rkris - 2015-01-26 06:52:28

An AMAZING piece of work. This "add-on" to the "Steins;Gate" universe builds upon the principles and ideas set in the TV show, and make them even more amazing. While it seems a tad like repetition, there is a lot of variation that makes things interesting.

earnestine13 - 2014-10-21 03:38:04

If you have watched the series of Steins;Gate and loved it but leaves you a few questions with something, then this movie is a must-watch. They say this movie is a stand-alone, but it is more likely a sequel to the series, including the OVA, since most of the movie’s talking is all about collision of memories from the Reading Steiner and references of the series and OVA included.

It is set 1 year after Houoin Kyouma! Err… I mean, Rintarou Okabe settled in the world line where Christina! Err… I mean, Kurisu Makise and Mayushii! Err… I mean, Mayuri Shiina are both alive and stayed alive. The world line he lives is okay but the problem is that his memories distorting and contradicting to what is reality, due to being time leaping many times and experienced many deaths and stuff. Now he himself is and going to ceast from reality (a.k.a. never exist at all).

This movie is actually focused on how Kurisu handles on what Kyouma has been suffering for so long in his depressing adventure of time leaping. What is it like to have who you loved disappeared into thin air and when memories of Kyouma suddenly disappeared with his existance. How stubborn are you to think this is a dream and live on while remembering there’s something wrong with this world line?

What I like in this movie is that it explains our questions that we haven’t even bother quesitoning. Like what happened after OVA ending? Is there a side-effect of Reading Steiner? and how did Rintarou acquire chuunibyou and became Houoin Kyouma despite being an adult? So this movie will answer those questions.

Expect that this movie-anime is serious because it really is, and this is also for the main pairing's relationship strenghtener. So are you gonna watch this and expect some fun and serious balanced all together? That I can say is Nope! But, if you are curious about those questions I made, then this is a must-watch.

tobin.davis - 2014-01-20 18:51:44

If you are reading this review, I assume you have already completed the Steins;Gate series. If not, go do so now. It’s great. If you are a fanboy of the series, and are unwilling to hear criticism about a part of your favorite anime, I recommend hitting that back button located in your browser bar any second now.

This review may contain very, very minor spoilers due to their importance to my critique.

2011 was a great year for anime. We received a number of fantastic and memorable anime, and not least among these was Steins;Gate. S;G was 2011’s Attack on Titan; if you were in any way associated with the anime community, you were going to be hooked on it. It is one of the few times I can remember when the communities of 4chan’s /a/, Reddit’s r/anime, and MAL could all agree that there was little to complain about with such a fantastic show like S;G. It was discussed for months after it finished airing, still loved and recommended by its fans, and though it’s no longer “cool” to like S;G in some of these communities, it remains a favorite of many.

The ending of the anime was pretty damn close to perfect. With no lose ends and a satisfying conclusion to the “romance” between Okabe and Kurisu, there was little left to improve on. That being said, I was still excited when I heard that an OVA would be coming sooner rather than later. This OVA was a golden example of what every OVA should strive to be. It did not have to fix any plot elements that should have been solved by the ending proper, it did not introduce any new elements to get you pumped for a season 2 that may never come, and it did not whore the characters out with mindless fanservice. Instead it showed the same lovable characters and humor in a more relaxed setting. Again, I was satisfied. I thought the saga of Steins;Gate could be closed forever, a 9/10 marked down happily on my list.

Then I heard about the movie. This time, I was skeptical, due to my beliefs about anime movies. According to me, there can be four types.

1. A standalone film independent from any franchise. Perfect Blue or Ponyo would be examples.

2. The movie which is nothing but a feature length presentation of material which could be covered by standard episodes of anime. They are self-contained, and do little or nothing to the overall plot of the anime. Examples would be any Pokemon or Sailor Moon movie, or the relatively recent Index movie.

3. The movie which introduces a new and important concept that needs to exist a stand-alone presentation. These often involve distinct character development, and can be considered important plot points to the series as a whole. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is a strong example, as is the third Madoka installment.

