Hacking to the Gate - Steins;Gate

Most definitely NOT a harem

There are several types of anime out there. A lot of it is standard run of the mill shows that do enough to be entertaining but aren't exactly memorable. Then there are harem and romance animes and I won't even get started on how much I hate those shows. Every once in awhile though theres a show that takes the anime community by storm and causes sites like MAL to blow up with "this show is unrelenting awesome sauce". I try and stick to animes that get this title rather than get sucked in to the unimaginative and overrated mire that is the big three (Bleach, One Piece, and Naruto). In the process, my list of anime over the years is rather impressive, (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Code Geass, Soul Eater, Hellsing). These are all animes that have cemented that "unrelenting awesomesauce" title and caused a massive stir in the sniem community, making them shows that everyone absolutely had to check out. Which brings us to the newest addition to the "unrelenting awesomesauce" family, Steins;Gate.

Steins;Gate originally was a visual novel for Xbox 360 and PS3 that was only released in Japan. For those who don't know what visual novels are; basically they're interactive graphic novels usually aimed at those previously mentioned otaku's who dream of being lusted after by their own harem. (Check one of my earlier posts). Steins;Gate however, was critically acclaimed for it's excellent plot and characters. So like any novel thats successful in Japan, it had to be adapted into an anime. The anime was released in 2011 and threw the entire anime community into a "OMG BEST SHOW EVER" state for it's entire run. Essentially, the plot revolves around "mad scientist" Okabe Rintaro or better known by his mad scientist name HOUOUIN KYOMA (and yes all caps are required here) and his group of friends as they somehow convert his microwave into a machine capable of sending text messages into the past. What begins as some seemingly harmless experimentation, it later turns out that these text messages alter the course of history and lead it down a dark path that nobody could have predicted. So it's up to Okabe to reverse the damage he's caused to the time line by literally leaping through time in a sort of Groundhog Day fashion. This leads to the best time travel plot I've ever seen in an anime. I have to give credit to the writers here because they clearly did a heavy amount of research in order to make their theories believable. Of course, in any work that involves time travel theres bound to be some made up bullshit. But Steins;Gate references real life events such as the CERN black hole fiasco and infamous internet blogger John Titor. It does a great job of making it's time travel theories feel realistic and never seems to bend it's rules just to accomodate the plot. Similarly, the plot covers it's bases and leaves no stone unturned. If you want an answer for something, it's there and relatively easy to find. This is a really nice change from animes such as Neon Genesis Evangelion or Revolutionary Girl Utena which basically say "figure this out for yourselves"leading to wild guessing and theorizing on the viewer's part. (seriously if you want to start an flame war anywhere, just post a theory about how Evangelion ended) It's nice to see a show actually make an attempt to make itself accessible to everyone. The plot also goes into great detail the costs and benefits of messing with time, the good it can cause and (especially) the bad. This series hits on a number of emotional levels and it's a refreshing change of pace from animes like Black Lagoon which jams mindless action down your throat at the expense of making it's characters interesting (that action was pretty sick though...not gonna lie). Almost every episode ends on a cliffhanger or a wham line making this series the most compelling one I've watched since the second season of Code Geass.

(left to right) Moeka, Mayuri, Kurisu, Rukako, Suzuha, Feyris, Daru, and Okabe

The real strength of Steins:Gate however, are the characters. On the surface it appears that they all just fall under worn out anime cliches. Okabe is a Large Ham, whose over the top antics are fitting of any anime (appropriately voiced by Michael J Tatum as well and even more of a ham in the Japanese version). There's teen genius and closet otaku Makise Kurisu who spends most of the series acting like a stereotypical tsundere (for those who aren't anime junkies, definition here). There's Okabe's childhood friend Mayuri who starts almost every sentence like this and seems like a typical anime ditz. Then theres loud, perky and gregarious Suzuha, the "every anime needs one" cat girl Feyris Nyan-nyan (I shit you not), the quiet Moeka who might as well be a long haired Rei Ayanami, and the extremely adorable and soft spoken girl Rukako, yea...she's a dude...Of course no actual explanation is given as to why Rukako is a boy or why he's so effeminate. The cast is then rounded out by stereotypical otaku Daru, who at one point is giving dating advice from a hentai game strategy guide. Despite all these stereotypes the cast actually ends up being so much more and actually the show's biggest strength. They all seem to have great chemistry with each other and despite the show's gripping time travel plot the focus is really on the relationships between the characters. Most episodes center around Okabe and his relation to one of the other characters in the cast and it's really awesome seeing these characters get fleshed out, even as chaos is unfolding around them. Mayuri is particular is one character that really surprised me. Usually characters like her end up being annoying and overall useless but Mayuri turned out to be a lot smarter and in tune with what was going on. Often times she'd provide a clear moral viewpoint at moments when the characters are forced into making immoral choices. Her presence really highlighted the morality of time travel. Kurisu to me was the standout character of the bunch, despite her tsundere attitude, her scenes and interactions with Okabe are the show's highlight. Even Feyris, who originally only seems to be there to please desperate otaku's, has hidden depths. Despite the series' serious tone, it also leaves plenty of room for fun as well, frequently making you laugh while at the same time keeping focused on the plot. It's rare when an anime can actually balance what is a pulse pounding plot with light-hearted humor. The show's humor is definitely geared towards the geek crowd, as many of it's pop culture references are to otaku culture or popular shows in the western geek community (the second episode references Doctor Who). All of this serves to give the series a fun feel and yet it doesn't feel like a disjointed mess when it shifts to a serious tone. I give credit to the strong chemistry between the characters and excellent writing. Finally, I have to establish that despite the ratio of girls to guys (5.5/2.5, Rukako counts as half to both sides) THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A HAREM ANIME.

