OP1.5 Sequence

OP1.5: 「Hacking to the Gate」 (second verse) by いとうかなこ (Itou Kanako)
Watch the OP!: Streaming ▼

「境界面上のシュタインズゲート」 (Kyōkaimenjō no Shutainzu Gēto)
“Open the Steins Gate”

I love blogging Steins;Gate for a bunch of reasons, probably the most important of which is that it’s much more fun to blog a superb series than a mediocre one. But it does occur to me that whatever I say in these blogs is almost irrelevant, because the discussion surrounding the series is so self-driven that all I really need to do is say “Go!” and you guys are all set.

So with that in mind I’m going to go against character and make this post a brief one, which is fitting I think in that this penultimate episode was one that pretty much speaks for itself. And I’ll start with a confession – I finally caved and re-watched the first episode before I watched episode 23. One of my axiom’s is that “There are no coincidences in anime”, but even I was surprised at the degree to which White Fox tied everything together – the static message, the “15 minutes ago”, right down to the damn metal oopa! As many theorized, it was indeed Okabe screaming in episode one, and now we know it was for good reason.

I’m sure there are a few surprises left for the final episode, but in terms of theory and speculation it really feels as if most of the questions were answered this week. We’ve now seen three totally distinct forms of time travel (four if you count the different capabilities of Suzuha’s machine in the Alpha and Beta world lines) but the consistent factor seems to be that time travel is all about fooling someone. Fool yourself, fool someone else – it’s all perception, and the perception changes reality. It would be well to consider Okabe’s warning from the premiere now, as we near the end of all things and he embarks on one last mission of deception. Did I anticipate that Dr. Nakabachi (Ogata Mitsuru) was Kurisu’s Dad? No, I confess I didn’t – but I was impressed that this almost-forgotten storyline from way back in episode 5 was tied to the dramatic events of this ep in such a vital way.

In the final analysis, I’m glad this sci-fi epic realized that for the conclusion to work it had to be character-driven, because it’s the characters that make Steins;Gate such a great series. The grand payoff of 22 episodes of character-building was this: when Okabe first saw Kurisu after traveling back to 7/28, when Mayuri slapped Okabe, when the 33 year-old Okabe spoke through time to his teenaged self, and especially when mad scientist Houoin Kyouma reappeared in all his goofy glory – when these things happened they really meant something. We could understand the emotions behind all those things, and we could understand that bringing Kyouma out of hibernation wasn’t just a comic bit but an expression of hope and a celebration of life itself, and a triumph of Okabe’s spirit despite all the pain he’s suffered.

So that’s it – go ahead and speculate and argue and have a great time, because that’s what S:G is all about. Go! I’ll leave you with some simple words of wisdom from smokin’ hot Suzuha in fatigues: “Of course it can. It’s a time machine!”

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「スカイクラッドの観測者」 (Skyclad no Kansokusha) by いとうかなこ (Itou Kanako)
Watch the 3rd ED!: Streaming ▼

272 Comments

    1. I have shamed myself for leaving out such an important phrase out after leaving a comment! I will rectify this with what I will say:

      We shall commence Operation Commentier on Tuesday: Sept. 13th: The world will shout out the sacred words to send off one of the best anime series of the season/year. Karis signing out:

      El Psy Congroo!!

      Karis
  1. well played, that is the thought I had watching this entire episode… it did surprise me that Okabe was the one who stabbed Krisu… but it is all the pain that he endured that made him one of the greatest/likeable character 🙂 Too bad Krisu wasn’t able to recognize her love 🙁 and of course, the last bit with the mad scientist and fooling the world was awesome! Go, Kyouma, save your love and save the world! Can’t wait to see a great ending of a superb anime… and too bad there isn’t a complete translation for the game yet…

    jrj
  2. All the pieces are starting to fit together from the first episode.

    Maybe because I’m just more used to it, but I liked Suzuha’s original hairstyle and outfit better.

    Mad_Scientist_So_Cool
  3. 7.I had to pause the episode to write this when I saw it: OMG, SHE’S PUTTING ON THE HAT!!! IT’S SUZUHA WE SEE GIVING A SIGNAL IN EP. 1!!!
    I’ve seen the whole episode now. In fact, like many of you (presumably), I proceeded to re-watch the first episode, which I suspect contains the contents of ep. 22 from a different perspective. This has been a fascinating and fantastic series. By the way, I chuckled when I heard Daru exclaim, “Suzu~!” That was a nice wink from the writer(s). Also, does Okarin have a sister? Suzuha was calling him “uncle,” after all…

    Wolf
    1. >Suzuha was calling him “uncle,” after all…

      No, just a nuance with Japanese language and culture that doesn’t translate into English. You can address people that are older than you as “uncle (oji-san)”. It’s like in other shows where you see little girls calling the older protagonist as “onii-chan (old brother)” when they aren’t related, it’s an accepted standard social protocol.

      senshi
  4. His mad scientist act sent shivers down my spine. It was wonderful!

    When Kurise and Okarin looked at each other, it seemed as though she could recognize him, almost. That’s interesting; maybe she still has some foggy memories of everything that happened even in the other timeline.

    pieprsn
  5. This next week is going to be agonizing, waiting for the finale to come out. It’s painful to have to watch Kurisu die, especially the lead up to that scene (Kurisu talking innocently with her jealous father)

    Is it me or did the OP song use different lyrics (ie the 2nd verse of the song) ?
    The change in ED song works exceptionally well

    Can’t wait for next week >.<

    Kentaiyoshimi
  6. This was an amazing episode. I had a big grin on my face from basically the entire conversation with future Okabe on. I’d be surprised if this wasn’t anime of the year for me; it’d have to have a really lame ending.

    Sceptile
  7. I actually cringed when Okabe stabbed Kurisu. I knew it was coming, but it still hit hard. Man, oh, man.
    But seriously, watching episode 1 and then watching this… They really had every little detail planned out to the nth degree. Dear White Fox, I know you’re a pretty new studio, but with this series alone you’ve gained my trust for all future endeavors.

  8. I think I get it.
    Okabe must see Kurisu’s corpse to send the first D-mail and create the time line where Sern rules the world, however since kurisu is alive it would make a paradox, creating 3rd time line, since as far as we know, only D-mails can create new timelines. Why? The first D-mail saved Kurisu’s life, however since tshe won’t be dead to”be saved” the world won’t have an option other than to create this 3rd line.
    In this timeline Okabe won’t use the d-mail and Kurisu’s papper won’t be publiced, meaning a time machine free scenario, thus “Stein’s Gate”
    wow it was good enought to make me comment, that’s something.
    And that Dr. dude is the worst scum of a father ever, seriously.

    Kob264
    1. That’s more or less my interpretation of how they plan to solve it, yeah. TBH it seems a bit convoluted and convenient to me, but I don’t think there was ever going to be a way to manufacture a “good end” without it seeming that way to me so I don’t really mind. Of course, we don’t know yet that all this will work, or that it will be a good end just yet…

      1. I didn’t expect them to receive the solution (stage American Virgin’s death) on a “silver platter” by someone actually telling them what to do. OTOH, it WAS (the future self of) Okarin himself, so why would he speak in riddles as in similar situations in other series? 😉

        boingman
  9. Suzuha in fatigues, hawtsauce, I agree.

    Man the final episode is going to be great, I cannot wait, this is such torture, another 7 days of waiting for the conclusion!