4. The movie which tries to tie up loose ends, or opens them just to tie them up again. They are important to the overall plot, but don’t need to exist; they include the character development of the third type, but the character development may no longer make sense because all previous development led to a singular end which already happened. Steins;Gate: Burdened Domain of Déjà vu, falls with a painful splat into this fourth unfortunate segment.

Today you will hear, out of the mouth of a huge Steins;Gate fan, why this movie should never have been made.

Explanation on scoring: because this movie would not make any sense alone, it will not be scored as an independent title. I will score it against the series itself, allowing a direct comparison to where the OVA left things and where the movie did.

Story – Anime (9), Movie (4)

There is nothing more to be said about the story of the anime that hasn’t already been said. It is as close to perfect as a feature length sci-fi anime of this type is going to get. So, with Kurisu back in America (seemingly permanently) at the end of the OVA, she decides to return to Japan for a visit. Conveniently for Okabe, who is now experiencing symptoms from his many world-line jumps, the one person who has any idea how to help him is there when he suddenly disappears.

See you, space cowboy.

What I can’t forgive so easily are the massive jumps this movie takes to try to give every character some sort of role, and more than once the plot simply does not make since at all, or changes drastically for the convenience of the story’s continuance. Examples of this would be Kurisu’s meeting with Amane Suzuha, the time traveler from the anime series. With no explanation as to why, she understands the problem with Okabe in detail, and will help Kurisu solve it. That sure is lucky for her!

Another unexplained phenomenon is Okabe’s tendency to appear suddenly in other world lines, for just long enough to give Kurisu a vague clue (again to propel the plot along), to act completely out of character with her (to be discussed later), or to give a speech to make him seem like a martyr and make the audience feel bad. Why does he disappear from each world line as Kurisu hops between them? Hell if I know. Hell if whoever wrote this drivel knows.

A minor complaint is the large amount of Kurisu fanservice we get, a factor that was not often present in the anime. I first noticed eight minutes into the movie when a 9 second shot of her hot-pants covered crotch is shown as she walks down the street. And goodness knows the most important news of the movie would come when she was in the shower!

Oh, positives? Yeah, about that…

There are several moments that Kurisu shows some unexpected brilliance in her quest to return Okabe to the Steins;Gate world line, such as her imitation of him in front of the other lab members when they feel like something is missing.

There are subtle moments foreshadowing future events explained in the anime proper, and while they could have been given a bit more attention, they were kind of interesting. They were too brief and poorly explained to be given much praise.

Throughout the movie, there is plenty of the humor which only Steins;Gate seems able to pull off. So, if you missed the antics of a given character, you might get to see a little more (maybe… see you in the character section)!

Animation – Anime [Blu-rays] (9), Movie [Blu-ray] (9)

There is little to say here if you’ve seen the anime. Style, animation, and fluidity is superb throughout, often surpassing the anime, but not particularly noticeably.

Sound – Anime (7), Movie (6)

Steins;Gate’s soundtrack wasn’t especially memorable outside of the OP, but the Japanese voice actors and actresses did a fantastic job (let’s not talk about the English dub, please).

In the movie, we get the same story with the soundtrack, minus the memorable OP, but there is something off about the voice actors this time. It is not a universal issue, either; Okabe and Mayuri are as good as ever. However, the side characters just don’t seem to care very much. It was as if they knew that they would be completely ignored, and decided to give their characters’ voices the same love and attention the movie gave them. That is to say, none at all (again, character section).

The astute reader will have noticed I didn’t mention Kurisu yet. That’s because I feel like her voice actress, Imai Asami, didn’t quite get Kurisu’s role right for this one. In the anime, she is perfect for Kurisu’s tsundere and reserved character type. In the movie, though, Kurisu has many monologues, internal and external, and many other conversations fueled by her emotional turmoil. These moments, both the sad and happy ones, come off as more awkward than moving. I’m sure that Imai Asami could have done these lines better had she not been taking on Kurisu’s role.

Characters – Anime (8), Movie (3)

Here is what really ruined the movie for me.

