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Steins;gate is an adaptation of a visual novel of the same name that released back in 2011. Its themes on time travel have made it one of the most distinguishable and beloved anime in recent times, cracking into MAL's top five with ease. And for good reason too. Steins;gate is a series that was able to subvert the audience's expectations (mysellf included), complete with a great and complex story, endearing characters, and a beautiful soundtrack. *MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

Setting:
Steins;gate takes place in 2010 in Akihabara, Tokyo. This already makes the setting much more grounded in reality than most series, and that is furthered with not only ... mobile phones, but also with how crucial they are to the plot. The series is also very engrained in internet culture of the time, considering the presence of certain social media and memes, as well as having Moe culture heavily present in it. However, what makes this series' setting stand out is the implementation of certain real life events, people and objects, as well as implementing certain scientific theories cleverly. For example, John Titor, an internet urban legend, is vital to the plot. Or the organisation SERN, which is obviously inspired by the real life CERN, acts as the main antagonistic organisation in the series. As for the scientific theories, they were so implemented that they almost make time travel feel real and almost easy for anyone to achieve. So, I do feel like the setting was able to provide a very peculiar flair to the series that could otherwise have made it feel a bit less original.

Story:
Definitely the highlight of the series. Sure, the characters are pretty wonderful, but it is especially the plot they are carried through that elevates this experience. Steins;gate is relatively short, but every single episode is more or less important to piecing all the pieces in the puzzle. The series starts rather slowly, and to be frank, the first episodes were rather confusing and could have sold on the concept a bit better. Here is the thing with Steins;gate: most people remember it for the second half, but when you hear anyone talk about it, they will always say that the first half is much slower and some will even claim it drags. I think that, although it is slow, there is a reason for it, and it is that the first 11 episodes are required to build on the premise, characters, story and especially suspense, and soon the watcher will realise that things are going to take a turn for the worse. And yes, at the end of the 12th episode, there is quite the tonal whiplash, especially considering how much more "lighthearted" the first episodes were.
Anyways, the story was definitely very well crafted, as it is filled with many chekhov's guns, especially the first episode, that set up way more things than anyone would have ever suspected. It is why I also believe that a second rewatch some time after watching it for the first time is definitely an option to consider, as there is a lot to unpack that could have been easily missed on a first watch.
Now, despite the praises, I do feel that around the second half, there were 2 episodes dedicated to 2 different characters (Rukako and Faris) which, although good, felt slightly more disconnected from the plot, especially Rukako's (they were not bad by any means, but they were a bit less dense as what came before and after them).
Also, a couple of problems I have with the story rise at the finale: firstly, some things nearly the end could have been cleared up better (I know the visual novel explains it better, but still); and secondly, although more of a nitpick, is that the ending should have been different. Yes, I'm glad we got a happy ending for our main characters, but considering the themes of cause and effect the whole series had, *SPOILERS AHEAD* Okabe should have died from his wound to convey a better thematic ending. That is only my opinion though, and I'm still glad we could see Okabe recover from such a traumatic experience.
Overall, the story in Steins;gate is very deserving of praise thanks to its meticulous writing and plotting.

Characters:
Steins;gate also stands out in that the cast is very small, with only around 10 main characters and a couple of minor characters. The way it handles its characters is also interesting, due mainly to the time travel element. Essentially, since only the main character leaps through time, the rest of the main cast is unable to get much development. They do, however, shine through their personalities. For example, Mayuri is a very sweet girl albeit a tad childish; despite that, she shows a lot of maturity towards most situations, and struggles with feelings of being useless and redundant. Suzuha has a very upbeat personaliity on the outside, but the truth is that her "past" is probably the darkest out of any character, and though she has important missions, she sometimes lets herself get distracted with other situations that eventually led her to make mistakes. So yes, the characters are pretty good. Even some of the characters that could potentially fall into stereotypes like Faris and Rukako are still well handled in that they aren't completely shallow, and have understandable motives.
However, the highlights are Okabe, Kurisu and their relationship. Kurisu is one of the most beloved waifus/tsunderes in anime, and rightfully so. She is very cute, and has that trait of trying to keep her head up all the time, and somehow isn't annoying. She also has a lot of development, considering the time travel. Okabe, on the other hand, is probably one of the best main characters in anime. He is essentially your average Joe: a guy that assumes a persona to cover up for his weaknesses. This leads to not only some of the silliest moments coming from him, but also the most human and heartbreaking scenes come from his motives and the mistakes he makes. This is what makes him such a relatable protagonist, in that, despite his faults, he will still try to do everything he can to undo his mistakes. The relationship between Okabe and Kurisu is definitely one of the most genuine I have seen in general. It is smooth and perfectly paced, the chemistry actually exists, and it isn't forced nor cheesy. Definitely one of the highlights of the show.
My only problem in terms of characters is Daru. He is a fine character, with some great moments relating to Suzuha, but for every moment in which he interacts with her or with the plot, it comes with a cost, that being that he makes quite frequently very obscene comments that grew old very quickly (I know in Steins;gate 0 he is more fleshed out, but in this series, hearing less "say my banana is soft, Mayuri" from him would be better, I believe).
So yeah, the cast of Steins;gate is overall pretty great.

