Now chances are that I’ve already lost most of you by saying it’s a time travel show. Understandably, time travel is a very tricky concept to pull off in a narrative sense, and sometimes, you’ll have to settle for a complete suspension of disbelief to really appreciate all that it has to offer. Well, I can say with full assurance that “Steins;Gate” is in a league of its own. What makes “Steins;Gate” so incredibly riveting is the fact that it treats its risky subject matter with surprisingly solid realism, so you don’t have to suspend any disbelief. It actually makes time travel seem somewhat plausible, and I loved that aspect about the show. It stuck to its own logic and it definitely paid off. However, with a good time travel concept, you need a range of wacky characters, and trust me when I say, you won’t find any protagonist as maniacally crazy as Okabe… oh, I’m sorry. Hououin Kyouma! (sonuvabitch). He’s probably the most fun and interesting main character I’ve seen in anime in quite some time, and has extremely likable charms about him, despite being about as mad as a hatter. His character arc throughout the show is surprisingly solid, and you really feel the weight of his consequences when something goes wrong. And trust me, plenty of things go off the rails in this show, as it throws one twist after another like curveballs. The next character I’d like to mention is Kurisu, who’s one of the strongest female characters I’ve seen in anime too. Like Okabe, she’s more or less borderline crazy, but tends to keep her composure more, and shares quite a burning passion for science. And like Okabe, as things progress, she begins to open up more and more, hence we have what is, in my opinion, a very satisfying chain of events and certain key romantic moments. That’s another aspect that took me unexpectedly, is that during the second half of the show, romance is revealed as the driving force between Okabe’s actions, and its executed rather well.
I won’t dive into any of the other characters for fear of spoiling some things, but I’ll just say that this group is probably the most likable bunch of dimwit airhead geniuses to come out of entertainment since Doogie Houser himself. I can’t talk about “Steins;Gate” without at least mentioning the technical aspects, apart from the brilliant writing and characters. The animation is something really special, and at times, feels so high-quality and crisp, that you can’t help but let your jaw drop, especially in some sequences when Okabe begins to travel back into time, and what we get is an acid trip reminiscent of “2001: A Space Odyssey”. It complements the time travel aspects especially well, and sucks you in and can leave you shaking on the edge of your seat too. Also noteworthy is the soundtrack. “Steins;Gate” has some beautifully composed pieces that can set the mood. However, there’s only a few tracks that really stand out for me, one of them being a piano ballad which for the life of me I cannot seem to remember the title of the song. But what compensates for the lack of great musical numbers here and there is the opening and closing credits. Usually, I skip over opening and closing credits, or rather just watch the opening credits and skip the closing credits and vice versa, but for “Steins;Gate”, they’re especially great and probably one of the few openings you’ll most likely never (ever) get sick of hearing and watching.
“Steins;Gate” is damn well close to being a masterpiece, but it is a riveting show that earns its title for being one of the best modern anime to come out, probably in the last 10 years. Thanks to its colorful cast of characters, including Hououin Kyouma! (sonuvabitch) and Kurisu, a spectacularly well-written story, great animation and music, and a fresh, unique spin on the time travel concept, it’s one show that won’t be leaving your mind long after its over. If only I had a microwave that sends text messages into the past so I could tell myself to not watch this, just so I can watch it with a clean slate again. But of course, according to “Steins;Gate” logic, stick a banana in a microwave and it may cause the apocalypse. I’m not even kidding.
