. While there are some hiccups in action scenes, these don’t really detract from the experience. The music is still top-notch Their placement helped make certain scenes that much more poignant. The new opening and ending themes are up there with the original. Tracks such as Gate of Steiner make a return, further tying together the shows while providing emotional gut punches. Speaking of gut-punches, let’s talk about the story. It’s great, but it’s important to note that 0 doesn’t really have the same “punch” that Steins;Gate did. The first half is often stated to be slow, then episode twelve throws viewers for a loop with the sudden slaying of Mayuri. I want to emphasis that viewers shouldn’t go into 0 expecting this same type of “drop.” If they do, they’ll just have the feeling of holding their breath for a payoff that may not ever come. The big twists have already came, with Steins;Gate 0 dealing with their aftershocks. While this may make the show less “shocking” than its predecessor, it ensures that the feeling of dread and anxiety is always present. Still, Steins;Gate 0, does have some swerves, they’re just arguably not as impressive as the original’s. Part of this is due to the plot, but part of this is simply due to already experiencing the emotional roller coaster that is Steins; Gate. As far as things I don’t like...they’re aren’t many. In fact, I can’t really think of any. While the plot-twists arguably weren’t as big as the original, the show is still quite tense. Despite the somber mood, the show still somehow manages to have its lighthearted moments. While this would normally detract from a story such as this, the creators know how to use it well, serving as a breath of fresh air, but never feeling intrusive. Given that viewers are expecting a foregone conclusion, it’s quite telling that 0 still manages to be suspenseful. While I was inclined to state 0 as being slightly inferior to the original, there were parts towards that were even more awesome than the original series. Going in expecting 0 to be just like Steins;Gate will undoubtedly cause some disappointment. But even if you do, I’m certain fans of the show will quickly learn to appreciate the differences. Some sequels falter, some rise to be better than their predecessors. It’s hard to be just as good as a 10/10 show, but Steins;Gate 0 manages to get there, all the same. 10/10
~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/OwSXqPq.png)~~~ # ~~~This review contains __unmarked__ spoilers for the original Steins;Gate.~~~ # ~~~It __does not__ spoil Steins;Gate 0 itself. ~~~ #Review in brief: Steins;Gate 0 is a rough showing in a beloved series that goes from cringey to alright to bad at the drop of a hat for its entire duration with few exceptions. It’s not without its moments, but they’re so few and far between that it bears a serious question: “Is this story worth being told?” Unless depression, memes, and a handful of clichés can hold your interest across most of the anime an honest “yes” will be hard to give. # Review in full: Welcome to the beta attractor field, where resident sad scientist Okabe Rintaro makes a half-hearted go at preventing inevitable calamity by talking to an AI, helping an amnesiac, and generally being depressed in his all-black clothes. The viewer is expected to already know how this story begins and ends; it’s the story of how Okabe gets over his failures, refuses to let the world become a dystopia/perpetual war-zone, and forges the plan to reach Steins Gate. That said, as far as Steins;Gate 0 is concerned, the story itself is almost entirely the first of those three parts, i.e. the story of how Okabe gets PTSD from remembering Moeka’s existence for a while and rarely breaks out of his defeatism & submission to fate. Perhaps it could work if Okabe had the time to wallow in depression, but as-is it just sees him mope and complain while the world crumbles around him rather than develop him in any way the original Steins;Gate hadn't already. As such, Okabe’s depression is not well-handled and isn’t an entertaining story either unless depression is your guilty pleasure. Now the Steins;Gate series is no stranger to initially slow plots, but the original’s slow start was acceptable and even enjoyable for many. It was a slowly unfolding tale about some weirdos messing around with alternate timelines using a machine built with a cell phone, a microwave that turned bananas into green jelly, mental instability, and the landlord’s 42” CRT TV (without permission). This was a plot that invited silliness while working with many mysterious & genuinely intriguing facets until things got serious in a sudden twist that was subtly hinted at, but _surely_ wouldn’t happen in such a silly slice-of-life. Steins;Gate 0 doesn’t have this start (or middle) at all. The audience already knows there’s time travel involved, so we get an AI that merely serves as a plot device and side character instead of working as the dynamic element time travel was and is in the series. Instead of building odd gadgets, Okabe and his friends reflect on how useless they feel while not finishing odd gadgets. Okabe is so depressed that it rubs off on Mayuri in certain ways, leaving a heavily flanderized Faris, barely-existent Nae, Prof. Alexis “Meme-Machine” Leskinen, and sometimes Daru to “spice things up” with randomness, memes, references to Steins;Gate, old Steins;Gate memes, Daru’s gentleman pervert antics, a K-On! reference, and sometimes even an actual joke. Some may find said humor decent enough for what it is, but those who need more than references and random memery to laugh could easily find it unable to balance the anime’s overarching aura of depression. The slow part of the anime drags on until roughly episode 18, leaving much less room for the thriller aspect Steins;Gate 0 clearly wants to replicate. It doesn't help that the “heavy” parts of the story miss their mark more often than they hit. A blatantly-flagged carbon copy of one of the original Steins;Gate’s events serves as a total mockery, soldiers often have such bad accuracy and combat awareness that they make storm troopers look like SEAL Team 6, the villain reveal can be seen from a mile away and plays out like a bad fan fiction, and plenty more that is too spoilery to bring up. It’s not helped by the regular use of “action scenes”, effectively slide-shows in most cases interspersed with awkward breaks for dramatic dialogue mid-fight.
(__Disclaimer:__ I will assume that anyone reading this has watched Steins;Gate, so I will be speaking freely of it here. There will be some delving into spoilers for 0 too, so consider yourself warned.) I think we all remember the feelings that the original Steins;Gate made us feel. Wonder, heartache, desperation, confusion, amusement, and the list goes on. It's these feelings that make us hold it so dear to this very day. We remember our favorite scenes and the feelings that we felt when we first watched them and are rewarded with a sense of nostalgia. For me, one of my favorite scenes from Steins;Gate (up there with every Kurisu scene, but I digress) is at the very end, when he receives the video from his future self affirming to himself that Steins;Gate can, in fact, be reached. Obviously, this is the very moment that Steins;Gate 0 is concerned with, but therein lies one of the major issues with 0: It rather cheapens this moment when it actually comes about in the final episode by bogging down the rest of the show with seemingly pointless side content. Right off the bat, we're introduced to new friends, each of whom don't matter at all aside from Suzuha's mom, who's given at least a small spotlight in the form of two episodes or so. We're also introduced to Leskinen, who's genuinely an interesting character, but receives a criminally little amount of screen time, and Maho, who acts as discount Kurisu for Steins;Gate 0. Not to say that these character's are bad per se, just unnecessary. Why would we need more friends for the lab parties when we have criminally underdeveloped Ruka and Feyris? I understand that that is probably due to adaptation constrains from the original visual novel, but still, it's a shame to see such long established members of the cast get such poor development even after 47 episodes. Notice how I never even talk about Kagari, the Kurisu clone? Exactly. Pointless. I got a little out of order with that little character critique, so I'll get back on track now. Visually speaking, Steins;Gate 0 isn't going to blow your socks off or anything, it's more of the same in regards to looking like Steins;Gate, aesthetically. However, there were some excellently framed shots, these two being the first to come to mind: ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/XTMBoDu.png)~~~ ~~~img(https://i.imgur.com/t3Ny2zp.jpg)~~~ Shots like these just make me forget any wrong that Steins;Gate 0 did, in addition to its phenomenal soundtrack, which