Nov 12, 2024
Steins;Gate 0 is an interesting look at what happened between Okabe giving up on saving Kurisu and receiving the message from his future self, which takes a dark tonal shift. The contrast to the more dorky light-hearted Steins;Gate could have been nice, and certainly does have some good ideas behind it, but is overdone and dreary. The first third or so is really engaging, then it gets more grueling for most of the show. So much time is spent on Okabe yelling the same shit about why he can't save everyone over and over and over and over and over and over. It's as
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if the writers are afraid we will forget that he is depressed. It would be nice if some of that time was spent on giving literally any of the side characters more development. Kagari is especially in dire need of a personality. There are so few moments between her saying "mommy" 51 times in a row and being an empty vessel, it is just annoying and sad. Her looking similar to Kurisu could have been utilized interestingly, she could have a deeper reaction to this and the resulting tension could affect the character dynamics in a way which would deepen the plot. Even that little bit would have made her an interesting character.
There is plenty to criticize. The good ideas that are there feel messy and disconnected from each other at times. Besides his melodramatic outbursts, we also get to see a "normal" version of Okabe, Mayuri has 20% more agency, there is a new character who is jealous of Kurisu's intelligence, and guilty about this jealousy now that Kurisu is dead. A sort of time-travel family reunion happens. Obviously there is also Okabe's pain of being able to see a loved one captured in the form of a virtual character, but knowing it is not her. Eventually actual time travel happens again too. But the show is dragged out forever before that or Okabe's arc happens, and when it does the stakes are ramped up way too high way too fast.
I want to be clear that I did enjoy this a lot and there is a reason I am giving this show a nine star rating. There are heartwarming moments, a bit of intrigue that was actually engaging rather than simply existing to yank the pants off of the viewer, and interesting character interactions. It is just sad the most meaningful moments are buried underneath more Daru pervyness, annoying melodrama, and an almost useless character.
That being said, I am an edgy motherfucker that likes sad characters and just wants to see my favs on screen again, I had fun, and I think many of you will as well. 9/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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