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Jan 25, 2023
A very deceptive anime overall. It's absolute trash.
-- to anyone who watches the first 10 episodes and drops it as a default slice of life anime.
What are you, deep fried? Watched too many harems to realise this isn't actually what it seems on the tin?
Come the heck on mate. It shouldn't take that amount of effort to watch the entire show. The characters alone have their own unique charm to drive the very simple plot -- that people forget even exist somehow.
The best.
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The deepest.
The most well written Time travel anime with an absolutely airtight alibi (trust, thousands of people have examined that in great physical and logical detail with the many worlds interpretation and quantum superposition). There is one plot hole but it's quite shallow and easily explainable within the logic set here.
The saddest at times.
11/10 beginning with a 12/10 ending.
Directed by the guy who made Texnolyze.
Watch it through, it's pretty good. The sequel was made in a sweatshop in Shenzhen. Don't watch Steins Gate 0. It's actual garbage unironically.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 25, 2023
Steins Gate 1 is finally joined by another Arthouse -- coherent and well made to the finest detail. A Perfect Storm that many will struggle to understand and fear in their uncertainty of what it was all about.
Directed by the Bebop bloke and the other bloke from One Punch Man and Tatami Galaxy and the ghost of the bloke who directed Texhnolyze (the art style is quite reminiscent of that, but inverted).
My advice? Read wider before you watch this show -- Orwell's 1984, Shakespeare, Vonnegut, Catcher in the Rye, Sawyer, Finn, Strangelove (Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb),
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Lord of the flies, Hamasaki's Texhnolyze/Steins Gate -- everything from world history to the hidden depths of self are explored in this brilliant work of art.
I encourage everyone to read the interview with the director to see exactly what he intended (SPOILERS: https://letsdiscoverthingsthataregood.wordpress.com/2022/06/30/sonny-boy-final-episodes-interview-with-shingo-natsume/)
Like the format of Monster but not dragged on incessantly,
or the format of Space Dandy but episodes are actually coherent,
or the format of Steins Gate 1's glorious signature directing and music --
or the format of Texhnolyze but not crushingly nihilistic and borderline unwatchable --
and the vivd but unique art of Your Name and Ghibli Studios;
This bloke has clearly borrowed Hamasaki's directing style and begs to disagree on his vision for the meaning of life. Every close up of Nozomi's eyes is like a close up of Ran's from Texhnolyze.
One must stop and heed what he has to say - for in just 12 short episodes, he says a lot -- and every idea and question will fight for your attention in the depths of your memory long after the show concludes.
He's possibly seen another madhouse production, Texhnolyze - you'll know what I mean if you see the scene where someone gets shot with a perfect circle hole formed in the body -- by a raygun, nonetheless. Maybe it even references the remote control in Steins Gate 1. The art style is eerily familiar with the same core team that probably made Texhnolyze from Madhouse studio;
- Instead of an oracle like Ran, reading the future from precognition and foresight -- thereby solidifying fate,
We have Nozomi, who is an affront to any concept of predetermination -- but that every moment is in itself something to be made and earned from the actions of the self
- Instead of Ichise, a dogged determinist for pure survival hammered by the brutality of his environment and his only source of income,
We have Nagara, an apathetic and solipsist nearly to the core, insulated by the very nature of his upbringing as a neglected child keeping it together for the next day, where nothing once again happens because he simply avoids all events.
- Instead of Onishi, the compromising upholding of the status quo, be it lie or not,
We have Mizuho, who demands only truth and the right thing be done at all costs.
- Instead of Doc, the idealist, perfectionist and unabashedly self centered,
We have Rajdhani, a pragmatic scientist who works selflessly towards whatever helps everyone the most given what he has,
Nagara starts out effectively already dead. He's useless, does nothing, and disconnects from the very fabric of reality to entertain his abstinence from any semblance of stress. It's only through the experiences that he crafts with the hands of others that he's finally able to break out of the shell that he's crafted for himself - a prison without bars.
It's only through the actions of Mizuho, Nozomi, Rajdhani that he comes into his own as the crafter of his own fate.
