Anime films that follow a series, especially successful ones, are a difficult breed. Many times the film ends up feeling like a tacked on extra of fanservice. Your favorite characters are there but the plot doesn't tie in to the series or pales in comparison. For example, I reviewed Trigun: Badlands Rumble last month and gave it a 2/5 while I gave the parent series a 5/5. Other times the film is highly successful and can be considered essential to enjoy the series as a whole (End of Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie). Steins;Gate: Deja Vu of Load Field falls into the latter category. It's a film that is able to tie up all of the few loose ends that remained at the end of the series (and it's mediocre add-on OVA episode). A quick disclaimer before I start the review: Since the film takes place after the conclusion of the series, spoilers will be very difficult to keep out. You have been warned.
Deja vu picks up a year after the OVA ended and the gang at Future Gadget Laborotory are up to their regular shenanigans of dicking around. Of course, the ringleader in all of this is still the lovable and eccentric protagonist, Okabe Rintaro (or HOUOUIN KYOUMA). Having successfully prevented the deaths of both Mayuri and Makise Kurisu at the conclusion of the series, Okabe's life has been pretty peaceful since. However, all isn't exactly well in the life of the mad scientist as it's shown that he's having 'flashbacks' to the world lines he crossed while trying to save Mayuri's life. Regardless, Okabe carries on and continues his dicking around. Things pick up when Makise returns to the Future Gadget lab after a year to reunite with her friends. Of course, things between her and Okabe are still strange since he can remember their romantic and close interactions across the world lines he visited while she cannot. As a result she isn't really sure about how she feels about Okabe, leading to some classic Steins;Gate banter. Meanwhile, Okabe's 'flashbacks' are getting worse and worse, threatening to erase him from time altogether. When it eventually does happen, Makise is the only one who has any faint recollection of him. This brings us the the main plot of the movie which is Makise leaping through time like Okabe did in order to save him.
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| Makise Kurisu is the main protagonist which allows for the film to sort out the loose ends left at the series end |
Some might complain that there isn't enough of Okabe in the film but in a way, this is a good thing. After all, the original series was entirely from Okabe's perspective and he's the only one who has clear memories of the world lines he visited. Meanwhile, the only loose end that remained in the show's conclusion was the matter of Makise and Okabe's relationship. While Okabe remembers all of it, Makise only has extremely faint recollections. Whether or not she felt the same way about him was never really resolved. I personally thought that the original ending to Steins;Gate was fine and despite leaving that part of the plot up to speculation, I didn't think the series really needed to provide closure. However, Deja vu made me realize that closure really was needed. So having the film take place from Makise's perspective was a welcome change as it allows for film to provide final closure to her and Okabe's story. Like the original series, the plot requires a lot of emotional investment and it ended up being really touching story. The best part about Deja vu is that it fits seamlessly into the Steins;Gate canon and doesn't just feel like tacked on fanservice.
Okabe is out of the picture for most of the film, which enables Makise to take center stage as the main protagonist. As said before, having the film from her perspective ties up the few loose ends of the series. The regular crew of Mayuri, Daru, Ruka, Faris, Moeka, and Suzuha all return as well. This being the film after the series, you would expect them to have reduced roles, however, this is hardly the case. Mayuri actually factors in heavily in the plot and the rest are hardly pushed to the side. Suzuha, being my favorite character from the series, was a welcome sight to see back, even if her characterization felt a bit off. Everyone else is largely the same, the only downside is that we never get to meet Daru's girlfriend. In fact, I feel like that the only missed opportunity here. After all, the revelation that Daru was Suzuha's father in the future was one of the big reveals of the series. If Steins;Gate decides to continue the storyline further, that should be the main focus. In spite of this however, I can't really complain about the characters. I loved them in the original series and they're fantastic here as well.
Visually, Deja vu appears to have been given a bump in animation quality but overall it's not noticeably different. It really depends on what medium you're watching it on. The film actually hasn't been released in the States yet. The version I watched was actually very high quality, perhaps Blu-Ray quality. Regardless, the visuals are great and are capable of some really beautiful moments. The environments are nice but the real credit goes to the animation of the characters. They move and act realistically and that's a testament to the great work done here. From an audio standpoint, it is fantastic once again. The film hasn't been dubbed yet but I got to experience the original Okabe voice, certainly a treat. The audio isn't unlike the original series and sets the tone perfectly. Credit is also due to the voice actors who do a great job.
In reality, Steins;Gate really didn't need this movie. The original series had one of my favorite endings and it didn't feel like the series really needed to be expanded upon. However, I'm sure glad that this was made. It manages to top the original ending and I can't think of a more perfect way for the storyline to conclude. Most of the time, anime movies are unwelcome additions to the storyline but this is not the case here. Steins;Gate: Deja vu of Load Field is the perfect ending to a perfect series.
My Score: 5/5
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