incidentally, is what I'm going to praise next. I don't know if I've ever said it in a review, but I've definitely said it when discussing anime to other people: Music is what separates good anime from the great anime. Fortunately for Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0, their soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal. From soundtrack songs like Amadeus and Messanger to the opening "Fatima" and first ending "Last Game", the musical choice never fails to amaze me for well it fits the scene and sets the mood. One other thing I want to praise before we move on is the way they use the ending in certain episodes, like in episode 13, where Okabe find the room Kagari was brainwashed in and Last Game begins playing as he realizes what's going on. Absolute perfection. __Favorite Character:__ ~~Kurisu Makise~~ ~~Amadeus~~ Rintarou Okabe ~~~img(https://d1lss44hh2trtw.cloudfront.net/assets/article/2016/10/31/steins-gate-0_1200x500.jpg)~~~ I tried to sneak Kurisu into my photo choice for Okabe, but unfortunately, I couldn't find a good one from 0. Honestly, I would have gone with Kurisu or Amadeus if I didn't feel as if those answers were major cop-outs, since they only appear in a handful of episodes between the two of them. Honestly, even though Okabe wasn't as fun as he was in Steins;Gate, he was easily the best character in 0, watching him overcome his emotional and mental struggles was certainly a highlight of the show, especially when everyone around him was blatantly disregarding his trauma for most of the show, which was a little frustrating. Shout out to Daru as well, who really stepped up as a character in 0, really maturing as a character throughout the run time. More to the meat of why Steins;Gate 0 was so up and down for me was simply because of how pointless _at least_ half of the show felt. I expected much of the setup to go somewhere with them making it seem like Leskinen and Kagari were going to be real problems that would have to be dealt with, only for them to be sort of sidelined for the actual story. It felt like such an occurrence happened at least two or three times too, which makes it all harder to forgive. It turns out Amadeus was literally made to be erased, Mayuri's cosplay friends meant nothing, Kagari and Leskinen are simply a small hurdle for Okabe, and as I mentioned before, Ruka and Feyris still exist. They bait us with so many story lines in the first half of 0, that it simply feels cheap when we find out the real story is essentially the 'Mayrui Route', oh, and this is how the backstory to reaching Steins;Gate works out. I feel like the point of 0 got lost somewhere in translation. Wasn't it supposed to be about the Okabe who sends the video to the past? Why is it that him sending the all important video to achieve Steins;Gate feels like an afterthought? I'm a little disappointed with the lack of focus in Steins;Gate 0. It gave us some cool moments, like the aforementioned episode 13 scene, but a lot of useless time too. Don't get me wrong, I will always appreciate more Steins;Gate, but Steins;Gate 0 just makes me appreciate how good the original was instead. I like how they tied some things into the original, like the D-Mail to keep Kurisu from entering the lab for a few minutes, those moments were cool, but there was a distinct lack of those. Usually, we criticize works for leaning too hard on their successful predecessor, but in Steins;Gate 0's case, it didn't lean hard enough on the original. All of this isn't to say that Steins;Gate 0 is _terrible_, but when you decide to make a sequel to a universally praised show, it's going to be examined under a different, more critical light. For me, Steins;Gate 0 was acceptable, but did not in any way reach the potential that it had. There were moments that I thought that 0 had finally reached the excellence of its predecessor, but it never _quite_ did. Obviously, I'm glad that we got more time in the Steins;Gate world, even if I wasn't as big a fan this time around.
*** ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/GD1GiWz.jpg)~~~ *** _Q anime é esse meus amigos... simplesmente "esplendido"! Assim como na 1º temp ele foi quase perfeito.. "quase"... Esse Okabe beirando o lado Dark ficou incrível, achei ótimo esse designer dele._ ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/iHSJ4kj.png)~~~ _A História se adapta em uma rota alternativa.... N é uma continuação direta da 1º temp do Anime, ele só pega alguns aspectos finais dela e a partir daí criam uma nova narrativa.. No inicio o Anime N era grande coisa, ele começa a ter perda de foco e a graça vai se esvaindo (assim como na 1º temporada) mas depois ele vai recuperando tudo e embalando. Chega um momento q vc fica vibrado nele, fica ansioso para saber oq vai acontecer. E particularmente achei a história muito bem trabalhada com uma complexidade louvável._ _Algo q me agradou bastante no anime foi a grande quantidade de Plot Twists q ele possui (mas para o o meio - beirando o final), alguns deles são perceptiveis e esperados, mais outros N. O q da um ar mais dramático para com a historia do Anime._ ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/5g2aw4e.jpg) img220(https://i.imgur.com/4k78KW2.png)~~~ _O final foi decepcionante.... esperava mais.. porém ele foi muito bom dentro do q se esperava q fosse apresentado.. tudo indica q haverá uma nova temporada, oq é uma coisa boa, pois qualquer um q assiste vai querer ver ele dentro das linhas Steins;Gate, algo q ele sempre almejou alcançar, a linha na qual o mundo será perfeito (normal, por assim dizer)._ _Também temos q lembrar dos personagens principais, cada um tem uma característica muito bem trabalhada tornando eles extremamente chatos ou carismáticos (dependendo de quem, menos a Feris, pq ô personagem chato), a relação q cada um possui é incrível, chega a um momento q vc N sabe quem é o protagonista, há várias roubadas de cenas incríveis oq mostra q o Anime N tem um foco fechado (é quase isso)._ ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/xfJqVGG.jpg)~~~ _O retorno do Hououin Kyouma também deve ser lembrado, o Okabe voltando a agir como "cientista louco" é quase q nostálgico, ele falando besteira, agindo como retardo... isso foi muito bom... Para os amantes de __Ficção Cientifica - Drama - Comedia__ (algumas vezes), Steins;Gate 0 é um prato cheio, tanto para testar sua resistência emocional (ou N, caso VC N tenha um coração) quanto a sua capacidade de compreensão de fatos._ > PONTOS FORTES - __Drama:__ Fico impressionado como a franquia Steins tem a capacidade de traçar o espectador (no meu caso), ele consegue transmitir os sentimentos q se passam no Anime, vc começa a sentir pena e sentir quase oq os personagens sentem, quando eles sofrem, vc fica com uma "puta" aflição. - __Complexidade:__ Essa história, em especifica, é muito complexa, considerando o fato deq se VC tiver um deslize, isso poderá acarretar em perca de informação crucial para o entender a história. Tem coisas q acontecem no desenrolar da história q, para vc enter, vc tem voltar nos EPs passados para entender, as viagens temporais dele também são bem complexas, ainda mais quando chega no final, aí op bicho pega, porque vc começa a ficar bugado.. - __A Relação dos Personagens:__ Isso é algo q acho pouco dentro dos animes, mas o carisma dos personagens de Steins;Gate é incrível (tanto do 1º quanto o do 0), isso deixa o anime muito mais atrativo e menos chato, oq facilita a sua apreciação para com ele. > PONTOS FRACOS - __O Final:__ Isso foi muito decepcionante, gostaria de ver um belo encerramento nesse anime, o Okabe simplesmente faz algo sensacional, o feito dele vale mais doq uma explicação, mas N queria q esse fosse o final, pq o anime ainda continua aberto. (O Okabe volta no tempo para salvar a ------- depois delas se sacrificarem para salvar ele). _Assim como a 1º temp... eu recomendo muito esse Anime, ele é incrível, agora terei q fazer uma disputa para ver quem é q fica no top: " o Steins;Gate ou o Steins;Gate 0 ". Espero q tenham gostado, tento falar o minimo possível de Spoilers... mas, vida q segue... Vlw...Flw..._ *** ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/xoT0tt1.jpg)~~~ ***
# [~~~**This review will contain Spoilers for the show!**~~~]()
I loved Steins;Gate, it was a show which although had a slow start managed to go above and beyond with
its story and characters. I had high hopes for this one too, but sadly it just didn't feel right.
[**_(SPOILER AHEAD)_ STORY:**]()
Steins;Gate 0 takes place in the Beta World Line. To understand why you would be required to watch
Episode 23B. But here let me summarise it for you. In episode 23B Okarin's attempt failed at helping
Kurisu, at this point he would've gotten a message from his future self but doesn't. He is the future
self. To put it simply we follow the story of the "Future" Okarin who sends the D-Mail back to help
and "trick time".
