First Impressions / Steins;Gate

「電荷衝突のランデヴー」 (Denka Shōtotsu no Randevū)
“Rendezvous of Electrical Charge Conflict”

Houtou Hentai Tensai Shoujo… the elongation continues.

I really can’t get enough of Okarin and Makise, and even with 60% of the scenes just them bickering, I’ve no complaints. Daru’s active imagination never hurts either. There’s definitely more flair to Makise’s tsundere than your average, probably because she actually has some intellect in her comebacks, and yet still reminds us she’s a “fragile” girl. Most of the hilarity this time around came from Okarin finding common ground with Makise with the lab coat shenanigans, and the Dr. Pepper, as if “accepting” her by his standards, which just pisses Makise off to my entertainment. Hmm, I like Dr. Pepper and hope to wear a white coat someday too. I must have been unknowingly participating in intellectual patterns. Okarin’s approval received.

So what was Bike-chan holding? Some symbol? It looked quite futuristic, and from the scenes that followed, here’s my speculation. Bike-chan must be from the future, one far far far away, where helicopters drop bombs, and Makise Kurisu is some sort of tyrant/rebel (lol sounds like Half Life 2). Basically, a dystopia of sorts, and seeing how she doesn’t even know what fireworks are (among other things), she must have been born and raised in a world without them. It goes along with her talking about how she’s a soldier last episode, and naming herself as a warrior on her text messages. What’s mysterious is her childish front, because I can’t tell if that’s a lie, or she’s just conveniently bipolar because anime likes to ignore human psychology. But seriously, that’s the first time there was some serious suspense. I thought the plot was gonna hit the ground and run at full speed when she took her battle stance. Eh, it’ll happen soon.

What followed in the latter half was completely driven by dialogue, but oh so gripping. Anyone who presumed that the Jellyman alias was humans becoming jelly like the bananas were indeed correct. Confirmations all around really, as we now know that SERN has been researching time travel for forty years, succeeded in sending back people up to thirty years, but just not able to do it with the people alive. Now, there’s the problem of requiring the ability to travel faster than light, which is why it’s interesting that there’s a natural formation that can also be used to time travel, that which is black holes. However, according to current theories, such a time machine would only be limited for the traveler to only go back as far as to when it was first created, similar to Primer’s time travel theory. That much info isn’t given yet by the anime, only describing SERN as using black holes and aluminum aircrafts, but due to the fact that they were able to push people back thirty years, that already goes past the limitations of wormhole travel. Maybe they can put together something like, accelerating the wormhole with their faster than light methods, thereby breaking such limitations. No explanation is fine with me too.

Like the episode before it, the plot is seriously ramping up. It’s subtle, but White Fox is doing a great job with everything. I feel like the studio’s all eagerly waiting (and holding their budget) for the insane parts to come before they pull out their trump cards and wow us with some seriously trippy animation. I’m happy there’s a respectable level of writing and amount of info the show had put into it, and the continual spiral into what appears to be a gigantic scale of a story is intensely promising. The race for the first time machine is on! Please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck…

 

81 Comments

      2. Solid question. Objectively, Tuturu takes up, at least this episode, about 1% of the 23 minutes. Subjectively, Tuturu can take up as much percentage as you desire. Given your demeanor, I assume it’s worth much more than 1%. Carry on sir, and enjoy your Tuturu passions.

        Kiiragi
        Reply

  2. I’ve got massive time-travelling vibes from Amane. Just a theory, but I’m totally willing to put money on her learning about the IBN 5100 parts from a future Rintarou or Daru.

    Click
    Reply

  3. I really can’t get enough of Okarin and Makise, and even with 60% of the scenes just them bickering, I’ve no complaints.

    Yes, like I said last episode. I will watch the show even if it’s about Okarin and Makise or the rest of the cast just randomly banter with each others.

    Serapita
    Reply

  5. Tuturu~! Can’t wait to see more, the story is so well done! I’m hoping this anime won’t turn crap in the end. But I’ll have to trust White Fox for that.