    Change the past without actually changing events, just someone’s perception, man, i dont think anyone ever thought of that, and its gona be hard. So basically in order to prevent Makise from dying for real he has to make past-Okabe think she died somehow without her actually dying yet, and that will shift the timeline into Stein’s Gate line which would means everyone survived? Wow…

    YanDaMan263
    1. As far as i can recall, no time-travelling story has ever looked at time travel from this angle before (ie changing someone’s perception)
      It’s great because the ending won’t feel cliched at all.

      Torture does not even begin to describe the next 7 days of waiting XD.

      Kentaiyoshimi
    2. Thinking about it, but I don’t think its going to be that hard to pull off. All Okabe…no HOUOIN KYOUMA needs is a jar of fake blood and some sedatives.

      1) Spike the coffee of Kurisu’s dad putting him out of the equation.
      2) Inject sedatives into Kurisu knocking her out.
      3) Pour fake blood on floor, and put Kurisu’s unconscious body on top.
      4) Take Kurisu’s papers
      5) Scream really loud to attract past Okabe’s attention.
      6) ?????
      7) PROFIT!!!!

      Well something like that anyway. I’m excited on how he pulls it off. Man this is going to be a long week.

      fragb85
      1. I was thinking:

        1)Get the Metal Oppa before Okarin(past) got it
        2)Save Kurisu from her father without trying to stab anyone this time.
        3)Ask Mayuri/Suzu to cosplay as dead Kurisu(facedown)
        4)Dr. nakashit not get the metal oppa and die in flame together with the paper.
        5)Console Kurisu and establish her as a lab member
        6)Give metal oppa to Mayuri and earn some points
        7)????
        8)Harem

        lkaze
      2. @Ikaze
        Only the cargo caught fire. XD

        And no one is truely evil in Steins;Gate(if you don’t count those Illuminati bastards lurking in the shadow). Nakabachi too. He’s a Chunibyou like Okabe. He let his prime overtakes him. Everyone has regrettable mistakes. Do you know why he wanted to build a time machine in the future? It’s obvious.

        Kansokusha
    1. Agreed. The main difference is how the seiyuus act in the anime compared to the game, they’ve really upped the acting and emotion which allows them to compress the content yet retain the raw emotions without resorting to lengthy internal monologues.

      I think the only bad thing about the anime is all the geeky sci-fi discussions they had in the game when it came to how time traveling works and what would be the outcome and consequences was left on the cutting board. Those were quite interesting and unlike most mainstream time traveling stories are written.

      senshi
  10. An epic of epic epicness!
    I soooo enjoyed this episode.
    And I was glad to see that my theory of Dr. Nakabichi being Kurisu’s father and the attacker was spot on! I think I got my answer in this episode’s preview. I mean, this is Steins;Gate. They wouldn’t leave the story of Kurisu’s dad unresolved.
    I’m so pumped for finale!
    Houoin Kyouma strikes back!
    El Psy Congroo.

    CarolV
  11. Operation Skuld, start!

    Wow, it was real torture to see her die. We all knew that it would happen, and even thought after past episodes that maybe Okarin would kill her knowingly, but this was an horrible accident. Damn. 🙁

    Madoka was a good series, but if they don’t mess up the last episode, then this is my pick for series of the year.

    Oh, anyone knows if this https://randomc.net/image/Steins%20Gate/Steins%20Gate%20-%2023%20-%20Large%2034.jpg screenshot also exists as a CG in the game? It’s kind of weird looking with only Okarin moving his lips and the camera zooming out, as if they had taken it more or less 1:1 out of the game.

    boingman
  12. “Welcome come back Okabe.. no HOUOUIN KYOUMA!!!!!”

    That’s pretty much the episode in a nutshell. It’s great to finally see the old Okabe hamming it up again, and a great way to end before the finale.

    So I finally get it now

    ALPHA Timeline: Developing the Phone Microwave leads to SERN Time Travel monopoly which leads to SERN Dystopia.
    BETA Timeline: Kurisu dies, the knowledge goes public, leads to time machine arms race and WWIII. This also explains why Suzuha’s time machine is much more advanced that the one in ALPHA.

    It just all adds up. It makes perfect sense! You know what the real irony is? The fact that SERN Dystopia may have saved 5.7 billion lives. So SERN might have been the good guys all along. MIND BLOWN.

    fragb85
  13. When I was first watching this series and didn’t know it was going to be 2 cours I thought, “This is enjoyable but they’re really wasting a lot of time.” Then I found out about the second cour and the second half has been so good, and the first half laid all the groundwork. This episode was great again, but the only thing I didn’t like was the Mayushi slap. I just don’t feel that it’s in her character. The way the scene was I expected her to do something, but the slap didn’t work for me. Otherwise, I can’t wait for the last episode. Hopefully it’ll get licensed!

    ocswing
    1. I didn’t feel it was out of her character. She has always been the one most willing to stand up to Okabe. Even though Kurisu would argue with him, it was Mayuri who would actually explain to Okabe’s face exactly what was wrong with his actions. More recently she crossed the line from explanation to action when she sacrificed her own life for his.

  14. In the previous episode, we got an ending with the theme that messing with fate is a horrible idea, and that it should be left alone. In this episode, however, the show wonderfully turns it around by encouraging Okabe to fight against the world.

    I am very impressed by this since the original ending would probably have been it for the majority of time travel series.

    Now I have a question… If failing to save Chris is a pre-requisite for Okabe building the time machine in the future…. how did he manage to go back in time in the first place?

    rainz
    1. I’d imagine the 15-years-in-the-future Okabe lives in the Steins Gate world line and knows what he must do so that our current Okabe creates it. The 15-year Okabe has already seen that same video, and will recreate it and send it back. In other words, the future self instigates everything so the future happens as-is.

      So to answer your question, he knows what he needs to do, and that includes making a time machine for Suzuha. Remember in the SERN future, Daru was able to build his own? And since Okabe has been through so much, he’d probably know a bit about upgrading time machines.

    2. I would say that the Okarin before him made a time machine. However, either the time machine had not enough fuel for 2nd Okarin to try again or that 2nd Okarin did not realize the “Steins Gate” World. Thus, only 15 years later did he managed to figure things out and now it is Okarin the third’s try. I guess there are many other Okarins who tried and the loop repeated itself. Okarin fails -> builds time machine to save makise -> makise still dies -> world war 3 -> okarin builds time machine to save makise. but only now did they found out the real method of preventing makise’s death. A world free from the loop. free more attractor field. free from the world. Steins Gate. It is like Okarin repeating the Mayushi death thing just that over 15 years scale.

      deafvader
    3. The anime left out some missing links, i.e. how the time travel machine came to being to begin with! Please read on for a very long explanation!

      Show Spoiler ▼

      In his original return to the Beta World line (v2), he should not have any time machine to begin with. So he will develop it with Daru, die and then Suzuha (v2) will go back in time and pick up the original Okarin (v2) and let him attempt to save Makise. He kills her by mistake, and then travels back to the future. Now he is in Beta (v3), with slight divergence because he has the knowledge of having killed her. He has no choice but to develop yet another time machine (assuming the original one ran out of fuel). In addition, he hatches the plan for Steins Gate and sends the video Dmail back to the past.

      The same thing happens. He dies in 2025, and Suzuka time travels back all the way to Okarin in (v2). This particular Okarin is portrayed in the Anime, who has just returned to the Beta World. The machine has fuel for 2 trips.

