When I normally rate anime, to be honest, a 10 is an average score. Usually it's due to the fact that I'm poor at being critical towards any anime for whatever reason meaning my usual "10" is usually probably unjustified. However, when rating Steins;Gate, I'm actually able to fully justify my rating of 10 without being speechless when asked to give reasons as to why I rated another show 10 (unless its Angel Beats)!
Steins;Gate will probably make you laugh, cry, cringe and even the occasional loss of self belief.
NOTE - This review is based on the DUB of Steins;Gate.
Story - 10/10:
I won't
...
bother explaining the plot as that is what a synopsis is for but what I will say is that this is a new story type for me. I've never seen a time travel anime before so my expectations for what sort of plot the creators could conjure up didn't really spring to mind. However, what Steins;Gate does well in the story department is how the anime doesn't "forget" certain memorable, or sometimes miniature, moments and brings back past actions of the characters which will instantly spring to your mind. You may forget what happened the past 10 episodes, but you will most likely be reminded of it when plot point occurs. That's what's so great about the story of Steins;Gate; it doesn't forget previous episodes mini story lines and intertwines each line in one way or another.
I tried my best to find any plot holes in an anime that was vulnerable to them, hence having time travel in any kind of show can be dangerous in terms of plot holes emerging, but I didn't find any. Yes, I may have and probably did miss some points where there was some plot holes but, from my experience of watching it, nothing appeared abnormal.
The ending was very satisfying. I would say more but due to rules and regulations in place, all I can say is that the ending will most likely satisfy your needs.
Sound - 10/10:
Let's talk about the opening and ending music first. Firstly, the opening of Steins;Gate was simply outstanding in terms of sound. It's the definition of beautiful. It had a constant tense yet relax feeling to it, which was mainly what the anime had; extremely intense in places yet while also being comedic in other sections.
The ending was my favourite soundtrack in the entire anime, in my opinion. It was a great ending track due to the fact that almost every episode ended either dramatically or, with lack of better terms, left it on mini cliffhangers. The song prepared you for the upcoming episode and left you wondering what the recent events mean because of how the song built up from calm to intense and almost nerve wrecking.
Tracks played in the background of the anime usually always fit. Although many are admittedly forgettable, most of the tracks fit the situation even if some of the tracks are rehashed in sections of the anime.
Onto voice acting and here is where I have differing opinions. This is the first time in my whole anime viewing when I actually watched the dub FIRST (usually I watch the dub second if at all). I have to say that I'm happier with how most of the characters are portrayed with their voices in the dub, rather than the sub, for the main reason that it seems as though each character, in my opinion, is presented as being more fitting to the role. Each character in the dub has the right commitment in terms of voice; they're either as enthusiastic as they need to be, as serious as they need to be, as sad as they need to be and so on and so fourth. My personal recommendation is the dub, but the sub is also amazing (I just prefer the dub, the first anime so far that I will say that).
Art - 10/10:
Although not the overall aspect of the series, the art style of Steins;Gate is interesting. The style can be seen as realistic while also being deformed (in a good way), especially if you pay close attention to even the opening background. It's got a very memorable style of art, not unique, but it's still executed almost flawlessly. With the story in mind, the art style does suit it. I say that because the art seems to present itself as detailed while also being subtle (in some parts of the anime). This is related to the story because we often see the characters experience traumatic or intense moments which requires detail, but other parts of the anime have just a singular character being portrayed with a certain colour background (one springs to mind instantly but I'm not allowed to say it due to possible spoilers). Nothing in the art ever bothered me or hurt my eyes to look at. Everything was watch-able without any issues for me.
Character - 10/10:
I'll try my best not the spoil anything in this section so I'll keep this part short. One word describes each character: depth. When I say ever, I mean, EVERY main and most support characters have their personalities, back stories and anything else you can think of covered. As I just said, it wasn't just the main characters that were developed. All the characters reacted in realistic ways ACCORDING to their personality. Yes, some actions of characters were absurd and "not normal", but these were because of personality traits in these characters making them REALISTIC reactions/actions.
Overall - 10/10:
I won't bother having an enjoyment section as I feel as though I added parts of that in each section of this review. I don't want to seem like a blind fan boy of the show, as this isn't even my favourite anime. I recognise that there are flaws such as sometimes the soundtracks in the background are sometimes forgettable and that the actual genre/story type may not suit some people due to the nature of Sci-Fi, but Steins;Gate has something for everybody. If you didn't enjoy Steins;Gate for whatever reason, if you've seen it, then I can understand why, but the positives, in my opinion, outweigh the negatives in such a way that, until now, I never even noticed any negatives (and they are minor).
Jul 26, 2015
Steins;Gate
(Anime)
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When I normally rate anime, to be honest, a 10 is an average score. Usually it's due to the fact that I'm poor at being critical towards any anime for whatever reason meaning my usual "10" is usually probably unjustified. However, when rating Steins;Gate, I'm actually able to fully justify my rating of 10 without being speechless when asked to give reasons as to why I rated another show 10 (unless its Angel Beats)!
Steins;Gate will probably make you laugh, cry, cringe and even the occasional loss of self belief. NOTE - This review is based on the DUB of Steins;Gate. Story - 10/10: I won't ... |