This whole concept sounds fantastic, we get to see the depressed Okarin think of a way to save the
world and Kurisu what more can we ask for?
Yeah well there was an issue, the show felt really off. It was slow, **VERY** slow. For me it also
felt like they were dragging it on for quite some time, everytime an advancement is made by anyone it
is held back by Okarin. It is understandable that Okarin would not want to go back and try again to
relive those nightmares of attempts but when it happens everytime up until the last few episodes it
does ruin the fun a bit.
~~~img420(https://66.media.tumblr.com/30e839ac84ede1c54b643ef6286eab54/tumblr_p7eicqd81G1u1uafro5_r1_500.gif)~~~
[**CHARACTERS:**]()
In this show we get to see not only our beloved old characters that we grew to love in the previous
show, we are also introduced to many new ones.
*(I won't be talking much about the old characters unless they changed or something happened, Okarin
for example)*
The most important characters that were introduced into this series were:
>Maho Hiyajou, Alexis Leskinen, and Kagari Shiina.
These newcomers served as the sole reason that the events of this show could progress. Maho especially
was a critical part of the show throughout it whole.
Kagari and Leskinen were important in the last few episodes but still had important roles to fill.
Maho, an old friend of Kurisu. She is the one who introduced Okarin to the Amadeus System and also was
a major part of Daru's workforce that wanted Okarin to try and save the past again. Maho's personality
is similar to Kurisu's, though she is a bit more "shy". Overall she is nice and tries her best to help
Daru fix the machine.
Leskinen, smart boi who loves shaman girls. He is the main villain, though we learn that near the end
of the show. He wants the time machine.
At first he seems calm and collected with no intents of mass murder, but we later find out he is
hiding a more mean side to his personality as mentioned before.
Kagari, future adopted daughter of Mayushii. She travelled back with Suzuha to 1998 but managed to get
lost. She now has amnesia and was part of Leskinen's plan. Her personality resembles a child,
especially when she is near Mayushii. She is always happy and wants to help people.
Okarin and "Kurisu" also got quite the changed. Okarin went from his usual Chuuni self to a more
"Normie" and depressed individual.
He has given up on any kind of Time Travel due to the agony he had to endure back then.
"Kurisu"....well she is dead, as mentioned this is the Beta Line. She makes an appearance in the form
of an A.I. She is still behaving like the usual self though does not remember Okarin.
All in all the characters are great, we got introduced to many great new ones and got to see our old
heroes.
Though my biggest dislike towards this show was that we got introduced to new characters that seemed
like a bigger deal then they were.
In the previous show pretty much **every** character had a purpose and was explained. In this was not
so much.
~~~img420(https://steamuserimages-a.akamaihd.net/ugc/934945136888025563/27637B85D640F52E474D0F4EB448B8B5C09E084E/)~~~
[**ART/ANIMATION:**]()
Steins;Gate 0 had a very similar art style and animation like the "original" Steins;Gate.
The colours were more on the dark side to fit the depressing atmosphere, the animation was quite good
though nothing groundbreaking.
Though that being said there were some scenes which filled me with so much hype that it managed to
distract me from everything else in the show.
One is visible below this section.
~~~img420(https://66.media.tumblr.com/9914fe2328bd61dcfdec7e244b7c6189/tumblr_pfooz8RObm1sxkjwwo1_500.gif)~~~
[**MUSIC:**]()
Steins;Gate 0 (just like the previous installment) has a wonderfull soundtrack. The music fits so well
with the given situation, the inclusion of some old time classics is also a good thing!
The OPs and EDs of the show were fantastic from the get-go. The animation/visuals and music were mixed
together so well. The original OP still holds a special place in my heart but these ones do stand on
their own!
~~~img420(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/FrailLameCurassow-size_restricted.gif)~~~
[**OVERALL OPINION:**]()
Steins;Gate 0 is a show with an amazing concept of looking deeper into Okarin and just how much he got
affected by the events that happened in the previous world-line, the idea of exploring the way that
Okarin managed to send that D-Mail back was also something I wanted to see. Sadly though the way this
was executed just did not make me as thrilled as I was in the previous show. I have heared from
multiple people that the Visual Novel was **MUCH** better, I have yet to play it myself but will
"soon" get to it.
“The passage of time depends entirely on where you’re standing. Relative Theory... it’s so romantic. But it’s just so tragic too.” -Makise Kurisu Seven years after the release of the original Steins;Gate, this sequel rises and sheds light on the events that took place behind the scenes. Yes, the very events that made the D-mail video towards the end of Steins;Gate possible. Just like the original entry, things seems to be developing slower than usual. And yet, a new air can be felt. One of stillness, as if time itself has ceased to progress, and the only things left are both pain and loneliness. Its in this world line that Okabe exists, and from here the events of Steins;Gate 0 begin. I was very skeptical at first to be honest, I didn’t know how such a complex plot could be even further explained. And even more, I was afraid that the sequel just wouldn’t measure up to the standards that the original had set. Within the first few episodes, my concerns were growing ever more as I wondered where the story was going with seemingly little progress. Out of nowhere though, the gloom and uncertainty of Okabes world is put to light, and things start to fall into place. Just like the original entry, this one just needed to warm up in order to go all out the whole way through. All of a sudden I found myself being even more immersed into the story and suspense I had once experienced before, and the nostalgia of it all gave the proceeding events even more power. It’s weakest points were also it’s strongest, because while the plot made for a deep and interesting storyline, it could easily and often leave you confused even if you’ve got a grasp on the original Steins;Gate. Let’s get on with the official scoring: Art and Animation: 9.3/10 - While still providing realistic settings and unique character designs, this anime’s main focus was never this department. It definitely had powerful moments that resonated with past events, which had given the proper amount of emotion. But it had a few slip ups when it came to the art, scenes with far shots of people had sometimes shown character models that were somewhat lazily drawn with features that were too generic. There were also a few parts where their eyes were looking slightly opposite directions giving them a “chameleon face”. While enjoying the nonstop pace and thrill of this anime, this shouldn’t affect your overall viewing experience too much. These though are the only mistakes I could find, and in the big scope of things, were very few in number. While the color palette may seem bland and stale, I believe this was the intended effect. It had contributed to the overall mood and environment in order to create a world with an ominous and dark air. Storyline and Character Progression: 10/10 -The very first anime to receive a perfect score in this department. The reason? Because of how flawless this anime was in clearing up the events of the prequel while staying accurate without any holes. With a plot using the “time travel” mechanic, it could’ve easily abused it to cover holes in the storyline, but not once did this happen. Granted, you may have to rewatch the series a few times and do some research to fully grasp the storyline, but that’s what made this anime so amazing in the first place. It’s storyline had a depth to it that had incorporated so many things, from thrills, to psychological, to romance, and drama. None of these elements felt like they were just thrown in, but they were given careful attention to detail. The storyline managed to have consistently fast pacing while also not feeling rushed. This gave viewers barely any time to breathe or recover from the last event or episode, which makes this series a truly bingeworthy anime. I couldn’t find anything wrong with this storyline, it was perfectly written and executed down to the very detail. It had given an entertaining watch, emotional impact, and professional execution. Truly one of the best sequels I’ve seen in a long time. Audio and Soundtrack: 9.4/10 - This soundtrack had definitely added to the enjoyment of the experience. While the OP succeeds in being iconic and gives the anime even more energy, the real beauty of it lies in the animated scenes of the OP. The storytelling that it accomplishes through it’s OP alone is something to take note of. The added incorporation of soundtrack throughout the sequel was used sparingly as well. In ONLY key moments were touching or nostalgic tracks played, which added even more to the emotion or hype of the