Anime Review ~ Steins;Gate

Anime Series Review ~ Steins;Gate

by: Animetip Staff – ChosenAngel

Title:  Steins;Gate (シュタインズ ゲート)
Genre:  Comedy, Drama, Psychological, Romance, Science fiction
Total Episodes: 25 (24 + Special)
Year Published:  2011
Developers: 5pb. , Nitroplus
Rating:  Really hard to ask for a better watch as it really had everything I look for in anime. One of few anime I can really give a 10/10 without looking back.

Note: I tried to avoid giving main-story spoilers throughout this review, as I mostly just depict an overview of the series then give my opinion and comments on it at the end.

Description/Summary:
Ever thought what would happen if time travel were possible? Well Steins;Gate certainly provides a guess to that. What started as an innocent experiment that seemed to turn bananas into green gelatin, suddenly gets turned into a full throttle time machine. Steins;Gate provides how this revolutionary invention comes to fruition while not forgetting to include how Okabe and fellow lab members transform as they achieve this scientific milestone. Every time the time machine is used, the world shifts or jumps to a new timeline and nobody else can remember the time in which the machine was used but instead part from the date that the machine was attempting to change. The story’s protagonist, Okabe, is the only person who is capable of remembering the old present, so he is usually used in order to show when significant events have taken place as he often experiences physical and mental exhaustion after each timeline jump. Okabe’s ability is referred to as the Reading Steiner.

Everything was fun and games until SERN, a company who was also researching time travel, catches on the lab members’ activities and intervenes.  This turn of events leads to an even more excessive use of the time machine in order to prevent the many tragedies its invention seemed to have caused. Okabe suffers through many emotional sometimes even traumatic experiences as he attempts to change the past. As Okabe soon finds out, changing the past is not always as easy as sending yourself the number of a future winning lottery ticket. Does Okabe finally achieve his perfect world where everything went as it was supposed to go for a happy ever after story or is misery the choice of Steins;Gate? Well that’s for you to find out while you watch this anime.

Other Notes:
Stein;sGate might not be an easy to understand anime for those unfamiliar with a few scientific terms brought up in the story. Even though the anime attempts to explain most of them, some concepts are not so commonly heard in casual talk and might deter a few watchers. Don’t think that a scientific textbook is needed either though as most science is kept as a simple definitional level since we cannot have them bore us with complex mathematical formulas every time the lab members explain something.

With a lot of turning points and plot twists as almost there are episodes, Stein;sGate will always keep you guessing on not only what will the lab members do next and how, but what will happen to them after they do complete their task. Even stereotypical actions like sending oneself a winning lottery ticket number back in time can have hidden implications the lab members never could have had imagined.

If you expected an anime full of action, mecha, or something pulled out of a harem anime or show, this is definitely not the anime you want to see; however, if you really seeking an anime where the story is thoroughly interesting, character development actually occurs and where what you thought was said as a joke at episode 1 actually came back around to mess with our characters episodes later, then Stein;sGate should definitely be on your MUST watch list.

On a final note, the special I consider must be watched right after the show as the story within can be connected to the main series of 24 episodes. Basically, it shows what most watchers of Steins;Gate expected to happen after the scenes of the last episode but of course, was not shown.

Thanks for reading this ‘small’ review. Small for my standards as a lot can be said about Steins;Gate if I brought up philosophical or scientific discussions into this review, but that would imply spoilers which I wanted to avoid. Hopefully this review can convince those who have not seen this great anime to watch it, whether they were planning beforehand or not.  Now I bid farewell before the organization catches on to my activities. El Psy Congroo~

Please leave a comment if you’d like to discuss the series at all!

Characters:
Okabe Rintarou – 18 year old male who is the main protagonist of our story. Pretty eccentric to say the least. Created the Future Gadget Lab (FGL) in which mostly useless inventions were generally made. Until one day, he finally invents a new gadget that will change his life, in more ways than one.  On a side note, Okabe constantly makes up nicknames for most of his fellow lab members.

Makise Kurisu – main female protagonist. Brilliant 18 year old scientist who joins Okabe for the ride as a member of the FGL. , bringing real science explanations to Okabe’s randomness.

Shiina Mayuri – childhood friend of Okabe. Fairly energetic 16 year old child who is pretty important female character for this series. Mayuri keeps Okabe and the rest of the FGL company, but often is left out when the crew gets too immerged on the science. Mayuri does not mind however, as long as she is within a friendly atmosphere and everybody is having fun.

Amane Suzuha – meet the18 year old female part time warrior. Introduced as a part time worker for ‘Mr. Braun’, which is the one who leases the place where our FGL meets. What importance and secrets does Suzuha holds? Well watch and find out as going further would spoil too much.

Feyris Nyannyan – Here comes the moe element of the anime.  A 17 year old female credited with bringing anime and moe culture to Akihabara, the city where the story takes place.

Hashida Itaru ‘Daru’ – super ‘haker’ member of the lab. Experienced with pretty much anything computer and electronics related and is the third member of the FGL right after its creator Okabe and Mayuri.

Kiryuu Moeka – one of the older future members of the FGL. Moeka  is shown as a woman with emotional issues that leads her to mostly communicate through cell phone messages. Shown to have interest on the IBN5100, used by the FGL, and becomes more and more involved with the story as she attempts to borrow it  from Okabe for unknown reasons.

Tennouji Yuugo – ah the landlord. Mr. Braun, as Okabe jokingly calls him, is an older man who owns a TV repair store right below where the FGL meetings are held.

Urushibara Ruka – 17 year old male who also joins the FGL. Ruka’s role for most of the anime is mostly a comedic one as he looks strikingly like a girl. However as the story and character development go deeper, this role is often replaced by a more dramatic and serious one.

You can watch the entire Steins;Gate Series right here on AnimeTip.com!  Watch Steins;Gate Online