Review of Steins;Gate 0

Man, my feelings toward this anime- though mostly positive- are extremely complicated, which isn’t helped by the fact that I played the visual novel first. So get your popcorn, cuz this review’s gonna be a while! Also, there will be spoilers regarding the original Steins;Gate in this review, since you’re supposed to have played/watched it first anyway. Story- 9/10: So first, I need to establish context for this anime since no official description of it helps in that regard. Remember episode 23 of the original series, when Okarin was about to give up on saving Kurisu? Right then and there, he obtained a video D-Mail fromhimself 15 years in the future who disclosed the instructions to reach the ultimate happy worldline, Steins Gate. Steins;Gate 0 is THAT Okarin’s story- the Okarin who will have sent that video- picking up from a 3-4 month timeskip after the whole incident with him having murdered his loved one. Technically, Steins;Gate 0 is the second half of the full Steins;Gate story that was skipped over in the original, due to Steins;Gate 0’s own plot cancelling itself out (from OG Okarin’s perspective) through the video D-Mail having been sent.

Right away there is the issue of the visual novel’s own structure. The original Steins;Gate was really easy to adapt since it was extremely linear for a traditional VN, and most of the endings were crap. Steins;Gate 0 is more like that type of VN which goes on several diverging and significantly different paths, most of which are integral for the overarching narrative. So, White Fox didn’t JUST have to worry about truncating the walls of text, but ALSO re-ordering the ENTIRE plot structure to work in a linear, cohesive manner.

And for the most part, they succeeded.

The events play out extremely well. Heck, they went the extra mile and adapted the various tie-in drama CDs and one of the few instances of genuinely good anime original content as well. They even fixed a good number of issues present in the original. Simulcasting this show was a blast, even as a VN player, because there was still some room for throwing me for a loop.

But it wasn’t perfect. There were still a COUPLE of scenes that just do not mesh together as one linear arc, no matter how you slice it. It was still probably the best case scenario, so I didn’t mind those incoherent hiccups that much.

Another thing about Steins;Gate 0 in general is that science takes a backseat in this one. By either some dumb miracle, meticulous planning, or plot convenience, there’s nothing new to learn, science-wise in this series. I know the description alludes to some kind of AI program, but that program is made using the same technology that went into the time leap machine from the original series. In fact, it’s even simpler than that contraption was! The real issue is that we never get to learn how they actually got to build a true, physically working time machine, so that one is forever filed under the “space magic” category.

And as for how they handled the VN’s notoriously loose and anti-climactic ultimate ending, let me just say… that they actually freakin’ did it! As in, they did it WELL!

Characters- 9/10: The characters are where Steins;Gate 0 shines (for the most part). We get to see full closure to Okarin and others’ character arcs, and a couple of newcomers.

Okarin in this series is now a “sad scientist”, a dejected Okarin who turns a blind eye to the impending doom of the Beta worldline. We also have a new form of Suzuha, who is much colder due to war, compared to the Alpha worldlines’ Part-Time Warrior. In addition, we see Daru actually taking on a much more serious role than before. The characters are amazing* and it’ll make you realize who the true Best Girl of Steins;Gate is.

*I put this footnote here because the “amazing” isn’t ENTIRELY true. First off, we have three of Mayuri’s friends who were only just names in the original, actually appearing. They’re bricks. Even though one of them is Suzuha’s future mom, they don’t really do anything of much importance. Also, due to the nature of the adaptation, a couple of characters who are legitimately likeable in the VN are now either crap, or they end up having no purpose AT ALL. (Poor Judy…)

Art- Budget/10: This is where my issues start to arise with the anime adaptation of Steins;Gate 0. The 2011 anime blew me away with an artstyle that wasn’t quite as detailed as the VN, but still had a Steins;Gate-like film noir style that I loved. There was also a lot of brilliant post-production with the lighting as well as a lot of smooth animation uncharacteristic of most TV anime. Even in 2018, it hasn’t aged a day.

And yet, a follow-up that AIRED in 2018 already shows more age than the original. Look, I’m not blaming the production team. I can tell that they tried. They were likely lacking in funds. It’s jarring how cheap parts of this show look.

However, it’s mostly jarring only to VN players. The VN had some jaw-dropping artwork that make most of the anime’s renditions of these scenes look like crap. But again, if you didn’t even SEE that artwork to begin with, it shouldn’t bother you much (at least they executed THAT scene well).

But even from an anime-only perspective, there are clear hiccups (*cough* episodes 17-18 *cough*). Although the art gets significantly better towards the bitter end, I know that the prospect of having to watch 80% of a crappy anime just to get to the good stuff is not a popular one.

These hiccups will bother you depending on how much you care about the visual presentation of anime.

Sound- 10/10: At least THIS is the same. We all know these seiyuus, and they’re excellent. Their performances (at least, of the ones who were central characters) were absolutely impeccable. It’s kind of sad that this anime is probably going to be their final performances as these characters… I wonder how they feel about that prospect right now. But if it IS their last time, then they definitely went out in a blaze of glory!

The background music is- unlike the inconsistency of the first anime- entirely VN soundtracks. That’s good, since the original music is stellar to begin with, and White Fox knew as much.

The new anisongs composed for this adaptation aren’t bad either. While no “Hacking to the Gate”, the new OP “Fatima” feels much more urgent due to the usage of a ticking clock throughout the track- a clock that’s ticking down to the inevitable start of World War III (at least I’m assuming that was the intention of it).

Zwei’s “Last Game” is gut-wrenching, especially when you see a million Kyoumas shatter into pieces. Kurisu’s seiyuu also performs a techno-rock song called “World Line” which is also pretty good. However, these two ED’s should’ve been flip-flopped, given the circumstances of the first and second cours (with the latter being way more emotional). Or, they should’ve kept “Last Game”.

Overall- 9/10: This anime had so much potential to surpass the source material, and it arguably DOES in those last four episodes. But I’m sorry, the artwork and the lower quality of the first 19 episodes just really jarred me. The two versions of S;G 0 have very different strengths and weaknesses to where I would say that they become equally viable. I didn’t mind that the VN had plot holes without the drama CDs since most (key word: most) of it could be derived from context anyway.

However, I will insist that you get your Bachelor’s degree in Steins;Gate-ology. There were so many comments and criticisms on the boards when this was airing from people who clearly didn’t get the rudimentary basics of Steins;Gate, and they made me cringe. There are also a lot of subtle call backs that you will need to acknowledge in order to fully enjoy and understand the show.

Regardless, this is the second half of the Steins;Gate story, which gives full closure to the characters that the original was not able to provide. Just ask yourself, “How much do I care about the visual presentation of anime?” If you do care, then maybe you should stray away from the anime version and play the VN instead. And if you ALREADY played it, then watch the anime since it’s still really well executed in its own unique way (although it still looks like crap).