Let’s start off with the side characters, because our time with them will be short, just like in the movie. While every single character has a moment on screen, from Mr. Braun to Faris, they are almost completely ignored. Despite their lack of relevance to the plot, the amount of attention given to them was borderline insulting. The OVA, despite being a fraction the length, pulled it off much better. Am I miffed because I feel my favorite character didn’t get enough screen time? No, mine was Kurisu and I am mad for very different reasons.

Kurisu takes the lead role for Déjà vu, not Okabe. This seemed like a good idea to me, since Kurisu’s moments of focus during the anime were done well, and she seemed to have so much more to give to the audience as a character. Unfortunately, Déjà vu absolutely butchers her character. She acts completely out of character so often that by the end I considered her a different character than Kurisu. When she is not the overly aggressive tsundere from the beginning of the anime, she is a depressed, mopey crybaby who, unlike Okabe when he was in a similar situation, spent as much time sitting in her hotel room feeling sorry for herself as she did trying to fix things. Also out of character, she moved through every part of the anime with a total lack of inhibition and judgment that is completely contrary to her persona in the anime. Maybe it is a leftover effect of when she gets absolutely smashed on 6 ounces of beer so there can be a gratuitous fanservice scene between her and Okabe, which was also out of place and completely unnecessary.

God bless the Japanese and their [lack of] alcohol tolerance.

Speaking of Okabe, he is not really a character in Déjà vu so much as he is an object. He receives some of the same treatment that many female anime characters get: they are a prize to be saved, not a person. His few minutes on screen are only to set up the plot and assure you he is still the mad scientist you remember. “Sorry Kurisu, but Okabe is in another castle!”

Oh, and then there is the “romance.” I gag as that word spills from my brain onto the page.

This paragraph contains significant spoilers. It is a necessary criticism, but I feel I should warn you anyway. If you would like to continue reading without them, please skip down to the next section.

Those who have seen the anime will certainly have differing opinions on the relationship between Kurisu and Okabe. The series itself left it open ended, whereas the OVA pretty much confirmed they’ve got a little something going on when Okabe confesses to her on a dark desert highway. There, with cool wind in her hair, Kurisu tells Okabe to close her eyes. Whether she kisses him or punches him in the gut is up to you at that point. I much preferred the anime ending, myself, but I am so cynical when it comes to romance that I am probably in the minority regarding that.

In either case, every romantic has been thrown out the window at the start of this movie. They treat each other in the same tsundere way right up until the moment Okabe disappears, leaving hours of our time and weeks of theirs all for naught. Instead, the movie shoves its own accelerated version of their romance down your throat as fast as you can take it. This includes a kiss at a moment which makes no sense at all, especially considering all the better times it could have been done in the anime or OVA? How about when Kurisu is leaving for America, or when they are alone on the highway after a confession? No, when Okabe says their relationship is meaningless and that he is going to disappear, that’s the time to do it. Why does she kiss past Okabe in the park? What was the point?

I wish they had just maintained the status quo from the previous installations. Anything would have been better than the horrible display here.

Enjoyment – Anime (9), Movie (3)

With ignored side characters, a lifeless Okabe, and a completely different Kurisu, the characters I came to love in the anime are long gone. The story is powered by convenience and coincidence, with an explanation for several things that just never comes. The cherry on top is the utterly pathetic substitute for a romance between Okabe and Kurisu.

This was a completely unnecessary and poorly executed installment to a wonderful series, an installment which I now wish didn’t exist. Does Déjà vu ruin the franchise? No, it is far from bad enough to do that. Because the anime and OVA stand so well on their own, it is lucky that one can skip this movie and be no worse off.

Still, I am so disappointed I couldn’t get another 90 minutes of that great anime from 2011.

marquardt.leilani - 2014-01-06 02:21:46

After patiently waiting for something at least on the level of the OVA (hoping that it would be as good if not better than the original series but logically doubting that) it turned out to be a major disappointment to me and what i had in mind.

