Steins;Gate......... WHAT EVEN IS LIFE, ANYMORE!?!?!?!? Ok, so there are a lot of shows that I know of to be very famous, but I've always been incredibly late to the party in actually seeing it. Steins;Gate is one of those shows. Usually, during these circumstances, I either end up not liking the show nearly as much as I thought I would, or I fall in love with it immediately, and regret not getting into it, sooner. So where does Stein;Gate fall on that meter? Personally, it's sorta half way. And by half way, I don't mean that I just thought it was alright. But rather, this show took the BIGGEST 180 in any show I've ever seen! Starting right off the bat, Steins;Gate is VERRRRRRRRY slow. Like, REALLY slow! It was honestly very difficult to keep interest in this show, when I started it. The episodes are very repetitive with little to no progress, as well as the same, running gags and conversations that I wasn't really into, in the first place. Really, the only thing that kept me going was that they gave you JUST enough in each episode, to make you want to find out what the big mystery was. So I kept going. It still wasn't fun in the slightest, treading through the repetitive parts, but I was still genuinely curious about what was going to happen, in the end. I watched one episode of this show, every 2 or 3 days. That usually indicates that I'm not really enjoying the show, and I wasn't. But when I reached episode 12..... OH BOY, DID THINGS CHANGE. I went from watching only 1 episode every other day, to finishing the entire 2nd half of the series, the OVA's, AND the movie, ALL in one sitting!
I can't even describe HOW they managed to rope me in so quickly and fiercely, in just one episode! But as soon as they did, I never looked back. The show picked up IMMENSELY, after that point. Stuff got revealed, progress was being made, plot twists kept popping up out the wahzoo, it was nuts! It seriously made those first 11 episodes totally worth it! I was SO happy that I wound up watching this show! And it's really weird to say that. You'd think a show with the entire first half being uninteresting would make me not like it, regardless of how the ending turned out. But MAN, the second half is just too incredible! Usually, it's the other way around. A show has an amazing start, but unsatisfying ending. Honestly, I'm very much ok with this great feeling I'm having, now that it's all said and done. It's a lot better than ending on a low note. But still, I'll admit that having the entire first half be unappealing to me is not exactly a good thing, so I should really acknowledge it, when reviewing this show.
The entire first half centers all around research and constant arguing between the show's 2 main protagonists. A lot of the research, plot/history talk is centered around the characters just looking at a computer screen, or testing out some of their experiments. And the arguments that the main characters have involve constant name calling and childish accusations of each other's characters and personalities. As someone whose not into those sort of "jokes" to begin with, having to see 11 episodes worth of it wasn't very pleasant. But as SOON as episode 12 hits, EVERYTHING changes. It becomes a lot more serious and action oriented. It's incredible, just how much it picked up. The plot twists and events will most definitely entertain the heck out of you, and leave you in suspense, until the very last second! It was SO good. You really just need to see it for yourself, to believe it. Maybe what I've said about the first half turned you off a bit. Unfortunately, you can't just skip those first 11 episodes, and understand everything that's going on. I know 11 episodes is a LOT to ask someone to tread through, but I promise you that it'll be 100% worth it. Plus, you might even like the first 11 episodes more than I did, so that'd be nice.
The animation is done by a very much unknown and smalltime company called White Fox. Their list of shows that they've worked on is very minimal, but even still, I gotta say that this is some of the best animation I've seen. Specifically the characters. I absolutely LOVED the designs of the characters. After you've seen as much anime as I have, you tend to not really be surprised by any appearances of characters, regardless of the art style. A lot of things eventually end up looking the same. But Steins;Gate has some of the best character designs that I have ever seen in an anime! There were a lot of times where I really just wanted to pause the episode and just look at the characters, some more. Sometimes I'd rewind, to rematch a simple movement that they did. I don't know what it is, but I just REALLY loved it. The environment's artwork is pretty great, too. I'm honestly shocked that this company isn't more well known or more used. The music is very subtle, as well as very seldom used. This sort of show doesn't really require much music, so it did a good job at knowing when and when not to include it. The few tracks that it did have are very subtle and quiet, and add a whole lot to the later end of the show's more emotional scenes. As for the opening and ending, they aren't my favorites. I liked the songs a lot more than the visuals, for both of those.
As far as the sub vs dub debate goes, I ultimately decided to go with sub, for this one. The dub isn't bad, mind you. But I feel that the Japanese cast just sounds a bit... older? I know the main cast is very young, which honestly, is a bit weird, considering what kind of stuff they do in this show. But then again, it's anime. So a 18 year old scientist or a 16 year old defense attorney or a kid whose been 8 years old for over 20 years is sorta the norm, nowadays. But even though the main cast is so young, they look a lot older, then they are. So I preferred hearing them with older sounding voices. And I personally think the Japanese cast sounded a LITTLE bit older. I was worried watching this show in subs would make it difficult to keep up with what I thought would be a very intellectual show. And while it very much is so, I had no problems in understanding what was going on. So pick whichever language you prefer. Both get my approval. Even though the Okabe is voiced by stinkin CILAN FROM POKEMON, IN THE JAPANESE VERSION! But despite how much I despise Cilan, I absolutely love The iDOLM@STER. And since Kurisu was voiced by Chihaya from iM@S, I GUESS I can allow Cilan to be in this show.
So what's my final verdict on this show? I'm honestly very torn. I want to give it so much high praise for how it all turned out, but at the same time, I REALLY didn't enjoy the first half of this journey. It's hard to recommend a show, with such a huge obstacle in the way of it. But if my words regarding the second half interest you at all, and you're willing to make your way through the first half of this show, then go for it. I guarantee you'll love the second half. The first half... it's up to you. Personally, I would've preferred some sub plots during those times, maybe to help better build up each character's personality and learn more about them. While we do learn a lot about them in the second half, I wouldn't of minded learning even more, during the first. Even if it was something that didn't really contribute to the events of the second half. I would rather have that, as opposed to 11 episodes of Okabe and Kurisu insulting one another in the same exact way. Now, this show does also have some OVA episodes and a movie finale. There's 4 mini episodes that are just jokey, side stories. There's an alternate pathway episode, which I really don't understand the outcome of that one. Then there's one OVA episode which takes place one month after the series ends, which is then followed up by the movie, which takes place one year after the series ends.
Now, even though the movie isn't filler and is sorta the official ending of it all, I kinda wanna throw out the suggestion to not watch the movie. The was the series ends is perfect. Seriously perfect. You won't be disappointed or think that it's still not done, or anything like that. The movie continuation and finale isn't BAD, per se. But it's more so just... not necessary? I think that's the best way to describe it. It's just another last second panic enduring event that gets resolved in the end, and leaves the overall ending unchanged. If you're completely contempt with the ending of the series, then please feel free to leave it at that and skip the movie. But if you absolutely adored this show and wanna see more Steins;Gate, then you can go and see this movie. Though, I can almost assure you that it won't add anything to your overall experience. So I can't really recommend watching it, as a way of getting a better ending than what the series, on its own. Mainly because I think the series ended perfectly. In short, I loved this show. It's got some MAJOR issues in the first half, but the second half is honestly some of the best things I've ever experienced in any anime I've seen, so far. I'm willing to look past its flaws and give it a very strong recommendation. But I don't think I'll be able to put it in my top 10 favorite anime series. Top 20, definitely. But there are a lot of turn offs in this show, very early on. If you're willing to look past those turn offs and make it into the core of this show, I guarantee you won't be disappointed!
Steins;Gate gets an 8.5/10