IT'S A TRAP!!!!

Like I said before, the series goes to great lengths to establish it's science of time travel so that the viewer can actually follow along and understand what's going on. Okabe's "phone-wave" machine is able to send text messages back into the past, giving one's past self knowledge of what going to happen in the future, thus changing their actions. Time travel in Steins;Gate operates on a number of different timelines called World Lines. "Time travel" is merely traveling from one World Line to another. World Lines shift when something changes in the current line. The idea of timelines as parallel universes isn't exactly a new concept in anime. Dragonball Z toyed with a similar idea though it never exactly explored the science of such time travel in the way Steins;Gate does. Steins;Gate also heavily explores the idea of the Butterfly Effect, a small change in one world line can result in a massive shift in another. For example, using time travel to prevent the death of one of the character's relatives end up changing the entire landscape of the city that series takes place. It's really interesting seeing how Okabe's seemingly harmless expermentation shifts the timeline in such a massive way. Thus one of the key plot points of the series is the effects of meddling with time. What starts out as seemingly harmless meddling with the timeline in the name of science becomes a literal race against time to prevent the dystopian future they've accidentally created.

There is a point to this...just keep watching...

One of the complaints that many people have with the series is it's slow start. The first twelve or so episodes revolve mostly around establishing the rules of time travel and how the machine works in the first place. It feels like a Slice of Life show with a time travel twist at first before the plot really picks up. At times it feels slow and as if nothing is really going on other than Okabe and buddies transforming bananas into green goo. Personally, I think that these episodes are a good thing and necessary for understanding of plot points that are brought up later. The series sort of drops you in episode 1 without any real clue of whats going on. These episodes allow you to slowly piece together what happens and it's really rewarding when everything eventually comes together. I like that the series actually took time to show it's hand, rather than throw everything at you at once. These episode establish characters, establish the rules and limits of time travel, and provide some really great moments. Those who stick with the series through these episodes will find the shows climax incredibly rewarding.  The real highlight of the show is the later half of the series which is fast-paced and incredibly heart wrenching at some points. This is probably the only anime that's ever forced me to take a break because it's actually emotionally taxing. However, this does lead to yet another complaint about some of the later episodes, which some believe slow down the series when it's reaching it's most climatic point. It's not as if theres not a point to this, the writers use this time to wrap up the characters arcs of many of the shows supporting characters and finishes their character development. It's really refreshing seeing a series take such care with it's characters. The finale feels a little tacked on at the end but it's a fitting ending to series and theres even an epilogue thrown in that clears up any loose ends that may have come up. I think thats another one of the series' strengths is that nothing in the show feels pointless or unneeded, everything has some kind of purpose. Character arcs are opened and appropriately resolved. It really speaks to the skill of the writers that they can craft a story about time travel, spanning several world lines, and still manage to wrap up all their loose ends.

Animation wise, the series is pretty standard though at times it could the animators got a little creative. The animation really got a bump whenever Okabe travels through time. All of the characters are well designed and are excellently animated. I recommend watching in Blu-Ray or at least on an HDTV. The voice acting in the english dub is well done as well. Each character's voice actor is perfectly able to capture their character's personality. I wouldn't expect any less from a great group like Funimation. Michael J Tatum is obviously the standout as Okabe, a performance not unlike his role as Issac from Baccano! who is equally hammy and awesome in that series as well. Trina Nishimura also deserves special mention for her role as Kurisu I really can't think of any other VA that could have pulled off the character. The soundtrack was also perfect, the opening theme Hacking to the Gate is quite good and the ending credits theme really fits the mood of the show as well. The soundtrack perfectly frames every scene which is what a good soundtrack should do. Overall, Steins;Gate looks great and sounds great.

Makise Kurisu is one of the best developed and most likable characters I've seen in any anime

Steins;Gate is the best anime I've watched in awhile, there really is something here for everyone. It's worth checking out just for it's take on time travel and well developed characters. Theres something to be said about an anime that covers it's bases and doesn't just make up reasons on the spot for why things are happening. Steins;Gate is incredibly well done and manages to avoid that trap that most animes fall under, the disappointing climax. From it's slow start to it's pulse pounding finish Steins;Gate is a brilliant work and it definitely worth checking out.

My Verdict: 5/5