I'm writing this review because although I didn't ultimately enjoy the show (I'm giving it a 3), I found the other negative reviews of this show didn't reflect my reasons for it. I'm gonna keep this free of spoilers for this show, but the whole show is an alternate timeline for the 2011 Steins;Gate (hereafter referred to as S;G1), so there might be spoilers for that show. Regardless of my clearly negative opinions on this show's quality, you should absolutely not be watching this show if you haven't seen the '11 show, and I'm sure even the most die-hard fans of this one would agree.
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I've generally tried to keep this review as free as possible of spoilers for S;G1, but S;G0 is a kind of "what-if" based on what might've happened if the second-to-last episode of S;G1 had gone slightly differently. As such, it's kinda hard to talk about S;G0 without talking about at least a few major events of S;G1.
Also, I understand that this show is an adaptation of some kind of source material, but I can't comment on its quality as an adaptation, since I didn't even know that source material existed until after I'd finished the show, and I haven't sought it out.
Anyways, on to the review:
This is one of the most disappointing shows I've watched in a while. I mean that chiefly as a complaint, but perhaps on some level as a compliment, or at least a sign of respect. There are plenty of shows out there with no interesting ideas and 1-dimensional stock characters and dime-a-dozen plots, shows that never suggest a hint of originality or promise and never surprise you. If S;G0 was one of those shows, I wouldn't have bothered writing this review. I would've given it a 3, closed the MAL app, and only remembered this show as a crappy spinoff to a vastly superior one. This review is a result of my frustration with the show, but that frustration comes from the gap between what the show could've been and what it was.
But this show is disappointing, in the sense that it shows far more promise than it delivers on. It introduces an impressive number of story elements or characters or themes which *could* have been interesting, but for the most part either rushes them or drops them entirely. I can earnestly say there's at least one character in this show, probably 2, who I'd watch an entire spinoff season about, because those characters are *on paper* really interesting ideas, but never really got the time to shine that they deserved.
ART/SOUND: 6 - Fair
Firstly, I labeled the art and sound a 6, which the website says means "fair". These never stood out to me, with the sole exception of a scene near the end where they bring back a musical motif I recognized from S;G1. I never stopped to think, "Oh, that looks/sounds neat," but I also never stopped to think, "Oh, that looks/sounds like ass." I think "fair" is an appropriate rating for something that neither wowed nor bothered me.
STORY: 3 - Poor
The story I gave a 3. I can earnestly say this show brought me to a greater appreciation of S;G1, because S;G1 is one of those rare few stories that revolves around time travel where I never felt overwhelmed or fatigued by having to sort through the various rules of time travel. I watched S;G0 show with a friend a few months after I'd watched S;G1 for the first time (he'd seen it a few years ago), and we both quickly found the rules of time travel in S;G0 inscrutable. It's quite possible that a person with an encyclopedic memory of S;G1 could watch this show and follow along without too much difficulty, but my friend and I were quickly confounded by this show, unable to keep up with its rules. I grant that this is perhaps "operator error," but I still feel it's appropriate to say that this show's plot can get very confusing very fast, even if you're trying to keep up with it as it comes. What's more, large chunks of this story's plot are incomprehensible if you don't understand these minutiae, as opposed to S;G1's pretty straightforward plot of "We have to change the past to stop the bad thing from happening."
Aside from being confusing, the plot also has severe pacing issues. It introduces many plot elements, but for large stretches of the show, it's unclear what, if anything, the conflict is. Even when it feels like the tension is rising, or some new problem has come up that sounds urgent, the show feels sluggish in actually addressing this new problem. What's more, S;G0 will regularly introduce what seems like they should be major twists, or at least questions, which it then either resolves with one line in passing or by completely dropping the points altogether. This is made all the more frustrating because several of the plot points it introduces had me initially very intrigued. This is a large part of why I say the show is, overall, disappointing.
