Reviews

Dec 30, 2014
Mixed Feelings
Throughout history of pop culture, there are many examples of classic time travel stories in various forms of media and narrative approach. Does Steins;Gate, a much-loved show by contemporary anime fans, have what it takes to join this hallowed ranks and become the medium's definitive representation of the particular sub-genre?

Short answer: no.

Long answer:

Following self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintaro Okabe and his quirky band of lab mates (i.e. a harem of girls and a perverted otaku), Steins;Gate initially revolves around the idea that the characters can send text messages to the past through microwave oven. Now, credit where it's due: "send text messages to the past through microwave oven" is a pretty awesome conceptual hook, and immediately engaged my interest once I've had the show described to me as such. However, eventually I found that the pacing is a bit of a mess (it's way too slow in the first half and way too hectic in the second half), it doesn't do anything remarkably interesting in terms of visual/audio presentation, and despite the instantly intriguing premise, the execution leaves much to be desired.

First thing to note is that S;G is the furthest thing from hard science fiction, despite what the awkwardly-placed techno-babble might want you to believe. Through its main character, the show repeatedly declare that science is an important process of it, and yet I hardly see an actual example of scientific process/mindset being shown (*no, building a time machine with surprising ease and spouting convoluted time travel theories don't really count). Okabe is much less an actual scientist and more of a poser who slums around in otaku-friendly lifestyle with complete disregard to real life responsibilities, while the show occasionally reverted into rather impressive leaps of logic and demonstration of absurd causality.

But really, at its heart S;G is a character-driven show with significant dashes of romance and comedy. It's also very much in spirit with its visual novel origin; a genre frequently characterized by individual bonding scenes between its main character and a gaggle of supporting characters, often through slice-of-life manner. That's definitely not problem in itself as I always valued a story that used high concept primarily to amplify its humane elements, but let's be honest, the setting and characters in this show is clearly catered to certain audience demographic in ways that I particularly don't care of. I actually found that the show worked best when it dabbles on mystery/thriller territory, as shown in a chilling early sequence where the group stumbled upon horrific imagery of future time travel experiment, but this tone is rarely used and SERN, the obligatory Evil Organization often found in this kind of story, doesn't amount much more than a vague antagonistic force and a plot device. The romantic/comedic parts, while not being severely aggravating or offensive, aren't really that well-executed, as it used tiresome and stereotypical character tics way too often (yes, I got that Daru likes to make dirty comments and Kurisu likes to blush furiously whenever Okabe says something that's even mildly appreciative of her, thank you very much for incessantly reminding me of that, show).

On a more positive note, the show does end in a rather satisfying resolution (you can argue that it cheated around its own rules in order to get the kind of ending it wanted, but consistency and holeproof plot aren't something I expect from even the best time travel story), as it contextualized and explained what is otherwise an incomprehensible beginning. And while most of the characters' design/interaction/behavior still felt off to me, one does grow on me throughout: Okabe's childhood friend Shiina Mayuri, a more complex and sympathetic character than initial impression, and whose inner conflict I found to be much more believable than practically the rest of the cast.

So yeah, many things in Steins;Gate didn't work out very well for me and I'll continue to be baffled by the immense love it received by certain subset of fans. It doesn't feel like a complete waste of time though, as it's an adequate and perfectly accessible time travel entertainment as long as you're not actively looking for plot holes in its faux-scientific plot and/or severely allergic to some bad tropes on display here.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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