scene. I personally didn’t care too much for the ED, as it didn’t connect enough to the series for me. When introducing a wider vocal cast, the measure of quality didn’t drop at all. With even more emotional elements being in this sequel, the need for raw and earnest emotion to be expressed through the voice actors characters was needed. And every time, the emotion could be felt at these moments. No annoying cast, no awkward and out of place voice acting. It all fit as naturally as it could. Overall, I personally feel like the entire Steins;Gate series deserves a 10/10, at the bare minimum a 9.7/10. I’ve yet to get a similar experience with a storyline to match the depth and thrill of Steins;Gate. With all of its elements and the way they’ve been executed, this anime is no doubt a masterpiece. In spite of its many strengths though, this anime did fall a bit short in the slightest of mistakes. Yes, the plot takes a while to develop just as it did previously, but the proceeding events make it long worth the while. I’d have no problem watching this anime even 3,000 times, because every rewatch reveals a slight detail that keeps you entertained. That’s why this anime deserves the score of 9.6/10. Hopefully this encourages those of you who’ve seen Steins;Gate to jump on its sequel, because I can guarantee that you’ll be satisfied with how well it was handled. A Masterpiece Series like Steins;Gate is hard to come by, so take full advantage of it an pd prepare yourself for one of the best storylines in all of the anime I’ve seen so far. Thanks so much for reading, and I’ll see you in the next one! ~~~Streaming Platform: Crunchyroll~~~
# Steins;Gate 0 - Blemished But Beautiful _El Psy Kongroo_ __Preface__ Just so you are aware of my biases, I am going to preface this review by saying that I love Steins Gate and that I was a massive fan well before diving into zero. I watched both the original and zero 5+ times over. I have watched all OVAs and the movie. I have read the source material (visual novels) for both S;G and S;G0 with 100% completion and have watched/read my way through steins;gate elite aswell. Now that you know where I stand, and what background reading I have done - let's begin. __The Rollercoaster__ This review is going to feel a bit schizophrenic; my views on this anime are very mixed and my review will flip-flop back and forth between high praise and harsh critisism. I love Steins;Gate 0. I also hate Steins;Gate 0. The sequel (I'm going to call it a sequel for ease of writing even if it's not 100% accurate) has, in my opinion, both the worst and the best scenes in the entire series. The pacing is all over the place, some of the characters seem irrelevant, and it has the most bloody contrived and immersion-breaking scene in anime from recent memory... ~!The suzuha/kagari rooftop gunfight scenes were absolute garbage!~ However, when it pops off, it _pops off_. Zero drops us into the darkest timeline, it's dreary, depressing and the overall atmosphere of melancholy can feel overpowering at times - it portrays the feelings of hopelessness that come with depression really well. Much like the original, it's slow-paced at the start and ramps up in the second half; however this time we don't have the whimsical chuuni atmosphere and mad scientist talk to liven up the slower sections. The sequel starts off very strong in the first few episodes, and then just kind of 'lingers' for a while to set up a large payoff in the final third. If you're like me and enjoy slow-burn stories with dark and depressive overtones then that's no problem, however if you go into S;G0 expecting mad scientist shenanigans you're in for a world of disappointment. It's unfortunate that the really good stuff is only after a long stretch of what could only be described as hit-or-miss; a lot of people drop the show before it gets its chance to shine. This is especially heartbreaking when the highs of this series are, in my opinion, better than the original - pretty much everything from ~!episode 16!~ onwards is absolutely amazing. I believe that much of the pacing and characterisation issues stem from the structure of the source material itself (more on that later), but overall they did a decent job adapting the multiple disjointed storylines from the visual novel into one cohesive story. The conclusion felt like a fitting end, and I can look back fondly on the journey I shared with Okabe and the other lab members. I also can't ignore the soundtrack. The ost surpasses that of the original, with many sombre and heavy hitting orchestral scores that were never ill placed. The opening and ending themes were great too, and at some points there were songs from the visual novel (most notably Amadeus) sprinkled in. That's as far as I can go without spoilers, all bets are off now - ye who wish to read the next section, you have been warned. __Where it went wrong (S;G 0 Visual Novel and Anime Spoilers)__ ~!If the character arcs and overall pacing of the anime feel like an absolute mess, that's because it kind of is... If I were given the source material and asked adapt it into a cohesive 23 episode anime series I'd feel like I have been cursed with a terrible burden. The visual novel takes full advantage of its medium, more specifically the ability to set save points and return to them, for reference, the structure of the visual novel's story looks like this: img220(https://i.imgur.com/PmCk1ua.png) _As a rule of thumb, if you need a flowchart to explain a story then you're in deep water - S;G0 is no different._ Without going overly into detail, the VN has two main routes, A and B, the split-off point is fairly early in the story. The true ending which the anime tries to adapt resides at the end of route A, however to unlock the true ending of route A you need to first complete route B, and send a D-mail back to the aforementioned split-off point. After you've done this, you then load a previous save that was before the cutoff point, and continue back into route A. It is easy to see why this would be an absolute mess to try and adapt linearly, especially in only 23 episodes - the director opted to only adapt route A and make some minor modifications to tie up loose ends that would have been explained in route B. What complicates this even further is that some character arcs lean almost entirely on route B (the route that was not adapted). Most notably Kagari, my favourite character in the VN, got absolutely gutted in the anime. Her character arc was very strong in the visual novel, but it was contained almost entirely in the unadapted route B. Her amnesia was used to explore themes of individuality, looking to the future and becoming your own person; additionally her close physical resemblance to kurisu was actually explained and not framed as a weird coincidence. They could have chosen to leave her out of the anime adaptation entirely; instead they tried to fit a square peg into a round hole and it ended up feeling rushed and somewhat out of place. Something similar happened with the character arcs of Moeka, who had three-hour visual novel arc about learning to value oneself condensed into a single five minute scene in the anime, rife with 'fanservice'. Maho got hit too, to a lesser extent. Paradoxically, the fact that the anime felt too slow at times could have been solved by making it longer (3-cour). The reason that episodes 4-15 with a few exeptions seem to drag, is that they don't really lead to a satisfying end result. 12 episodes is not enough time to flesh out the stories of three different characters (maho, moeka and kagari), especially when you have to work around the fact that these different stories are supposed to be taking place in entirely different timelines from one another. They opted to (understandably) focus mostly on Maho, but as a result, kagari and moeka's stories ended up half baked and it feels like time wasted. In my opinion, Kagari should not have been adapted, there was never enough time. They should have used the time spent on Kagari to flesh out Maho even more, and the anime would have been better for it. There are several other characters that could have been left out entirely, most notably professor Reyes. A three cour season would have fixed all of this, but alas, 23 is what we got.!~ __Conclusion__ At the end of the day, shows should be rated based on how much you enjoyed it. When all is said and done, flaws and all, I did _really_ enjoyed watching Steins;Gate 0, especially nearing the end. Seeing a man, utterly broken, lift himself out of a psychological rut and find the resolve to once agan push forward is a tried and tested theme in story-telling, and S;G 0 is no exception. It's inconsistent in both its pacing and its characters, sure, but the highs more than make up for the lows. I can't ignore the directorial mistakes that were made in this anime's production, however I would be lying if I said that I didn't skittishly wait every thursday-night to watch the latest episode on release. If I can sit through a show on the fourth rewatch and still very much enjoy it, it has to be worth something. 8/10 would recommend, but don't dive into it expecting it to be Steins;Gate 2 - it's thematically very different.