Warning: if you don't already know the general premise and want to enter the movie blind, i suggest not reading this part. With that out of the way, i can say that the idea of an alternate world that one is thrust into has been done and redone several times now to the point of almost every shonen doing it (bleach- fade to black and naruto- road to ninja). however because this is steins gate, this can be forgiven. the part of this that is difficult to enjoy is the lack of sense that it makes. MAJOR PLOT POINT SPOILER ALERT!!! The thing about steins gate that made it a great show is how well-researched it was and how logically everything fit together in the end. that coupled with the fact that you slowly pieced all the bits of information together to understand it completely. however in this movie, you are presented with a far-fetched idea that having strong memories of another dimension automatically pulls you into it. honestly, when i heard that, my initial reaction was something akin to a child that was promised sloppy joes for lunch and then being presented with a meatloaf and asparagus sandwich. The research had been thrown out of the window and replaced by a convenient plot device. Here's a thought, if these memories can pull you into another dimension, why did they not do so earlier? END OF MAJOR PLOT SPOILER!!! Overall, i can't give the story idea and presentation of it any more than a seven, and that's me being generous. the animation, sound and characters are all the same as in the original anime so the final verdict comes down to the story and my own personal enjoyment.

While i did gripe quite a bit about the lacking aspects, i must also point out the aspects that i think are good. first off, the romance between Okabe and Kurisu is finally solidified... kinda. (Wibbley wobbley, timey wimey, Kurisu kisses a thirteen-year-old okabe). Overall the only things i really enjoyed a lot in this movie were Kurisu coming to terms with her feelings for Okabe (not to mention seeing her drunk) and the fact that my initial thoughts going in were "MORE STEINS GATE OH MY FREAKING GAWD!" I loved the fact that one of my favorite shows was coming out with more stuff and i especially loved the fact that the romance advanced a little because i am a fan of romance in anime. but overall i can't justify that giving more than about a seven again in personal enjoyment.

overall, if you havent guessed by now, i am slightly conflicted in what to give this one. on one hand, i completely fanboyed about this movie for the longest time and want to give it a high rating because of my attachment to the series, but on the other hand, i cannot ignore the difficult to understand and overall flat story.

clarabelle.thiel - 2013-12-18 04:26:25

I'm going to keep this short and sweet to keep pace so we can get the time travel paradox rolling before it turns into a cotton ball mess of disaster.

Steins;Gate's movie has been long awaited from fans or people who just like sci-fi anime.This shouldn't be seen as a part of the main plot line because that ended, and this isn't even needed to be watched to complete the story because the OVAs and series should do that for you.

Anyways, this movie takes place a year after the series and OVAs have ended, and reunites us with the wonderful gang of Kurisu, Okabe, Daru, and (tuturu) Mayuri. Kurisu has come back from America to give one of her very thought provoking lectures down at the local university in Akihabara, and the gang decides to well give her a welcoming back party. It all goes fine and dandy, but suddenly Okabe starts acting weird all of a sudden. He begins to start getting pale and having harsh reality checks with his past. Then all of a sudden *poof* he's gone, but somehow Kurisu is only one who notices it, and has to try to get him back.

The whole plot to this movie can be seen as a like the Mayuri Arc of the original series, but replacing Mayuri with Okabe and Okabe with Kurisu. It all works very nicely, but is extremely slow. The whole movie moves like a snail, and I can't see the merit as to why. It could've been a 40 minute movie, and still gotten its points across. There was just a bunch of dead weight scenes that didn't really have affect on the movie, and probably could have been taken out. You'll know them when you see them, and you will probably agree with me.

While those things might be pretty bad in all, the characters themselves still suffer from what Steins;Gate didn't do. They still are fairly one dimensional, and rarely get any more development. Kurisu who is the main character didn't really develop anymore than she already was, and is fairly disappointing.

Yet, despite all my gripes I have with this movie, and slight disappointment that I can see from just watching it. This is still Steins;Gate. This is what we got with the series, minus the cool time travel idea, and the romance (which I preferred). The animation was done in my opinion fairly nicely, and I really liked the Steins;Gate animation already so this movie just acted like an upgrade.

