Steins;Gate
Type: Series
Studio: White Fox
Aired: April 6, 2011 to September 14, 2011
Yup, it's Steins;Gate. This is one of the most revered animes of all time. Was #1 on MyAnimeList for a while, before Frieren showed up and started mogging. And I have to side with the mob here, this is fantastic. Steins;Gate the anime is, of course, an adaptation of Steins;Gate the visual novel. The VN is also known for its excellence, and White Fox was smart to craft a fairly straightforward adaptation. Unlike other "VN animes" (take Air, for instance), the Steins;Gate anime completely dispenses with most of the optional routes/content and focuses solely on the true route/ending. Additionally, some of the more edgy and violent content is missing from the anime, particularly one stabby scene with a little girl (to use burger ratings, the game is M while the anime is TV-14).
The protagonist is one Rintaro Okabe, a university student living in the Akihabara district of Tokyo. He also goes by Kyouma Hououin, a self-imposed "mad scientist" alter ego. Okabe is seemingly paranoid and delusional, frequently ranting about being on the run from the "Organization" that tracks such brilliant researchers. He's also prone to engaging in phone conversations with absolutely no one, and bursting into fits of maniacal laughter. Okabe's mad scientist obsession has resulted in him renting a space above a CRT shop, where he tinkers on gadgets with his pals Daru, an otaku hacker, and Mayuri, the adorable and caring childhood friend (tuturu~). One day Okabe and his pals decide to attend a "time travel conference" -- which Okabe soon ditches after deriding the presenter as a fraud. He quickly runs into a girl named Kurisu Makise, who he recognizes as a brilliant young scientist who typically resides in America and has published some critically important work. On his way out of the building, Okabe stumbles onto Kurisu once again, murdered at the end of a desolate hallway. When attempting to inform Daru via text, Okabe notices a sudden shift in his surroundings, as hundreds of pedestrians simply vanish. Even stranger, Kurisu turns up again soon enough -- alive. The members of the "Future Gadget Laboratory" (now featuring Kurisu) pinpoint the cause: a modified microwave they've created, one that was designed to heat food remotely via cell phone, has the power to send text messages into the past. Said messages can influence the behavior of "past" individuals, thus causing immediate modifications to the current worldline. Naturally, the ragtag team begins to experiment liberally, with Kurisu making use of her technical acumen to modify the device further. Such actions result in some seriously unforeseen consequences, and bring the group into contact with some unsavory folks looking to monopolize time traveling technology.
The story and characters are incredibly endearing. To start: the protagonist. Okabe, despite (and because of) all quirks, is probably the best male hero of any visual novel (turned anime). He's kind, empathetic, and a dear friend to all close to him -- a far cry from the weirdo pervert oblivious retards that front so many similar stories. The supporting cast is also extraordinarily memorable. The laboratory membership grows as the game progresses, each time graced with another distinctive personality. There's the hyperactive maid café employee extraordinaire Faris; the shy ever-texting Moeka; the androgynous shrine "maiden" Luka; the cyclist and CRT shop part-timer Suzuha. Finally, there are those that aren't affiliated with the lab: the crotchety rent-hiking CRT shop owner "Mr. Braun" and his young timid daughter. There's great cohesion among the "lab mems" and the constant banter is a sight to behold. The lab itself just feels so cozy and inviting. This is a rather humorous series, replete with net/hacker slang and tons of nerdy otaku jokes.
One unexpected and delightful aspect of the Steins;Gate storyline is its willingness to blend fiction with not only science and technology, but also real-life mysteries and conspiracies. For instance: Okabe is ticked off at the game's opening lecturer, as he believes the man is plagiarizing the works of John Titor. As in, the "real" John Titor, the man who made a splash on various message boards decades ago, claiming to be a time traveler from 2036. John Titor (both the "real" one and the in-game one) was searching for an IBM 5100 (renamed "IBN 5100" here), as it was said to contain crucial code necessary to avoid a technological calamity. And the villains of Steins;Gate? CERN ("SERN") -- yes, the CERN, the French research institute and particle physics laboratory, is explicitly labelled as corrupt and evil. They're in the midst of mastering their own time traveling methods to order to rule the past, present, and future. There are also some more obscure references for the gaming/web nerds thrown into the mix as well. For instance, for his "super hacking" Daru utilizes the power of the Sharp X68000, the 1987 twin-towered 16-bit gaming titan. As for the "Future Gadget Laboratory" -- it has a website here in the real world.
As far as aesthetics go, well, some may be upset to see that the dark and hazy look of the game isn't replicated on television. This looks like normal anime. I mean, it's fine, often beautiful, but normal. The gorgeous instrumental tracks of the game (like my favorite, "Noisy Times") are rarely played here, though the full-band songs with vocals pop up frequently, and are excellent. The voice actors from the game returned for the anime, all being absolutely stellar. Especially Okabe. But, BUT, I have a small confession to make. I've watched this start-to-finish a couple of times and the most recent time was with the DUB (my kids wanted to watch the show with me and didn't want to deal with muh words on the screen). The dub grew on me though, even though it can get goofy and features some dated American slang and references (one of the characters mentions "Leeroy Jenkins" -- oof). Also, the series contains a couple of (in)famous jokes centered around the fact that the protagonist speaks poor English. This sort of thing obviously can't be replicated in a dub, and attempts to do so are futile but funny. (In one key scene, Okabe meets a black dude who's a street vendor. In the original script Okabe assumes the man is Western and then speaks to him in slang-laden broken English. In the dub, Okabe speaks "jive" -- amazing how the dub ends up "more racist" despite Westoid sensibilities).
I'm kind of ambivalent about episode 25. Episode 24 ends beautifully, the same way the VN does. An absolutely gorgeous tearjerker moment that wraps up the whole story... and then 25 begins and it's a corny bonus scenario. Still amusing though; watching this one subbed is mandatory if only to hear the Japanese voice actors say "Hawaiian style" and "LA." As terrific as this anime is, and it may be my all-time favorite, be aware that it's no substitute for the VN, which has more content and a "vibe" that can't quite be replicated here. Best to play the VN, watch this, and then play Steins;Gate Elite, the VN based on the anime! And don't forget that Steins;Gate is also technically a (loose) sequel, so there's the Chaos;Head game, its remake, its anime and -- and *explodes*...
Rating: 5/5
Reviewed: 08/30/25