Feb 28, 2024
So much praise, so much hype. Inevitably, I had to see if Steins;Gate was worth it. Here's some of my stray thoughts and observations with only light spoilers:
• Overall, this is a fine anime that has some glaring flaws. It could be perfectly ample for a non-discerning eye, but for others those flaws might come to the forefront.
• What does this Steins;Gate do well? Time travel mechanics aren't too overly complicated or convoluted. The cast of characters is condensed and not too overwhelming, rife with interconnections. Fan service is measured and almost tasteful at times. A decent payoff as far as the ending is
...
concerned. Ok, let's get to the bad.
• Plot Exposition & Pacing: Bad. One could argue that this is an anime where not a whole lot happens, especially in the first half. Exposition is reeeaally drawn out. Tons of meaningless conversations, mad paranoid ramblings on the part of the protagonist, and maybe one plot point of note per episode. Even after the second half gets going, there's still episodes where NOTHING HAPPENS. The first thing this anime demands of you is all of your patience. All of it.
• Characters: Bad. This may an asexual harem anime, but it's not hard to think of a harem where the characters are better fleshed out, and aren't just flat cardboard characters that go Too-Too-Roo!! Mayuri is cute only for the sake of being pure and precious. Daru is literally disgusting 90% of the time. Karisu is a decent character, as is our protagonist, but that's because they're the only characters who undergo any sort of development or change. It just would have been nice to have a guy character who wasn't a total PoS, and a girl character who wasn't a total ditz.
• Aesthetics: Bad. Everything is grey, black (i.e., too dark to see), white, with splashes of red. One of the reasons I put off watching this for so long is because all of the promotional images look grey, and that's because the anime is entirely grey! Everything is either lit too brightly, or not lit enough, and then everything in between is grey. It's like a master class in not catching someone's eye.
• Stray observation: What's the opposite of Chekhov's gun? Instead of introducing a firearm early on and expecting it to be eventually used purposefully, this anime just has characters pulling out firearms or knives the second after it becomes convenient for a character to kill someone else. Characters that weren't given any indication of violent tendencies all the sudden are full-on murderers. This happened WAY too many times, and it was a big hit on the plot exposition and characters.
• What explains the hype? My theory is that anyone born after 1997 saw this anime in their late teens, and it was the first good anime they ever saw. I've been there: even a halfway decent anime can seem incredibly profound if you catch it at the right age. Plus, it has an ending where everything works out okay, and none of the plot strands are left hanging, which begs for high ratings.
• Conclusion: I'm old, and all of my favorite anime are from the late-90s and the 00s. I fell off a little bit on watching anime from 2010 and onward, and it's not like there isn't good anime after 2010, but most of it that receives hype also receives a raised eyebrow from me...and honestly if this is the best anime to kick off the 2010s, then it it doesn't bode well for anime after 2010.
Is Steins;Gate worth a watch? Just barely.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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