Back in 2011, we were stunned by the hit-anime named "Steins;Gate" with its unique story-telling of Sci-Fi, which is time-travel in the anime industry. The industry doesn't have many anime that focuses on time-travel conflicts. So far, the only time-travel anime I've watched were Steins;Gate and ERASED, which both made me amused, excited and thrilled on their unique, individual scenes. Now, this Spring 2018, we were hitted by nostalgia with the return of the Steins;Gate franchise although, instead of it having a sequel, we get a "midquel" of the original Steins Gate. Thus, we get to watch the phenomenal dark story of the franchise named "Steins;Gate 0". Just a brief reminder, before you watch Steins Gate 0, keep in mind this is an alternate story of the original. After Episode 22/23 of the original series, watch "Steins;Gate: Episode 23 (B), Open the Missing Link", where this episode leads to the episode 1 of Steins;Gate 0.
Story:
We get to follow the story of a man once named "Hououin Kyouma" but then he suddenly changed with a certain incident, changing him back to only "Okabe, Rintarou." Hence, "Hououin Kyouma" was no more in this world. We are looking into a broken-man named "Okabe, Rintarou". With him not finding the goal which is the Steins;Gate world line, he was stuck to be in the Beta World Line, where Kurisu sacrificed herself for Mayuri. This is a story where Okabe failed to reach a good ending and was now stuck in a world line where WW3 was inevitable. If you want to expect more dark revelations like what the original Steins;Gate did, then you are on the right series because revelations are breathtaking on each episode of Steins Gate 0. We get to follow an Okabe who wears a dark suit, not a lab coat, depicting how his mental state is. Here, we get to see how he, a once delusional man, is now a normal college student. But, when "Amadeus" (AI Kurisu) was introduced to him, the peace that Okabe was longing started to get disrupted. Basically, everything up to the last episode, was related to "Amadeus" keeping the plot synopsis in tact and the characters as well. What I like about the story is the originality of the plot rather than copy-pasting from the original anime. Scenes that were anime-original that cannot be found in the VN were some instance, were there as well. Another thing was that the story keeps becoming dark and dark and as it goes darker, the characters are developing as well making the thrill of the story fitting to the characters not only Okabe but the others as well.
Characters:
What makes a great anime is a ton of great and well-developed characters and the Steins;Gate franchise always impresses us, including Steins;Gate 0 with their characters. Take our favorite mad-scientist for example "Hououin Kyouma". We were so attached to him on the original Steins;Gate that seeing him being so broken and fragile on Steins;Gate 0 makes me (and I bet the fans as well), hoping the great mad-scientist will return someday. But even tho he was so broken and fragile, due to the story's progression, his character development progressed each episode as well. Then we have Shiina Mayuri, who shockingly have the best character development of all. She did something so courageous that is out of her character and made us fans say "Great Job Mayuri.". Of course we will not forget Hashida Daru. The perverted otaku and hacker who for some instance a dad, a caring friend and a scientist. If you finished this anime, you know why Daru really improved alot on this series not only on a romantic way but with Okabe as well. Then we have Makise Kurisu (Amadeus a.k.a AI Kurisu), again like Mayuri, Courage made her a great character in an instance even though she is just a computer version of the actual Kurisu. Or should I say, she is just a fake. Not to mention the "trap" Ruka to have some character development even tho her screentime is not that much. Along with Ruka (who is a supporting characters) are of course Mr Braun and Moeka. If you watched the original Steins Gate you would have known they are the villains (SERN's employees or like that) but it is a good fact that this two are allies of Okabe on this Beta World Line, so expect some revelations of villains ahead.
Then we are introduced with some new characters like Professor Leskinen and Hiyajou, Maho. Maho, who is a colleague of Kurisu back in America shows lots of character traits but one of them was jealousy. Then this trait was shattered as episode goes on and on and we see her having more confidence to herself. Then there's Professor Leskinen who just wants her japanese shaman girls Lintahlo!!!..
Art:
There's nothing to say about to visuals/art design of Steins;Gate 0 as it stays just what it was back in the 2011 adaptation of Steins;Gate, and of course I'm glad it stayed that way. However, if look at it, there are more action scenes on Steins;Gate 0 compared to Steins;Gate. If your an action fan you will be disappointed as the actions are pretty whacky and not so good. But since we all know Steins;Gate is more focus on the Sci-Fi and thriller stuffs, we can let it all slip. The visuals of the opening and endings are phenominal and matches the current state of the characters on the story. Not to mention, the Endings as well. But out of all those, the first ending which is entitled "LAST GAME" grabbed my attention both visually and musically. Its inferences and basis of Okabe and Mayuri to the first half of the story are all in that ED. Overall, the visuals are great.
Sound:
A good anime comes with good openings, endings and background music and oh boy..... Zero really made my ears feel the nostalgia back when I watched Steins;Gate and play the VNs. Aside from the openings and endings being good, the background music as I hear them some felt like I heard them before. Even tho they are reusing those background music, it doesn't affect the story and scene at all. It actually makes the scene more powerful and eye-catching with your ears hearing those nostalgic beats.
Overall thoughts and Enjoyment:
In conclusion, if you are a diehard steins gate fan you wil love this 23 episodes ride of Steins;Gate 0. It actually felt like I watched a whole another anime which should be because if I felt that I just rewatched Steins;Gate, then Zero would have lacked uniqueness with its plot and characters. But thank god I didn't felt that and I enjoyed it at the same level of the original Steins;Gate. Even tho it is more dark, it should be and will always be a good anime to watch if you feel like Steins;Gate was not enough. If you haven't watched Steins;Gate, do it now and then watch this. I assure you. You will not regret it. El..Psy..Congroo..