One thing I will say in defense of the story is that because -in this version of events- the battle lines are drawn in different places, we get to see the villains of S;G1 interacting with the heroes in different roles. This seems like a natural enough segue into talking about characters.
CHARACTER: 4 - Decent
This is admittedly a point where your mileage (or kilometerage, if that's your preferred unit of measurement) might vary. Since I'm assuming you're familiar with S;G1, I'll address the returning characters first, followed by the newer additions.
If you enjoyed Daru in S;G1, then you'll be happy to know that Daru is Daru-ier than ever. If you enjoyed Faris in S;G1, then you'll be happy to know that Faris is Faris-ier than ever. I could never stand Daru, and found Faris tolerable in S;G1, so I thought both characters were annoying in S;G0. Mayuri is also, in my opinion, kinda ruined near the end by a late-season twist. Ruka is... well, pretty much the same, as is Suzuha.
Moeka plays a larger role in this story, which I honestly enjoyed. One of the things I genuinely appreciated about this show was that with SERN no longer the enemies of the Lab, we were able to see villains of S;G1 interact with the Lab in a different way. Though I was generally not a fan of the conclusion of this story, one of my favorite parts of it was getting to see the Rounders on the side of the good guys.
Finally, Okabe's personality has changed significantly from S;G1, as could be expected. The lesson he took away from the events of S;G1 was that meddling with the past is just a recipe for disaster, so he's hung up the Mad Scientist persona and ordered the destruction of the microwave, becoming distant and depressed. The main conflict of the show is Okabe stubbornly refusing to try to save the world while WW3 is rapidly approaching. Though his motivations are understandable, I thought he came across more often as petulant and stubborn as he insisted on not even trying to save his friends while the situation is quickly deteriorating.
This story also introduces several new characters. Some of these are interesting concepts, but in my opinion, they generally don't get enough development to have arcs as satisfying as they could've been. Again: disappointing. Still, if they made a whole spinoff season centered on Maho, I'd probably watch it. She is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting character concepts in S;G1 or S;G0, and deserved far more attention than the show ultimately gave her. She's also one of the few characters in S;G0 who has a discernible arc.
Though I didn't hate any of the new characters, several of the side-characters are disposable, and could be cut from the story at no cost except a few filler episodes.
ENJOYMENT: 3 - Poor
This show spends most of its runtime "threatening" to do something interesting, setting up interesting plot points or character arcs, but nowhere near enough time following through on those setups. My enjoyment of the show steadily declined throughout its run as I became less confident that it would fulfill its promises. The early episodes are exciting because they seem to open a lot of interesting doors, but the conclusion is messy and incoherent, ignoring pretty much all of the things I had been excited about before. If you asked me for an enjoyment score when the show first started, I'd probably give a 7, and if you asked me minutes after the credits of the last episode rolled, I'd probably say 2. I've settled on 3 - Poor.
OVERALL: 3 - Poor
This show is ultimately unsatisfying. I don't think I have anything else to say at this point. It's far from the worst thing I've ever watched, but it could've been far better. I started off the show genuinely excited, and was ultimately let down.
I also want to reiterate that I know nothing about this story except what's in S;G1 and S;G0 (the animes). I understand that there are other related animations, other games, other books, etc. I would not be at all surprised to learn that many of the things I found disappointing about this show were actually just tie-ins to other stories. But I would still say that this show left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Jul 29, 2022
Steins;Gate 0
(Anime)
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I'm writing this review because although I didn't ultimately enjoy the show (I'm giving it a 3), I found the other negative reviews of this show didn't reflect my reasons for it. I'm gonna keep this free of spoilers for this show, but the whole show is an alternate timeline for the 2011 Steins;Gate (hereafter referred to as S;G1), so there might be spoilers for that show. Regardless of my clearly negative opinions on this show's quality, you should absolutely not be watching this show if you haven't seen the '11 show, and I'm sure even the most die-hard fans of this one would agree.
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