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Year: 2011
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Psychological
Episodes: 24
Rating: 5 out of 5
Time Travel. A topic that we all would love to do and try. Who wouldn’t want to go back into the past and change something they thought would be beneficial to them? Who wouldn’t want to have the winning lottery numbers when the jackpot was over a billion dollars? Which one of us would like to go back in time and create the mega-corporations of Apple with iTunes or Disney with Star Wars and Marvel? How many of us would go back and stop a significant event from happening? Time travel has always been a substantial influence on human society. Whether we want to admit it or not, we would all like to change something in our past? Everyone has some type of reason to go back in the past. What we genuinely don’t consider are the ramifications of our decisions. How the slightest thing can change a significant outcome. We always think that it won’t be that bad.
In 1985, H.G Wells wrote and published The Time Machine, which popularized the concept of time travel by using a vehicle that allows the main character to travel forwards and backward in time. Time travel has also spawned many movies from funny comedies like the Back to the Future series to action movies like The Terminator series and Edge of Tomorrow to dark movies like Donnie Darko, 12 Monkeys, and The Butterfly Effect.
Stein’s Gate is an anime that explores the very subject of time travel to its fullest. An anime that shows what really happens when one designs a time machine and thinks they are doing good, but ultimately loses control of the outcomes. An anime that shows the extreme impact it has on one’s psyche with the choices they have made.
Overview
Steins; Gate is a story that follows the main character, Rintaro Okabe, in the summer of 2010 taking place in Akihabara. Rintaro is what you call an eccentric, goofy individual who proclaims himself as a mad scientist. He is actually somewhat of a dimwit if you asked me. He loves to go by the pseudonym Kyoma Hooin, which no one really gets nor cares too much about. Once again, he is a dimwit that believes he’s a genius. Rintaro mainly spends his time with the lovely Mayuri Shiina and expert hacker, Itaru “Daru” Hashida, who make up his “lab members.”
Mayuri is Rintaro’s loveable childhood friend, tries to see the best in all situations, and, when she arrives, has by far the best greeting for a character ever. Every time she appears on the screen, you know you’re going to get an awesome greeting. Itaru “Daru” Hashida is the lab’s experience hacker who has known Rintaro since high school. Daru frequently says things that could be sexual harassment. Actually, they are sexual harassment statements. Good thing, the lab doesn’t have an HR department. Daru has a strong love for computer characters.
The story kicks off pretty slow with the first episode. Two important things happen in the first episode. One is pretty easy to spot, while the other is pretty tough. If you aren’t aware of it, you will completely miss it, but that is for you to find out. During the anime, somehow and someway, Rintaro, Daru, and Mayuri make a time machine out of a microwave and a cell phone. Yes, you heard it correctly, a microwave and cell phone! The classic name they give their device is Phone Microwave. Who would’ve thought it would be that easy. The best part about it is it turns bananas into green jelly-like substances and burns chicken nuggets to a crisp.
Getting back on topic, throughout the series, Rintaro meets a variety of supporting characters that add to the overall greatness of the show. The first and main one is Kurisu Makise, who is Rintaro’s “rival” even though she is beyond smarter than him. She actually makes Rintaro look dumb quite a few times with her intelligence. Through her wisdom, she helps perfect the Rintaro time machine. Rintaro learns how the phone microwave actually works and what he can and cannot do. As the series progresses, a variety of characters use the phone microwave to change something in the past.
With each change, something significant happens that only Rintaro can remember for some reason odd reason. As the changes keep happening, Rintaro soon starts to regret the decisions his friends had made. Everything seems fine when BOOM! You are hit with by a freight train on epic proportions. One that would leave your mouth open. What is the true depth of the pain and consequences one person goes through to change a particular event? With the pain of having to go back and change everything, he did before for the betterment of the future?
Review:
Steins; Gate is an all-time great anime. I would put it in my top 10. It is a must-watch anime before you leave this planet. THIS IS AN EPIC ANIME!!! Steins; Gate has many qualities that I like in an anime that adds to the overall appeal of the anime.