Animation and sound:
The animation in Steins;gate is good. For a series like this, great animation is not needed, as long as everything looks decent enough. Thankfully, White fox had large enough pockets, and therefore some scenes look particularly smooth. Such examples are the last shot of episode 9, the entirety of episode 13, that scene in episode 19, and the last 3 episodes in general. The character designs are decent, but nothing too outstanding: the characters look very anime-esque (big coloured eyes, mostly thin and slender, different coloured hairstyles), which isn't a bad thing per se (even though I think the visual novel's character designs were better). Now, something that particularly stands out in Steins;gate is the lighting: everything is very bright, and the colours look rather unsaturated. This definitely created an atmosphere (at least to me) that is impossible to forget.
The soundtrack is pretty good and is filled with many memorable tunes, like Gate of Steiner (especially the piano version). The Opening, Hacking to the gate, is good too, especially the vocalist's voice; as well as the ending theme being very good too, being both very somber and catchy. However, in the sound department, what stands out the most is the voice acting: nearly everyone sounds great. The voice acting is very expressive and enjoyable, especially Okabe's voice: Mamoru Miyano once again delivered, and I personally feel this might be his best performance (slightly better than Light Yagami). My only gripe with the voice acting is the direction for Tomokazu Seki as Daru (him again!), as it could get annoying at times, especially in the first episodes (not to hate on him, he's such a great voice actor #EnricoPucci).

Overall:
Steins;gate is a series that was somehow able to live up to its name. Despite it being only 24 episode long, I would not change a single thing about it. It is definitely worth at least one watch, though I recommend a rewtach soon after to get the full experience out of it.
Thank you for reading.

Beastars is possibly one of the most interesting series to come out of the last decade. What I mean by that is that it is one of those series that was brimming with potential that seemed headed in the right direction, yet was somehow able to end with a tiny splash in the water when it could have been so much better. Alas, it ended the way it did, and tragically it did not end well; it is most likely that the author rushed the series for one reason or another, but that is not a good enough excuse. So, as my first review, ... I will portray my feelings on what turned out to be one of the most disappointing series I've read in a long time. *FULL SPOILERS AHEAD*

Setting and world:
Beastars is set in a world which functions almost the same as the actual human world. What sets it apart is that all the characters are anthropomorphic animals, and as such the world ends up greatly impacted, showing how said animals would live in a world akin to ours. The result is possibly one of the highlights of Beastars: a very inmersive and creative universe that strays apart from something like Zootopia to create a much richer, engaging and grounded universe. Frankly, the world is one of the reasons any reader could get engaged to the story. The author clearly had a vision throughout the entirety of the series' run on the rules surrounding said world. For example, the different kinds of food the inhabitants eat, or how this society would handle different's species habitats by creating playgrounds and ecosystem rooms for each of the species to be able to fool around. The only part I believe was lacking and sadly came with a boomerang effect was the existance of the underwater world. This was introduced in the second half of the series, and what could have been a cute little layer to this already interesting world sadly turned into a double-edged sword at the very end of the series, but more of that later.
As for the actual setting of the story, what better way than to begin in a high school, right? Well, the Cherryton dorms was probably the way to go, as it allowed for the first stretch of the story to have a sense of claustrophobia, while allowing the reader to be spoonfed all the information surrounding the world like a student normally would. This meant that whenever the characters would finally go to the city, an air of fresh air would breathe into the world, making the reader just want to devour every single new detail they could learn about this version of Japan. As for the second half, taking place entirely in the city made both thematically and plotwise sense, and still allowed the reader to experience the world as the mature adult that Legoshi was meant to be, instead of the lenses of the still growing young wolven he used to be.