In all, Steins;Gate's movie is a decent movie with a slow moving plot, and shallow character models that don't really develop. Yet, is still saved due to staying true to what it knows, and lovely design of the entire. I would not give it a recommendation though, and award it with a 7/10 score.

rdubuque - 2013-12-17 08:48:25

Steins;Gate is undoubtedly one of my favourite anime of all time and after watching the ova I proceeded to have fangasms over the next two years of which I waited for this movie to come out. I do not believe I expected too much from it as I have already seen what they can deliver. I expected it to be intense throughout the whole movie, dealing with larger issues such as a complete breakdown of the space time continuum resulting in world-lines overlapping or something. Staging it in America instead of the same old city would have also been good. I was hoping it would feel more separate from the series but instead it felt like it could have just been an ova. I was given basically the interesting ideas from the second half of the series but without the intensity and speed of it which was a large contributing factor to what made Steins;Gate soo interesting. The slowness did not bother me for the first thirty minutes as I believed it would speed up drastically once the story hit a certain point as it did in the series, although this somewhat happened it was not almost as drastic a change as I would have hoped.

Both the animation and sound were as fantastic as expected and seeing Okabe and Kurisu together was good as you didn't get to see that much of it in the series but the speed and plot-twists that were in the series were just not prevalent, resulting in a rather flat movie.

Saying all that I really did enjoy it, it was just not nearly as good as I expected.

7/10

cummings.giovanny - 2013-12-17 02:55:07

Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu Review

“A fitting end to the Steins;Gate story, driven by love and passion.”

Wow, I can’t believe it has been so long. Steins;Gate, the anime that has revolutionized the anime genre with its concept of Time Travel and its implications, is finally back after two whole long years. It’s been a long wait, but is it worth it, or a huge disappointment? Let’s take a look!

*contains minor spoilers of both the movie and the original anime*

Story & Characters (9.5/10)

A year has passed since Okabe Rintarou has reached the Steins Gate World Line, where neither Makise Kurisu nor Mayuri dies. It's the perfect world, no? Life can go on as normal, or can it? Unfortunately, our character Okabe’s Reading Steiner ability appears to be more a threat than a blessing. His past memories of the other world lines is overloading his Reading Steiner and he ceases to exist in that world…

This is basically the story, which is fairly simple. However, what made the movie so great were the characters. The reason for lumping the characters portion and the story portion was because Steins;Gate is nothing without its characters. Its characters power the otherwise simple story forward.

Let’s first talk about Okabe Rintarou. He’s still the ever-hilarious Okarin that we knew since the anime season; therefore, if you loved his character then, you’ll love it now. In this movie, it was further expanded on how much despair he had when travelling between the world lines. Constantly witnessing Mayuri’s death over and over again, and doing whatever it takes to save Makise Kurisu. But most importantly, as he said so himself, knowing things that others don’t know or can’t remember… It’s just painful. Just pretend you had a time of your life with your friends in the past, but now, they don’t remember any of the time they spent with you. How would you feel? All alone and helpless right? That’s exactly how Okabe feels. Additionally, the reason the anime was awesome is because it’s as if you’re in Okabe’s shoes. You experienced every world line with him, and when you see people saying “huh, did that actually happen?” you feel frustrated too. He can remember everything that happened in the previous world lines, but no one else can remember it.

Additionally, I found it really commendable that he told Kurisu not to alter the time lines to save him. Its okay for him to be gone, he says. As long as Mayuri and Kurisu live. Do you see just how noble he is? He suffered so much in order to come to the Steins Gate world line, but yet, he’d rather disappear then to let Kurisu time travel and experience the same things he had experienced – Despair, despair and more despair as repeated attempts end in failure, as well as having to change a better future of someone else. He didn’t want that for Kurisu. He’d rather disappear. It’s this care and concern that shows just how much he loves Kurisu – and this makes him much more respectable in my eyes.