“This probably doesn’t need a sequel, but I’ll gladly power through it” - Me, obliviously, as I finished Steins;Gate (the original). Boy, did I not know how right and how wrong I was at that time. First and foremost, it is imperative to understand that Steins;Gate 0 is not a true sequel - it's more like a substory within the original story that "explains" some of the events towards the end of the original story that made it a great ending. I unfortunately did not realize this until the veryyy end, which made me upset and certainly tarnished my view of this "sequel". At the end of the day though, this was just completely unnecessary (SPOILERS ahead - skip to final sentence if you haven’t seen it yet). We did not need an explanation for Mayuri's actions on that rooftop that day. The idea in the 1st season was that she simply wanted what was best for Okabe, and at that time it was saving Kurisu and therefore, she encouraged and supported him to time travel and make things right. We absolutely did not need to know that she originally held Okabe back and she herself had to time travel in order to encourage him. Like why? In essence, the entire story revolves around this and it's dumb, and I mean the entire Zero story. revolves. around. this. one. insignificant. unnecessary. moment. in. the. original. It’s just ridiculous! Not to mention that we really didn't need to ship Mayuri & Okabe, like at all. Now we have 2 world lines where Okabe is with Kurisu in 1 and Mayuri in the other? Nah fam. Not only is it messed up and an extreme flaw for any story, but now you’re making me choose between Mayuri & Kurisu and that is just pure evil. I'm giving this a 72% (much higher than it deserves) solely because it was great to see the characters again and it was nice to see what the world would have looked like in WW3. There was also a great touch when Okabe switched world lines and was able to say goodbye to Kurisu - just an excellent scene. Other than that, unlike the first season, this one was quite depressing and filled with major flaws. Not to mention the ending was weird and didn't really feel like a climax at all to me. All in all, this is truly one of the most underwhelming things I’ve ever watched, and I despise that they went through with creating it. Especially after the masterpiece that was Steins;Gate. There have been plenty of poorly executed sequels in the history of story telling, and this to me is one of the worst. Perhaps I’m being a bit emotional about it, but that’s just how much the original meant to me. And now to do this to it… Please, if you’re reading this and haven’t seen 0 yet, I would implore you to forget that it even exists and just stick to the original. I promise you will be better off without it.
Hello Once Again, Writing this review is a risk as i know the more i type, the angrier i will make some people but please allow me my opinion and feel free to counter-argue politely. I preferred Steins:Gate 0. There i said it. Let me start off by saying Steins:Gate was not at all bad, in fact it was just as amazing and i loved it. Each character is so well developed and has traits that makes you love each one of them individually, a trait that few other anime's often can develop, normally its a few main characters but no, Steins: Gate has a large pool of amazing characters each with a story and are relevant in the entire plot. I loved Steins: Gate, i wont lie it wasn't until episode 6 i got into it, the first few episodes had me confused and it just wasn't catching on to me. But by episode 6 it all began to piece together and i begun enjoying it a lot more, hell even the opening caught on and now i adore that opening. For more of my view on Steins;Gate read that review, which i will make AFTER this one. So, Steins: Gate 0. It's not considered bad by any means in the community but its not as well received as its predecessor. I'm not 100% sure on the reasons why but each to their own i guess. To me Steins: Gate 0 was a great continuation that always left me wanting more. Our beloved Rintarou was heartbroken over the loss of Kurisu and thus is essentially a compeltly new character, he is depressed, sad and don't get any of those silly laughs or sayings. While for some this may be sad, i felt it was such a great character arc, beforehand we'd seen Okarin in moments of pain but he'd never actually lost, he always had a way out but now in Steins: Gate 0, he's completely broken and out of options and finally, all the pain and anguish roots in him, all that loss and suffering that should have broken him weeks ago, sets in. New characters such as Maho Hiyajo and Professor Leskinen were great new characters that kept the show going, while in some aspects you could see Maho as a rip-off Kurisu, it did fill that void without her and there were some traits that separated the two and generally kept her as a lovable character that i'm sad won't be shown in the Steins: Gate world line. Kagari was a surprise that remained a mystery that slowly unraveled, and while her general character wasn't interesting to me, there were good plot points around her such as her relation to Mayuri and the scene where Moeka and Okarin discovered where she had been living sent chills down my spine, i almost missed that scene too. Whoops. Sadly, on my first watch through i missed the episode with Kurisu's return, while it didn't impact on my enjoyment or understanding of the series, it is a point that should be noted. Steins: Gate 0 followed on well as a sequel in my opinion, developing characters we already new and bringing new ones into the mix. Mayuri, Suzuha and Okarin all greatly developed over the series which i loved to see and learn. The depressing tone of the series, felt right. Had it remained upbeat and comedic i feel the series would have been disrespecting Kurisu's death. This tone had to be adopted to show the struggles Okarin went through, needed to go through to reach Steins; Gate. Maybe i was in the right mindset but the tone never put me off and you still get lovable interactions between characters, but now there are also more serious tones mixed in which i felt was well needed to better understand characters and their relationships, The lack of time-travel didn't bother me too much either, while it may be the point of the show, sticking to one world line meant we could see much more development overall of the story and characters, and also was a nice break from the confusion that its predecessor caused at times. All of this leads up to one of my greatest anime moments ever, all the pain and depression and character changes leads to Okarin going to the future, a place we spend little time but still finally shows us as the viewers what Suzuha has been trying to avoid and we finally realise that we have been sheltered and ignoring how despicable this future is, it was always discussed but never taken seriously until we finally see it ourselves with Okarin. This finally kicks in for Okarin too and thus my favourite moment and episode of maybe any anime? Maybe? Episode 21: youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVXms1TcgKA) I mean, its the best right. We have been waiting an entire Season for our Okarin to come back and he does so in absolute style and every goddamn time i watch this i smile from ear to ear, its just perfect. That's not even the end of its amazingness but i wont flood you with videos. This is what solidified Steins; Gate 0 as the better one for me, the build up was much stronger and the result was better. While i was happy with the end of Steins; Gate it didn't have my hyped like this. But again, i still adored it, please don't misunderstand that fact. One last thing is the ending, where Okarin finds and Saves Mayuri and Suzuha. This creates a lot of speculation as to how this is possible and what happens next, in my head canon, i honestly don't know. A part of me says they converge back into the Steins; Gate world line, another says they live happily in another time. Basically, any happy thing is canon to me. This goes for Episode 25 and PARTS of the Movie, not the entire thing because it complicated things but the happy parts are 100% canon to me Finally, I've mentioned characters a lot but not specified much other than Okarin. Mayuri carries both of the shows, she is the most lovable person ever and every seen she's in makes you happier. Steins; Gate 0 opens her character up more to see actual sadness and pain in this character i loved and that was great as it showed she was more than just the silly girl at the lab. Daru was much smarter this time around it felt, or at least he had the time to show it and his and Suzuha's relationship was great to watch blossom. Suzuha had major points throughout and getting to actually learn her story and see her in full action was badass and i loved it. Rukako is always a funny character as well as Faris, and both of them in the war chapters were insane to see and actually had me sad for Ruka's death. Maho was an enjoyable character as i said before and Amadeus actually did fill parts of the Kurisu shaped hole in the series, while not fully our Kurisu she did meet some needs and made for both funny and serious moments. Well thats about if i believe, Steins: Gate as a whole is an incredible series and to think i doubted it in my first few episodes is now despicable to me, its a perfect show that as without a doubt going into my GOD TIER anime level. Thank you all for reading and i leave you with just this: youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNmaKyMsr64)
Probably not any spoilers but some people get upset over anything and everything that can possibly be construed as a spoiler so be warned I loved Steins;Gate, it is one of my favorite Visual Novels and my all time favorite anime. So when I found out that there was an alternate timeline sequel to the original, I was skeptical but excited. And while it didn't live up to my very high expectations at first... after a while, I came to appreciate Steins;Gate 0 for what it is, and even made me appreciate the original even more than I ever had before. The Story 9/10 This is a more ambitious story than the original's and it doesn't disappoint. Some elements are poorly explained or just forgotten about altogether due to pacing issues but it's the best they could do with the amount of episodes they were provided. The story really ramps up near the end but the majority of the show is a slow burn The Characters 9.5/10 Just like the original, the characters are incredible, and Okabe Rintarou is definitely the star. Steins;Gate 0 provides complexity to his character that hasn't been shown before, i don't care for the addition of Amadeus because it feels like a cheap way to incorporate Kurisu into the story because she's popular even though she's dead. The villain is really good too even if the twist is fairly obvious, and Maho helps fill in the gap left by Kurisu, Though the character rating loses half a point because she's a loli, it is what it is. The Art and Animation 8/10 The art obviously isn't as good as the VN's but it is still incredible as a translation into an entirely different style. The animation is good I don't really have much to say in this aspect because I am not great at discerning how good animation is unless it's really good or really bad. The Audio 10/10 The voice actors are all absolutely incredible, especially Okabe's VA. Hell, even the dub is watchable. The music is also up there with the best that anime has to offer and it delivers on the standard that the original set all the way back in 2011 My Personal Enjoyment 10/10 The majority of this show might be very slow, but the ending of the show is quite possibly the best that Steins;Gate has ever been, and most certainly carries the score here, more than making up for the 15+ episodes of being above average Final Score 9.5/10 This isn't as good as the original, or even the Steins;Gate 0 visual novel. it isn't, I won't lie. Don't try to compare the two because they are very different, but if you want something that recaptures the magic of the original albeit just during the last quarter of the show, this is most definitely a must watch for you and is definitely one of my favorites.
