akilback - 2013-07-26 18:12:46

As someone who loves the concept of parralell worlds and time travel I was glad when I found this show. Some people may say that the beginning is slow but I found those to be very interesting since they discuss the shows theory on time travel and sets up the characters.

I really only have two complaints with the show. *Spoiler* The first one is that since at the end of the show they end up literally when the show began, the only character that gets any character development is Okabe.*Spoiler*

The second one is that at a certain point in the show, the fact that it was once a visual novel becomes apparent and doesn't fit with the rest of the story. In my opinion anyway.

Overall I have to give it a 9.25 out of 10 for being one of my favorite anime ever.

agustin.hermiston - 2013-07-26 11:06:07

Manages to have a very awesome story(albeit a little slow at the beginning) about time travel, it's not only a story that has time travel in it but also the complications of time travel and it is surprisingly well done.

Time travel has been a major part of many Si-Fi stories throughout history but there are very few that showcase it without confusing the viewer, Steins;Gate is one of those few. The story never gets too complicated, you always know what is going on. However you can't skip even a single episode or the story might not make sense.

The character relations is another strong point of Steins;Gate and is very well done. The voice acting isn't something I usually comment on because what do I know about Japanese, but the voice acting in Steins;Gate is simply fantastic(you'll find out what I'm talking about).

There is quite a bit of humor in the series huge plot twists and a little romance.

All in all this is one of the best Anime I have watched up to date and recommend it wholeheartedly to every anime fan out there. Steins;Gate is a must see!

rice.ruthie - 2013-07-26 10:57:22

There is a rumor of Anime getting worse and worse in the last years, losing it’s niveau and only producing shows that are storywise and characterwise of a lot lower quality then earlier shows. And tehre is a rumor of a few shows considered as the “Saving graces of modern Anime” (Shoutout to HoldenReviews!), including shows such as Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika, Fate/Zero and the show that I am wanting to Review right now. Steins;Gate!

Story: Steins;Gate takes place in the year of 2010, in the part of Tokyo called Akihabara. Here our main protagonist Okabe Rintarou, also known as Hououin Kyouma, lives in a small laboratory together with his two lab members Hashida Itaru, aka Daru and Shiina Mayuri. Together (or actually mostly Okabe and Daru) they modified their microwave into a device that is able to send textmessages into the past. One day Rintarou accidently uses it after finding a dead woman that he talked to only minutes ago. After he goes through a weird process he finds out, that the woman he thought was dead is still alive, leading to massive confusion.

The story of Steins;Gate is in my opinion definitely the strongest point of the Anime, including more twists and turns than most Anime that I have seen so far, setting it up as really complex and well thought through story! One thing that many people do complain about watching this show though, is that it starts incredibly slow, only explaining things and only shifts into the serious part rather late. In my opinion though, the pacing for the first episodes was perfect and if they would have tried to make it only a little faster everything would have felt incredibly rushed leaving a start that would have been a lot worse. I also like that they get a lot of the explaining out of the way early, not having to explain things later on. As soon as they are done with this though, the really serious part starts and shit begins to hit the fan, with more and more twists happening and more and more drama involved, as the Anime gets really dark.
9.3/10

Characters: Steins;Gate for me is a perfect example that character developement is not a hundred percent necessary in a show, as long as the characters remain interesting! The whole time travelling theme makes character developement hard to execute and that is why the only character that really changes throughout the show is the time traveller itself, being Okabe. Still every single character the show introduces is being given attention to and they do get a lot of depht in the course of the show, making for an incredibly strong suppoting cast, in that every single character is likeable and relateable to.
The main character of the show Okabe Rintarou, must be one of the mose interesting characters that I have see in quite some time, calling himself a mad scientist and giving everything and everyone weird nicknames, he definitely seems to be a little weird in his head at first, but it’s not that late, until you realize, that he actually is a character that really cares for others.
The second main character being Okabe’s childhood friend Shiina Mayuri. She is mostly shown as the cute little girl, that is a little clumsy and maybe not always as smart, but it is really refreshing to see her interaction with Okabe, since she always seems to commit herself to his jokes. Even though she almost never is really doing anything, she still has a huge roll in the overall plot.
The third and last main character is Makise Kurisu, a young woman, that is currently studying just as Okabe is. She at first is convinced that time travel is absolutely not possible, until she randomly comes to Okabe and wittnesses his experiments. Even though she saw what happened in this laboratory she still is not convinced and only slowly, as the plot begins to move forward she starts believing in the experiments and that what happened was time travel. The best thing about her must be her interaction with Okabe, since she is a tsundere (pretty much the most likeable one I’ve seen) and opposes almost everything her lab partner says. Seeing them arguing really never is boring.

