Review of Steins;Gate 0
"The universe has a beginning, but no end. — Infinity. Stars, too, have their own beginnings, but their own power results in their destruction. — Finite. It is those who possess wisdom who are the greatest fools. History has shown us this. You could say that this is the final warning from God to those who resist." -Okabe Rintarou Steins;Gate 0 is an adaptation of the visual novel of the same name, a follow-up to the generally-considered modern sci-fi masterpiece, Steins;Gate. Okabe Rintarou, a now cynical and depressed man, has thrown away his chuunibyou persona, Hououin Kyouma. To save his loved ones, he must defy fate, a conceptthat he has lost all hope of.
So, the question is, does Steins;Gate 0 live up to its predecessor? No. No, it does not. Is it still a solid show? Yes. Yes, it is.
Much unlike the original series, 0 starts off with high energy in the first few episodes. Its beginning is exciting, and Amadeus brings up countless possibilities of where the show could go in the future.
0 also ends quite outstandingly, bringing back the high tension and satisfaction payoff very reminiscent to the original. As a quite emotionally poignant ending, I have close to no complaints.
The problem lies with the middle of the series. It's just so, so, so boring. It was honestly very hard for me to get through. Many episodes introduced plot points that just went nowhere at all. There was just so many random things happening, that it felt like NOTHING was happening. I think that this mainly lies fault with the virtual novel, as it is very hard to include all of the routes in a 24 episode show, but I digress. If the middle was just shortened and plot points were handled better, this series could've easily become one of my favorites to rival the original. Unfortunately, it falls short.
Fortunately, other than Makise Kurisu (bless her soul), all of the three other main characters get much more character development and characterization. Whereas the original series portrayed Daru, Mayuri, and Okabe's happy and motivated facets of their character, 0 provides the anger, frustration, and sadness of all three of them. Rather unfortunately, numerous side characters do not get the same treatment. Shiina Kagari is an annoyingly flat character after she gains her memories back. Ruka and Faris get even less development than the original show, in which they had very little development in the first place. The villains have the same problem as the original as well, with their motivations simply being, "to have power". The only exceptions to the side character rule are Suzuha and Maho, one of which is a completely new character.
On the technical side, I have a few complaints. The animation is fine. However, action scenes have very big problems. At close range, several military-trained professionals fail to hit a single target. A character is able to get shot around 8 times, and still is able to move. Your suspension of disbelief needs to go through the roof during these scenes. Of course, these are just nitpicks.
The OST is amazing. Its predecessor already had a great OST. Steins;Gate 0 is able to take that and improve on it even more. Its atmospheric tracks generally do the trick, and the Gate of Steiner just blows me away.
In the end, should you watch this show? Yes. If you were a fan of the original, this is a must-watch. Although you need to grumble through several lackluster episodes and unneeded side characters, the payoff is once again great (once again, much like the original).
I just wish Okabe went, "I am mad scientist. It's so cool. Sunuvabich" one more time. That would've instantly propelled the series to a 10, I'm just saying.