Themes:
The themes Beastars tackles are very interesting, but the only hiccup is that they do not implivate the real world very much. Themes of the struggles between herbivores and carnivores, as well as themes on hybrids, only extend to the real world up to a certain point, but are overall very self-contained in this story. That aside, the theme of the struggles between herbivores and carnivores was well fleshed out, showcasing both sides of the arguments really well. For example, some carnivores (like the mayor) are presented as trying their best to blend in and to not let their appearances and reptutations in the way, and they do this by trying to change who and what they are; other struggles carnivores face are that they are stronger and need to supress their strength, or otherwise they might end up other animals and going to jail. Herbivores, on the other hand, have to essentially live dwelling the fear that, due to their lacking feauters and strength, might end up becoming a carnivore's instincts' prey. Speaking of, the theme of instincts is very prevalent throughout, and is what moves the series along. Mostly present in the main character Legoshi, instincts play a part in what make the characters so engaging, as it acts both as a catalyst of certain key events, as well as a moral compas that leads to interesting psychological moments for the characters.
Now, hybrids, the other main theme that encapsulates the second half, is a less engaging theme that is sadly never expressed well because of how the story unravels and how the characters that are meant to represent it (Legoshi and Melon) fail to deliver that. More on this later.

Story:
This is the part that is the hardest to review without certain bias. Essentially, the plot can be divided into 2 halves, and the enjoyment of said halves is widely different.
The first half is the good one, and it does many things right. The first few chapters are probably the best written chapters in the series overall. In fact, I am not afraid in saying that, at the core, the series should have been overall like said first chapters. Anyways, Beastars begins strong with two simple premises:
1: A student has been murdered at school. Who is the culprit? Was it a student? A carnivore, perhaps?
2: The main character, a wolf, has fallen in love with a female white rabbit. Will he confess his love, or will he turn back in fear as he once tried to eat her? And if it works out, will he somehow end up eating her?
These two premises offer up both intrigue and psychological depth to the story that is hard to resist. The story then takes an interesting turn, in that instead of focusing on solving the murder, we are instead introduced and accostumed to the colourful cast for a few chapters before Legoshi eventually takes on the case. This is rather logical and makes it that when the story finally focuses on solving the murder, every decision the characters make has much more impact on the reader. Going back to the first chapters, a lot of character growth takes place within them. But what is that? That's right, it's the smell of a shonen manga. Tragically, Beastars was being too mature for a shonen, and was lacking action for a shonen as well. That is when the first little bug comes to hinder Beastars: the Shishigumi. Essentially, a mafia made exclusively of lions. They decide to butt into the story by kidnapping Haru the white rabbit. This forces our main characters to try to save her, something at which they are succesful, but that also has everlasting consequences. The decision of having an action set piece felt a bit forced, and the only misstep in an otherwise perfect first quarter; not saying that the attack on the Shishigumi part was bad. On the contrary, both Legoshi and Louis were given a lot of great growth throughout them, and the action, though unneeded, was decent. Plus, we got great development in Legoshi and Haru's relationship. So, despite the drawbacks, this was a great first quarter with a bright future shining ahead.
The second quarter of Beastars is definitely where the story finally picks up. For anyone that was more invested in Tem's murder case, then this is what they came for. Essentially, these 50 chapters are Legoshi's struggles to solve and stop the murderer from getting away, and the result is quite interesting to say the least. The cast is just as alive as ever, if not more, with so many great character interactions. My only gripe in that regard would be the lack of Haru compared to the first 50 chapters, seeing how important she was to Legoshi. Still, although these chapters managed to be greatly enjoyable and entertaining, they sadly made more than just one mistake. Mainly, the Shishigumi's involvement in the story, and why in the hell did Louis, a teenager, become the boss? The story tries to justify itself this change in development, but it ultimately feels out of place. Still, the story rolls with it in a surprisingly interesting way that somehow makes Louis' character much more likeable. Sadly, that subplot falls on itself with how Louis left the Shishigumi. Simply put, Ibuki's "suicide" had no real reason to be other than to create drama for an already dramatic situation that was Legoshi vs Riz. Speaking of, the entire final fight's core is flawed. Why didn't Legoshi call the cops? Its not like he didn't have evidence. Like, Riz had made some serious damage in the past that only a bear could have made, and there was a witness in the form of Pina. The latter did call the cops after he got his arm's veins popped up, but it was already too late. However, the main point of debate is whether Legoshi should have eaten Louis' foot. Firstly, it does undermine Legoshi's entire training with Gouhin to suppress his instincts, but I believe it overall conveys the message that carnivores eventually succumb to their instincts. However, my gripe is that essentially, Louis' foot acts more as a power-up, as suddenly Legoshi becomes Star Platinum (this reference was on purpose) and defeats Riz in like a couple of hits, only for the two of them to be arrested anyways. At least, I really like that the outcome of the fight is as realistic as anything like this would be in real life. Riz is sent to prison, and Legoshi, now with a criminal record and restricted in his interactions with fellow herbivores, is forced to drop out of school. So overall, this arc definitely shined with the character writing, and sadly made some mistakes in the plot department.
The second half of the series is probably the part in which Beastars lost me. Firstly, the ensuing chapters of when Legoshi dropped out are kind of slow and taken-aback compared to the rollercoaster that was the previous arc, going full on slice of life, while introducing some new key elements like the hidden condo and the new characters that will be more prevalent throughout the rest of the series. Like I previously mentioned, being able to see the world as an adult would percieve is a good direction. This however comes to the cost of sidelining the characters we were introduced to previously, and most of the new characters don't make up for it (except for Gosha. He was very wholesome). Now... onto the Melon arc...
The Melon arc is honestly out of place and not very well written and structured, and ending the series ending with it was not a good idea AT ALL. A crime-thriller was not what Beastars was meant to be, especially not one with so many shonen qualities to it. Simply put, it is not engaging, and becomes very uninteresting. This portion of the story focuses too much on whatever Melon decides to do to spite Legoshi and making him do stupid decisions, and how the Shishigumi is once again involved with the plot. Too much is dedicated on Melon and how he is a victim (more on that later). Now, the climax is... not very logical. At one point that I've forgotten, Legoshi finds himself in the black market and has to fight his way through a tournament to beat Melon, who has become like the final boss, just like something you would expect from a series like, say, Naruto, except that it doesn't make neither logical nor thematically any sense, and lacks cohesion with the beginning of the series. Anyways, after much fighting, Melon is defeated and locked behind bars, and the black market ends up destroyed. Then everything goes back to "normal", and the end.
This second half was overall much worst, only being average at its best. Some cute little chapters like the shock-egg chapter were really good and reminded me of the times Beastars was a slice-of-life/murder mistery. Though this overview of the second half was short, it is because it simply didn't stick with me as much... except for the plotholes. I'll come back to them after the characters portion.

