Review of Steins;Gate 0

I'm a huge fan of the original Steins;Gate series. Loved the plot, loved the characters, its a masterpiece for me. Steins;Gate 0 is a great anime in its own right. That being said, I didn't quite enjoy it as much as the original. I know I know, I should judge this anime by its own merits but it's hard for me not to compare the two since they're so closely entwined. It is what it is. I understand that we have to exchange Hououin Kyouma for sad, depressed Okabe. And I understand that Makise herself won't be in this anime much. Doesn't make their absences any less noticeable. Theinclusion of new characters like Maho, Kagari, Dr. Leskinen, along with a few others did much to flesh out the show and contribute to the plot. The added screentime and backstory given to established characters such as Suzuha (who is one of my favorite characters) makes Steins;Gate 0 worth the watch alone. Still, the cast for this season just didn't have the chemistry of the original Steins;Gate for me. And while I understand that is probably unavoidable, my love for this show still suffered because of it.

Now the plot of Steins;Gate 0 is solid. Don't wanna give away too much because even a little might spoil the show, so I'll just say it takes a different approach than the original. Things pick up much faster in this series, however, the momentum is more like a roller coaster than anything else. Instead of a slow build up followed by a crazy plunge that continues to the end of the season, we get dramatic highs followed by periods of, well, normalcy. That isn't to say the final stretch of this show isn't hard-hitting, but I would say it doesn't match the intensity and cohesiveness of the original. Especially the ending, which I have no shame in saying left me absolutely confused until Google cleared things up for me. Somewhat.

Steins;Gate 0 is a much watch for fans of the series. If you haven't yet, you slackin. But if you weren't a fan of Steins;Gate before, I'm pretty sure this series isn't gonna change your mind. I myself enjoyed it alot...but it's not a 10 for me.