The whole character cast in Steins;Gate is really well balanced. Adding depht to every single character, the Anime does a really good job in building up relationships and showing interactions between characters. The only problem there is, being the character developement, which is impossible due to the time travelling, is not solved by overshadowed by the sheer amount of well written characters that it almost doesn’t matter.
8.7/10

Art: The Animation of Steins;Gate has been handled by White Fox, the company that was responsible for shows like the recent Hataraku Maou Sama and a show called Jormungand. The Animation in total was really good and fluent, the backgrounds were really detailed and always fit the shows theme, while at first brighter, they got a lot darker near the end of the shwo which only gave the darker part a lot more feeling to it.
7.5/10

Sound: The Soundtrack has been handled by Takeshi Abo and Murakami Jun, who both don’t really have any other major works besides Steins;Gate (Robotics;Notes for Takeshi Abo). The OST is actually pretty well done, something I only realized after actually listening to it myself. It already helped building the atmosphere of the Show, but now that I really listen to it, I really enjoy it much more than I thought! It mostly consists of pieces that are rather quiet and those really are the best part of it. While the ones that are a bit more lighthearted are nicely done, they are nothing that I would listen to a lot myself. The voice acting in Steins;Gate is for the Japanese part superbe. While my Japanese is not good enough to actually understand everything, the emotions that are supposed to be brought to the viewer are done really well. For the ending and Opening, the Ending is really good, featuring one of my favourite japanese songs, even though the animation in it is rather boring. The Opening on the other hand, has music that is just as good, but Animation that stands out in a lot of ways and makes for one of the best Openings I had the pleasure to listening to.
8.4/10

In total Steins;Gate a show that should not be missed, not only presenting a plot that has amazingly many twists, well executed characters, but also shining in it’s presentation. I can’t recommend buying this Anime to those who have access to it enough, since this is worth every single cent you’ll be paying. After calculating every single score I gave (the ones above + my personal enjoyment), I ended up rating this Anime with an incredibly strong 8.74/10

heidenreich.era - 2013-07-24 08:47:21

This anime really caught me by surprise. At first its very much comedic. especially the MC, who always saying ridiculous things. However by the end, the story gets complicated and that one man who was pretending to be a mad scientist ends up making something that will ultimately screw up peoples lives around him and especially the ones that he loves.

Story: 10/10

Very ambitious story that is a fresh idea (always welcomed to me) and got me hooked in a few episodes. To sum it all up without spoiling too much, the MC (rintarou okabe) makes a time machine like thing that causes a lot of trouble. The plots flows nicely but does get repetitive at times, which is expected because it is based around time travel :P

Animation: 9/10

The animation looked really good, but lacked a little compared to other anime that focuses more on detail. Not many complaints here but I am someone who can be put off by bad looking animation but this certainly was good enough.

Sound: 8/10

The OP and end was good, but certainly not the best thing I've heard. I mostly skipped both because it was not something I would spend 2 minutes watching just be cause I couldn't care less about it. The sound within the anime however was pretty good and matched the atmosphere well.

Characters: 10/10

Really good characters who were all quite quirky in their own ways.They all get an adequate amount of screen time and none of them felt like they were there to fill the gaps. The MC was really funny and I really liked Kurisu Makise and Mayuri Shiina.

Enjoyment: 10/10

I ended up watching episode after episode, which doesn't happen that often for me. I had to force myself to stop when there was a cliffhanger just because I watched hours at a time. Thank goodness it has 24 episodes because I didn't really want this series to end and it would have sucked to see it end at 12. To sum it all up, very enjoyable and worth every minute.