      In the first trip to the past, he kills Makise. This is necessary to avoid a time paradox (and facilitated by Suzuha (v3) who has knowledge of everything so far because she has been instructed). His future (v3) self has come up with the plan for Steins Gate BECAUSE he has previously killed her THUS realized that he must do something differently to deceive the world (and yes he has to fall in love with her in Alpha World etc in order to want to save her, which is well-explained by Divine on why he wants to do everything the same way). Basically, his Steins Gate ultimate theory is a direct result of having killed her before (or in other words, to be tragically unsuccessful in saving her like how he tried to do so with Mayuri which feeds his obssession in trying to save her). Therefore, 2025 Okarin (v3) has to let current Okarin (v2) experience killing Makise otherwise it will be IMPOSSIBLE to have hatched the plan to begin with (if he directly goes for Steins Gate without killing her first, I can’t imagine the consequences of the time paradox). This is similar to Grandfather Paradox. Anyway, after killing her, Okarin (v2) becomes Okarin (v3).

      And so, 2025 Okarin (v3) has helped to fulfill what should happen to him in the past, which allows him (his version) to exist and thus create the plan for Steins Gate and then send back a Video Dmail to his past self. In this particular world line, Okarin (v3) can view the video because it is only in this world line (of having killed her and having done everything before that) that the Steins Gate video plan (will) exist(s). In other world lines, a blank message is received because Steins Gate video does not exist.

      If this is confusing, consider the following. A world where I failed to win the lottery must exist first assuming I want to send a Dmail to the past to win the lottery. How do I know I failed? I get the lottery results. If I succeeded, I won’t send any Dmail. But if I failed and I want to win, I have to take the lottery numbers and send it back to my past self.

      Therefore, a world where Okarin kills Makise has to exist first before he comes up with a video and sends it to the past to prevent that from happening. [While theorectically there could be other worlds that this happens without killing her, I feel that Okarin wants to play safe so he dramtically warns his past self not to change anything when he is so very close to a visibly feasible solution.]

      In the second trip, he puts Steins Gate plan into action.

      I hope this helps. At the onset, I was very confused because I was thinking along the lines that Okarin has to kill Makise in order to create a time machine but then the only way to kill Makise is to have a time machine! So how does that work? A causes B but B causes A. So I thought about how this could have happened and it helps to think chronologically. He had to have a state where he didn’t have any time machine first. So he will make it and use it etc etc. The Anime only shows the results of what has already happened so it is confusing to reverse engineer the whole thing.

      One of my final questions: why did 2025 Okarin (v3) not instruct Suzuha (v3) to take the time machine to the old Okarin (v3) who has already experienced having killed Makise?! The easiest explanation I have is due to the story telling nature of the Anime to skip all the long causation storylines (as I have boringly mentioned). In the Anime, Okarin had just returned from Alpha (v2). So perhaps they wanted to speed up and confuse more people (which adds to the enjoyment, lol) and thus Suzuha (v3) returned to pick up Okarin (v2) for a dramatic ride in a time machine.Show Spoiler ▼

      kevinze
      1. “And so, 2025 Okarin (v3) has helped to fulfill what should happen to him in the past, which allows him (his version) to exist and thus create the plan for Steins Gate and then send back a Video Dmail to his past self. In this particular world line, Okarin (v3) can view the video because it is only in this world line (of having killed her and having done everything before that) that the Steins Gate video plan (will) exist(s). In other world lines, a blank message is received because Steins Gate video does not exist.”

        Just to clarify: when he sends the Video Dmail back to his past self, his past self is Okarin (v3)in the same World Line. And (v3) is the World Line in which he has already killed Makise. The Video Dmail concept is similar the sending a normal Dmail. You can only send Dmail to the past (existing world line you are in).

        kevinze
      2. Guys, to add on to what I have mentioned, I am proposing an alternate theory about the Video Dmail. I don’t agree with Divine’s explanation that he sends a Dmail back (even though its blank) so that he will always have a chance to to change the past. So far, all Dmails are sent with a purpose (as seen from the Alpha World). And you don’t have to do it in one timeline in order that you will keep doing it for other timelines to always have a means of saving her (because each time line is different). Just see how Dmails have been used so far to understand the system.

        This is what I think:

        Okarin (v3), Okarin (v2) and Okarin (v1) all share a COMMON history of having seen Makise die (as in Episode One). They differ in the knowledge they have of having lived through other arcs. Once future Okarin (v3) sends a Video Dmail to the past, he is actually sending the video to the same person who has existed before (i.e. Okarin (v3), Okarin (v2) and Okarin (v1)). This happens right before he sees Makise dead in Episode One. This Dmail is a result of Operation Skuld by future Okarin (v3) and is not sent by other Okarins from other time lines.

        The only reason why all three versions could not see the contents of the video is because of the time paradox issue. Okarin (v3) HAD to exist FIRST before he can create the Dmail as elaborated above. But since the past version of Okarin

        kevinze
      3. [Sorry for the break technical error]

        The only reason why all three versions could not see the contents of the video is because of the time paradox issue. Okarin (v3) HAD to exist FIRST before he can create and then see the Dmail as elaborated above. So the video he received originally in the past(common to ALL VERSIONS) which is sent by Okarin (v3) is ONLY visible after Okarin (v2) BECAME Okarin (v3).

        Remember, they had a common past. But the past version of them could not unlock seeing the video due to a time paradox that would occur if that happened. Okarin (v2) has to become Okarin (v3) before the video can “exist” and be viewed properly. Thankfully, the video was never deleted by his past self so he can view it in the near future.

        kevinze
  15. I was wrong I thought that okarin was going to see himself instead was Cristina father that bastard. I don’t really understand what is the upa? is or does. I watch the episode a couple of times and i hope that could be away for a happy ending were cristina and okarin end up to gether.

    oscuda
    1. It was just a device used to instigate the survival of the time machine paper (rewatch makise-dad’s tv interview after the mysterious cargo bay fire).
      Though I find it mind boggling as to why makise-dad would pick up a child’s toy with a child’s name on it.xD

      alabaster
  16. first off this episode was amazing. it just leave me with a great feeling after the crappy day I had.
    when Okabe from the future explain what had to be done it felt like I heard some sort of truth that open my mind like wow.
    Future Okabe said (this is going by the English sub I watch) not to waste the three week you must not undo them but he already have.
    I don’t know if this is significant to the plan most likely not but I’m ever more interest in seeing how it all turn out.
    Love this series

    Jason_B
      1. LOL
        Just like me a few hours ago with my Physics lessons. It would have been much more interesting if the guy had been talking about kerr black holes, time travel and parallel universes, 😉

        CarolV
  17. This is actually a lot more convoluted than it seems, so I get the feeling that not too many people truly understand what’s going on. It took me a while to make sense of it myself and I had to refer to a timeline for the game to do so. For some of the not-so-obvious implications of all the time travel — which the anime probably won’t explain in anymore detail — see below.

    The main reason that Rintarou of 2025 didn’t send his video D-mail, a.k.a. movie mail, to Rintarou of July 28th and tell that version of himself to save Kurisu is because he wants to preserve the three weeks of hell he went through where he developed feelings for Kurisu. (Three weeks actual time, but he may have spent years repeating those three weeks for all we know.)

    It was that experience that drove the current Rintarou of August 21st to spend the next 15 years of his life with Daru creating a time machine and perfecting the video D-mail to try and save Kurisu. He wants to cause a divergence towards Steins Gate after those three weeks and not before it. To accomplish that, he needs Rintarou of 8/21 to do it for him. He also needs to trick history.

