Anime Review: Steins;Gate
Well, now that I'm on break, it's no surprise that I decided to watch some anime! I don't know that I'll binge like I sometimes do in the summer, but I wanted to watch at least a couple. And this gets things off to a good start.
I'd heard good things about Steins;Gate, but I wasn't sure how I'd like it. I worried that it might be one of those super confusing, trippy kind of series. I guess I like my stories a bit more straightforward, because I haven't always had good luck with trippy series. But, it turns out that Steins;Gate isn't really one of those, so that doesn't matter. Time travel always has the potential to make for a confusing plot, but I think they handled it pretty well here.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's break it down a bit more, first. I really liked the music; more than I'd expected to. The themes suited the series, while somehow still not being what I'd have expected. The art style is neat, too. It's maybe a touch more on the realistic side, while not being the boring sort of 'realistic' style that I've seen before. I guess it's not that realistic, maybe. I dunno how to describe it, but I liked it. It avoids the problem of cookie-cutter characters that some series have; everyone is very distinctive and unique looking.
Now, the characters. Okabe is...well, he's something. ^^;; I didn't know what to make of him, at first. He runs around, acting crazy. I thought he was genuinely mentally ill, at first; schizophrenic, or something. (He acted like he honestly believed all that crap he said about the Organization and everything.) I was really shocked; the main character is someone who suffers from delusions? Totally not what I was expecting. (And honestly, it was kinda uncomfortable to watch at times.) But, as time went on, my view of him changed. Mostly, once things started getting serious. I realized then that he likely wasn't actually delusional; he was just carrying on like an idiot, for whatever reason. If he'd truly been mentally ill, he wouldn't have been nearly so rational or handled the time loops nearly so well. So, I have to conclude that the over the top nonsense is just an act that he puts on, to amuse himself or for whatever other reason. I won't lie, I like him better serious. Although, after seeing everything he goes through, his silliness seems a bit more like a harmless quirk, rather than the freaky weird thing it was in the beginning. And we see that he really does care deeply for his friends, throughout the various world lines. I ended up really liking him.
I liked Mayuri okay from the start, though she too grew on me more as the series progressed. She's got such a sweet, simple personality. Honestly, she seems a little...slow, sometimes. Like maybe she's not super bright, or maybe she's just childlike. Nothing bad, but not super compelling, either. But we get some nice moments with her at various points, and you can see that she's a really good person. As one of the characters said, she 'sees with clearer eyes'. And it's true. She seems to have more of a sense about what's going on at times, even when she's been kept in the dark. And she's just a really kind person; you can tell how much she loves Okabe, and she extends the same warmth to every misfit Lab Member that they bring in.
The only thing I ever disliked about Daru was his tendency to perv on the girls, and honestly, it could have been worse. He mostly just said things, whereas in a lot of anime, pervs are more physical about it. Leering, groping, etc. And, like with Okabe, as things got more serious, he perved less often. So I mostly liked him. I was amused that they subbed his dialogue in internet slang. I don't know if he was using actual Japanese net slang, or if he was speaking poorly and they just decided to translate it that way, but it was funny.
I liked Kurisu okay in the beginning, but again, I liked her more as time went on. I'm not a huge fan of the tsundere trope, so her tendency to act that way wasn't my favorite thing. But we see her grow and show her more mature, caring side as things get serious. And I loved her bond with Okabe through the various world lines. It seemed that even when she didn't remember, she still kept supporting him and being there. It's no wonder he fell in love with her. And yes, I ship them. <3
Suzuha was a fun character. I suspected that she was from the future well before it was confirmed, but that was still a good plot line. And I also suspected that either Okabe or Daru would be her dad, though my initial guess was Okabe. Still, once they started putting it together, I could see her as Daru's child. They have the same hair!
Moeka...I went back and forth on her, a little. At first, I thought she was just really shy and awkward, and that explained her weird tendency to want to text everything, rather than talking aloud. I could understand her, kinda. But then when she's revealed to be working for the enemy, when she kills Mayuri in cold blood? I was surprised, and yeah, I hated her. But then we circle back to her again later, and see more of her background. Once we saw her as a bad guy, I assumed her shy exterior from before was just an act. But it turns out not to be. She's even more fragile than we'd been led to believe, and after seeing just why she was so devoted to her 'FB', I honestly felt sorry for her. I mean, she did terrible things in the different world lines. But I could see why she was desperate enough, and broken enough, to do them.