Characters:
Possibly the strongest aspect of the series...mostly. The author has quite the talent in that she can construct great characters in mere pages. Her ability to craft them from their design, motivations, personality and struggles is downright fantastic. When reading the first few chapters, it is easy to relate to essentially every single student in Cherryton. Whether you identify yourself with the introverted Legoshi, understand Haru's raison d'être or empathise with Louis' superiority complex, all characters are rather well dissected, and become all very loveable by the end. Even the supporting cast is very memorable and likeable. Characters like the best of all boys Jack the labrador, the really awesome and grounded doctor Gouhin the panda, the heart breaker Pina the goat (?), the struggling jock Bill the bengal tiger, the confused pretty girl Juno the wolf, or the tragic Riz the bear. All characters really match their personalities with their species in clever ways, and they are all so easy to love and all have great personalities and motives. I am particularly fond of Gouhin, Jack and Bill, and wish they would have appeared more frequently. The second half of the series, like I said, sidelined all of these characters and replaced them with the neighbours in the hidden condo, as well with other characters. These characters, for the most part, are able to be interesting, such as the wholesome grandfather Gosha the komodo dragon and Agatha the really sweet lion. Speaking of, despite my criticism of the Shishigumi as a dramatic force, they are very enjoyable as individual members. So, although the new characters are still decent, there sadly were a few characters that I did not like at all. One that comes to mind is Kyuu the rabbit, a character that acts as a temporary rival to Haru and that struggles with her crush on Gouhin (he's like 40 and she's half his age btw) despite acting as a tough "sensei" to Legoshi (teaching him the power of animal chimeras). She "has an important role" in that she is related to Louis' past and sells out Legoshi to Melon, which has zero impact on the story; in general, too much time is wasted on her, and she should not have been that important. Another character I felt was wasted potential was Yahya the horse AKA the Beastar, since he was mainly introduced as an antihero of sorts due to his "brutal!!" methods of converting the criminals he finds into fertilisers; that was sadly forgotten extremly quickly and he just becomes a good guy (or at least a better guy).
Now, the one little tumour in the entire Beastars series: Melon. As a villain, he is alright. Classic chaotic joker-like villain. His motivations are all over the place, wanting to make a name for himself, or struggling with his hybrid roots. Points on him, he has a great design and can be threatening. It is just that the story should not have had him as the villain. Someone like Riz made much more sense as the "final boss", as he was a broken character moulded by the very peculiar society in Beastars. Melon also fits that aspect, but as the audience, we are pummeled way too much about how he is a tragic villain, despite showing no remorse and overall enjoying himself too much. And sadly, his actions also lower down Legoshi, who suddenly became a shonen protagonist with his arrival.
Sincerely, Legoshi should never have stepped that boundary of being an action hero. Firstly, it barely makes sense that a teenager can suddenly backflip, even if he has keener senses he shouldn't be able to do that; or him withstanding loosing his teeth because he has to prove himself to Yahya. Secondly, Legoshi made so many dumb decisions like... releasing Melon, an extremly dangerous psycopath, who had just been captured, only because Legoshi is a hybrid too... 'nuff said. Speaking of, Legoshi being a hybrid is an interesting concept, but it does make him feel like he is "special" (when initially he was depicted as being the average Joe), especially with that tragic backstory. It also grants him magical healing abilities and certain "resistance".
Haru also suffered in this half, making almost no appearances and not doing anything of relevance that would affect Legoshi minus the white fur part. Louis does appear a few times, and I actually like that he didn't end up with Juno, since they never really had that much romantic chemistry. Speaking of, both Juno and Jack had their character arcs cut short from concluding.
Generally, it is a good thing the characters are as good as they are, because otherwise my enjoyment of the series would have been significantly lower.