    The reason why the video D-mail from 2025 came after Suzuha from 2036 is because her arrival is a prerequisite to put the current Rintarou of 8/21 into a slightly modified version of the Beta timeline where he will send a movie mail back to himself. The reason why Suzuha didn’t go back in time until 2036 is because the time machine wasn’t completed until 11 years later. (Note: As Suzuha mentioned before, Rintarou was already dead by then, having been killed in 2025, leaving Daru to finish the time machine alone. Incidentally, 2025 is when World War 3 broke out in the Beta timeline.)

    In this version of the Beta timeline, everything from the “world’s perspective” remains the same. Kurisu is still dead, except she’s killed by Rintarou. History is fooled because Suzuha has inserted a change that allows Rintarou to receive a movie mail, while adhering to the effects of the Attractor Field convergence — the phenomenon where certain events in a given timeline are fated. Rather than fighting hopelessly against fate, Rintarou of 2025’s plan is to first go along with it. In other words, whether Rintarou or Dr. Nakabachi kills Kurisu doesn’t change the fact that Rintarou and Daru will spend the next 15 years of their life creating a time machine and perfecting the video D-mail. A change definitely occurred though since Rintarou of 8/21 is now responsible for killing Kurisu, but it’s so subtle that there was no perceived divergence. It went practically undetected by the timeline. As soon as Rintarou of Suzuha returned to August 21st, 2010, they were already on a path to a slightly different future though. According to the game, the shift was from only from 1.130205 to 1.130209~1.130211. i.e. a 0.000004~0.000006 change.

    The video mail sent to Rintarou on July 28th is only readable now because it is sent by the Rintarou of 8/21 that killed Kurisu. The original Rintarou of 7/28 (in episode one) received noise, because Rintarou of 2025 had to send one (even if it was blank) so that the current Rintarou of 8/21 will send one as well fifteen years from now when he becomes Rintarou of 2025. Remember, the subtle change on who killed Kurisu doesn’t change the current future. However, Rintarou can change the contents of that D-mail to himself like we saw here. The first Rintarou of 2025 who didn’t kill Kurisu left a future means to get a message back to Rintarou of 8/21 where he can keep trying to save Kurisu. This time, it’s over a span of 15 years and “our” Rintarou is receiving D-mails instead of sending them.

    Now that Rintarou of 2025 is getting closer to tricking history, he tasks Rintarou of 8/21 with the last part of the plan, to save Kurisu without affecting anything afterward that leads to saving her. It sounds absurd but makes perfect sense if you think about it. If Rintarou of 2025 or Suzuha of 2036 just saved Kurisu themselves, they would’ve pre-empted the very three-week experience that caused Rintarou to try and save her in the first place. They would’ve gone to a whole new timeline and who knows what would go wrong there. The plan is to stay on the current timeline but save Kurisu. To do that, he needs to make sure that the current Rintarou of 8/21 saves Kurisu while fooling himself on 7/28 so that everything that’s happened up to this point remains exactly the same. The divergence to Steins Gate comes from destroying the research papers, but starts from August 21st onward when the time machine returns to that day. It’s not explicitly stated, but I presume that would be another 1+% divergence since World War 3 will have been prevented.

    1. To do that, he needs to make sure that the current Rintarou of 8/21 saves Kurisu while fooling himself on 7/28 so that everything that’s happened up to this point remains exactly the same.

      Hmm so that means afterwards 7/28 would send the d-mail. I’m curious so does this still mean that 7/28 Okabe shouldn’t see Kurisu alive so as to let him do same thing again? I wonder IF after they do fake her death they’ll….
      Show Spoiler ▼

      megalith
      1. Correct, Rintarou of 7/28 has to send the first D-mail and then has to go to great lengths to remove it from SERN’s database, sacrificing Kurisu in the process. Only then will he actually the motivation to try and save her, leading us to where we are now.

        He does not want to annul everything that has happened thus far from creating the initial shift to the Alpha timeline to getting back to the Beta timeline. They can’t just take Kurisu away because her body has to be there for Rintarou of 7/28 to stumble upon and send the first D-mail.

        The trick is, Rintarou never actually Show Spoiler ▼

      2. Ahahah! Now it makes perfect sense! The first segments in the first ep completely adds up to the expected ending. Thanks for the tip.

        Now I’m quite curious to see how they’ll pull it off. I mean if he goes back to that timeline again. Wouldn’t there be 3 Okabe’s in the same time?

        It’s like Back To The Future again except with confusing parts!

        megalith
      3. Hmm, I hadn’t thought about that but I presume so. As far as the current Rintarou of 8/21 is concerned, he just went back to kill Kurisu, so if he goes back again, he should run into himself again. This time, he has to stop Dr. Nakabashi and himself from killing Kurisu without Rintarou of 7/28 noticing. Suzuha only has enough fuel for one more jump too.

      4. In fact no one can return to the previous timeline. Everytime time travel occurs reality will be shifted to a new timeline, despite how minor the divergence is. So it’s impossible for Okabe to meet his other self that’s also time traveled.

        Kansokusha
      5. Hmm, is that right? It didn’t seem to make sense to me when I considered that possibility. Who killed Kurisu in the current timeline if not Rintarou then?

        Even a D-mail to the past that causes a divergence still exists in the present, except no one but Rintarou has any recollection of it being sent. Also, Suzuha going back in time to retrieve the IBN for Rintarou caused a shift but she continued to exist in the past, having physically traveled there.

        From my understanding, Rintarou has to annul the first failed attempt by stopping both Nakabashi and himself from killing Kurisu, similar to how he reversed the effect of D-mails by sending another one to cancel it out.

        I might be overlooking something here since I originally thought that nothing carries over to the new divergence too. However, in the first episode (for instance), Daru’s phone still had Rintarou’s D-mail from the Beta timeline. Also in the first episode, there was a second Rintarou around.

      6. In fact no one can return to the previous timeline. Everytime time travel occurs reality will be shifted to a new timeline, despite how minor the divergence is. So it’s impossible for Okabe to meet his other self that’s also time traveled.

        I’m kinda confused how it’s not possible.

        I mean.. Didn’t they come back to THAT same time line where he left his phone with Mayuri. Then how is not possible to land on that same spot?

        megalith
      7. It doesn’t have to be Rintarou killing Kurisu. Kansokusha mentioned that there wouldn’t be a third Rintarou (which I agreed). However, Kurisu would still die regardless of the method since she’s destined to die in this Beta timeline.

      8. It doesn’t have to be Rintarou killing Kurisu. Kansokusha mentioned that there wouldn’t be a third Rintarou (which I agreed).

        I’m quite aware of that since IIRC Okabe(2025) said something like that.

        Now I’m no VN reader so all the other parts are just me speculating on how it might end. Only thing that boggles me though is that why a 3rd Okabe in the same time line is not possible. I mean if Okabe does go to the same time line(which will be 3rd Okabe) there might be a shift in meter but it’s so small that it might not even have any significant effect.

        Man… I’m such a sucker for time travel. I love these kind of stories. Main reason why I enjoyed Disappearance and Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody so much.

        megalith
      9. I originally thought that there won’t be a third Rintarou either, but after megalith asked about it, the proper explanation as to why that is escapes me. Time travel is different from time leaping after all. When time traveling, there’s another Rintarou there to change the past, whereas when time leaping it’s always the Rintarou of the past with new memories doing something different.

        The only logical explanation I can think of is that the change that from this first attempt is so minor that it goes undetected by the “world”. The current timeline still “perceives” Dr. Nakabashi as the killer, because Rintarou didn’t actually change the past. All he did was create memories of him killing Kurisu — something that only he remembers because of his Reading Steiner. That would mean the only trace left behind from the first attempt are Rintarou’s memories of it.