Overall: 10/10

I am very biased and I don't really care about the sound part anyway so yes, it would be 10/10 anyway! (do the math, no actually don't). Just watch it! You just wasted precious time to go watch episode one :P Go forth and watch this now!

shields.brooklyn - 2013-07-09 21:14:41

Time travel as a plot device has always been a dangerous one to use to drive a story forward. It adds an immediate degree of complexity as soon as the rules are defined. Writing time travel into a story has the pitfall of writers not only writing themselves into a corner, but also creating continuity errors on top of that. However, when defined and used appropriately, time travel serves to be an excellent plot device.Steins;Gate is an example of a story with “good” time travel. The series starts off on the same level as the viewer in terms of understanding time travel. The characters know no more than we do about the rules or even the possibly of time travel. We get to watch as they build a machine capable of sending text messages to the past and exploring all the consequences that result. As the show progresses, we learn through their experience and mistakes. In the meantime, the character development, pacing, and tone of the show only serve to strengthen the plot.For a show that’s centered around the concept of time travel, Steins;Gate never really focuses in on it. The initial discovery was an accident. The main character, Okabe Rintaro, and the other characters are interested, but aren’t obsessed with its possibilities. Even the main female protagonist, Makise Kurisu, who is a world-renown genius, isn’t defined by her interest and subsequent involvement with the time machine. Rather, the show is described as a group of kids who are members of the”Future Gadget Laboratory,” and discover that one of their inventions is possible of relaying messages to the past. And for first few episodes, the show focuses on the first part. Once the the time travel mechanics get introduced, the story is driven by the motivation of the lab members without spending too much time on the what-ifs.Okabe is the main driving force of the series. Even with the fact that there is a conspiracy theory that he is trying to unravel, our main focus is still on Okabe and his relationships. The concerns of the mechanics are introduced and elaborated upon, but never become the spotlight of the series. The interactions of the lab members as they explore time travel serve as the main focus. Throughout the story, I found myself liking the characters more than I’d thought I would from their short paragraph description on Wikipedia. This is how character development is supposed to work. This is why when things get real halfway throughout the series, I get thrown into a story where I’m legitimately worried about what’ll happen to everyone.I’ll admit that the first half of the show seemed slow and almost necessary, but in the end, I’m glad that they took to time to introduce everyone before we just suddenly care about the more drastic events. Along with the excellent characters, Steins;Gate really knows how to set the atmosphere, especially in the scenes where Okabe questions his own sanity. They never bring it up as a point in conversation or blatantly point it out with an obnoxious monologue. We watch as Okabe experiences certain events with an unsettled air. Okabe and the viewer will notice that something is off, but have no proof to what it was. Building suspense in this manner was one of the best part of the series. Withholding information that the characters know from the viewer is a common method of forced suspense, and it doesn’t build atmosphere, just aggravation. (I’m looking at you, Gosick.)Overall, I enjoyed Steins;Gate. I had my doubts at the beginning with the show’s initial light tone, but the doubts quickly disappeared. The cliché anime humor suddenly became amusing once a layer of 2ch meta-humor started getting thrown into the mix. The pacing and tone had me cursing at my monitor every time an episode ended, especially towards the end. Character development was a welcome aspect with the series responsibly limiting its characters and finishing their respective plot lines. While I consider the ending a bit too happy and convenient, I’m still pleased with the time on spent on this show. It certainly didn’t disappoint.

lpfannerstill - 2013-07-01 02:21:11

The warp of time? The fight for power against evil forces?

This anime has that. On the basis of a microwave that can send messages and memories into the past, it leads for some great character development. We follow the lead character, Okarin, who seems like an insane man with nothing but time on his hands. However, as this anime progresses, we see that Okarin is using his insanity as a cover for what really lies inside.

It combines the genius of Kurisu (Christinaaaa), the loveliness and friendliness of Mayuri, and the pervertedness of Daru (supa hacka!). They all fight for power against the organization SERN. Seriously, if you have not seen this Anime, you must watch it. It combines several time lines into one story line that still makes sense. Not only does it all tie-in and make sense, it's probably one of the most gripping things you'll ever see.

