Wednesday, February 15, 2023

A Perfect Show: Steins;Gate

images taken from show/game

Imagine having the capability to redo your life's worst mistake. But every time you attempt it, you fail. How many attempts would you make before giving up? This is what Steins;Gate explores.

Plot 10/10:

Steins;Gate follows Okabe Rintarou and his friends who accidentally create a time machine that can at first send text messages (referred as D-mail) to the past which changes the present. When this happens Okabe is the only one that remembers the previous timeline because of a genetic effect which he calls “reading steiner”, while everyone else has memories containing to that current timeline. Kurisu, a neuroscience researcher, enhances the technology to be able to send memories through the machine allowing the user to time travel.

Sern, a fictional organization, learns about the time machine and sends people to the Okabe’s laboratory to retrieve it, which causes his friends to be harmed and captured by the organization. Okabe goes back in time to prevent the organization from getting the technology, but fails each time. All he can do is send himself back to the past to try again. Just imagine forcing yourself to relive a moment repeatable until you succeed and feeling alone that you are the only person that will remember what was previously done. We see the trauma that ensnares Okabe as he attempts to find the perfect timeline which he refers as reaching steins;gate.

Characters 10/10:

Like most anime’s there are over the top moments of characters overreacting especially with the protagonist Okabe, but it is mostly caused by him hiding his insecurities. The first 13 episodes were used to build the characters' relationships with each other so when the climax occurs its more emotional. Those episodes were slow compared to the latter half, but I enjoyed those episodes because we got to know the characters and see their desires and their development. If the show didn’t spend so much time establishing the characters it would have not been as impactful in the end.

Emotional Impact 10/10:

I think everyone has a movie or show that they watch when they want to cry. Sadly, I do not cry, but when I want to be sad, I watch this show. When the climax happens, it takes the rest of the show to resolve it and it is emotionally draining. I feel so sad for what happens to Okabe and the trauma he causes himself trying to succeed in his goal to reach steins;gate.

World-building/Science System 10/10

In time travel shows and movies there are often a lot of plot holes that you can find if you look for them. However, this show it is set up perfectly with what can and cannot happen. They can change the past and go to a different world-line where the change occurs. There are certain pivotal events that are hard to change, like discovering a time machine which makes it harder to change world-line. The way the "science" works is perfect it makes sense, and it is explained well.

Conclusion:

u/goob4822

Steins;Gate is 24 episodes long and can be found on Hulu in Japanese with subtitles. I watched the show in English Dub, and it is one of the best Dub’s I have ever seen. All the voice actors were perfect. If you can find the Dub version watch it.

To me this is a perfect show. I compare most anime’s to Steins;Gate and I have not found one better. Fullmetal alchemist: Brotherhood is a close second in my opinion. I am not the only one who believes this. On myanimelist Steins;Gate is rated the third most highly rated anime of all time. So my question to you is: what’s stopping you from watching it?

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