Ruka and Faris were more minor characters, so I'm lumping them together. I liked them both okay, but I wasn't super attached to either. I was surprised at what Faris wanted to change with her D-mail; I wouldn't have guessed that. And I felt for poor Ruka, who wanted to be a girl.
I think that's everybody! Now, on to the story. I've seen some people complain about the pacing of the first half, and I can see that. Don't get me wrong, I've seen shows with much worse pacing, by far. But the first part is a little slow, and a lot of the character growth happens later, so I didn't like the characters quite as much in the beginning as I did later. Still, it wasn't bad. But the second half is definitely the best. Once things start happening, the plot moves along at a good clip, and it's very enjoyable. And the conclusion is satisfying, especially with the OVA episode added at the end. Granted, I wish it would have waited a bit longer before fading to black! Okabe confesses his feelings to Kurisu again, and she says she's going to respond, tells him to close his eyes....and that's it. I mean, that's echoing what she did the first time; she tells him to close his eyes, then kisses him. So that's probably what happened. Still, I'd like to know for sure!
There is also a movie, which takes place something like a year after the anime ends. It was alright, but honestly I didn't feel it added a whole lot to the story. I did like getting to see a bit more of Kurisu. But she just kind of did what Okabe did in the series; run around, time looping, trying to save someone and fretting over what she saw trying. It was much more truncated than the series, of course, but still. It kinda felt like the same thing, all over again. Not that the movie was bad, mind you. It wasn't. Like I said, I liked seeing more of Kurisu. And the bit about Okabe's Reading Steiner ability causing his brain to continue to shift, even after he stopped trying to, that was kind of interesting. Because that is one thing that we really don't know from the series; what kind of long-term effects might there be on Okabe, from time looping so many times? Who knows. So, it was alright, but not as good as I'd hoped. Though, truly, the series has a pretty good end. So it's not like it really needed anything after, you know?
So, final verdict? I liked it. The beginning was a little slow, and the characters were a bit more eccentric at first, but both of those things get much better as the series progresses. I'd recommend it.
Also, apparently they're making another anime? Steins;Gate 0. About one of the failed future timelines, or something? I'm a little unclear on that. The sites I've seen say a Spring 2018 release, so I guess I'll keep an eye out for it. I'll want to see it.
I'd heard good things about Steins;Gate, but I wasn't sure how I'd like it. I worried that it might be one of those super confusing, trippy kind of series. I guess I like my stories a bit more straightforward, because I haven't always had good luck with trippy series. But, it turns out that Steins;Gate isn't really one of those, so that doesn't matter. Time travel always has the potential to make for a confusing plot, but I think they handled it pretty well here.
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's break it down a bit more, first. I really liked the music; more than I'd expected to. The themes suited the series, while somehow still not being what I'd have expected. The art style is neat, too. It's maybe a touch more on the realistic side, while not being the boring sort of 'realistic' style that I've seen before. I guess it's not that realistic, maybe. I dunno how to describe it, but I liked it. It avoids the problem of cookie-cutter characters that some series have; everyone is very distinctive and unique looking.
Now, the characters. Okabe is...well, he's something. ^^;; I didn't know what to make of him, at first. He runs around, acting crazy. I thought he was genuinely mentally ill, at first; schizophrenic, or something. (He acted like he honestly believed all that crap he said about the Organization and everything.) I was really shocked; the main character is someone who suffers from delusions? Totally not what I was expecting. (And honestly, it was kinda uncomfortable to watch at times.) But, as time went on, my view of him changed. Mostly, once things started getting serious. I realized then that he likely wasn't actually delusional; he was just carrying on like an idiot, for whatever reason. If he'd truly been mentally ill, he wouldn't have been nearly so rational or handled the time loops nearly so well. So, I have to conclude that the over the top nonsense is just an act that he puts on, to amuse himself or for whatever other reason. I won't lie, I like him better serious. Although, after seeing everything he goes through, his silliness seems a bit more like a harmless quirk, rather than the freaky weird thing it was in the beginning. And we see that he really does care deeply for his friends, throughout the various world lines. I ended up really liking him.