It's lovely, it's heartbreaking, it's painful at times. It makes you want to get angry and throw things as you see everyone struggle. However, it all has great purpose. It's all amazing, it should be considered a cult classic of Anime.

Bottom Line: It's a deep Anime that everyone should see. It's beautiful in several aspects, and once you get hooked, you will not stop.

jaskolski.oswaldo - 2013-06-29 02:36:39

Steins;Gate is a SciFi roller coaster of "holy crap" and heart wrenching moments. It will raise hopes and break hearts within a split second of each other. Based on the title, some will realize that Steins;Gate takes place in the same universe as Chaos;Head. Most people remember Chaos;Head being a terrible show and have understandable fears for what they might do with SG. The first episode is arguably the weakest. Most drops I know of have come after the extremely confusing premier. However, in relation to the entire show the first episode was very well thought out. Bear in mind that other great shows have had weak starts too like TTGL and Code Geass. The story is complex. So much so that explaining it and keeping this relatively spoiler free would be extremely difficult. But the general set up is self proclaimed mad scientist, Okabe, has discovered that he can send texts back in time and that he's the only one who realizes the changes. Him and his friends are then thrust (unknowingly) into the early stages of the time machine race. As the story progresses we learn more about Okabe, his friends, and what they all do in the future. As he progresses with his new found power, he discovers that some things are better left unchanged, and others are worth risking everything to alter. As wonderful as the story is, the true strength of the show are the characters. Each one brings a unique personality to the table. As the story progresses, even the most trivial of characters begin to have major implications. The cast has everything and everyone is important in some way or the other. Each character gets significant development which relates to the story. While I don't really tend to care about this, I have to mention how well acted the show is. Especially Okabe. There is a scene late into the show where he gives one of his patented speeches where he breaks down crying. If you didn't know you were watching something special before, you do at that moment. Steins;Gate, while it was slow out of the gate, picked up speed and never looked back. A charming cast, great story, and one of the greatest emotional rollercoasters since Clannad. SG is a true timeless masterpiece.

delilah.smith - 2013-06-28 08:18:32

Steins:Gate Review Pros:

• Really good plot about time traveling.
• Very fun characters, especially Okabe.
• It can be VERY funny at times.
• Great oveall production values (and a good dub IMO).

• The first half is nowhere near as good, and if you don't find it funny/like the characters a lot, you won't like the show much.
• It's a visual novel, so the storytelling is very similar to that of a visual novel (amd it feels like a harem).
• Some characters are annoying, like Ferris.
• Many of the jokes require above average knowledge in the otaku and internet culture, so not everyone will find this funny (many jokes will fall flat).

The story of Steins;Gate is a little confusing at times and does take a while to really get going. The first 11 episode are essentially buildup for the roller coaster ride you will go on in the last half. The good thing about the first half, is that it is pretty enjoyable in its own right. Particularly because it is very funny, so long as you get the jokes. Some of the jokes are universal, like the sexual innuendos, but some require some internet and otaku knowledge. But the second half is where things get serious. Like Butterfly Effect serious. Thats when the story picks up into full gear and things that didn't seem of much importance get brought up again and become plot devices. A truly amazing plot. I also have to mention the romance in this show, which was very good IMO. In fact, that couple is one of my favorite anime couples because of how well they compliment each other. The only thing stopping this show from getting a perfect score is the fact that the first half isn't amazing (compared to the latter half) and it follows a very visual novel kind of format, which can get a tad boring in the first half. I will give props to the OVA episode, as I felt it gave a better ending and answered some questions that the "real" ending left open.

This is a very memorable cast of characters. You have the mad scientist Okabe, who is one of my favorite characters ever, his lovely assistant Kurisu, who compliments him very well, the always lovable Mayuri, and the Hacker/Otaku Daru. However, there are many other important characters, like Suzuha, Ruka, Faris, and Moeka. Overall I really like this cast a lot, as each one of them is funny in their own way and have their own little quirks. Each one also gets their fair share of development, especially Okabe. I can spend all day talking about the characters and it wouldn't do them justice, you have to watch them. They all have their own little quirks and personality that just can't be copied by anyone. You might find some characters annoying at first, like Ferris and mayuri depening on how much moe you can take, so the cast definatly isn't perfect. While some people hate on the dub, I personally liked it, although I will admit it is inferior to the sub voices for the most part. I say try it dubbed, and if you like it, stick with it.

