Now if I said there was time travelling in an anime, you’d probably look at me and say “so what?” But what if I told you there was one that is based on the actual theory and not just jumping in a time machine? What if I told you that the name John Titor is heavily involved? Interested yet? I know that sci-fi can be over some people’s heads or be too obtuse but here it’s laid out in a way that is easy to follow.
Okabe the “mad scientist”, along with his childhood friend Mayuri and an otaku hacker Daru, have formed a club known as the “Future Gadget Research Laboratory,” and they spend their time hanging out and attempting to invent futuristic gadgets. None of their inventions really does anything much until they make the Phone Microwave which transforms bananas into a green ooze. When one of their tests goes sideways, they discover that thePhone Microwave can send text messages to the past. When they start sending messages and changing events, they are not prepared for the ramifications of messing with timelines. Especially Okabe who seems to be the only one unaffected by the timeline jumping and can remember everything from every timeline.
The characters in this show are an eclectic bunch but enjoyable and enough to take your thoughts away from possible paradox issues. To all you scientists out there who think you know everything about time travel, how come you haven’t gone to the past yet? Anyway. You have Okabe the mad scientist who seems to be a little chunni. Mayuri is his childhood friend and always with him, she becomes a major part of the plot. She is a very cute, sweet, loving character who admittedly isn’t too smart but she is always by his side. She gives Mikuru from Haruhi Suzumiya and Haru from Akuma no Riddle, a run for their money in the sweetness department. Then there’s the otaku hacker Daru who fills out the trio. They are joined by others who play significant roles in the show too like Kurisu who becomes a star of the show in her own right.
As far as I’m concerned, the show is well done in almost every aspect. The music really fits in every part of the show including the opening and ending songs. The art is not AAA but it’s good enough to carry the show, not all art needs to be AAA. The plot is your basic time travel theory with butterfly effect spread all over it and it doesn’t vary too much from the theory as we know it but it works the theory well.
I’m a fan of time travel talk and the theory of it so my opinion may be biased or the show is just that good and you’re missing out. While it doesn’t stray too far from the usual theory that you hear in other shows or see in print, it makes it an entertaining watch and also throws in a few sad moments that you would expect when someone is messing around with time. This is probably close to how I would have handled the theory if I was writing Stein’s;Gate but of course I’d have a change or two.
If you do decide to watch the series then watch the movie too. It’s called Steins;Gate the Movie: Burdened Domain of Deja Vu and it’s a new story that takes place a year later but it feels as if it’s part of the main series. This movie is centered on Kurisu and feels like it would fit right in, like a part of the series. I would consider it to be Stein’s;Gate OVA, though there is technically a bonus episode and some shorts sponsored by IBM. Then there’s Steins;Gate 0 which is getting a visual novel and a special alternative branch for episode 23, which is out there right now if you haven’t seen it but it’s not dubbed as of yet if you’re waiting for that. Without knowing the rest of the story, the alternate episode feels out of place but the rest of the story is coming soon. So there more Steins;Gate after you finish the original series.
What are you still hanging around here for? Go watch Stein’s;Gate and if you already have then watch it again.
Until next time.
[yasr_overall_rating]