Steins Gate is easily the best anime that I have seen to date and probably the best that I will see in my lifetime. Every single episode deserved 10/10.
I thought that the first half was an interesting way to develop the story since the consequences of affecting time through the use of dmails and timeleaps is interesting by itself. The development into repeating the same period of time repeatedly in attempts to save a dear friend transitioned aptly and at an apt time. The transition into the ultimatum that was ignored and suddenly remembered was also given an appropriately short but intense amount of air time. The use of comedy was limited and mostly successful and the use of music usually created the appropriate atmosphere.
The characters were also complex and likable. Pretty much all the characters (Okabe, Mayuri, Kurisu, Rukaku, Moe-girl, Suzuha) were complex, responded to stimuli, faced significant challenges, and made painful sacrifices.
However, even the best anime has issues. Daru's and Moeka's characters did not contribute much to the story and I'd argue that they even detracted from it. Daru's perversion was unnecessary and beyond one remark in the first episode, it was neither funny nor did it show aspects of other characters that helped viewers to understand them. Kurisu and Okabe are both presented as intelligent enough to take his role as programmer. Similarly, his otaku characteristic seemed only to make him more pathetic and distract from the plights of the other MCs. Moeka's excessive reliance on her cellphone in her first episode was enough to show that she is a pariah. Beyond that, this characteristic only slowed the show and created conversations more awkward than necessary. Personally, I would have preferred that another character with his/her own issues take the place of Daru and be given his/her own dmail. Moeka should have been replaced by someone who developed some comfort when speaking with members of the Future Gadget Laboratory and have whatever demeanor when speaking outside it. Another minor quibble I have is that the show had excessive contrast in outdoors scenes which detracted from the importance of the surroundings, yet the change of scenery after the town transformed was an important part of the story.
Okabe and Kurisu fulfilled similar roles and they complemented each other well. However, both of them were too flippant toward the end of the series when both of them realized that either Kurisu or Mayuri would have to die. They should have confronted their feelings earlier and they could have had a date or final day (like Rukako).
However, back to more positive things, the thing that this show did best was to present predictable events in a way that still shocked or surprised the viewer. The best two examples of which I can think are:
1) Mayuri's first death: With the prospect of SERN, we knew that Mayuri was less likely to be involved in the development of a time machine than the rest, and would likely be "removed" from the main plot. However instead of using some other scientific technology to remove her from the main group, she was killed.
2) Mayuri's death after Comima. We knew that she was going to die but I believe that the time was a little past 7 and past deaths had been much closer to 8. Therefore, while Okabe and Mayuri were walking home, I believed that they would spend more time reminiscing about their childhood and they would both be reach some satisfying end before she died. However, her death was imminent despite the fact that Okabe went out of his way to save her and even to sacrifice himself to prevent her death.
Overall, the apt use of diverse plot devices and sensory elements make this the best anime that I have ever seen. |