Even if I wasn't the type to critique just about everything I come across, I would still not enjoy this. There is no aspect of this sequel that truly encompasses what made Steins;Gate a success in any regard. I’ll minimize the spoilers and keep my review short and simple. I apologize for the short rants ahead of time. The plot was insignificant. We (the viewers) are introduced to all the important characters quite early on --Other than the two female supporting characters who just disappeared entirely and actually did nothing for the show-- and are given a vague idea of what actually has happened. We quickly learn that the events of the original show have not occurred exactly the same, because (SPOILER ALERT) Steins Gate wasn’t achieved like in the original ending. This is all explained and crammed into the last episode much like previously how the ending was rushed. The sequel is merely an explanation of a single small event that seemed to be just an action of a character that had been long in the making. Considering that the main plot was overshadowed by various episode to episode side plots, commonly known as filler, I was disappointed to say the least. It’s like the show tried to be slice-of-life type for half and plot driven the other half. The slice-of-life bits were not at all enjoyable unless you have particular interest in the supporting characters and if you are okay with very little screen time for Kyouma. The characters were more or less the same people. What I did enjoy from this anime was the development of Okabe Rintaro. He is truly a mad scientist when all things are said and done, even though his personality doesn’t always match it. He has his highs and lows but manages to still be himself. He reacts accordingly to situations, and his unpredictability shines through toward the end of the show. Moving on, the two female supporting characters I mentioned prior, provide absolutely nothing to the show. You’d think and hope all characters serve some sort of purpose but these two women don’t have any plot significance or provide some engaging aspect that other characters don’t already supply for the show. They’re just two cutesy girls who were entirely dropped when the plot started to get going. This is no exaggeration, they literally don’t make any appearances past around halfway through the show. It makes me wonder why they even exist in the first place. It might’ve been to introduce a character who was initially seen around them who had significance in the side plots. Ultimately though, they served no plot purpose and weren’t particularly likeable. The new characters were just okay overall. There is an obvious twist-villain that was way too played out. I figured it out like ten episodes prior to when they are exposed. The returning characters are alright, if you’ve already seen Steins;Gate --hopefully you have-- then I need say no more. Steins;Gate 0 does not deserve any hype whatsoever. Steins;Gate had an amazing plot, it’s undeniable. The setup was lengthy, though not too lengthy, and it did not need to explain things to the audience. Steins;Gate 0 was unclear with what had happened leading up to the start of the show. The setup was definitely drawn out a couple hours too long. The plot was insignificant and could be summarized in many hundred less words than the original, there wasn’t much to unpack. Many things were left unexplained, many more seemingly significant things were glossed over or forgotten than in the original show. Okabe Rintaro can just seemingly escape from any bad scenario with the use of time skips --not an actual ability of time in the show, just poor writing-- it didn’t bother me much the first few times, but I can only laugh because it became so unbelievable after awhile. The audience is talked down to and everything is dumbed down. To distract from the various holes in the plot, the breast sizes are increased. I think I lost brain cells even thinking about what this series ended up being. I’m not going to pretend I’m a good writer, but even I could do better than this. I’m going to give this show a 40/100, all things considered it’s pretty generous but watching Hououin Kyouma face adversity is actually pretty entertaining, although repetitive, and it carries the show to that score.
__Plot__ In this sequel we can see how the characters moved on from the events in the main series. We return to the alpha world line just as Okabe wished: Mayuri is safe and sound but at the cost of his beloved Kurisu. However, not entirely. We are introduced to Maho, Kurisu’s senior when she was in America who is working on an AI program named amadeus. Amadeus is based on Kurisu’s memories so it looks and acts just like her. Okabe, now in university, bumps into Maho and is able to interact with Amadeus. This gives him hope to reconcile with her as their blossoming relationship came to a tragic end. These interactions between Okabe and Kurisu were humorous at times and the AI managed to retain Kurisu’s infamous tsundere personality. At the same time, the search for Steins gate continues. Suzuha desperately wants to stop World War 3 and we see her warrior form take shape. We also discover that Suzuha did not time travel alone, there was another girl called Kagari who went missing along the way. Unlike the previous series which had one, straightforward plot line, this show had many things going on at the same time but eventually converged into a single event and mission. There was some back and forth from the past to the present and the future to present which I found interesting. It helped to broaden the scope of the show. I feel that is the speciality of Steins gate: we literally get to see character from all angles and how they develop outside the timeline of the show. At first, AI Kurisu and Kagari may seem unrelated but as the show progresses you find that they are all related. In this show, the job of saving the day did not fall on Okabe alone but we also got to see Suzuha, and Mayuri in the forefront too. Yes, our sweet and innocent Mayuri. __Characters__ We can see that the characters from the previous show embrace their future selves. The only one who changed drastically is Okabe. Having to live through the events of the Beta world is not easy. Donned in an all black attire and having a forlorn look, he is definitely not the same Okabe Rintaro, or mad scientist Hououin Kyouma, that we were familiar with in the previous series. Facing the trauma of seeing Mayuri die countless times and losing Kurisu, Okabe just wants to leave time travel behind and lead a normal life and get through university. However, his interests come into conflict with Suzuha who still fears WW3. Suzuha , who repents her past mistakes, is more determined than ever to achieve her goals. I felt that she was a bit arrogant at times but I still admire her resilience and leadership skills. She works closely with Daru who has embraced that he is a father. Yuki, Suzuha's future mother, was another interesting addition to the main cast. Their relationship added to the humor of the show and it was emotional at times. The show retains the wholesomeness of the lab. They still have their get-togethers and parties. Moeka makes a return in this show and I was suspicious of her at first but her role was completely different despite having the same shy and timid personality. The most prominent addition was Maho. When I heard that she was Kurisu’s senior, I expected her to be more knowledgeable than Kurisu. Surprisingly, she had always been Kurisu’s shadow instead. There was a recurring motif of Mozart and Salieri to describe their relationship which I found intriguing. As a fellow scientist, she has the responsibility of carrying on Kurisu's legacy. I wouldn’t say Maho is a direct replacement for Kurisu even though they have similar personalities and professions. She did reach the same goal as Kurisu just that she took a longer and harder road, especially since physics is not her area of expertise. Kagari was also another addition to the lab but I felt she did not have much depth as compared to the other characters. Her mysterious disappearance was crucial to the story but her personality and individualism never came through. __Animation__ While the style of animation remains the same, there was much more action in this show. Explosions, guns and fights scenes were presented in a dramatic way and heightened the intensity of the situation. The OP and ED did not get to me and I do not listen to it as frequently as the previous one. Both were in English which I think is to match the general Western influence of the show. However, this is in a way related to Kurisu as her work in America was not really brought up in the previous part. Major themes [spoliers ahead]: __AI vs Human__ AI is very relevant in our society today. Hence, there was some relatiblity to the show and their inventions seemed more realistic than a time machine. While it does help to make our lives easier and maybe bring our loved one back to us, we are constantly reminded that she is not the real thing. Regardless of how similar Amadeus may seem to Kurisu, it is not actually her and Kurisu is gone for good (in the alpha line at least). However, this was symbolic in a way that Kurisu managed to stay by Okabe's side. Even in 2030 she still watched over him when he was in a coma. It was indeed heartbreaking when he had to bid farewell to her once again in order to stop WW3. __Brainwashing__ Personally, I am fascinated by the idea that people’s minds can be engineered and controlled by someone else. Although what Leskinen did was ethically wrong, his plan was actually ingenious. It is bewildering that Kagari, who may seem normal, can be transformed into a human robot just by listening to a particular piece of music. In this case it was none other than a Mozart piece. Under Leskinen’s spell, she kept repeating she hears the “voice of god”. “Voice of God” is what Salieri described one of Mozart’s pieces in the movie Amadeus (1984). This mind control runs parallel to Leskinen’s project. His team was trying to make Amadaues, a robot, almost human-like. Moreover, Kagari and Kurisu almost look similar. I can’t really think of a reason for this resemblance. Perhaps in the prequel, Mayuri and Kurisu had this mother-daughter relationship (sisters, moreso) and the creators were trying to bring back this relationship through Kagari. On the whole, the show fares slightly lower than its preceder, in my opinion. I liked the old Okabe better and the close knit community in the lab. Nevertheless, this show was action packed, had more suspense and the technological aspect was pretty cool. The ending was wonderfully done (although slightly confusing) and it was a good way to wrap up the series.