    Shrubbery
    Reply

    2. If we could only hear Makise mental complaints. Her protest are not strong enough for Kyon. But Okarin=Haruhi is True, Mad, Insane, Dont listen, Drags people around, create a society which does something which is actually nothing which is essentially world class dooms day

      deafvader
      Reply

  8. Duturuu!

    The ioncraft they mentioned constantly get hyped in RL as antigravity when it isn’t. It doesn’t work on negative energy (ie below zero point energy) like anti gravity. Still it was an interesting and unexpected addition.

    Looks like my guess is close. Her reactions showed that tv-girl’s some sort of fighter with a distinctly high tech enemy. With John Titor’s info, i’m quite sure she’s a resistance fighter. The person she knows, is it Okarin or John Titor or even Daru? can’t be Mr Brown right?

    Her reaction to Chris may mean Chris betrayed the resistance late on and probably caused the death of the guy she mentioned (maybe accidentally). They should have gotten Daru to make a screen scraping program so they can get all the files they need without exposing themselves more than necessary

    Zaku Fan
    Reply

  10. im also thinking that maybe she is from the future. “christina” does seem a bit like the person who would betray them, well out of the cast she might out of denial or pressure.

    tuturu!

    amado
    Reply

  12. Suzuha appears extremely hostile towards Makise hmmm. I wonder if she’s the perpetrator in the episode 1.

    I really hope Mayuri is somehow related to this rather just being the cutesy character for the sake of it.

    Nhelraios
    Reply

  17. something tells me Okarin is John Titor, from the future, and Kurisu is some sort of Tyrant as you said Kiiragi
    he sent Suzuha to the past to eliminate Kurisu before she had chance to meet his past self, but accidentally triggered different event by making his past self discover the corpse, thus creating a different timelime

    Hp
    Reply

    1. It seems quite plausible, and if so I will realy enjoy this anime(even more).
      But I’m not sure about Okarin being John Titor. Why will he bother going back to 2011 if he allready send suzuha?

      Kratos
      Reply

  18. I was gonna epic rage if this entire episode was about getting parts for the IBN 5000, but thank god things are starting to get interesting. Thats a bit too slow in my opinion but hope they make up for it in the coming episodes.

    OrinX
    Reply

  20. I do not understand:

    1) The project comes to animal tests before human tests .. the test worked on animals?

    2) The SERN needed to build a gigantic particle accelerator and Okarin got the same with a microwave?

    Selpheed
    Reply

    2. 1. Perhaps it did work, you can’t squeeze humans as they are bigger than the hole, perhaps really small animals like ants or bacteria could fit through, don’t ask me how they found the animal and why they didn’t try to time travel a GPS tracer

      2. Maths two equations can give the same answer
      Enginnering two machines can do the same thing
      who says science is restricted to one formula or one way of doing things, watch more sci-fi aliens and humans space ships are always different.

      deafvader
      Reply

    3. whether testing on animals would work or not, its not gonna be much help for their research on it. if the animal was transported in the past, they would barely notice it since it is just an animal.
      ex. if they send an ant or something small like a dog, they would have a hard time finding it. if the animal survived, it would have went somewhere else or get lost since its just an animal. they’d also have a hard time identifying if it is the animal they sent since most would look the same.
      a human would be a bit easier since it would know what to do if it got sent to the past. they would also be able to identify it via DNA or something like that. a human could also adapt and survive if it got sent to the past.

      amado
      Reply

  21. Am I the only one who finds Okarin annoying? I swear, I would’ve dropped this show a few episodes back if it weren’t for the plot. I’m not even sure if I can handle 19 more episodes of him badgering nonsense. I’m not “getting” the Okarin + Makise combo either. Sorry. =(

    Unsurprisingly, the characters I like so far are Amane, Mayuri, Daru and that glasses girl. I hope they get more back-story/screen time! I’m sure at some point there’ll be a Mayuri + Okarin flashback. Hoping that’ll change my mind about Okarin.

    PerpendicularWitch
    Reply

      1. That’ll be the most surprising twist for me if Mayuri were a time traveller! I really doubt it though. She being the daughter/relative of someone who has some importance to SERN or something is more likely in my opinion.