The soundtrack for this show was just great. I really loved it. The opening and ending songs were some of the best I have heard, and I like that they didn't change halfway through like other shows. The rest of the music in the show was pretty memorable in it's own right. Nice and clam during the slice of life parts and suspenseful during the dramatic parts. Truly beautiful.The show is also nicely animated, and is very fluid. The colors are dull, but seem to fit the atmosphere better that way. The character designs are from the visual novel, but each character has a distinctive look to them.

One of my personal favorite series ever, and with good reason. A great cast of characters and an amazing plot (that isn't without its flaws though). I can't think of a way to improve this show, because it is just that good already.

phowell - 2013-06-16 08:40:59

I don't often rate anything a 10. I believe 10's are reserved for anime that have a really great story that keep you thinking about it for hours upon hours after just because its that thought-provoking.I initially didn't understand why my friend recommended me this anime at first. She said it was cute. But I believe this anime does everything right. All the elements that make a great story, the plot, the art, the character, and the sound all create one of the most immersive series that I can remember. For me, the story becomes very serious and engrossing. This anime does that by throwing constant plot developments that leave you hungering for more. I found the pacing really perfect. Some of the repetitive stuff toward of the middle of the anime was really tortuous but because the character himself was being tortured. And just when you couldn't take any more, the characters finally make some progress and either the mystery grows deeper or the stakes grow higher. I keep thinking it would've been so easy for the writer to keep repeating the same formula like Quantum Leap but I believe the plot was very well thought out, making you think about everything that happens from the beginning of the anime to the finish, with layers that you peel back. It is very clear to me the writer must've gone through the plot several times from different angles. Besides the deep multi-layered story, I also found the characters quite loveable and very easy to empathize. The characters have to make heart-wrenching decisions and the stakes are so high. I found myself ready to tear up because by the middle of the series, you learn more about the characters and their past. Perhaps this is because the main character is really such a protective guy. When you put yourself in the character's situation, you might ask yourself, "would you change what you did in the past like they did?" And you go through it with the characters with them.Although in the beginning I enjoyed but was somewhat puzzled and almost getting tired of the constant crazy antics and mannerisms of the characters, by the end, I was sucked into what would happen to the characters and how the story would resolve. In the end, I found myself enjoying the anime because of the seriousness of the situations the characters found themselves in and not just the characters themselves.Additionally the characters were all so lovable. The dynamics create such funny chemistry between the characters and you end up loving characters for their little quirks in personality and expressions or least at empathizing for the bad guys and girls. For the main lab characters, I found all their decisions at the end to leave me in awe and appreciation. I would envy knowing such wonderful characters as these in real life. And the anime and voice actors definitely bring them to life. I feel that this anime never dwells on anyone theme for too long, and constantly moves the story forward and revisits it later on. Everything has a consequence and I feel almost as if every second of the early episodes and later all were all so important to the entire story- not a second of that anime was wasted filler. Perhaps this was because the theme was on time travel but I definitely don't mind a deep anime such as this. With long shows like Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, having such depth in such a short series was very refreshing.If you enjoyed the possibilities of Quantum Leap, combined with the consequences of the Butterfly Effect all wrapped in cute anime characters, I believe you'll definitely enjoy the ride this show gives you but done in grand anime moe style, with characters you'll learn to love or hate, and with laughs and heart-felt "aw's" along the way. So yes my friend was right, it was cute all the way up till the end. No other story medium can do that as well as anime and still be taken seriously.

feil.clovis - 2013-03-15 03:47:02

Tutturu~! 