Instead of the crushing nihilism that being stranded in a deserted island with only 35 other people should conclude, or the Lord of the Flies like premise and 'ending' (not the ending but one of the 'endings' nonetheless {killing of the will itself} that we aren't shown), we're left with a series of open ended tales that we know the start of, but rarely the end. The cast is as broad as your standard do-nothing-probably-you MC, to someone who is literally Satan -- and surprisingly does not develop the way you'd expect to see; that surprise in itself is not one for the sake of surprise, but to develop the story into itself fully.
There's many times you'll feel like you want to tear up, but you just can't. Love, Life, Betrayal, War, Infinity, Manipulation, and Death are just a handful of examples I can give that this show tears through with flying colors and a cohesive plotline. It's concrete despite being abstract. It's good despite being absurd. It finds meaning in nothingness, and a limit to infinity.
It's the conclusivity of uncertainty that really speaks volumes in this show. Beautiful and full of potential -- like it's art, unheld back by the characters and design. It's not designed for the mass market.
This is unabashed arthouse anime at a time where I'd thought arthouse was extinct by 2011 -- maybe now I'll check out some other 7/10 shows and see what gems lie hidden amongst reviews from people far too out of their depth to understand.
And to be crystal clear - This is NOT a confusing anime. It's crystal clear so long as you have some basic literary understanding. It doesn't need to pretend when it really is what it says on the tin.
This is a show that will change you once you understand. This is an assault on global solipsism -- an example of how one can seek to overcome self-inaction. A far more subtle telling of 1984 without the darker themes within -- the effect is the same. It is the challenge to the ideas of Texhnolyze -- finding meaning and progress when there was never one to begin with.
We build the world around us -- do not wait and see what will happen if we let things slide unchecked, and opportunity left untouched
Art - 10
Story - 9
Direction - 11
Character Development - 10
Character Acting - 10
Believability - Absurd, but a 10 within the rules of 'this' world
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Feb 10, 2019
The animation was quite potato. Just looking at the art by ABe it was meant to be much more reminiscent of texhnolyze but apparently the art department was incapable of drawing something that was not your cliche anime character.
Comparing this and texhnolyze, the greatest things missing are what made texhnolyze so compelling; Hamasaki and the unwavering commentary of the writing/dialogue. It just never went as deep in buildup as Steins Gate or as deep in philosophy as Texhnolyze.
Without much of the depth or genius, it's really not worth the watch time, even if you can finish it in half a day.
And that god damned
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ad break 'rerided' sound makes my ears bleed why does that exist
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Feb 8, 2019
When you kill the acclaimed 4 star general and then start a war with a private first class at the reigns hoping to win like the first time, this happens. Where did Hamasaki and Sato go? You've let the horses be reigned by some kids with 0 experience in directing a philosophical/scientific anime.
Warning: contains slight spoilers, not that there really is anything to spoil considering it's spoilt already by horrible direction and screenwriting.
This is the worst form of deception in that the anime seems fine for the first 2-3 episodes, in fact, even feeling that it would be a half decent sequel to Steins
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Gate despite the replaced directors. While Hamasaki and Sato were having field days directing Orange and some other time travel anime, the series started to really go downhill from there.
1. Okabe's PTSD was exceptionally done in the scene where he saw a manifestation of it as Kurisu exploding into a pool of blood. And then after that all he does is act sad and say sad things. Not great considering the potential shown here. In fact it starts getting on my nerve when he says the same predictable line or does the same action as he did countless times already.
2. Foreshadowing and tension were terribly used to mislead people into thinking that something notable would happen within the first 6 episodes. Nothing did. In fact, it worked against itself to extract a feeling of protracted agony whilst waiting for anything notable to happen within. Instead, the actual curve of buildup to action or climax feels like a god damned sine wave. Throughout.