        Kansokusha, let me know if you come across a proper explanation.

      10. I think Kansokusha might have been talking about a modified self-consistency principle where the current timeline itself will remain paradox free due to predetermined events.

        I say ‘modified’ because clearly Okarin has been changing time lines. All I can say is that the timeline he wants to change remains paradox free i.e. he never meets any of his other selves due to free will or random events. Okarin is essentially altering the course of time but not actually changing what his previous attempted jumps have perceived.

        Though, I fail to see why there needs to be three Okarin’s in the any of the episodes to explain the situation.

        Hrmmm
      11. But Divine.. if the only thing created from that event was Okarin’s memory of killing Kurisu, then there shouldn’t be blood all over Okarin’s coat. I’m getting confuse myself now. Let’s just say that the next time he comes back, it would be a time line where he never attempted to save Kurisu and failing to do so. That way only 2 Okarins would be present at that time.

        MrRei
      12. MrRei: That’s exactly what doesn’t add up. They’re clearly in a timeline now where one trip back to 7/28 already happened. Rintarou has blood on him and Suzuha has memories of the failed attempt too. So logically, if they were to go back now, the Rintarou and Suzuha from earlier would be there too.

      1. No worries. I didn’t mind the mention of all that, even if it’s in the game, since at this point these extra scenarios from the game are actually helpful in understanding all of this, and are not really in any way spoilerific.

        Tre
      2. Yeah, I’m only talking about stuff that’s happened in the anime, but isn’t very obvious without knowing stuff from the game. The anime will unlikely explain anything that’s happened in anymore detail, so it’s up to the viewer to piece it all together. I’m merely trying to supplement that understanding since I went digging around to clarify things for myself.

    2. If your summary turns out to be correct (and she makes alot of sense), then you won an interweb with me 😉

      (I’ve stayed away from spoilers religiously, so I can’t comment on how correct Divine is and if anyone knows for sure PLEASE don’t ruin it for me by confirming or rejecting anything)

      Mentar
      1. Save for the date that World War 3 broke out, all of the above is actually based on stuff that’s happened in the anime but will likely never been explained in anymore detail than it’s been presented. I’m merely trying to supplement everyone’s understanding up until this point without saying anything about the conclusion.

    3. so in some ways, this “deceiving” thing is almost similar to the idea chaos;head brought up. What most other people perceive = what truth or history that happens. So If every one (including the early 8/21 Okabe*) perceives Makise Kurisu as dead, she’ll be dead. But on the other hand the later 8/21 Okabe** will secretly save her, making her alive as well. And then all he has to do is burn the paper, retrieve the metal oopa. Then the Steins;gate timeline begins…
      The future(2015) Okabe could send Suzuha to help him accomplish this at any date, but under the condition that it was 8/21(or later) and late 8/21 okabe did it, they could preserve the memories from the other timeline.

      Does this make sense? This is my interpretation of what the plan is…

      Also, funny thing about the timeline you posted. It included Robotic;Notes in the steins;gate timeline, which is the next installment in the 5pb Sci-Fi Series. 🙂

      *Early 8/21 Okabe = before he time traveled and “killed” Makise
      **Late 8/21 Okabe = after he time traveled and “killed” Makise

      RainbowIslands
    4. I was confused reading this and I didn’t want to see the official timeline in case of Show Spoiler ▼

      so I tried to put it into a pseudo-timeline. I left out a lot of the reasoning Divine had up. Hope it helps some people.

      [Beta V1] 28 July
      – Kyouma sees dead Makisu
      – Sees static message sent by future Kyouma
      – Metal Upa disappears
      – Sends First D-mail Timeline changes from [Beta V1] to [Alpha]
      [Alpha] July-August
      – 3 weeks of repeated struggle to save Mayuri
      – Develops feelings for Makisu in this struggle
      – Transitions to [Beta V2]
      [Beta V2] 20/21 August
      – End of Episode 22
      – Difference between this and Beta is Kyouma remembers his struggle in [Alpha]
      [Beta V2 Future] 2025
      – Operation Skuld is commenced
      – Future Kyouma sends static message back to [Beta V1]
      – 2025 Suzuha jumps back to [Beta V2] 2010
      [Beta V2] 21 August
      – Beginning of Episode 23
      – Suzuha tells [Beta V2] Kyouma to go back to [Beta V1] to save Makisu
      [Beta V1] 28 July
      – [Beta V2] Kyouma stabs Makisu
      – [Beta V2] Kyouma] travels from [Beta V1] 28 July back to [Beta V3] 21 August
      [Beta V3] 21 August
      – Difference between [Beta V2] and [Beta V3] is that Kyouma suffers the pain of killing Makisu
      – Kyouma watches the video sent by [Beta V2 Future] Kyouma again and this time he can comprehend it due to the slight timeline shift
      – [Beta V3] Kyouma continues Operation Skuld
      – End of Episode 23

      Operation Skuld, from my understanding, is causing another switch in the Beta timeline whereby Kyouma of [Beta V1] sees Makisu’s body and so therefore still sends the D-mail to shift into the [Alpha]; BUT this time Makisu wasn’t actually dead when Kyouma sees her. This causes an event shift when Kyouma will eventually try to rescue her.

      Hrmmm
    5. I just did marathon. I like waiting and watching 1 or 2 episodes before the end. 🙂

      I like time travel plots.. but the multiple worlds interpretation really confuses me more than the one with paradoxes (like how Trunks got back to his own universe after saving Son Goku – that confused me). Steins;Gate is more like Radiant Historia in terms of gaming. But seems like the way to “revive” Kurisu is more like the way to revive Crono in Chrono Trigger.

      MrRei
      1. To me S;G is exactly the type of show which justifies the waiting time between each episode. It allows you to think about what you saw, to work on making the whole piece together. It’s not Giant Killing (great show so far to me, that’s why I take it as an example) where you can watch episodes after episodes without making your brain works.
        I’m not only talking about the world lines but also about the work behind every character’s personality. I already said it for a previous ep but there are many things noticeable about how this anime tries as much as possible to use subtle details so that everything and everybody develop as they have to.

        I’m not sure I’m clear about what I’m saying but just remind that :

        Don’t rush on S;G ! :p

        MimS
      2. While I could agree that it’s not best for the story to be marathon like that.. Maybe it would be different for other people, but it didn’t affect the character development for me.
        The only reason I did marathon this was to avoid spoilers. This is exactly the kind of story that would get me to spoil myself. Waiting for a marathon run was actually a good judgement on my part.

        If anyone is planning to marathon S;G, it’s fine. But it is a good idea to wait off 1 day per episode and make yourself build theories on your own (that would be torture for the curious mind though).

        MrRei
  18. This is the first time I couldn’t follow an episode in S;G.

    I was kinda lost when he said the answer was deceiving everyone. Save her without changing the past where she died.

    My mind is full of fluff.

    megalith
  19. “I can see the ending”
    So I was somehow right – the death of Kurisu triggers WW3 by her dad getting her papers and starting temporal cold war ending with big bang.
    The deception as a key to affecting past was done in Show Spoiler ▼

    too… and to say it would make great anime would be understatement!

    ewok40k
    1. Commie has a relatively good translation of the new and old OP lyrics, and essentially the new OP is about the events of 22/23/24 while the old OP is more vaguely about the events of the series leading up to the climax.

      My favorite from the new one:
      “So now I try to beat time itself with the gadgets I have left, and I observe alone in my solitude but never doubt myself”

  20. I think the story can be linked with the Schrodinger’s cat.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat

    The cat is Kurisu.
    The radioactive source is Okabe
    The sealed box is the Radio building, or the whole story of Steins;Gate itself.
    And the observer is “the one on the other side of the monitor, with the dumb expression”, viewer of the show ourselves.