~~~The untold story of what it took to reach Steins Gate is quite the divisive one indeed. While it in some ways carries on the strengths of its parent material, in others it drops the ball even harder. I would argue Steins;Gate 0 stands a couple notches below. Which is to say, it is also mid.~~~ #~~~__A glimpse at what could have been, both behind and beyond the fourth wall- Steins;Gate 0 is missed potential incarnate__~~~
Being a huge fan of the OG S;G, I was pretty disappointed with this one. Over abundance of fan service moments ruined the experience for me, as well as the redesigns for some of the characters. The anime couldn't adapt the VN well because the VN wasn't linear as the original. A lot of forgotten sub-plots. Some memorable moments but it's muddled in there. There's also an abundance of useless filler characters instead of focusing on the main cast of the original. Wish I could call it a worthy successor but I can't. SPOILER TERRITORY - Kagari is without a doubt one of the worst additions in the series as a whole. Even from the way she's designed, it's clear they wanted to bait fans into thinking "Woah did Kurisu have a sister/daugher?" and turning it into a red herring. Adds unneeded conflict between the characters. - A way to improve the story would've been to just focus on Suzuha, Okabe, Daru, and Mayuri. Their experiences of reading steiner with Kurisu should've motivated them to focus on getting Okabe back into his feet. The WWIII plotline is inevitable, but leave the Kagari stuff out. She was never mentioned in the OG S;G and there was no reason to use her as weeb bait. - Another think I dislike are the new character designs, Mayuri drastically changed from her appearance in S;G, Daru now has straps and fingerless gloves. Okabe is the only one that I like, his attire is pretty good and reflective of how he is feeling. (Depressed = wearing black as if he was at a funeral, like Kurisu's.). The color tone of the series is also a downgrade from the original. It's shown as all bright and lively, especially most of the cast's attire, and it doesn't have that same blue atmospheric tint the original steins;gate had that made it more eye catching and somber. - A bunch of subplots lead nowhere, for example the Yuki plotline which was fully developed in the S;G 0 visual novel, is hinted throughout the anime, where Yuki hurts her hand multiple times (where she was supposed to be one of Leskinen's minions) but is then never mentioned again and the subplot is completely dropped. I'm surprised that people have never commented on this because this was very jarring even during my first watch. - Unlike the original steins;gate, which knew when to put in their fanservice moments, steins;gate 0 just has it all over the place. The tones change drastically when putting it where it doesn't need to be. The original had a bunch of shots here and there but never made it run that long. Most of its SOL moments were built up for the fallout after episode 12. Here it's just treated like a regular generic anime, and detracts the serious tone the show COULD'VE carried. - What I do like is Suzuha and Daru's more developed relationship. He's less of a pervert now (but still is one) and contributes a lot more to the plot than he did in the original steins;gate, where he was just used as comic relief despite being Okabe's best male friend. - I also like the small snippets when Okabe was in emotional turmoil. Really showed how heartbreaking his situation was. Also the contrasting attitude is perfect, in the OG S;G, he's outlandish, and downright embarassing for a lot of people to be around with. In zero, he's a lot more gentle but is extremely depressed and wears black attire all the time. I just wish that this was the predominant conflict than the other stuff that happened. S;G has always been a psychological anime that focused on its characters. Should stay that way. In conclusion, Steins;Gate 0 is a disappointing mess of an adaptation, leaving a mediocre anime that fails to revoke the same themes that its predecessor has left. I'm just hoping that once the new spiritual successor VN of Steins;Gate comes out, it gets an adaptation better than zero or the original.
Wrapping up the story of the original Steins;Gate and tying up all the loose ends, this story is, at least to me, a timeless masterpiece. Picking up from where the original seemingly left off, Steins;Gate 0 explores an alternate beta worldline where Okabe chooses to sacrifice Kurisu to save Mayuri and does not go with Suzuha to the past once again in order to reach the Steins;Gate worldline. He is now deeply broken, and has even abandoned his ‘mad scientist’ Hououin Kyouma persona and is living his life as a normal college student, with friends who are completely unaware of his time travelling experiences. Everything suddenly changes when he encounters Amadeus, a sentient AI based off Makise Kurisu’s memories. Getting a chance to once again talk with a loved one, it’s really interesting to see how he grapples with his feelings and seemingly forgets that Kurisu is actually dead until Maho reminds him of it. And speaking of Kagari, such a tragic character she was. Being brainwashed in the future and then being used after being sent to the past, she honestly deserved better. But I’m glad that ultimately, she put her faith in Okabe, Mayuri and Suzuha and entrusted them to change the past and henceforth save the future. One of the most striking aspects of Steins;Gate 0 is Okabe's evolution as a character. His character development is honestly so insane, and he is easily one of the most well written characters I’ve seen. Through various interactions with the rest of the characters, especially Maho, Suzuha and [Kurisu], we witness his gradual transformation from a broken individual to a resilient hero. His decision to time-leap over 3000 times, all the way from 2036 to 2011, all in order to save those he loves, regardless of the mental toll it would take, just goes on to show how far he is willing to go for their sake. And as he finishes his long journey of time leaping, all the buildup culminates in the revival of the ‘mad scientist’, Hououin Kyouma. With his grand laugh that topples time itself, he once again proclaims himself to the world. As Mayuri and Suzuha depart, Okabe in the future sends the D-mail to his past self, instructing him to take the necessary course of action to reach the Steins;Gate worldline and save both Kurisu and Mayuri as well as prevent World War 3. Honestly it’s really bittersweet, as Okabe from this timeline won’t get to see Kurisu again yet he did everything just so that another version of him can again be together with his lovely assistant. And at the end, when Hououin Kyouma arrives in a brand new time machine to save Mayuri and Suzuha, what a legendary scene that was. Easily cemented the ending of Steins;Gate 0 and Steins;Gate in general as one of my favorites. Central to this all is Okabe Rintarou’s relationship with Makise Kurisu. Despite the temporal and existential challenges they face, their bond remains a special one, transcending the boundaries of time and space itself. Be it the time when the Okabe from this beta timeline met the Kurisu of an alpha timeline, or his interactions with Amadeus, the dynamic these 2 characters have is so beautiful. img220(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f7/3a/ee/f73aee64279bc38731a0ea3ed23964b3.jpg)
# __If you watched the original series, this will destroy you__
---
__[ DISCLAIMER ] DON'T READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE ORIGINAL
[STEINS;GATE](https://anilist.co/anime/9253/SteinsGate) ANIME, ALONG WITH THE
[OVA](https://anilist.co/anime/10863/SteinsGate-Oukoubakko-no-Poriomania),
[MOVIE](https://anilist.co/anime/11577/SteinsGate-Fuka-Ryouiki-no-Dj-vu) AND [EPISODE
23β](https://anilist.co/anime/21624/SteinsGate-Kyoukaimenjou-no-Missing-Link--Divide-By-Zero) IN THAT
ORDER__
After watching the original Steins;Gate, watching this anime tore my soul. I won't say that much about
the plot, because I think that's the more exciting and mysterious part about the anime, but this anime
will make you suffer, in so many ways, specially if you made a pretty solid connection with all the
characters.