        PerpendicularWitch
        Reply

    2. Spoiler alert much or just a very bad joke??
      I still remember the FMA: Brotherhood comments where plenty of mangatards couldn’t keep their spoiler mouths shut. At the end I avoided them like the plague.

      boingman
      Reply

  23. By the way, it won’t suck. The story is going to get better and better if they stay true to the game counterpart (which they currently are) with some twist here and there + lots of heart-gripping moments.

    Serapita
    Reply

  27. I’m glad the plot is starting to advance more quickly now. But does it bother anyone else that most of the characters voice acting makes it sound like they are gasping for air? Okarin especially has this problem for me.

    baltar
    Reply

  28. One thing I really like about this is that it’s using real-world parallels for the story. One that I recognized in particular was the famous Manhattan project that was origionally supposed to be about developing cloaking/active camoflague for the navy. According to legend something when wrong and they either traveled in time or through dimensions. The end result was most of the crew being fused to the ship. They are several other stories like that.

    Smokex365
    Reply

    2. ewok40k is right. You are referring to the Philadelphia Project (aka Project Rainbow). The Manhattan Project was the creation of the first atomic bomb to be drop in Japan during WWII.

      chaos
      Reply

  31. Maybe you guys can answer this (sorry if it was already asked and answered) but whenever I want to get the torrent, the file download window pops up with a FIND instead of a OPEN. I only have this problem with the torrents for Stein’s gate. Do I have to do something special to download and open the torrent file?

    Shinjiro
    Reply

    1. you mean “find a software to read it”?
      The file may be corupted so it doesn’t reconize it as a torrent file.
      Try downloading it again and/or from another source

      Kratos
      Reply

    2. Save it to destop then add the extension “.torrent” to the file name. Some torrents are missing the extension that allows windows to know its a torrent file.

      Zaku Fan
      Reply

    3. thanks guys, it is actually for ALL Stein torrents from any of the subbers. I wasn’t sure if it was an issue with my computer. I’ll try adding the extention.

      Shinjiro
      Reply

    4. If I’m reading you correctly, to run a torrent file you need a client first… ie BitComet or something along those lines. The torrent files should automatically open through whatever client you’re running. Assuming you already knew that, if you’re having trouble opening it you may need to update your codecs or modify the extension like the others said.

      Guardian
      Reply

    1. Possible but she recognised that Chris had not done anything yet and somehow seemed surprised by her.

      Now assuming she’s from the future (very likely), what’s her motive for time travelling? Just to kill Chris? Then she should not have kept being close to the Lab bunch and instead just looked up on the internet where Chris would be holding a talk and ambush her there.

      I get the feeling she’s in the current timeline for Okarin or less possibly Mayuri or Daru

      Zaku Fan
      Reply

    2. I think so, too.

      But you have to remember that the timeline has changed so Makise might play a different role now than her future original self.

      Why she is there? List the facts: she knows everything about the group, watch over/spy on them, trained fighter, and has a motive. Opinion: she is either a spy for the organization or an ally from the future sent to protected them like the movie “Terminator”.

      chaos
      Reply

  35. I am speculating that Suzuha Amane killed Makise Kurisu in the first episode. Even though Kurisu is alive and that future never happened. Suzuha Amane had the look like she was intent on killing her written on her face.

    Silentcid
    Reply

    1. Same here. Something like this?

      Amane was sent from the future to kill Makise in episode 1.
      Okarin seeing Makise dead sent a text to Daru while he was testing the Microwave (Time Travel Machine) and activated it.
      Okarin travelled unknowingly to a time where the Satellite fell, Makise is alive and John Titor did not exist 10 years ago.
      Amane’s memories change and meets Makise and was about to attack but stopped seeing she has not done anything yet.

      Hagiri
      Reply

      1. I am on the same bandwagon… it seems Suzuha is a “human terminator” sent from the dystopian future (notice her mistaking fireworks for bombing raid) to kill Makise (who will in the future help SERN to complete time travel project)…

        ewok40k
        Reply

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