This show can be described with one word: Brilliant. My 9 rating is deceiving however. For me, I tend to enjoy almost any show I watch. Some more than others. You will be hard pressed to find me giving a show anything under a 5, but at the same time it's not like I hand out 8 or higher rankings. Anything above an 8 for me is truly a remarkable piece of work and a must watch. once you get to the 9 ranking, the anime has blown me away in all aspects and is a true masterpiece. A ten... well that is territory that only a true otherworldly anime can receive. For me, this show is more like a 9.5 than a nine (which obviously says a lot). But enough with my rambling, on to the review!
Story 10/10:
Now, Steins;Gate is yes, a time travel story. But, unlike most other shows, this anime doesn't just use the time travel as a plot device, but instead, time travel IS the center of the plot. Because of this, and the well written background behind the time travel concept itself, the plot is truly intriguing. We follow a self proclaimed "mad scientist", Rintarou Okabe, and his fellow members of the future gadget lab as they accidentally invent a time machine that can send texts back in time, and thus, alter events in the past. Obviously, by changing the past, they change the future, and must in the end try to fix it. What makes this seemingly cliche story unique is how our main character is the only one who seems to remember the "world line" before AND after they have been altered. Because of this, he is the only one who can fix the mistakes that they have made. Watching Okabe struggle through a multitude of timelines, repeating things over and over trying to get them right is fascinating. Now, the first few episodes are just plain ridiculous at first, and will make absolutely no sense until, you watch further into the show. I was inclined to drop the show after the first episode because it made absolutely no sense, however, if you stick through it, it will all piece itself together to become a brilliant storyline. Although many of the plot twists are very predictable, how they are dealt with is not, and will without a doubt keep you on the edge of your seat. To go along with the suspense, there is plenty of comedy, romance, and sadness too mix it up. It isn't the best at any of these other areas, but the show does a very good job with these areas none the less, and they are mixed in well with all the suspense to keep you from having a stroke. The show is somewhere between over the top, and not crazy enough. The setting is in an average city, primarily in a small apartment, and its not like random characters are popping out of nowhere like in some other shows, but at the same time, you are dealing with a very complex time travel plot. I really feel like words can't do this shows story justice, so just watch for yourslef!
Art 8/10:
I found Steins;Gate's visuals to be good. The character art is all borrowed from the visual novel, and looks as modern and up to today's standards as any anime. Movements and other animations were fluid and seemed natural, same goes for the lip movements. My only complaint is that the characters seemed to all only have one outfit each. It's not a big deal since many anime have this problem though so it is easily overlooked.
Sound 9/10:
The overall sound of the show was great. My one complaint was that damn cricket noise that seems to be in every anime I watch. It's in like every show and annoys the crap out of me... Anyways, the music during the show is kept at a low volume most of the time or made more for ambiance to set the tone of the show. All of the trAcks fit the scene perfectly and although subtle, they still evoke suspense/curiosity/sadness, in the scene. The real star of the ost though is the opening, "Hacking to the Gate." This is definitely my favorite opening song to an anime and is catchy as hell. As far as voice acting is concerned, in the dub version I found all of the voice actors to have done a great job. I don't really see any weak links and think that Okabe was voiced brilliantly.
Characters 9/10:
The characters in Steins;Gate are an interesting bunch to say the least. We have the crazy, but not as crazy as he thinks main character. The genius girl from America who argues with the main character all the time. The cute, innocent childhood friend. The fat, perverted, anime obsessed hacker. The cool, mysterious girl. The cosplaying waitress girl. The absolutely crazy girl who likes to text. And that's about it. On their own, each character isn't that special. But the interactions they have with each other, particularly those between Okabe and Kurisu Makise, bring out unexpected sides from the characters and really make you enjoy watching them. The intriguing plot line, and time travel element only enhances the strength of the characters as well because you get to see them remaining true to themselves even as (unknown to all but Okabe) the worldliness are changing around them. My one gripe is that the back stories of most of the characters aren't well developed, but really when the plot is about jumping around in time, adding another time period into the picture could complicate things beyond the writers' control.
Enjoyment 10/10:
Between Okabe and Makise's exchanges, the brain frying complexities of time travel, and the suspense of the story, there was never a moment after the dreadful episode 1 that I didn't thoroughly enjoy myself. By the second half of the show I was on the edge of my seat for each episode. This show made many laugh plenty of times, and although the show didn't manage to make me cry, i was still VERY sympathetic to the characters as they dealt with hardships. However, what made this show so enjoyable was the suspense and the intriguing story that gave birth to it. Steins;Gate made me actually care about what happened in the plot, and made me want to see everything work out for Okabe.
Overall (9.5/10):
It doesn't matter what kind if show you think you like. You will love this one. This show wasn't perfect. But it was pretty damn close. It had almost everything you could ask for in an anime without overdoing anything. Action, drama, comedy, suspense, oh god suspense! I feel kind of guilty for not giving this anime a 10. I have been changing my mind over and over on whether or not it should be. I decided since that because there was a small bit of doubt, I would give it a 9. Perhaps in another worldline, myanimelist allows the use of decimals in user reviews. Howeverm in this world line they don't, so I will have to leave this anime with a "mere" 9. If I could though, I would give it a 9.5.
Verdict:
Fantastic. A show that will keep you on the edge of your seat while your brain fries like an omelette. A must watch for everyone.
Pros:
+ Brilliant story
+ Concept and use of time travel actually works
+ Greatest opening song ever
+ Suspenseful as f**k
Cons:
- Minor flaws in character development and art
- Some minor, barely significant plot holes are left unanswered
If you liked Steins;Gate, watch...
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica:
It's hard to get too into why they are similar without spoilers, but trust me... both of these shows are brilliant and can be extremely similar at times when it comes to edge of your seat excitement in a dark form.
Clannad After Story:
If you enjoyed the romantic aspect of Steins;Gate, do not hesitate to watch Clannad. Regardless of what you like, I recommend Clannad, but there were definite similarities between these shows in terms of the tragic romance department.
9.5/10 - Brilliant