The genre of Steins;Gate, from what I observed, was Sci-Fi, Thriller, Drama, and Romance. The demography reaches out to both Shonen and Seinen crowds. The concepts of time traveling, time paradox, time looping, time leaping, and the butterfly effect were all presented very well. They were explained with a fluent, consistent logic and the concepts are supported by using time lines (in the show they call it world lines, when really it’s almost saying “parallel universe”.) Some may criticize Okabe’s ability to retain his memories through his “Reading Steiner”, which I personally choose to ignore for reasons I will say at the end of the review.
The setting is in modern day society and the conflict is between our main characters and a secret organization called SERN. The whole SERN conflict shows this kind of Terminator-feel to the overall plot and Okabe is basically John Connor in retrospect to the beloved Terminator series. Overall, the story is greatly supported by the several types of conflicts and plot progression being utilized all throughout the series. Steins;Gate also consists of addicting suspense that supplements the story with a fluent, chain-linked consistency that makes you crawl back for more—a well done job.

Characters are usually all too static in anime, rather than dynamic such as those you find in some Hollywood produced dramas. Here in this particular series, there is a gold mine of dynamic-range for personality and human-quality. A lot of the characters share this quality and all have some elements that any one person could relate to somehow. 

Let’s start with Okabe Rintarou. He is just this loveable, hilarious mad scientist that starts off as a comic relief by acting as a mad conspiracy theorist. There are several attempts in different series that attempt the main character to act as a comic relief; Okabe accomplishes this attempt with ease such as characters from Gintama would capture attention. Albeit, the Engrish and Kurisu jokes could get old for some(I personally never get tired of his Engrish due to the excellent voice acting by Miyamo, Mamoru,) he has his frequent moments where you can’t help but to burst into hysterics. Besides the comic relief, he also has the strongest human quality. He shows a unique dynamic in such a way that nobody would expect: at first he is a seemingly arrogant college student that is a flamboyant conspiracy theorist, then later on he develops many different states of mind and expresses a diverse range of emotion/mood, finally he resets back to his normal self and shows empowerment. Okabe is by far one of the strongest characters I have ever analyzed in an anime title.

Ah, a fan favorite: Makise Kurisu. She is as tsundere as they come—in a good way though! The presentation of her tsun side definitely shows the dere in moderation; they definitely kept this cliché at an appropriate level—making her, in my opinion, one of the better tsunderes in the anime world. As a main character, she too has a dynamic personality that develops as well. Even the tsundere part of her personality supplements her character development, like all “dere” types should accomplish. Her dynamic spectrum is unique to the tsundere type: she appears at first to be a stubborn know-it-all, and then they utilize the tsun-tsun personality to such consistency that later on it makes sense that she’d eventually show some weakness. She too later becomes an empowered character and my respect for this is inexpressible. 

Tuturu~! Mayushi is certainly the clearest example and definition of “cute”. Hit-or-miss, give-or-take, you can’t really get pissed off at her character mainly due to the fact that she can be anybody’s friend at any cost. Being the role of the “childhood friend” of Okabe, she shows an excellent example of exactly what friendship is. She is always so happy and optimistic, and then becomes somewhat of a push over because of her pure maiden self—always too kind to really voice herself unless it was urgent (this exact point here is what drives the plot for half of the series with Okabe.) Lastly, she shows her dedication to keep true to her friendship to motivate a depressed Okabe and return him to his original character with her traits alone. Head-to-toe, inside-and-out, she brings joy to all viewers at some point. 

SUPA-HACKA DARU!!! Itaru fills in the role of the typical otaku, with the twist of being a super hacker. He is a fan of another main character Feiris NyanNyan and shows his otaku qualities through his worship of her. The majority of his character is utilized as comic relief. He is, however funny and loveable. Outside of his perverted sense of humor at times, he does express emotional value at times such as: shock, sadness, and even shows constant determination as technician and hacker. 

Here we have Suzuha Amane, a fun and high-spirited girl that would never seem to have anything mysterious about her until after the plot develops. Simple words I can say to describe her is that she is a curious character. She is a tomboy in all aspects, she rocks the look and has the swag and cuteness factor to pull it off. She too has her human qualities: she is viewed with this enthusiastic persona, then is an ever so weary and shows threatening body language, then shows the same determination that Daru has, then becomes stressed, and then back to her normal self. Here we start to see a trend of the characters all returning to their normal states…

Feiris NyanNyan~ She is simply the other moe factor alongside Mayushi and plays the role of the ever-so cute neko girl. A fun, energetic, cute, lovable, and playful girl puts the sugar to the spice in this show. Her trend for personality is less dynamic than the rest of the characters: starts off as a cute, playful neko girl, then begins to break down emotionally and falls in love, then returns to normal later on.