Story 2.0
There are some plot points I feel I should mention, since they also lowered my perception on the first half of the series. So:
-The series revolved mostly about compeeting on who would get the title of Beastar, but by the end no one got it. Not Louis, not Legoshi, not Juno, not Pina. This is especially annoying considering that it was set up that whoever caught the murderer would become the Beastar, yet neither one of the previously characters became the Beastar.
-The ending is such a WTF moment. The black market was such a pivotal element to keeping that society's stability. Won't its destruction cause many problems in the future? That's what one would assume, but that leads to the next plot hole.
-Do the fish seriously have such little regard to their own lives? Couldn't they have offered the option to trade their "meat" earlier?
-What was the deal with the animal chimeras? They are like stands, but how do they work really? Also, why don't they ever come back? (PS: I remember I accidentally skipped the chapter with the explanation wen reading it originally and didn't notice its absence for a while).
-Melon and Haru meeting up led to nothing. It should have been brought back.
-Where was Gouhin during the tournament at the end? If he was a vigilante, he would have normally appeared and stepped in. That, however, would probably have had a different effect on the ending's outcome (slightly)
-Why did Melon's father appear and disappear? He was hyped up but left as quick as he was introduced
-Characters like Rokume and Cosmp show up and never come back.
-Some characters didn't die, even though they should have died seeing what happened to them. Yahya and Melon are clear example, sconsidering their wounds seemed very lethal.
There probably are some other points, but I couldn't think of them for now.

Art:
The art begins rough and sketchy. However, around 50 chapters in, there is a massive bump in quality that remains constant until the end. The author has developed a very unique and interesting art style in that regard. Also, the panelling and the angles are really good and unique, and have a lot of flair. The action scenes look ridiculously fluid and smooth. It does show that her father is the author of Baki. As for the character designs, they convey everything the reader needs to know about the characters, and just look very pleasing without being too exaggerated like other series (such as One Piece). Honestly, the best way to describe the character design is that it is elegant.

Conlcusion:
Suffice to say, this was a massive letdown of a series. However, I can't say I despise it. In fact, I am quite fond of it. I binged it in a few days, something no other series has been able to replicate on me. I know I have been very rough with this series, but it is because I loved it so much. Being a teenager myself, I remember beginning to read it and just being instantly hooked and invested. I found the characters' struggles similar to mine, and the time in which I had found this series was a time in which I found myself in a dark place. As a result, even though Beastars ended the way it did, it still has a special place in my heart. It could have been in my top ten if only it would have remained a murder mistery for the entirety of its run, but at least I can cling onto what it could have been, and on the good aspects it delivered. The author certainly deserves a lot of praise and respect considering this was her first serialised story, and just her ability to craft well written characters is an ability most authors would envy. I believe she has a lot of potential and that she will probably surprise everyone one of these days.
I therefore rate Beastars a 6. Some people won't be bothered much by the second half and could end up rating this series higher. Other people might be very bothered by the second half and might not be as fond of the first half as I am and might rate it lower.
Thank you for reading.