3. Fanservice and filler episodes, which take up basically 20 episodes, I'm sure many would agree, are absolutely horrendous in content. Nothing scientific. Nothing really witty. Everything predictable with all the old and new characters thrown in to have some semblance of 'entertainment'. It might fool some casual watchers, but it will not amuse the likes of me. Not to someone who watches anime for the moral and philosophical values it teaches. It starts to become nauseatingly stale when for the eighth time within 3 episodes the camera pans to a pointless shot of someone's enhanced breast size (I have no idea why they did this, and I could only think I was imagining it until I actually went back and rewatched the first series), or a standard angle that makes you feel like you're watching some 4/10 slice of life romcom. Remember, Steins Gate 1 was realistic enough to not include "abstract moe" expressions, and yet, despite the second season supposing to be serious, it throws them in because why not. And then all the other characters play out completely pointless-to-show side plots.
4. Art and direction have taken an absolute nosedive. From a noticeable dip in FPS and discrepancies in it speeding up and slowing down in frame rate when switching to background to character, everything suddenly feels jarring in comparison to SG:1. Where in SG:1 EP2 there is a brilliant slow motion of the elevator doors opening, of Okabe running madly in a black and white abstract sequence, or just any scene in general, everything feels much more fluid and smooth. And no, growing a few cup sizes does not make up for this deficit. The camera does not innovate with strange angles as was signature with Hamasaki's direction. No dutching, extreme close ups, abstract angles, CRT viewpoints, or anything that really ever seems to fit the scene. Then again, the scene doesn't even really fit the story 9/10 times. The only thing that seems to have a lower framerate than the anime is the mind of the director here.
4. Complete lack of exposition lends to the fact that most of the exciting, foreshadowing scenes from the manga (read it, it's great and the character designs are far superior to this show's) are taken away. Then after that, the show decides to remove half the explanations for the strange happenings and past experiences of new characters enough such that no one really cares what happens to them. The parking lot shootout is not there. Kagari is hard to sympathize with because none of her actual backstory is shown in explicit detail. The USSR alternate arc is completely left out despite the seed being planted for it and an entire episode diverted to support it as a foundation. Okabe's trip to the future and back is just ONE EPISODE of leaping a "few thousand times", after which he seems perfectly fine. I'm sure alpha Nae would disagree. It's WW3 god damn it. Where are the nukes? Surely any nation would be like "Oh it's fine that we nuked like 10 billion people, after all, when we get time travel tech we can just go back and stop the war from ever happening." Where is the development of Ruka from a shrine 'maiden' to a supposed samurai guerilla? Daru's working out? Construction of the time machine? Exactly who is fighting who? The anime leaves all these important details out. It feels like a husk of a story carried by characters with little motivations apart from being plot devices. Instead of an epic battle royale between several superpowers with dubious motivations to remake the timeline we get some Stratfor and other PMC operating in full immunity under the nose of the JSDF and being 1v10'ed by a single girl in a jumpsuit.
5. The professor. The world's most predictable villain with a smile just too wide to be legit. His face by itself just screams "I AM A SPY BUT YOU SEE NOTHING." He is far too sinister to be unexpected. In comparison to the manga, which shows him as a dorky looking harmless lecturer with light-hearted intentions, the reveal would've been far more sinister and satisfying. Huke falls hard on his part of character designing for both the visual novel and the anime on this one. Anyone could see the plot twist coming light years away. Don't get me started on his counterpart. Femme Fatale mk3 much?
The entire show in the end just feels like bait. Don't watch SG:0. It's a waste of time and space. It makes you think something amazing is going to unravel but then pulls the exact opposite to pull a plot twist such that excitement instead turns into a bland and stone cold disappointment without fail. Every time. If you really want something of substance go play SG:0 as a visual novel when it comes out in English. But be warned: the writing is only a bit better there. I would've recommended the manga if they finished it, but it was canceled halfway.
The manga I rate 8/10, at least, up to where it ended. I've never felt so betrayed in my life. If you take my 10/10 of SG:1 and divide the denominator by zero you get the score I rate SG:0 as.
Seriously, just take a look at the key animator numbers. 23 Key animators in SG:1 compared to LITERALLY TWO. YES. TWO key animators in SG:0
Someone has been budget cutting hard.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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