“Urushibara Ruka. The mannerisms and voice of a woman... No... More feminine than any woman. But he's a guy. Taller than Mayuri, but so very thin... But he's a guy. Looks great in a miko outfit... But he's a guy. It's already twilight And yet, it's so hot. The cicadas are crying. But... He's a guy.” –Okabe. Okabe pretty much hit the bullseye on Ruka’s entire character—the dangerous bishonen. The moe factor is deceitful, yet so powerfully cute. He is kind, shy and awfully self-conscious overall. There are slight dynamics for Ruka such as playing shy, later sucking up and becoming a bit brave for once, experiences heart break, then follows the trend of returning to normal. A bit flatter than the rest of the characters, but still is a very entertaining character.

Moeka is the last person I wanted to cover, note my sarcasm. She is the fan base’s least favorite due to her involvement in the plot. She plays the role of the popular pretty girl, although it seems as though she acts like a mute… odd combination there for sure. She is easily and reasonably a hate-able character because of her total structure and involvement, just everything about her can give her hate—yet this is why she receives so much attention from the fans. She is interesting; however, that she has this psychological issue from the obvious attachment to her cellular device. Even she can receive love from some fans due to her “emo” part of her. Her human qualities are a bit odd and she could come straight out of an Edgar Allen Poe tale: she comes off as a dandere at first, then turns absolutely insane, then goes back to her dandere self. It’s a bit bland compared to even Ruka, but she receives the right amount of attention anyways from her demograph.

The character designs are well done, original and very contemporary. The movement and flow of the characters are flawless as well as the background and scenery. The concept illustrations of world lines and such are presented with amazing touch without the use of any computer graphics. Over all ten out of ten for art.

The voice acting is excellent, emotionally moving, adorable, and unpredictable with the dialogue alone. The emotional drive that comes from the voice actors at certain parts are so well done, that their contribution to the entertainment is one of the key factors of a superb feeling a viewer may get while watching the show.
I noticed that most of the time, the music is either very low or non-existent. I find this to be appropriate for this show and not some cheesy xylophone sounding music during casual moments. During the softer, more melodramatic times they sound a piano piece that utterly captures, raptures your attention and emotion and manipulates the atmosphere and feel of the moment. The score is excellent and consistent.

The opening song “Hacking to the Gate” by Kanako Itou is an anime masterpiece in of itself. Here’s why I say this: the beats are set at an acceptable tone/volume, the guitars are kept at a constant rhythm that gives a good name to J-Rock for those who are especially unfamiliar to the genre, the vocals are pretty good (the vibrato isn’t heavily used in her voice, her tone and pitch are stunning, and she has a very powerful voice—I think I just became a fan of hers.) The ending song “Toki Tsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku by Yui Sakakibara” is another appropriate song for this series that starts off with a soft instrumental that should really get you on the tip of your chair, awaiting for something epic. It is a mellow song and interesting at the same time.

Funny how the genre of Steins;Gate is “thriller”; I was thrilled in the sense of utter excitement. My eyes were literally glued to the screen as I, while doing my usual Otakuthon, watched each episode with the suspense one would have when receiving X-Mas presents. There were many moments where I would burst out into laughter, rewinding those parts obnoxiously. There were times where I simply balled out crying, tearing up so much that I had to pause the show in order to finish crying up a river. There were also times that had me blush for how utterly cute and adorable some of the scenes were—be it romantic or moe. Even as a guy, I found a lot of the material awesome.

There is my full criticism and review of Steins;Gate. I gave it a ten-out-of-ten status mostly because of the emotional roller coaster I had with it. It isn’t about “how believable” an anime may be no matter how close to reality it is trying to resemble. We all watch and seek entertainment simply to be entertained. Albeit there are many, upon many things that needs criticism. I just didn’t feel that this particular show deserved hardly any criticism, so my overflowing hormones force me to over look some of these in-depth details. Can’t wait for the specials and many more things to come along from this series! El. Psy. Congroo.