    As is The state of the cat is not determined until the box is opened, whether Kurisu is dead or not is not determined until we watches episodes and reach to the first end or the true end.

    modoki
  21. Mostly what I expected :
    I knew Okabe would be the murderer… But I completely forgot about Kurisu’s father jealousy, also I though Okabe would steal metal upa, never imagined it’ld save Doctor Nakabashi…

    Anyway, interesting way to change events : deceiving the world, though I’m wondering something, how is Okabe sure he’ll live again this 3 weeks which made him fall in love for Kurisu? Also, is there any risk for Mayuri?
    I don’t get these points…

    MimS
    1. he isnt RE-living his 3 weeks :p the 33 jears old from that timeline lived them so he knew he lived them 15 years back :p then he send suzuha to make sure okabe fell in the right timeline cause that is what happened with old okabe too and thats what forced him to make a time-machine and he made sure okabe relived what he actualy had lived allready that’s why he knew :p he set it in motion himself.

      freedomapoc
      1. There’s no guarantee that Kurisu will fall in love with Rintarou again, but she would be alive and he’s still in love with her so there’s always the possibility.

        Mayuri won’t die like she did in the Alpha timeline because they’re moving to a new one, i.e. Steins Gate. The divergence would happen at August 21st this time and not July 28th.

      2. Ok, so you agree with me about Kurisu.
        This is great; I think we have some interesting point here. Kurisu not falling in love with Okabe would be an awesome ending. Well, just my op 🙂

        MimS
      3. It could end with my theory that those interacting with the Reading Steiner wielder Okabe, are able to retain some semblance of their memory from the other world lines even though they are in the (quotes hrmmm) BetaV3 world line.
        At the time when Okabe time traveled, when he saw Makise alive, he was overjoyed. He even tried to hug her, but Makise pushed him away dropping the time machine paper. As Okabe said: I… you…, Makise looked at him with eyes different from those of a tsundere who was about to be sexually harrased by a man she didn’t know. Thus, at this point she knows deep down that Okabe was not someone she should be afraid of.

        alabaster
      4. But remember that those memories of other time lines are within each person although they are not conscious of them- unlike Okabe. Like Feyris, Ruka and even Kurisu. But Okabe was able to trigger those memories-without intending to do so. So perhaps at some point, somehow, Kurisu WILL remember Okabe and their time together.

        CarolV
  22. I was wonder… what made Okabe of 8/21 at that day remembers everything from alpha to beta time line in the alpha time line? Then if they did save Kurisu won’t that still change the course of events that lead to WWIII and Okabe of 2025?

    setsuke
    1. If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about, then the flashbacks were for emphasis after his future self told him not to forget those three weeks. World War 3 happens in the Beta timeline because Kurisu is dead and her paper leads to the creation of a time machine. Right now, saving Kurisu and destroying her paper are seen as a single change to prevent World War 3.

      Just to be clear:
      – Beta is the current timeline where Mayuri lives, Kurisu dies, and World War 3 results.
      – Alpha is the timeline where Mayuri dies.

      1. I don’t quite understand what you’re asking. If Rintarou just stopped the original D-mail that triggered everything that happened in the Alpha timeline, then Kurisu would still be dead, and Rintarou would never get to know her and never try to save her. World War 3 would be guaranteed too with no one trying to prevent it.

  23. I like a happy ending as much as the next guy, unless the next guy happens to like happy endings more than me. But as much as I root for one here, it sort of feels cheap to me if everyone has their cake and eats it too. If Okarin is happy, Kurisu survives and she and Okarin are together, Mayushi lives, there’s no WW III and no dystopia – well, that’s great and all. But shouldn’t there be some sort of lasting cost to all this time meddling – something that can’t be erased by further time time meddling?

    Again, I love these characters and I’m neither rooting for tragedy or assuming the above “everybody wins” scenario is already locked in. But S;G has generally played by the literary rules so far, and if does work out that way it would feel just a little like cheating to me.

    1. One could possibly say that what has been the ‘cost’ for Okarin is the other relationships he has had to sacrifice and the pain and suffering he went through. I’m not sure if this helps, but perhaps a comparison with Clannad – After Story’s ending and this might make some sense. After all, it ended rather happily for the main protagonists of the story.

      I would think things wouldn’t end on a direct happy note though. Perhaps someone gets a memory wipe or something. You never know with the way Steins; Gate is playing out.

      Owaranai
    2. Watching the people he loves die in front of him hundreds of times isn’t a lasting cost?

      There’s also Kurisu’s relationship with her father, and the impact on all of Okabe’s relationships.

      Whatever the ending, it’s not going to come for free.

    3. As others stated. I think the trials and traumas he’s experienced would be lesson enough, at least for him. Also there is the ever present threat that any additional change would through things completely off again.

      Tez
    4. Living with the weight of seeing your best friend die countless times and your beloved one killed by your own hand… I think that’s more than enough of a price to pay for this time meddling.
      Now, considering the tone of this show I guess there will be sth else. Another punch to the gut or as my brother says a “Disney moment”.

      CarolV
    5. That seems to be the general reaction – emotional pain is the cost. I don’t deny the pain, and I love Obabe – he’s suffered enough, undeniably. But I guess I’m looking at this from an FMA perspective, and not a S;G one.

      Emotional cost? Undeniable. In terms of folks like Ruka and Feyris giving up their “wishes”, well, that was painful but they didn’t give up anything they had before all the time manipulation started. Feyris’ father was already gone and Ruka was already a boy. In terms of poetic justice, I wonder if there needs to be some sort of material price to be paid, not just an emotional one, for all the time meddling – something taken than can’t be restored by further time meddling.

      Just to be clear – emotionally, I want the happy ending. I love every one of these characters and they deserve it. I just wonder if that isn’t fudging the cosmic rules just a little.

    6. What do you guys think about what future Okarin said? He said that he will spend 15 years of obsession into building the time machine. Chances are since he need 15 years, Kurisu is not by his side helping him.

      lkaze
    7. Of course Kurisu won’t be able to help him – she is dead.

      And the Steins Gate Worldline is not a happy one neither. Since its Attractor Field is completely broken, nothing is predetermined. We knew that something terrible is going to happen 9 years later… Robotics;Notes

      Kansokusha
  24. Amazing stuff. I love the characters, their quirks, the tense moments, the music…everything. This has been a most satisfying journey with S;G and this episode looks to be leading up to a very exciting and great conclusion.

    Kudos once again to VAs, especially Miyano. His voice acting really brought out plenty of emotion, and even made me felt like feeling immensely relieved at seeing Kurisu alive again. Not sure if that made sense. XD

    The idea of Schrodinger’s Cat is quite interesting, though I’m no expert on it. Quite apt when his future self told him he was doing things in the wrong way, which means he was also looking at it in the wrong way. The reverting of his mad scientist persona probably described a departure from that and played out well with the ED music.

    What caught me out was that Nakabachi was Kurisu’s dad, and it was intriguing how their side drama played out to result in Okarin’s unfortunate manslaughter.