Now, let’s talk about Makise Kurisu. This movie is basically the story about Kurisu deciding on whether to listen to her emotions and save Okabe by altering time travelling, or to follow her conscience and fulfill his wish by not doing so. That internal struggle was what made the movie rank up so highly. Right now, Kurisu moreover finally understands what Okabe had been through, which is knowing something that no one else remembers. And because she can now put herself in his shoes can she see just how much Okabe has been through which makes her desire to save him stronger, though her stubbornness often gets in the way of this. As you watch the movie you’ll see how she can’t forget Okabe, her first love, and how she manages to overcome her stubbornness, and it is glorious. Moreover, we can see just how much he loves Okabe, even though she always act like she doesn't (tsundere), after Okabe disappears… But I shall not spoil it.

What deducts a point from the story is how rushed it was at the end. If it just had an extra 10 minutes on development, it would have been so much better.

Animation (9/10)

Animation is basically the same as in the anime, beautiful. Moreover, since this is the movie version, a lot of the scenes were super detailed and crystal clear. Everything from the toys on the table to the label on the lab coat looked beautiful.

Sound (8/10)

Sound design is great, with the some better than others. For example, the scene of Makise running to the lab; that soundtrack was amazing, capturing all the essence of Kurisu’s emotions and desire to see Okabe, and it was so satisfying to the ears.

As for the voice actors, a really commendable one would be Okabe’s voice actor again. Without Mamoru Miyano’s fantastic voice acting, Okabe would not be such an interesting character.

Enjoyment (9.5/10)

As a Steins;Gate fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, especially the time between Kurisu and Okabe. I’ve wanted to see more between their relationships since the OVA, and has it been a long wait. Of course, the hilarious scenes from the movie and interesting story and characters made me enjoy it a lot.

Overall (9.5/10)

On the whole, the Steins;Gate movie is very well executed, allowing us to see more into Okabe and Kurisu’s characters, and more importantly, is a better and more satisfying ending to the Steins;Gate series. Is it a must to watch? I would think so, especially of you’re a fan of the original series.

Written by: Ace エイス

www.facebook.com/eisuanime

dell27 - 2013-12-15 22:48:59

Well.. I expected something else to be honest, the premise of putting Makise in the spotlight and be her the one that tries to save Okabe is good but it just feel like nothing really happens. Is fun to heard the "HOUOUIN KYOMA!" and the "TUTTURUUU ♪" again, it has been a while, I missed that. To see again the cute tsundere side of Kurisu and all the characters be exactly as i remember them but unfortunately that it, like a said, nothing really new happens, is just a retrip with Makise as the main character.

nichole.spinka - 2013-12-01 00:28:44

The thing about steins;gate whether you like it or not is that Steins;Gate is one of the best and most important anime to come out in years and when I've heard that Steins;Gate is getting a movie I was really excited but then came a couple of things up in my mind:

"What can they show me what I haven't seen alredy?"

"The ending was so good and there's not much space to improve to an almost perfect story and ending."

"This movie will probably be mediocre bullshit for fans(tards) just for milking more money out of the money cow called Steins;Gate"

The animation and sound were done by the same people who worked on the anime and are involved in this one too,which is one of the reasons why Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu kept the style of the original anime.The amazing screenplay,the interesting characters and mysterious story are something which kept my eyes glued to the screen and simply everything what I liked in the anime was done in this movie(if not better).The style,atmosphere and feelings which I got confronted in this movie were something unique and something so fascinating that I can't really explain it myself.

The reason why I'm giving this movie a 10 is quite simple,Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu does everything and I really mean EVERYTHING right.The movie has a stand alone story but the problem is that it's so deeply connected to the whole Steins;Gate story that it would be almost a sin to watch the movie before the series(not that you can't but I wouldn't really recommend it).Go watch it right now,what are you waiting for?

Quotes by famous people on the steins gate movie:

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has no pleasure in the steins;gate movie, must be intolerably stupid.”
― Jane Austen

"The Steins;Gate movie is the axe for the frozen sea within us"

―Franz Kafka

“Once you have tasted the Steins;Gate movie, you will forever walk the earth with your anime standards turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
― Leonardo da Vinci