The story is fantastic in all ways. The storyline is first very complex and compelling. In the beginning, I must admit that it is prolonged and somewhat dull. I almost didn’t watch it after three episodes, but I decided to keep with it, and I do not regret it. One of the major positives of the storyline is that it provides real science applications about time travel. During the first couple of episodes, when the time machine is being made, some sound scientific theories about time traveling and the effects it might have. It actually makes you think and see time travel in a new way. One of the main arguments that was used was the Butterfly effect, where something minor or small in the beginning can have a significant impact later on. Another theory that was used was the idea of time paradoxes. Both of these combine theories set the stage for an epic storyline. One might become confused by all the theories because the characters do go in-depth with them. The anime also does a great of making the story suspenseful while adding a few twists to keep your attention at the highest level. One of the first twists happens in the first episode, and you really don’t know about it until the end. Everything moves at a smooth pace that speeds up when everything falls apart.
The downside of this anime is that it has a slow beginning, and it throws so much information at you. The story does take a while to get going. The development of the time machine takes a while to get going along with the actual storyline. As the group comes together, tons of scientific information is thrown at you that makes it somewhat difficult to follow. Thank you for Wikipedia.
Steins; Gate also does a fantastic job with their characters and overall development. The development of Rintaro is superb. When Rintaro is first introduced, he tells everyone that he is a crazed scientist. He even has the crazed scientist look. His hair is all over the place like he just woke up from bed, has small stubbles on his face, and walks around wearing a lab coat. He even calls out his pseudonym Kyoma Hooin when he thinks no one is paying attention to him. He also has this habit of talking to himself. In the beginning, he tries his best to be an all-wise person. He makes light-hearted comments to keep morale up, but as his world falls apart, he becomes deeply troubled by what he witnessed in the middle of the anime. As the series progresses, he once again becomes a person full of hope, trying to save all his friends. Rintaro’s personality and drive are what truly drives the story along. Rintaro’s interactions with other characters are quite funny. The best is when he is talking about Ruka Urushibara. His inner dialogue is perfect: “Ruka Urushibara. Delicate as an orchid, fair as a cherry blossom, the personification of feminine grace, and a dude. Tall as a willow, slender as a reed, a dude. Radiant and shrine vestments. Dude. The sun dips low in the rosy sky. Cicadas buzz. Ruka is a dude.”
Kurisu Makise is the main female character. She is the complete opposite of Rintaro. She is distinguished, presents herself is a very professional manner, and doesn’t talk crazy. She is actually an18-year-old neuroscience researcher at an American university. Once again, the complete opposite of Rintaro.
Then there is the beautiful Mayuri Shiina. Mayuri is a very unique character. At first, I really didn’t know her purpose in the story. Every character in the lab is beyond smart, and she is a complete airhead. Sometimes I wondered how she became friends with Rintaro. While everyone else has their purpose, Mayuri is the opposite from all the science stuff. She enjoys creating cosplay costumes and works at a maid café. When she approaches someone, she has the BEST greeting ever, “Tuturuuu.” As the story progresses, her purpose is to bring a light-hearted feel to the story.
The animation is a strong point in this anime. One of the best examples is when Rintaro or someone uses the Phone Microwave. The colors and scenes go haywire showing the effects of something happening. It displays the perfect representation of time going into chaos. At the beginning of the series, the anime is drawn with bright colors. Characters are drawn with bright colors representing the summer season and happy times. As the series progress around Rintaro and each change is made, the scenes become a little bit darker until tragedy hits. Characters are drawn with darker tones, along with many of the scenes being dark. Rintaro is depicted as a man who is exhausted while trying to save the ones he loves the most.
Stein’s Gate is honestly a top 10 anime that everyone should watch. With a tablespoon of character development, a teaspoon of theories on time travel, several cups of gripping, dramatic and action-packed storyline, and several dashes of twists and surprises and you get the perfect recipe for an anime that is absolutely out of this time!