I liked Mayuri okay from the start, though she too grew on me more as the series progressed. She's got such a sweet, simple personality. Honestly, she seems a little...slow, sometimes. Like maybe she's not super bright, or maybe she's just childlike. Nothing bad, but not super compelling, either. But we get some nice moments with her at various points, and you can see that she's a really good person. As one of the characters said, she 'sees with clearer eyes'. And it's true. She seems to have more of a sense about what's going on at times, even when she's been kept in the dark. And she's just a really kind person; you can tell how much she loves Okabe, and she extends the same warmth to every misfit Lab Member that they bring in.
The only thing I ever disliked about Daru was his tendency to perv on the girls, and honestly, it could have been worse. He mostly just said things, whereas in a lot of anime, pervs are more physical about it. Leering, groping, etc. And, like with Okabe, as things got more serious, he perved less often. So I mostly liked him. I was amused that they subbed his dialogue in internet slang. I don't know if he was using actual Japanese net slang, or if he was speaking poorly and they just decided to translate it that way, but it was funny.
I liked Kurisu okay in the beginning, but again, I liked her more as time went on. I'm not a huge fan of the tsundere trope, so her tendency to act that way wasn't my favorite thing. But we see her grow and show her more mature, caring side as things get serious. And I loved her bond with Okabe through the various world lines. It seemed that even when she didn't remember, she still kept supporting him and being there. It's no wonder he fell in love with her. And yes, I ship them. <3
Suzuha was a fun character. I suspected that she was from the future well before it was confirmed, but that was still a good plot line. And I also suspected that either Okabe or Daru would be her dad, though my initial guess was Okabe. Still, once they started putting it together, I could see her as Daru's child. They have the same hair!
Moeka...I went back and forth on her, a little. At first, I thought she was just really shy and awkward, and that explained her weird tendency to want to text everything, rather than talking aloud. I could understand her, kinda. But then when she's revealed to be working for the enemy, when she kills Mayuri in cold blood? I was surprised, and yeah, I hated her. But then we circle back to her again later, and see more of her background. Once we saw her as a bad guy, I assumed her shy exterior from before was just an act. But it turns out not to be. She's even more fragile than we'd been led to believe, and after seeing just why she was so devoted to her 'FB', I honestly felt sorry for her. I mean, she did terrible things in the different world lines. But I could see why she was desperate enough, and broken enough, to do them.
Ruka and Faris were more minor characters, so I'm lumping them together. I liked them both okay, but I wasn't super attached to either. I was surprised at what Faris wanted to change with her D-mail; I wouldn't have guessed that. And I felt for poor Ruka, who wanted to be a girl.
I think that's everybody! Now, on to the story. I've seen some people complain about the pacing of the first half, and I can see that. Don't get me wrong, I've seen shows with much worse pacing, by far. But the first part is a little slow, and a lot of the character growth happens later, so I didn't like the characters quite as much in the beginning as I did later. Still, it wasn't bad. But the second half is definitely the best. Once things start happening, the plot moves along at a good clip, and it's very enjoyable. And the conclusion is satisfying, especially with the OVA episode added at the end. Granted, I wish it would have waited a bit longer before fading to black! Okabe confesses his feelings to Kurisu again, and she says she's going to respond, tells him to close his eyes....and that's it. I mean, that's echoing what she did the first time; she tells him to close his eyes, then kisses him. So that's probably what happened. Still, I'd like to know for sure!
There is also a movie, which takes place something like a year after the anime ends. It was alright, but honestly I didn't feel it added a whole lot to the story. I did like getting to see a bit more of Kurisu. But she just kind of did what Okabe did in the series; run around, time looping, trying to save someone and fretting over what she saw trying. It was much more truncated than the series, of course, but still. It kinda felt like the same thing, all over again. Not that the movie was bad, mind you. It wasn't. Like I said, I liked seeing more of Kurisu. And the bit about Okabe's Reading Steiner ability causing his brain to continue to shift, even after he stopped trying to, that was kind of interesting. Because that is one thing that we really don't know from the series; what kind of long-term effects might there be on Okabe, from time looping so many times? Who knows. So, it was alright, but not as good as I'd hoped. Though, truly, the series has a pretty good end. So it's not like it really needed anything after, you know?
So, final verdict? I liked it. The beginning was a little slow, and the characters were a bit more eccentric at first, but both of those things get much better as the series progresses. I'd recommend it.
Also, apparently they're making another anime? Steins;Gate 0. About one of the failed future timelines, or something? I'm a little unclear on that. The sites I've seen say a Spring 2018 release, so I guess I'll keep an eye out for it. I'll want to see it.