## Story
---
If you already watched [Episode
23β](https://anilist.co/anime/21624/SteinsGate-Kyoukaimenjou-no-Missing-Link--Divide-By-Zero), you'll
know what this is, a world where Makise Kurisu couldn't be saved, a world where Okabe is filled with
depression, where he is not the Hououin Kyouma we all know. Every episode you watch will serve as an
explanation of how his feelings affect the world around him, the ones who love him, and the people
he'll met in the way.
This story is very deep, even more, a lot more, than the original story. Okabe's feelings will be more
visible than ever before, adding a very important layer to the show. The way everything unfolds makes
it very special and sentimental, and also, very interesting.
As I said, I won't tell that much about the anime itself, because it would ruin your experience
watching it, or at least, it won't be as good as the one I had.
## Characters
---
As always, Steins;Gate doesn't disappoint when talking about characters, and in this intersequel, it
takes the character development a lot of steps further. You'll found a lot of complex and mixed
feelings, and as before, you'll connect with every character in every way you can think of. Also, you
won't be in the same spot as you were watching the original series, the characters changed a lot since
the last time you saw them, so everything is new from now on, in some way.
## Music
---
As you can expect from the previous series, the music it's pretty good too, always giving the best
atmosphere for the show, and as you already developed connections with the characters previously,
you'll feel the music deeper in your heart.
The new intro it's fantastic, not only the music, but the animation itself too. The same can be telled
about the outro obviously.
## Final thoughts
---
This intersequel was, in my opinion, the best thing that could happen to the original series. Not only
does it explain a lot of things the original show left unsolved, but it also introduces a lot of
concepts and backstory, making it more interesting, deep and sentimental. If you loved the original
anime, you'll love this one even more.
I really loved this show, it has a really good place inside my heart, and I think I really connected
with the characters, in an indescribable but beautiful way.
>Even if the world line changes, as long as you don't forget me, I'm there.
~ Makise Kurisu
#~~~**Steins;Gate 0**~~~ **Plot and Storyline** It follows the story of the Okabe Rintarou who defected from the [Alpha worldline](https://steins-gate.fandom.com/wiki/Attractor_Field/Alpha) and gave up trying to save Makise Kurisu after accidentally being the one to kill her in the [Beta worldline](https://steins-gate.fandom.com/wiki/Attractor_Field/Beta). He decides to give up on reaching the [Steins;Gate worldline](https://steins-gate.fandom.com/wiki/Steins_Gate_World_Line) and instead live his life and prevent World War III from occurring without meddling with time but that doesn't last for long because there's only so far denial can take him. Instead of SERN developing time travel and using it to turn the world into a dystopia, we have organizations like DURPA, Stratfo and even Russia trying to gain the technology for themselves and start the third world war in the Beta worldline. This forces Okabe to regain his long lost identity as the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma and finally reach the Steins;Gate. Unlike the original, Zero isn't nearly as linear so it's somewhat harder to follow all of the plot threads but this also meant a lot of plot threads from the original were given answers like who Suzuha's mother is, what type of work Kurisu was doing in America and explained the ending of the original in more detail which lead to a more satisfying ending. **Characters** Steins;Gate 0 has a much larger cast than the original show with new additions in the form of Kurisu's friends and professors from work, Mayuri's cosplayer friends, and characters from the future like Suzuha and Kagari. Not every character has a major role or even a small role in this story however, like every cosplayer friend except for Amane Yuki are practically background characters and how certain character story lines aren't given enough time to make sense like Amane being hinted as one of the agents of Stratfo or DURPA but they still add *something* to the story. That said, here are my favourites this time around, - **Okabe Rintarou**: He's a 19 year old college student trying to get past the trauma he faced last year and it's hinted that he even goes to therapy for it. He's in my favourites in both the original and in zero but for different reasons, he's no longer a delusional chuunibyou who jokes around in every scenario but a respectful young man who's trying his hardest in the life he has and he's a normal person except for the fact that he always looks like he's in pain but it's funny to see this persona of his break whenever he interacts with Amadeus. He refuses to meddle with time because he learned his lesson to not go against convergence, so instead he's in denial that World War III will ever happen because he cannot even imagine a future like that because of his peaceful surroundings but he comes to his senses after Mayuri's death and waking up in the future and seeing what awaits the beta worldline. Once he jumps back 3000 times, he turns back into his old self, into the mad scientist, Hououin Kyouma! - **Hiyajo Maho**: She's a 21 year old legal lol- I mean researcher who works at Viktor Chondria University. She also happened to be Kurisu's senior and best friend from America and she was devastated when she found out that she died. She has an inferiority complex and often talks about how she's not as smart as Kurisu and can never catch up to her but she does eventually grow past this. She meets Okabe through a meeting among researchers and students introducing Amadeus, a lifelike AI to the world. They quickly bond over Kurisu's death and she eventually decides to make him into a beta tester for Amadeus. Over the course of the show, they grow a close bond together. - **Amane Suzuha**: Unlike her cheerful and energetic self from the Alpha worldline, she's more reserved, serious and mission driven. She's frustrated with Okabe because she knows what happens in the future and truly wants to reach the Steins;Gate worldline. She tries to avoid things like parties because she feels guilty that she's the only one from the future who is able to experience it but eventually she learns to accept the fleeting peace of the present. Her interactions with the rest of the cast especially her parents are very funny and wholesome; she wants to see her parents together before she has to leave for battle. **Animation and Art Style** Just like the original, Steins;Gate 0 was also animated by Studio White Fox and came out in 2018. The anime had consistently good animation but I also don't remember any spectacularly animated scenes unlike the original but overall it's slightly better. In terms of art style, there wasn't a major change but a lot of character designs were updated ever so slightly for a fresh look. The newer characters who were introduced look unique and were easily recognizable too. **Soundtrack and Songs** Once again, the soundtracks and songs from this show were genuinely amazing to the point where I kept listening to them several times. Every OST and song fit the show and it's themes perfectly. I'll list a couple of soundtracks and songs that I enjoyed, - Messenger - Re-awake - Okey-Dokey - Amadeus - Fatima **Pacing and Direction** In terms of both pacing and direction, I believe zero was a small step up from the original despite the flaws zero has when it comes to handling some plot threads like the show hinting Amane Yuki had something to do with the attacks against the main cast. The pacing was fairly consistent throughout the first half of the show and sped up as it got closer to the end. The direction was brilliant, I noticed it especially during certain scenes like the reawakening of Hououin Kyouma and the scene where Amadeus bids the main cast farewell. **Emotional Impact** Steins;Gate 0 did what I never expected it to do, surpass my already impossibly high expectations and cement itself as a contender for my favourite anime. It has my favourite episode in all of anime, Episode 21 is probably the most excited I've ever been watching a piece of fictional media. I can't tell you how many times I've probably watched this scene because of how hype it is. Overall, I felt very satisfied or atleast more satisfied than when I finished the original. **Overall Thoughts** I'll repeat this once again, this is definitely one of the best shows I've watched in my life. I didn't watch the show chronologically but I'll probably recommend it that way to others since I think that's a better way to watch through all of it. So I'll end it off with a request from my side, I NEED ANOTHER OVA WHERE THEY ALL HANG OUT TOGETHER T_T