    Oh, and like many others… =)
    Suzuha in fatigues + hair done up = cute

    Owaranai
  25. this is the anime of the year

    trust me
    i came from the future

    should this not be the anime of the year, this will result to fan rage by anime people and thus leading to the overthrow of the world 🙂

    and i m here to prevent it from happening!!

    so Enzo please change the future
    it all lies in your hand
    EL PSY CONGRE!

    i m mad scientist, itso COOOOOL

    John Titor
  26. this was the best episode so far
    the peek of the series!
    perfect to lead to the ending 🙂 whatever happens in next epi i won’t be deceived now 🙂
    let’s go to the stein’s gate timeline! 😀

    freedomapoc
  27. So that POS stole Mayuri’s Metal Oopa?? Okarin killing Kurisu was also a surprise.

    Oh at this time, Mayuri and Moeka’s drama cds are already non-spoilerish. Mayuri’s cd took place between the time machine travelling back and the slap by Mayuri. It really makes the entire idea of streams converging into a river of time stand out and shows the Mayuri from ep 12 might be the drama cd Mayuri.

    It was funny to see Daru totally lost everytime Suzuha said “dad”.

    Anyway given the entire Attractor Field, infinite world lines and divergence numbers, having one out of the pull of the various attractor fields make sense if we think of attractor fields as gravitional fields. Sionce the possbilities = infinity, statistics would mean that its inevitable that one would fufil that condition

    Zaku Fan
    1. The cargo caught fire. The time machine document was supposed to be stored with the cargo when Dr. Nakabachi takes his flight to Russia. As there was a Metal Uupa inside the envelope, the document couldn’t get pass the security scanning so Nakabachi kept it with him, thus sparing it from the fire. Mayushii’s Metal Uupa is the catalyst of WWIII. How ironic.

      Kansokusha
  28. So if I got it right, Okarin has to prevent Dr. Grumpy-Daddy from getting that metal oopa – so that he sends the Time Machine paper to the cargo of the plane, where it will burn, thus preventing WW3.
    In addition – Okarin has to make Krisu play-dead in a pool of ketchup so that his past-self will wittness it.
    I think he will find some crazy way to make Krisu play-dead (like giving her a hit on the head with a pan and spilling some paint *shrug*) but how will he prevent the metal oopa from getting to the Dr.’s hands with that attractor feild thing? aren’t all things in a timeline MENT to happen and WILL happen no matter what? well I guess that’s the whole fun with S;G, you just have to speculate 🙂

    Does anybody remember Lamma-san from the lab’s TV? I’m sure he will make a special guest-apperance for the finale! 😀 (I really do hope XD)

    lucci
  29. So basically, what Okarin need to do is to fake death of Kurisu by whatsoever means, right?

    What I don’t get it is that isn’t Kurisu’s death was destined by the Attractor Field in the first place?? How he’s gonna pull this trick off??

    C204
    1. Okabe is the world’s observer. All his past self observed is that Kurisu’s lying in a pool of blood. Nothing more. In an Attractor Field, yes no one can change the predetermined event, but it’s possible to interfere the result without changing the event itself.

      Kansokusha
  30. So 2000’s titor realy was suzuha, then was it also to visit her family?.
    But I wonder what was the difference that make the time machine able to go to future.
    If I’m right the beta one was built by Daru only but this one was built by okabe then Daru.
    And what kind of fuel does it need? plutonium?

    Also can someone translate what future Okabe really said that was translated by “good luck”?
    It sounded like kentou mou inai which would mean no more supposition but not sure.

    1. Suzuha went to 2000 to warn ppl about the inevitable WWIII, just like the RL John Titor. Notice what Okabe said back in ep2 and ep3.

      Surely the time machines are different. The FG204 in Alpha was an incomplete replica built by Daru using stolen data from SERN; on the other hand, the C204 in Beta is a collaborate project between Daru and SERN, a perfect time machine. Okabe was long dead when they finished it in 2036. They never stated what fuel was used to power the machine tho, even in the official materials.

      The future Okabe said 「健闘を祈る」”kentou wo inoru”. 健闘=Good fight, 祈る=Pray, which means “Wish you a good fight/Hope you can overcome your obstacles”, in short “Put up a good fight”, or simply, well, “Good luck”.

      Kansokusha
  31. Wow, the end of the episode really made me smile like an idiot! Got me really pumped up for the final episode. With only one episode left, I really wonder how they are going to wrap it up. But honestly, I just cannot imagine this show failing at the final episode. I have high hopes, don’t disappoint me!

    El Psy Congroo.

    HenDarou
  32. So Okarin need to change the past without changing the past…

    Sounds easy enough, right? (sarcastically). I think everything was explained rather well, all but one mystery remain. The rest as they say is history.

    So I was right, but in a wrong way. LOL! In fact, I am glad the anime didn’t go my speculation on SERN dystopia. I was rather happy to see how things turn out. Like a person once said, “The best things in life is sometimes being proven wrong…”

    I would love to answer all your comments, but because the ending is next, I don’t want to risk being infected with spoilers. So for the first time, I actually read Enzo post before commenting. I am also leaving one comment. Once again spoilers people are to blame. Somebody comment about Dr. Nab was the father way back in the beginning and cippled with several people statement of WW3 made me realized they are spoilers, too. So I read no comments for this episode, but I will comment on the finale. It will probably be around 1,000 comments, 100 of it might be from me alone.

    I am not going to speculate or predict the ending here. Why? Because this episode shown me that the best things in life are left for surprises. SO let it be.

    Several details I like to state:
    -Dr. Nab as the father…Wow
    -Okarin as the killer…What?! (Ironically I was the only one to speculate Okarin did it as a possibility)
    -Mad scientist is back…From delusion to reality, Okarin was right all along

    So til next episode, see ya…

    -El Psy Congroo

    chaos
  33. The real John Titor went back to year 1975’to get the IBN5100, so did Suzuha.
    The real John Titor said he needed the IBN5100 for some programming as the computer they used didnt have thoae of what they needed, about the same as why okabe needed it.
    Only the people who made the IBN computer knew that it had special programming specs which current computer dont have. There were only about 20 people who knew it. And John Titor knew abt that(WOW)
    There was WW3 which tooknplace in both John n Suzuha worldline.

    John Titor stop by year 2000 to see his family again. Similiar to Suzuha who did this to prevent ww3 or see daru:)

    THIZ Epic anime made me read on John Titor n his theories
    This John Titor could really be an epic hoax or a real time traveller.
    Scientist have agreed with the worldline theory which John talked about.
    During 2001 John said CERN would be able to create black holes and it was true, at the end of they year, CERN said they would be able to make small black holes. Link: http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread124980/pg1
    This is also similiar to SERN in the anime, however it is unknown whether it was due to the invention of TT that caused ww3 in John’s worldline
    I do believe he is a time traveller.

    Great anime!!
    I love Time Travel!! ( i didnt before this anime was out)

    Ze Zombie'^^
  34. Can someone explain to me how they returned to the Beta world line just by deleting some information on Sern’s database? Near the end of Ep22, Okabe presses a button on the keyboard to delete the information and somehow magically the world lines shift…

    I mean, we’ve seen how timelines shift… D-mails, Time Leaps, Time Machines… but deleting information off a database??? Just because you delete something off Sern’s database doesn’t mean Sern employees will somehow forget everything related to that data. It’s like saying that if you delete Steins;Gate Ep22 off your harddrive, you will forget that you’ve ever watched it.

    DrKM
    1. I can explain that because I had to think about it too.

      If you recall how Rintarou undid all the D-mails, he sent another one to cancel — not prevent — the effects of the first one. By doing so, it causes a divergence to a timeline as if nothing ever happened. He can’t actually go back and prevent the original D-mail from being sent in the first place, because it came from another timeline that he’s no longer in (e.g. Alpha 0.5710xx vs 0.5232xx). What he can do is get back to a timeline very similar to the original one, except for the fact that there are two D-mails where nothing resulted from. i.e. A very small divergence from the original line.

      This is the key distinction about how time travel works in Steins;Gate. Because of the many-worlds interpretation, Rintarou’s not actually changing the future by meddling in the past. He’s merely jumping between world lines by changing events that align him with a certain timeline. This is also why he can fool “the world” (i.e. the timeline) by not changing the past. He won’t jump to a drastically different timeline if the world doesn’t perceive a notable change in its history (e.g. someone dying or living).

      In the case of the first D-mail, this put Rintarou in the Alpha timeline because it led to SERN detecting its existence and eventually creating a time machine by capturing Rintarou, Kurisu, and Daru, and seizing their microwave. It just so happens that in this timeline, Kurisu is alive and Mayuri is fated to die. By deleting the D-mail from SERN’s database before they got a chance to do anything with it, Rintarou effectively stops the chain of events that comprise the very definition of the Alpha timeline, putting him back into a timeline much closer to the Beta one. It’s not the exact same Beta timeline he started in though, because in this one a D-mail was sent but subsequently deleted without a trace. It’s only a minor fluctuation though, so things will converge back to the the Beta timeline. Think of it as a ripple in the timeline.

      1. By deleting the D-mail from SERN’s database before they got a chance to do anything with it, Rintarou effectively stops the chain of events that comprise the very existence of the Alpha timeline, putting him back into a timeline much closer to the Beta one.

        I understand how the timeline will be similar to the Beta timeline if the data is deleted before SERN has a chance to do anything with it, but I do not understand the method of shifting timelines just by hitting the “Enter” button to delete the data from SERN’s database.

        Deleting the data from SERN’s database before they got a chance to do anything with it will “put” them in a timeline much closer to the Beta one. However, this should not cause the timeline to SHIFT. The timeline should simply DIVERGE into a timeline similar to the Beta timeline. That would mean Kurisu is alive and well, Mayuri might still be fated to die, but SERN would know nothing of Okabe and his lab.

        DrKM
    2. @Divine
      Yay, finally someone brings up the MWI! XD
      The Attractor Field Theory is basically a combination of the MWI and the self-consistency principle, with some modifications here and there.

      But the question is that how could Okabe shift the timeline when SERN has already noticed the 1st D-mail? This has been a doubt among all the VN readers for a long time.

      Here is the official explanation. John Titor said in one of her @ch posts if a predetermined major event is to be altered, the world will “recontruct” both the past and the future by shifting to a perfectly logical timeline to avoid time paradox. By deleting the D-mail log entry from the Echelon in 17 Aug, the history from 28 Jul to 17 Aug has been rewritten – it doesn’t matter whether SERN has already noticed the D-mail. They explained that as the D-mail is “heretical and outside the cycle of causality”, simple interference of the D-mail like deleting can cause a dramatic change in divergence.

      Kansokusha
      1. John Titor said in one of her @ch posts if a predetermined major event is to be altered, the world will “recontruct” both the past and the future by shifting to a perfectly logical timeline to avoid time paradox. By deleting the D-mail log entry from the Echelon in 17 Aug, the history from 28 Jul to 17 Aug has been rewritten – it doesn’t matter whether SERN has already noticed the D-mail. They explained that as the D-mail is “heretical and outside the cycle of causality”, simple interference of the D-mail like deleting can cause a dramatic change in divergence.

        I guess I didn’t get the memo. Where can I find this?

        DrKM
  35. It feels like that although Okarin will be able to save Kurisu’s life, the two of them will be separated from each other, despite being alive. This also kinda ties in with what Kurisu said in ep 22, about having Okarin think about her every once in a while.

    Kentaiyoshimi
  36. I’m on for a 11eyes ending. Anyone who saw it probably understand what I mean.

    Otherwise, we will probably have Rintarou playing chrono trigger in the next ep… Great.
    Good to see that most of my theorizing was right, though I find the end a bist… “fast”.

    I’m also quite affraid for suzuha’s life; the serie seems to forget the many world interpretation for now. Before, changing the past would not have been a problem for Suzuha. now;.. it could create a paradox and erase her. Kuh.

    >>MrRei: That’s exactly what doesn’t add up. They’re clearly in a timeline now where one trip back to 7/28 already happened. Rintarou has blood on him and Suzuha has memories of the failed attempt too. So logically, if they were to go back now, the Rintarou and Suzuha from earlier would be there too.

    Yes and no. If you talk about time travel by world lines, they shouldn’t. The problem is that two okabe meeting shouldn’t create a paradox if it was by world line. And steins is REALLY dodgy about its time structure since ~ 7 episodes. Here is the problem.

    A lot of things don’t add up in this episode, but I’m quite sure that it’s just because I didn’t think about it enough for now. The only thing I know is that apparently, another Okabe tried before this one, and failed, under different circumstances. In other words, the Okabe from ep1 didn’t EXACTLY do the same things as our Okabe in this episode.

    Elkeryos
    1. Hu, and sorry for the double post, but I forgot; my personnal guess for the next episode is Okabe stabbing himself, or trying to make Kurisu’s father stab him (it shouldn’t be too bad, since he is a BIT quick-tempered.

      Kurisu pass out somehow, probably because of her father or because of the sock. Suzuha covers Kurisu in blood and put her in the middle of the blood Okabe lost, and then she quickly take the wounded Okabe back in the time machine and bring him to the hospital. And he survives somehow.

      Something like that. I’m not exactly sure about the details, but it is my ideas of how it should happen.

      Elkeryos
  37. Good episode to a good anime. Not only is the story great, the physics involved are generally accurate too lol. Get this, those mini black holes created by the LHC mentioned earlier in the anime really do exist, but only for a fraction of a second -something like a million millionths of a second. Trippy stuffzz.

    Danksy
    1. Just to avoid any misconceptions that the picks in those posts are intended to be awards, I think I’m going to rename them “Personal Favorites of 20xx” this year. Right now, I have Steins;Gate down as my favorite story, but who knows what’s going to happen in the fall with shows like Gundam AGE, Guilty Crown, and Fate/Zero. (Granted, shows like Gundam AGE are probably two-cour and won’t end in 2011.)

      1. Care to pass on your sources? I’m curious to know where these numbers are coming from since I look for reliable sources for the season preview. Please don’t include user-submitted sites like ANN and MAL though.

  38. The sad thing about all of this is, that Show Spoiler ▼

    I’m amazed how well they pulled this off. It was easier to understand in the game – because reading something enables you to think about it in your own pace, but the anime did a great job.

    Now they just need to use A.R. once (and the PSP opening but that does not count as much) and I am very happy about this anime.

    Kamion
      1. That was never implied. The only thing that was implied was that Kurisu getting stabbed will be prevented. There’s nothing about him in there.

        But well, there’s no info about his Beta-Fate either, so well.

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Kamion
      2. Show Spoiler ▼

        o_O
  39. Just wondering,
    What would happen to the ‘old’ okarin sends the first d-mail ?

    Yes, it might be possible that he won’t send any, but given the fact the current okarin has established the closed loop demonstrated at the first episode, it is expected.

    none
  40. I can’t wait for tomorrow even though I have to exams one in the morning and the other in the afternoon regardless of the result I have something positive to look forward as long they don’t screw with the end.

    oscuda
  41. I cherished up to you’ll receive carried out proper here. The caricature is attractive, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get got an shakiness over that you would like be handing over the following. ill undoubtedly come further formerly again as exactly the similar just about very regularly inside of case you shield this hike.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *