Final Impressions / First Impressions / Steins;Gate

「終わりと始まりのプロローグ」 (Owari to Hajimari no Purorōgu)
“Prologue to the End and Beginning”

Tuturu! Finale season is upon us, and it begins with one of the most highly anticipated endings in many a year as Steins;Gate finally concludes its epic journey through time. The obvious question on everyone’s mind – did it live up to the hype?

For the most part, I would have to say yes. Finales are hard – damn hard. And in many ways the better the series the harder it is to meet expectations (I could point to countless examples of this). White Fox chose a safe route for this ending, delivering up a satisfying 22 minutes that was short on surprises but long on audience gratification. I would judge this episode to be a couple of notches below the very best this series has had to offer, but I’d be hard-pressed to think of a really good series whose final episode was among the very strongest.

In a sense it seems as if the suspense was sucked out of this episode by the epic blockbuster last week, which effectively spoiled the ending in almost every way. Thus, the drama this time wasn’t so much about wondering what was going to happen as in anticipating it. Okabe’s plan went off more or less as expected, with only one real surprise – but it was a shocker. Covering all his bases, he poached the metal oopa before his other self could snag it for Mayuri, ensuring that Professor Nakabachi’s paper (really Kurisu’s paper) would burn on the plane. The meat of his plan was exactly as he laid out from the future – con his younger self into believing Kurisu was stabbed when in reality, she was only unconscious. The tools of the trade: a Taser and the “Cyalume Saber” – a future gadget full of a sticky red liquid that would obviously come in very useful.

Here’s where the episode took its one real shocking turn. With the blood inside the light sabre dried up, Okabe had to think quickly, and an already GAR character established his place in the GAR Hall of Fame. With no fake blood to fool himself, Okabe used the most obvious source of real blood around – himself – and goaded Kurisu’s father into stabbing him. When he stuck those four fingers into the wound to generate the volume he needed – wow. That was definitely the most intense moment of the finale. There was a part of me that wondered just for a moment if we were going to get equivalent exchange after all, but I never really believed that – so it came as no surprise that when he returned three weeks into the future with Suzuha, he made it to the hospital in time. Suzuha herself disappeared, her future self now never having needed to travel back in time.

Was I surprised to see Kurisu cross paths with Okabe during the epilogue? No, I pretty much expected it. But then, it was artfully done – I enjoyed watching Mayuri chase Okabe from lab member to lab member, giving us one last chance (or was it?) to see old friends. What I especially enjoyed was the subtle irony written into the script – if Okabe’s Cyalume Saber had worked, it seems to me that Kurisu would never have come looking for him. It was the act of taking a knife wound for her than impressed her enough to do that, which I suppose was the choice of Steins;Gate. El Psy Congroo. That was definitely a clever and poetic cherry on top of the story.

So in the end, we got a lot of vamping (Mayuri’s “Okae-Rin!” – how cute was that?) by the major characters and an almost totally happy ending. Daru mugged for the camera and asked about his future wife, Okabe gave us several full-on mad scientist moments, and Moeka even got a job at Braun’s shop. I’m actually a fan of the happy ending, and we don’t really see them all that often. I was a little conflicted, since part of me felt like there had to be a lasting price paid for all the time meddling that happened here, but no one could make the case that Okabe didn’t suffer plenty – Mayuri and Kurisu too, to a lesser degree. So I have no complaints. This was a character driven series in spite of all the time travel and pseudo-science, and I was thrilled to see these characters end the story happy and in a good place. If it wasn’t a thrilling and mind-blowing finale, it was certainly a satisfying one – and that’s good enough for me.

 

ED4 Sequence

ED4: 「Another Heaven」 by いとうかなこ (Itou Kanako)

Final Impressions:

When people (me included) write the book on anime in 2011, there’s no question that Steins;Gate is going to be acknowledged as one of the most important and most popular anime of the year. Through three quarters, S;G, Madoka Magica and AnoHana are probably the three most talked-about series of the year. In my mind this show is clearly deserving of that honor – it won’t end up as my number one series of the year but it will certainly rank in the top 10, and certainly ahead of Madoka Magica. It may also rank with Kanon 2006 as one of the greatest VN adaptations of all time.

The fact that I went into this series with almost no knowledge of the source material and was still able to enjoy it as thoroughly as I did speaks volumes about the fantastic job White Fox did with this adaptation. They realized going in that they were making an anime, not a game, and as simple as that sounds it’s something studios get wrong all the time. I won’t drone on about why adapting games and VNs is so difficult, but to have accomplished the task of pleasing the VN fans and thrilling a new group of viewers may be Steins;Gate’s greatest victory. There were remarkably few complaints from the gamers and the new viewers were hooked in almost immediately by the fascinating premise and great dialogue. White Fox took a twisting, convoluted series of routes and weaved them into a coherent, linear dialogue that was full of mystery but easy to follow. They did this in part by telling the audience just enough every week to feel like they were getting somewhere, while still keeping a few mysteries up their sleeve.

One of the things that pleased me almost immediately about this series was the dialogue. Whatever the source material, it was funny – really, genuinely funny and smart to boot. I commented way back when (before I even joined RC) that listening to Okabe and Kurisu banter was like listening to Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn go at it in one of the great screwball comedies of the 30’s and 40’s. The meat of the credit goes to the writing staff, especially Hanada Jukki (Seitokai no Ichizon, Level E, Natsume Yuujinchou, Sola, Kuragehime – what a track record!) But the cast deserves their share of the praise as well. Imai Asami, KanaHana, Tamura Yukari, Goto Saori – I’ve called all of them out for their strong work here over the last couple of months. But the center of the show was obviously Miyano Mamoru as Okabe, and he delivers one of the standout seiyuu performances of recent memory. To be blunt, I wasn’t a big fan of his before this series, but he’s found the role of a lifetime here. Okabe Rintarou is a perfect fit for Miyano’s grandiose, snarky delivery – but what really impressed me was the depth of emotion he was able to bring to Okabe’s darker moments. Miyano was great at hitting dialogue like “Hello, I am mad scientist – so coool! Sunovabitch.” out of the park, and he nailed the romantic banter with Imai Asami’s Kurisu. But he also went to some very dark places with Okabe and really showed us what was happening in the mind of this strange, egomaniacal, insecure and ultimately heroic 18 year-old. He’s my early favorite for male seiyuu performance of the year, along with Hirata Hiroaki’s Kabaragi Kotestsu.

So in the end, I would call Steins;Gate a success in every way these things can be measured. It was superb visually, pleased fans both old and new, drew strong ratings and sold a ton of DVDs and Blu-Rays. And the great thing is, all of it was deserved. It was a first-class production that delivered both as an entertainment and as something more, a series that was smart and filled with big ideas that both played fair with its audience and challenged them. I guess all that it was led to the announcement at the end of the episode that there would be a film adaptation of the story. Details are sketchy at this point, and the short clip certainly didn’t give anything away, but I have enough faith in White Fox to view this announcement with excitement rather than trepidation. As good a job as they did with the TV, I expect they’ll do just fine with the movie.

 

Preview (Movie)

454 Comments

      1. If you’re looking for the VN you can Google it but sadly its RAW. Fortunately for us non-Japanese people, English subs are on its way. Tentative release (this is fansub BTW) is December 2011.

        nagi
        Reply

  8. This is the most epic serious I have ever come across in my years of watching anime. This is easily one of my favorites (top 5) and deserves a 9.3/10 .

    Was it wrong for me to want a sinister ending or an unsolved one? I’m happy with this ending but I still have that empty feeling that would have been filled with a tragic one.

    EightMoon
    Reply

  11. With the blood inside the light sabre dried up, Okabe had to think quickly, and an already GAR character established his place in the GAR Hall of Fame.

    Agreed – he was already an awesome, funny and relate-able character but this moment pretty much propelled him into BADASS territory.

    But the center of the show was obviously Miyano Mamoru as Okabe, and he delivers one of the standout seiyuu performances of recent memory. To be blunt, I wasn’t a big fan of his before this series, but he’s found the role of a lifetime here.

    Yeah, this has to be his best role up to date. Now when I hear Tamaki or Light I feel like something is missing. Even Okabe’s “Keikaku Doori” is much better than Light’s.

    Darklord
    Reply

    3. I also had another theory of why there weren’t 3 Rintarous. The first time travel was aimed to arrive at the “original” timeline. The moment Rintarou and Suzuha arrived at the “original” timeline, the “original” timeline “diverged” into a separate timeline where Rintarou accidentally kills Christina. Even though this may seem to be exactly the same as the “original” timeline and go “undetected” as you say, it is ultimately a different timeline with its own divergence (or identity) number.

      The second time travel was also aimed at the “original” timeline and as before, the moment Rintarou and Suzuha arrived, the “original” timeline “diverged” once again. This time, the divergence led to a different timeline where Rintarou carries out Operation Skuld.

      Since Rintarou is traveling to the same exact time, and not to a time where he has already time traveled, there will only be at most two Rintarous at a time.

      This is only my theory, I’m not saying that this is correct or anything! =D

      DrKM
      Reply

      1. Ok just like Divine was saying it wasnt a big enough change to completely alter the world line cuz she still died and didnt make it go under 1%. And every time they go back they create a new branch of time with a differnt divergence ID number. I guess the important thing is to not make the divergence number go under 1%.

        infinite
        Reply

      2. This is similar to my explanation, except I believe the divergence happens when Rintarou and Suzuha return to their time (i.e. Aug. 21st) and not when they traveled back to July 28th.

        There is a % change between the first attempt and the second one like I mentioned last episode, but it’s so small that the new 8/21 timeline that Rintarou and Suzuha returned to still perceives Nakabachi as the killer — hence why I said it went virtually undetected. This fits the idea that the timeline will resolve paradoxes to achieve stability, i.e. removing the Rintarou from the first attempt, and why the world can be “fooled”.

        Divine
        Reply

      3. The way I see it right now.. Since both of the 2 Okarins that returns to the past, returned at the same spacetime. It nullified the existence of the other, separating them by divergence. This could mean that if the second time travel arrived at a different time (even a millisecond off) 3 Okarins would exist. That’s what registered to my head when Suzuha said they’ve arrived at the same time as before.

        I’m not sure where I got that idea, but I think it came from watching discovery channel with the subject of String theory. Something about two of the same thing cannot exist or arrive at the same spacetime. I’m not even sure if what I’ve said made sense? :p

        MrRei
        Reply

      4. What I believe we’re missing here is an ingenious little aspect slipped in:
        Future Okarin didn’t just set up past Okarin, he also created a delayed divergence.
        -Before Okarin sees Kurisu dead he receives the message that has the entropy to alter events (information of Kurisus’ death and the plan to prevent it). While the information becomes available at that point, it is encrypted, allowing it to lay low through one ‘playthrough’ or loop of the events.
        -When Okarin gains the ability to watch the message after going through with this once, the entropy is unlocked, but the effect may have leaped back and connected to the moment in the past before Kurisus’ death, just like the single gel banana snapped back to the bunch.
        -This creates a scenario in which the outplay of major events is UNchanged, but the sequence of entropy regarding future developments IS changed, to the point of leaving the time machine available. Also:
        -leaving original past okarin, and the events affected by him in existance
        -our okarin MUST expirence the events hedoes, but AFTER said events play out new entropy is unlocked IN THE PAST without CHANGING the past, creating a new seed with minimal alterations.
        -the new seed engages the moment before okarin sees dead Kurisu, yet with major events unchanged a world line switch does not take place:
        -This means current okarin was given the ability by future okarin to either:
        A) Memory-Merge with infiltrating Okarin of the past at time of arrival
        (A similar scenario to time-leaps)
        B) Enter a branch created at moment of arrival by the combining of information entropy:
        The path the entropy took:

        1) Created by future Okarin.
        2) Sent encryped to the past, passive.
        3) Received by original Okarin
        4) Later Decrypted, unlocking entropy, active
        5) Copied to the mind of Okarin (Him watching the message) [now two copies]
        6) Deleted when Okarin leaves his phone when traveling to the past again [the entropy new resides ONLY within okarin, but also exists encrypted (passive) in the phone in the past, not triggering an entropy merge or alteration.
        7) We have a consistent inconsistency. A non paradox-paradox.

        Future Okarin is a genious to come up with this and play it off as a simple plan, triply fooling his old selves and one instance twice.

        o_oll
        Reply

      5. [..point of leaving the time machine available. ]*
        *Through one loop. Future Okarin essentially solved the paradox of:
        -Past Okarin needs a time machine in order to alter the past.
        -If Okarin succeeds in altering the past, there will be no time machine.
        -Okarin can no longer alter the past

        and turned it into:
        -Past Okarin needs to fail in order to create a time machine to have access to it
        -Past Okarin must receivea time machine from future Okarin in order to time travel
        -Future Okarin Creates a time machine and message that Creates a Past Okarin That Creates him, Then alters the timeline without altering the timeline by unlocking a message outside of the timeline(already established, won’t be erased), creating a scenario in which okarin does have a time machine, but is within known worldline parameters.
        -Future okarin gives past okarin the tools to erase himelf, deleting him from the first loop, but since the first loop is okarins past AND major events were unaltered AND the entropy was sent even further in the past, okarin keeps access to the time machine and can BOTH erase his other self, the time machine and alter the events without … you know.

        o_oll
        Reply

      6. Argh, It’s SIMPLE AND COMPLICATED, it’s so hard to explain, but it does make sense, in a way. If I go on thinking about this I’ll end up with as hardcore a mad scientist act as future Okarin for sure.

        o_oll
        Reply

    4. His first trip was definitely detected because it was his own scream that drew him to the room. If future Okabe never screamed from his blood loss, past Okabe would have never seen the body. I think what happened was that the time machine arrived at exactly the same time (or even a little before) and because matter was blocking the area, the previous time travel could not happen. Almost like teleporting into a wall but with failsafes to ensure you don’t die horribly.

      Cotakk
      Reply

      2. Hmmmm, I’m unsure. I guess if the D-mail the other Okabe sends causes a cancellation of Dr. Nakabachi’s talk, then there would be a shift in world lines for that Okabe (who sends the D-mail).

        JD
        Reply

      3. No. Everything happen as plan. Each step was vital to the next. The conclusion was the happy ending. No two steps were the same. All were different.

        Another way of viewing the storyline is the finale episode was the continuation of episode #1. So the whole 3 weeks was more or less an illusion that only Okarin clearly remember. But other lab members have a vague idea of it as well, just not confidently that it occurred.

        chaos
        Reply

    2. The whole point is to make Rintarou of 7/28 go through those three weeks of hell again and cause a divergence toward Steins Gate in 8/21. If Rintarou didn’t go through that, he would’ve never come up with the plan to get out of the Beta (WWIII) timeline.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. I know he must go through them 3wks to get to that point thats why Im a little confused. When he sent that D-mail the first time that was the reason why she didnt die and changing the world line. Now he went back and tricked himself to think she was dead. So when he sends the D-mail this time it wont be the reason why she wasnt killed. So why would the world line change to Beta. Or is the only thing that matters is him sending the D-mail and her being alive or dead have nothing to do with the world line changing.

        infinite
        Reply

      3. @infinite:

        I believe you mean shift to Alpha.

        Your latter assumption is correct — Kurisu’s death has nothing to do with the shift to the Alpha timeline. She was destined to die in the Beta timeline regardless of what Rintarou did.

        The jump to Alpha occurred because the first D-mail Rintarou sent was picked up by SERN. It just so happens that Kurisu is alive in that timeline and Mayuri is destined to die. As long as that D-mail is sent, Rintarou will cause a divergence to the Alpha timeline. Operation Skuld was to ensure that D-mail is sent, Kurisu lives, and the metal Upa doesn’t end up in the envelope with her paper.

        Also, it was Rintarou of 2025’s choice to make sure he goes through those three weeks.

        Divine
        Reply

    3. That’s the paradox, history does repeat itself. Him seeing kurisu “dead” is what started the whole chain of events that lead to the time jumping and in the end lead to him being able to save her.

      GP007
      Reply

  17. What a satisfying ending. It had all the little bits that was great about this show packed into one episode. 🙂

    I have one question though, why did Suzuha say they will meet in seven years?

    Chloesong
    Reply

    4. Lets do the math…

      The year is 2010. In 7 years, it would be 2017. Suzuha said she was 18 in episode #2. So 18 + 7 = 25. Finally, 25 years from 2010 is…2035.

      Suzuha originally said she was from 2036. So logically, she was more like 18 1/2 and given it is July. 2036 is about right.

      In 7 years is when she will be born, chances are Moeka was the mother. (I too suspected that and mention it a few time…)

      chaos
      Reply

  19. THIS IS THE BEST MOTION PICTURE EVER MADE BY THE JAPANESE, maybe even the WORLD!!!

    キタ━━━(゜∀゜)━━━!!!!! キタ━━━(゜∀゜)━━━!!!!! キタ━━━(゜∀゜)━━━!!!!!

    Agar
    Reply

      3. Several reasons:

        -I decided to not speculate for EP #24
        -I wanted to see what the discussion/comments are like without me for once
        -I didn’t want to be spoiled by spoilers for the finale

        So I left one comment and that was it…

        :p

        chaos
        Reply

      2. Ahh.. Well it takes time for those things to come out I imagine. By the end of next anime season or definitely in the first comicon of the new year, they should have some patented Lab Member Coats at least. If not, I know a gal who can make ’em. ;D

        Shirt
        Reply

    3. The logical explanation is that because Okarin succeed in entering Steins Gate worldline, she never travel back to the past. So when Okarin return to the present, it was like she was never there. Thus she disappear.

      The best way to explained it was what I predicted in the finale. Okarin had to undo time travel in order to save the world. Thus, no more time travel = no suzuha in 2010.

      chaos
      Reply

      2. It was that “other dumpy site” which actually lead me to start marathoning S;G in the middle of the season. That 30s clip of epic Miyano Mamoru voice acting lead me to watch this amazing series.

        Thanks Guardian Enzo!

        Kentaiyoshimi
        Reply

  23. I’d rather have a conclusive end than one that tries too hard to be exciting, plus we already knew-sorta’ what was going to happen anyway bar the little tweest with the blood.

    It was a good run, And i’ll miss the time that Steins;Gate took in my week. Hopefully there’s something awesome to replace that time in the fall season, but we’ll have to wait and see. This is definitely AoTY material right here, for me atleast.

    Pepper
    Reply

  24. Expectación, temor, vació y una sonrisa al final. Un carrusel de emociones para un capitulo que esperaba que fuera a terminar de esa forma. Satisfacción pura en uno de los mejores animes de la historia.

    It was all the choice of Steins;Gate.

    El Psy Congroo.

    Huitzi
    Reply

  25. Certainly this series will be considered as one of the best of this year, not only because of its great developed plot but also because of its great characters and the fabulous performances of their seiyuus, being Miyano Mamoru a totally awesome mad scientist =)

    9/10

    Leticia
    Reply

    1. I agree. None of the episodes felt like it was a waste of time, even some of the slower paced episodes. Those episodes that some poeple found to be slow were simply a well-placed comic relief. It didn`t detract anything from the series, but rather made future episodes even more engaging.

      Kentaiyoshimi
      Reply

  28. I knew that “Another Heaven” would play as the ending theme! I love it when they do that!

    Operation Commentier has now begun: Begin voicing your opinions and praises on this magnificent series! I’ll also look forward to the movie coming up…

    El, Psy, Congroo!

    Karis
    Reply

  30. It was beautiful. The only way this ending could be more satisfying is with a non-canon future snapshot with Okabe’s entire harem including Suzuha. As it is, this anime was already close to perfect.

    xcswmboy
    Reply

      1. Another thing why I love Steins;Gate…

        It tie back to Okarin’s crazy obsession as a mad scientist. In the end, it was all true. However, it was all a delusion as well.

        If a hero saved the world yet the world doesn’t know what he did, is he still a hero?!

        chaos
        Reply

    4. Well I took a bit of info from another fan who knew Japanese and a bit of Google image search and I have found a picture of Yuki Amane, Daru’s future wife. Fortunately for Daru, he has indeed bagged a hot wife. Even better he apparently lost a few hundred pounds and is positively GAR. It is afterall, the will of Stein’s Gate.

      fragb85
      Reply

    5. The very fact that Daru will get married (and father in 7 years) is astonishing enough. We can assume that there are 2 possibilities:
      1.It is someone we didnt get to know in the series, so it doesnt really matter.
      2.It will be someone from the lab members.
      Kurisu is taken, Suzuha is not yet born (incest aside…), and Ruka is a trap.
      This means only possible candidates are Mayuri, Moeka, and Feyris. Personally I’d bet on Feyris given Daru loves to play with her (yeah incredibly bad pun).

      ewok40k
      Reply

      2. I’ve got no problem… I’ve just skipped his spoiler. With over 250 posts and growing it is easy to miss something 🙂 BTW thanks for the pic. Daru looks great in the future, it seems – and has taken after Okabe to using labcoat 🙂

        ewok40k
        Reply

  34. What I value the most in an anime is the story, so until now my favorites were FMA and death note. But I can now say that Steins;Gates is my number one.
    The only drawback is that part of it’s amazingness comes from trying to find out what next episode will bring, thus already knowing this will kill that part of the fun. I wish I could erase it from my memory, to enjoy it at 100% every time I watch it.

    about this episode:
    I was surprised to see Okabe finding a reflected way to get the metal upa. Thought he was gonna rush it like always, but was wrong. However he messed up with the saber in return.
    As for the ending, it couldn’t have been better. He didn’t really hoped to met Kurisu again but still did then we got that subtle mistake to let us think that Kurisu will be able to remember those three weeks. It wasn’t too detailed nor too vague, it was perfect.

    Now what I’d like to know is when exactly did Suzuha disappeared and how did okabe end up at the hospital. Did he just pop up where he should be at that time if he hadn’t traveled? or did he appear alone on the radio’s building roof? Was the one who made the badges that sunovabitch? …well I don’t really care about the last one.

    Kratos
    Reply

    1. I’m going to answer your last question: yes! (just jk)

      Well, now that the future(the WW3) is gone. Suzuha(the resistance) will never come to existance. That why she disappear with the time machine.

      lkaze
      Reply

      2. @ Kratos

        I wanted to lie low on all the theory stuff already, but since you asked. Do you remember when Okarin delete the D-mail detection from Sern and the worldline changed? It almost the same thing, when he finally prevent the death of real Kurisu Makise and destruction of time travel theory. The worldline change again and Suzuha disappeared. Of course, I couldn’t explain why Kurisu still remember Okarin. But this is my feeling of how things happen.

        lkaze
        Reply

    2. I still do find FMA better than Steins;Gate, especially that the first few episodes of SG were very slow that I had to skip to the better parts. FMA:B had me glued all 64 episodes. To each his/her own.

      But definitely SG and FMA are on that top list in my head, FMA on the Fantasy/Adventure and SG on Sci-fi/Thriller-ish. Now I need to find a Romance/Drama (Kimi ga Nozomu Eien?) or Romance/Comedy that can be at par with them…

      JD
      Reply

    3. FMA 2 was good. Death Note was awesome. I still like Gantz more…

      As for the ending, do you really need to know all the little details? Why can’t you just be happy with what you gotten?

      My explanation is that since Okarin undo time travel, he return to the present and erase all that had happen. No time travel = no time machine = no Suzuha. So he appear back where Daru and Mayuri was waiting on the rooftop and they took him to the hospital. The rest as they say is ancient history…

      chaos
      Reply

      2. @Kratos

        hmm.. that a good point. I was rushing to go out earlier today and only try to answer your question half hearted. Now that I got the time, it does seem like a lot of things are missing. Maybe Suzuha just disappear half way and Mayuri and Daru is still there waiting for him?

        lkaze
        Reply

      3. It is a radio station. Even if Daru and Mayuri weren’t there. Okarin could have run into another person and they brought him to the hospital. It is a public place, there are bound to be people around…

        chaos
        Reply

      4. …or they could’ve called an ambulance. But we’re all just assuming.

        But…he IS mad scientist Hououin Kyouma! It is the will of the Steins;Gate!

        (default answer if you have no good explanation. I guess I’m not as smart as Okabe XD)

        JD
        Reply

  35. Superb anime. Right now it is my anime of the year, followed closely by Madoka and then Anohana.
    Having to watch the hardships Okarin had to pass through all those timelines trying to save Mayuri, his dear childhood friend, and then Kurisu, the girl he loved, was excellent. One of the few Visual Novels adaptations that does it well.
    Can’t wait to play the visual novel.

    El, Psy Congroo!

    Linkark
    Reply

    2. I want to play the VN also. I want to get harem ending for Okarin but unfortunately I don’t know japanese, all I can do now is wait for translation. But looking at the fanbase here, I suspect an unofficial translated version is going to come out soon.

      lkaze
      Reply

  36. I wonder if the movie is going to be related to the sequel of the second VN game that came out. The sequel is called Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling. They are even coming out with a third game called Steins;Gate 8bit.

    SilentCid
    Reply

    1. I think they only going to do a recap of the entire series like most anime do. At least this one will worth it, watch all the episode in one shot is something I would have done anyway with or without the movie.

      lkaze
      Reply

  39. Best damn series in a long time. I was super satisfied with the ending. I even teared up a little when Kyouma and Kurisu met each other again. Now excuse me as I go watch it again.

    El Psy Congroo.

    Odeus
    Reply

    1. I didn’t know before hand, but when I listen to it carefully . I dare say that it the same. I quite amazing you are able to find a different BGM playing while the “Hacking to Gate” is playing at the same time. And it only played for few seconds.

      lkaze
      Reply

  45. WOW. S;G was a helluva series. It’s amazing how despite having no prior knowledge of the VN, it can draw you in completely. I think this series relies heavily on the characters, and it is amazing to see what an amazing job all the seiyus did in S;G.

    For me, it was the characters that really had me hooked on to this series. At first, i didn`t know what kind of character Okarin would be. I haven`t seen a good male protagonist for a long time, so I was rather apprehensive about Okarin being a jerk or a douche. Needless to say, two episodes in, and he was already my favourite character, and further episodes just served to reinforce this. The dialogue, especially between Okarin and Kurisu, was absolutely phenomenal. I found it avoided most of the cliches/tropes that makes some animes rather unappealing.

    For me, this is one of the best series I have ever seen, having just the right balance between plot, character development, comedy, drama, etc.

    So glad I picked up the series after seeing the “Hello, I am mad scientist – so coool! Sunovabitch” clip on Guardian Enzo’s blog.

    Tl;DR
    BEST. SERIES. EVER.

    Kentaiyoshimi
    Reply

    1. I was just about to ask that to. I was also thinking even though Okabe saw her dead she still was alive. So when he sends the D-mail would the world line even change like in episode 1. Im just going to accept what happend and enjoy watching it agine.

      infinite
      Reply

  50. I like how when Mayuri went searching for Okarin, it mirrors one of the earlier episodes, where Okarin is walking around everywhere searching for Mayuri. It also served a great recap on all the other characters.

    Kentaiyoshimi
    Reply

  51. Bravo.
    A wonderful ending to an amazing series. You really can’t be disappointed with this ending and still call yourself a fan.

    The little slip up of saying she wasn’t Okabe’s assistant, even though she wasn’t supposed to remember that about him, hinted that Kurisu really did remember him and all they’d been through together in her heart, so whether she remembers their past 3 weeks together somehow, or just starts making new memories with him from here, either way they’ll fall in love all over again :3

    I’ll miss this show a lot. No more Scientific Tuesdays or tu-tu-rus. But I can’t wait to buy the show, merchandise and anything else S;G. And of course I can’t wait for the movie.
    Once again, bravo.
    Steins;Gate, you will be missed but always loved.

    Kiria
    Reply

  54. Damn I was ALMOST correct in my prediction of sedatives and fake blood. Apparently a taser is a much simpler alternative, and the fake blood kinda failed. I loved it though, seeing Okabe using his own blood was intense, and it just shows how much he was willing to go to save Makise. Its also gets extra points for inserting alot of HOUOIN KYOMA HAM in such an intense scene.

    The ending itself provides the biggest requirement that I want from on an ending: Satisfaction. Despite seeming fairy-tale like it was able to wrap up everything with no loose ends. Just seeing the lab members destined to be with each others was just so sweet, I could die from diabetes. Especially the part with Kurisu. I was satsified with how it ended, and its a great way to finish a great series.

    No more speculations for me, just the satisfaction of watching a series that was worth my time.

    fragb85
    Reply

    2. LOL! Your speculations should have ended in EP #23…

      I did because I wanted other people to be surprised for once and enjoy the show without any wild guesses out of empathy and consideration of others. At least people can say, “At least Chaos didn’t ruined EP #24 for us. Thank God…”

      😀

      chaos
      Reply

  56. Is it really a movie? I heard a wiff from nicnicodouga that theres a possible episode 25?

    Could be a recap episode but man if they swing it around and bring out an ep 25 with a ending for a possible season 2, Ill die happy.

    ROFLWAFFLELAWL
    Reply

  59. Oh my God…. The way Okabe just received the attack like that… +100 manliness. Also I never thought I would cringe so hard to his solution of blood on the floor. Last time I remember cringing so hard was in Brotherhood, when Ed was impaled by steel frames and he had to remove them himself. Damn really… That’s just how much determination these guys have.

    Final thoughts on this series overall… This show had a dead slow start. It was so damn slow I actually dropped it at some point. That’s about the only gripe I had with this show in the early parts.

    Though once the plot kicks in, everything leaves you wanting for more.

    Anyway… An awesome series has just ended! It’s been by far the most enjoying and one of the most gripping shows like Madoka. The difference with this one IMO delivered well on what it had and what it presented. I’m very happy with the way it ended and will recommend this to anyone who wants to enjoy a great show. Only thing that may turn them away from it is if they can’t stomach the very stagnant feel of the early episodes.

    megalith
    Reply

      1. I did enjoy the interaction very much. I would lie if I said I never genuinely laughed at their usual antics in the early eps. Anyway I forgot which ep the plot kicked in, but I’m guessing it’s somewhere around ep 7-8.

        The selling point of this series for me which really caught my attention was when Okabe received the death threats(Bloody head of a doll). That was one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve seen in anime since Higuarashi’s first arc(Where Rena kept asking K1 to open the door).

        megalith
        Reply

    2. Oh my God…. The way Okabe just received the attack like that… +100 manliness. Also I never thought I would cringe so hard to his solution of blood on the floor. Last time I remember cringing so hard was in Brotherhood, when Ed was impaled by steel frames and he had to remove them himself. Damn really… That’s just how much determination these guys have.

      Guess it’s true.
      People do CRAZY THINGS when they are in LOVE.

      FlamingYu
      Reply

    3. Perhaps for people who began following the series from day 1, the earlier episodes might have seemed slow, especially since the plot was not set in stone at that time.

      I marathoned S;G when ~16 eps were released, and I found that the character interactions really shine in the early episodes. It’s interesting for just the right amount of time, and it preps the audience very well for the later plot-heavy/ drama-ladened episodes. In other words, it actually amkes you care about and sympathize with the characters.

      Kentaiyoshimi
      Reply

      1. I watched it probably when ep 2 was just released. Forgot which of the two bored me to hell for some reason but I’m thinking it was ep 2. Watched up to ep 4 I think, then I dropped it.

        Marathoned it when ep 8 released and viola. I’m hooked!

        megalith
        Reply

  60. A very good ending to a very good series. It’s nice to see I was right about the effect of Reading Steiner to the girls allowing them to remember memories from the other timelines. I guess this means his 3 weeks of being with Makise aren’t gonna go to waste^^.

    alabaster
    Reply

    1. I just love thinking how Steins;Gate is kinda like Huke’s anime while Guilty Crown is like Redjuice’s. Hopefully Guilty Crown can be just as good, storyline aside everything else seems to be (near) perfection so far. Ah it’s been a pretty good year so far, hope it continues.

      Saya
      Reply

  62. After reading the post, I’m a little sad that all the credits goes to WhiteFox and the anime staffs without any mention of the original creator Nitroplus and 5pb, specifically Hayashi Naotaka as the game’s scenario writer who has please us with this amazing story.

    After Nitroplus/5pb, I’d gladly gives my applause for WhiteFox. While they changes some part from the game, considering any adaptation will always lost the details of the source, this is a faithful and great adaptation. The seiyuus is also becoming more dynamic in the anime and that’s a big plus. I wishes I can praise the same way for Fate/SN anime. ~_~

    An
    Reply

  69. Well, it took me a while to gather my thoughts and I can definitely not say it isn’t the best anime ever made. But it’s very, very high up there. And while I’m also highly opposed to the number rating system for anime, I’m also prepared to say this was a 9/10, as in, almost, almost perfect. I have only a few, very small complaints, but I guess the main complaints are these:

    1. Okarin’s Reading Steiner ability felt unexplored and wasn’t very well explained.
    2. The amount of pure build up in the first half of series, while necessary (and certainly never terrible), went on a bit longer than it should have and left a bit of a gash in the series’ reputation.
    3. I never really thought much of the music (which isn’t to say it was terrible, but rather not noteworthy).

    Stein’s; Gate makes up for these however in pure, raw storytelling and very likable characters with enormous chemistry. The entire second half was jarring; it was hard to my eyes off the screen for even a second. The way everything managed to come around full circle was amazing to me; the bursts of optimism blasting from the last five episodes made it even better, especially after all of the despair. However, while I won’t say it’s one of the few shining stars out there, it is fantastic.

    Click
    Reply

      1. Well, I do think that a lot anime series are quite obviously used to help boost sales for their respective sources, but that doesn’t forgive it for leaving a hole in the series. Personally, “having an intense cold” isn’t really enough explanation for Okarin’s abilities. Whether or not it’s explained in VN or in the two manga adaptations, it certainly does not help the anime to have something so important go unexplained or be vastly unexplored.

        Click
        Reply

  71. A bit of nickpicking, but Guardian Enzo why did you change the ep title? The correct title is Achievement Point although that’s not the direct translation of the Japanese…and it would be “Prologue to the End and Beginning” (reverse of what you have) if it were titled as such anyway.

    Rintarou
    Reply

    2. That was on my recommendation. I purposely put “beginning” before “end” because Japanese often lists things in reverse compared to English. It was intended to be both a formal (i.e. literal) and functional translation.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. The reverse order was probably intentional. The first episode title was 始まりと終わりのプロローグ and the last episode is titled 終わりと始まりのプロローグ. It’s making a distinction between the beginning and the ending.

        As for “Achievement Point”, that’s the official English title of the episode as it’s what’s written in the area where the English title of the episodes are put. That’s why CR used it. It’s the reason why 境界面上のシュタインズ・ゲート was put as “Open the Steins Gate” instead of “The Boundary of Steins Gate” last episode, although it’s a less extreme case than this. Maybe you could put this as the title: “Achivement Point (Prologue to the End and Beginning)

        Rintarou
        Reply

    3. @Divine

      Then what you wrote will clash because
      Episode 1: “Prologue of the Beginning and End” – Hajimari to Owari no Purorōgu
      Episode 26: “Prologue to the Beginning and End” – Owari to Hajimari no Purorōgu

      Tutturu 🙂

      lkaze
      Reply

  73. Damn, I never thought I’d enjoy this series that much. I was literally on the edge of my seat this episode (that scene where Kyouma was bleeding was just gah). Also that awesome ending with him meeting Kurisu <3

    Now its finally over I would like to thank Kiiragi and Enzo for blogging this, also to White Fox for animating this.

    I think I'm gonna rewatch this show, there's some things I didn't quite get and alot of hints I missed.

    PS: I was checking the runtime of this ep. every few minutes lol, I guess I just don't want it too end.

    Nhelraios
    Reply

  74. Divine, can you explain to me this? It just still doesn’t make sense or maybe I missed it.

    In the first episode Okabe finds out that Makise died and he sends the message to Daru saying she died, how did he end up switching to another timeline…I’m pretty sure at that moment they had not finished the dmail machine or hooked up the phone onto it. So how does Okabe that went back in time to set up the blood and make his old self see it not cause this to happen again? would this not go back into a infinite loop? And after Okabe finished setting the event to fool himself and went back to the present would there not be two Okabe? And I wonder why Suzuha from episode one gave an X hand sign.

    Mitsuba
    Reply

    1. The conditions are the same as in episode 1, the only difference being that Kurisu wasn’t actually dead this time around. So of course he could still send the D-mail, just like he did then.

      And of course the old him has to send the D-mail again, because everything Okarin did, his old self had to do as well, or Okarin would never go back and safe Kurisu, thus ending in her death and her father creating the time machine.

      And why would there be two of him? When he travels from 3 weeks in the future he vanishes from there and goes to the past. Then he returns and appears again in 3 weeks in the future.

      HenDarou
      Reply

    2. Sure I can explain that. You may want to refer to my comment last week first if you haven’t already, as I touched upon how the future doesn’t really change and simply realigns itself to another variation. i.e. There are an infinite number of alternate realities (timelines) out there and Rintarou wants to live in the version where both Kurisu and Mayuri are alive. To do that, he has to make his past match that reality’s past.

      In addition, he doesn’t want to change the three weeks he spent in the Alpha timeline because it was that experience that motivated him to get back to the Beta timeline and spend the next 15 years trying to save Kurisu. (Coincidentally, saving Kurisu also prevents World War III.)

      Now herein lies the problem. If Rintarou of 2025 saved Kurisu himself, he would either 1.) cause a divergence on July 28, 2010, erasing those three weeks of memories and likely winding up in the Beta timeline again or 2.) simply fail because of the Attractor Field convergence effect that says Kurisu is destined to die on 7/28. Furthermore, he risks creating a paradox because Rintarou of 2025 would never try to save Kurisu unless he fell in love with her in the Alpha timeline. To avoid all those problems, the plan is to keep Kurisu alive without changing the past so that when Rintarou of 7/28 will send the first D-mail and go to the Alpha timeline, go through hell trying to save Mayuri, and then return to the Beta one. However, this time when he returns to “Beta” timeline on August 21, 2010, it’s different — Kurisu is alive.

      Imagine if everything that you’ve seen remains exactly the same, but when Rintarou finishes undoing all the D-mails that landed him in the Alpha timeline — the last of which was deleting the first D-mail from SERN’s database — he returns to a world where Kurisu was only thought to be dead. This is the “Beta” timeline that Rintarou finds himself in after returning to 8/21 in this episode and is what he refers to as Steins Gate. He’s adhered to everything that happened from the original Beta timeline and everything that happened in the Alpha timeline, but the “Beta” timeline he returns to isn’t the same anymore because both Kurisu and Mayuri are alive. A divergence happens on August 21, 2010 as a result and we get our happy ending that slipped by the effects of the Attractor Field in the original Beta timeline.

      In this world, there won’t be a Rintarou of 2025 to create video D-mail or a time machine because the world already aligned itself to a variation where both Kurisu and Mayuri are alive on 8/21. The future Rintarou who told the current Rintarou to save Kurisu doesn’t even exist here. He’s from the future Beta timeline that they’re no longer in. The Suzuha who experienced WWIII doesn’t exist either, hence why she vanished into thin air when they returned to 8/21. When she’s born seven years later, she won’t be growing up in war-filled world and traveling back in time in 2036 because there’s no need. The ones who actually went back in time to change the past are Rintarou 2025 and Suzuha 2036 from the Beta timeline. Since they succeeded in having Rintarou of 8/21 change the past, they no longer exist in this world.

      Divine
      Reply

      1. so technically okabe from the beta timeline made a divergence; came back to (steins;gate) where mayuri and makise is alive. The Obake at the end there should not know of the Okabe who saved Makise because he disappeared and the okabe who sent the video d-mail. So the Okabe at the end did not realize all the things that had been set for him by the other okabes. What still doesn’t make sense to me is that “how would he know that” he would end up in steins;gate. Maybe he doesn’t…simply it just worked out for him from the other okabes I assume. heh this whole time travel thing is pretty complex if u think too deeply.

        Just incase you dont get confused. the Okabe from the beta timeline that made a divergence that i mentioned is the one who was fool’d by the okabe that is going to not exist anymore.

        Mitsuba
        Reply

      2. Rintarou will remember everything because of his Reading Steiner. He’ll remember his Beta timeline self saving Kurisu as if he did it himself, just like he remembers the Alpha timeline that no one else does. You’re right about the Rintarou who traveled back in time with Suzuha not existing anymore though.

        When talking about what each Rintarou knows, you have consider which time frame he’s in. The Rintarou of 8/21 that we followed throughout the series will have memories of everything we’ve seen. What he doesn’t know is all the stuff that he will have to go through before becoming Rintarou of 2025. Now that he’s changed timelines, he’ll never know. The Rintarou of 7/28 will only know what’s seen in the first episode.

        As for Steins Gate, there was no guaranteed that it would work. As Suzuha mentioned, it was a theory at best (but a good one).

        Divine
        Reply

  75. A fantastic way to end the show. Not perfect, sure, but I honestly have no idea how it could have been done better. It gave just the right amount of closure. While pretty predictable, it felt right that Okarin and Kurisu would meet again and, even better, that she was going to remember those three weeks, given enough time. It also felt good that Steins;Gate chose to cut the man some slack after all the hardships he has been through.

    After all, it’s the choice of Steins;Gate. El Psy Congroo.

    HenDarou
    Reply

  76. Browsing myanimelist forums and found this:

    “Darn, I was hoping that Kyouma would die and Christina would develop the time machine and go back in time and save him”

    Endless 8 here we come!

    0927123
    Reply

      3. @Chaos I do play alot of visual novels, both PSP and PC.

        @Ikaze maybe. Subscribe if you want to be updated on it.

        @Steins;Gate episode 24 I’ll shall cosplay Okabe with my school lab coat, goate and my phone filled with Steins;Gate apps. all that’s left is to buy some Dr Pepper or coke.

        cybersteel
        Reply

      5. I am not smart in everything…

        In fact, I can be pretty stupid in other stuffs. I consider a trade-off for my 150 IQ. Of course, I used to drinks and test all kinds of drugs. I am lucky to have 120 IQ nowadays. I don’t read novels or play story-based games.

        I mainly play Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty…

        chaos
        Reply

  80. Can’t help but comparing the whole show to Butterfly Effect movie.
    Both subject and end (well, one of the ends of Butterfly Effect XD) are pretty similar to it…

    Talking about the show itself : it was definitely great. 9/10
    Not 10 ’cause : animation could be better, the realization could be better (when I watch Mawaru Penguin Drum, I’m amazed by director’s ideas, never felt this way on S;G), ost didn’t impress me and 1st part of the anime isn’t as great as the second though it’s not bad at all.
    Still, definitely one of the best animes I’ve seen 🙂

    MimS
    Reply

  81. It’s official Okabe is the best male protagonist in anime history and you know what the sacrifice was basically to start over with Makise no memory of him just at that night when she was “killed” (but really stunned with Okabe’s blood). In the end it made me feel like Harry Potter. When you grow up watching stuff like this and it ends? You leave feeling bummed that it’s over and that’s how I’m feeling right now. But it was perfect, 24 episodes no more no less. Best anime in a decade by far.

    Jason Isenberg
    Reply

    1. That would be wrong…

      “We meet again, Christina!”
      “I told you I’m not Christina, and I’m not your assistant!”

      She obviously remembers fragments of the time they spent together and like other characters demonstrated, she will probably remember everything, or at least most of it, in time.

      HenDarou
      Reply

  82. Wow, S;G was a rush of emotions from laughs to total sadness and stress, and because of that I loved this series.
    And after having a smile on my face while watching this episode, for me that was the most comforting thing. Great ending for a great show, it’s not a coincidence, it’s the choice of Steins;Gate.

    And I can finally say: “El Psy Congroo”

    BlueFalcon
    Reply

      1. AWESOME best soundtrack i swear

        question Divine, about Kurisu saying Okabe you said you wanted to tell me something 10 minutes ago, can you explain that, i think i missed it or it wasnt shown

        Koeix
        Reply

  86. loved the ending, loved the series. we dont get happy endings often. smile and remember them when you do lol.
    thanks for picking this up.
    steins;gate is head to head with ano hi mita for my series of the year

    sheenzu
    Reply

      3. AND this is more than the third time I’ve comment in this. Yea, Suzuha mother is someone else. So stay away from Okarin’s Tutturu.

        Am I the only one actually go through the entire comment?

        lkaze
        Reply

  88. Great ending. The end theme of shows with time as their main concepts (to me thus far) seems to be ‘the future’. While S;G didn’t actually involve purposeful time-travel to change the past, this still fits in. We are given the teaser of what might transpire in the future (Suzuha’s birth in seven years’ time) and what would happen along the way.

    Okabe just skyrocketed in the GAR-ness again, I think. I cringed a little when he plunged those fingers into his stomach. Takes a mighty load of guts AND determination to do that. That expression he had before he did that – priceless.

    The ending was artfully done. I was expecting Kurisu to appear as the crowd thinned, but the directors chose to keep the audience focused on the people moving to and fro and upped the anticipation, then throw in the meeting suddenly. With this ending, though, I suspect there might be plenty of fanfiction to go around.

    I like how each character seems to be pretty happy at the end, especially for Moeka. She’s still working under Mr. Braun, but in happier circumstances and seems to have opened up a lot. Possible that she might actually remember some of what happened in the other world line too. Can’t say much for Feyris and Rukako though…Maybe the latter might get a gender change operation?

    On the whole, I’ve really been amazed by Steins; Gate from beginning till the end. They kept the level pretty high up there and maintained it for most part without fluctuation. The characters, VAs, story, premise, music and art were excellent, if not top-notch. Great, great stuff.

    Owaranai
    Reply

  89. LOL! Remember when I said I was right, but in a wrong way…

    I was right about Okarin need to undo time travel, but I wrong about it involving SERN dystopia and the jelly-man. In the end, time travel is no more. Okarin reset the world into our time (the real world). I got the end right, just not the middle part. That was why I only left on comment in EP #23, I didn’t want to ruined the ending for you guys. You guys should be happy. By the way, I read those comments just now after watching this finale. I dare you to say that I was wrong?!

    All that go well, end well…

    chaos
    Reply

    2. Why are you still trying to act so smug like your theory was correct when it was actually nowhere near the truth? :/

      I can understand speculating, but that tone of yours towards the speculations of other people (“Nope…look like you’re going to lose this argument, too.” “Do you want me to state THAT again? By THAT, I mean the “Just wait for the next episode and you will see that I am right…” again? It will follow by the “I told you so” statement…again. :D” “I dare you to say that I was wrong?!”) has been annoying me for some time now.

      Suzushina Yuriko
      Reply

      1. LOL! Nothing wrong with being confident in your beliefs…

        What is a man without a sense of passion?!

        Despite what I stated, I am very open minded. Beside, do I sense jealous in that comment? lol, I would doubt myself, too but when you gotten over 80% of your predictions correct. Is there really any doubts in the end?!

        What can I say, Steins;Gate like me. It is the will of Steins;Gate…

        El. Psy. Congroo.

        chaos
        Reply

    3. “I dare you to say that I was wrong?!”

      You are wrong…

      ..

      .

      Well not really, but can you really say that stating Okarin will undo time travel is a theory at all. I mean that just like me saying that the ending will come at episode 26. Me saying there will be an ending to this anime.Me saying there will be another show taking the slot time of S:G. The list could go on and I will be correct every single time.

      That is just stating the obvious. It’s not theory at all.

      lkaze
      Reply

      1. I wanted to state my speculation for the EP #24, too but didn’t…

        Now that it is over, I can tell you what it was. I figure the show was going to end on one of two notes.

        1) Okarin saved Makise and destroy the time machine paper resulting in a timeline where time travel no longer exist. (which is what exactly happened)

        or

        2) Okarin saved Makise and destroy all evidences of time travel, except his and Makise knowledge of time travel and time machine. He and Makise would become the sole time travelers in the world with their own time machine and nobody else.

        In either case, time travel for the world would be no more. Whether Okarin still keep the time machine or crate another one in the future was the only different.

        chaos
        Reply

      3. LOL, I was one of the first want to start the whole speculation idea…

        I remember it was me, wolf, kratos, dyne, cybersteel, zaku, ewok, and a few more. Sorry if I can’t name you all…

        chaos
        Reply

  91. Dear god don’t let the movie be an adaptation… anything but an adaptation.

    After something as perfect as this series a movie length adaptation would be an utter abortion. Give me… a look at what happened in the future of the cern timeline, the WWIII timeline, a continuation of the story where they have to wrap up some minor things that ended up being huge… anything but a movie length adaptation.

    Qwerty1
    Reply

      1. Please don’t forget Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai , why is this show so unpopular? It was a great manga. This is the one I look forward the most……

        ..

        .

        apart from Shana 3, Fate/zero and Guilty Crown 😛

        lkaze
        Reply

  97. Bravo. I applaud one of the most amazing series of the year for its incredible story, snappy dialogue, out-of-this world voice acting (Miyano Mamoru has skyrocketed to god tier in my eyes), stunning plot twists, and the strength to give Okabe a solid happy ending at the end of all the pain and struggling, a world line with the blessing of Steins;Gate.

    I have one last thing to say.

    El Psy Congroo.

    Suzushina Yuriko
    Reply

  98. Just to propose an ALTERNATE interpretation of this series(Which is rather interesting and might be simpler to understand). Not sure if it does corresponds with the anime. Just something to chew on.

    It could be that from the start in episode 1, Okabe Rintaro was already in the Stiens; Gate timeline. By sending the D-mail, he gets into the 3 weeks of hell in the Alpha Timeline and then getting back to the Beta Timeline in episode 22 which is not the Stiens; Gate timeline. He then travels back into time to redo it such that he ends up in the Stiens; Gate timeline and then passes on the torch(in a way) to the next Okabe Rintaro in Episode 24 who will time travel in the same manner, repeating this endless cycle.

    And thus we end up with infinite
    El Psy Congroo

    Saangi
    Reply

    1. So according to this theory, then the first Kurisu that we see in episode 1 is actually not dead…? This would work except for the fact that in episode 1 Mayuri get a metal Opa from the machine and in episode 24 she gets a green plastic one, so they are in different timelines.

      Rather than looping from episode 24 to episode 1, I think that the Okabe who sees Kurisu in a pool of blood in episode 24 becomes the Okabe who meets her on the street. So doesn’t that mean the Okabe of episode 24 who sees Kurisu in the pool of blood, never goes through the 3 weeks because there is no future Okabe that sends the video mail? A little confused here.

      Chloesong
      Reply

      1. LOL, you got the first part right, but confused yourself in the end.

        The answer is no. It is a linear loop. All parts differ from each other. So you can say that the Okarin who Makise met on the street in the end is what Okarin in EP #1 will eventually become.

        chaos
        Reply

  99. Definitely the best series this year, with Hyouge Mono coming in a far second.

    Didn’t really expect much from this at the beginning (I don’t follow the novel/game/whatever) and just stuck with it for the comedy, but it had me hooked all the way, especially when things got really serious after Mayuri got head-shot. Never really gone through that many emotions in a while.

    Okabe’s definitely one of the better anime protagonists out there. Sure, he’s a bit of a retard, but few have portrayed “humanity” as well.

    Litho
    Reply

  100. Finally caught the ending. Nicely done. Taking the metal uupa by playing the token game first was smart in a common sense way (which is what exactly Okarin is about). So many things tied up pretty well including the scream.

    Finishing the badge and giving it to all the members (including Moeka who should be cured with more Mayuri interaction) was a nice touch. Kurisu’s “…and not Assistant either” sentence was a fine way to fold the story, better than Tiger and Bunny’s recent “Its Barnaby” line.

    A movie is hard to do without sidelining people like Ruka and Feyris but since this is a time travelling show, there are infinite world lines and thus infinite story potential if they don’t stick to the canon ending

    Zaku Fan
    Reply

    1. For anime this year, Stein;s gate is number 2 to me. In most years it would have taken number 1 but this year Madoka won with its better pacing. These 2 outdistance the rest by far (including Penguindrum whose lackluster pacing means at best it would be number 3 if it beats noteworthy challengers like AnoHana, Natsume, K-ON!! and probably Ika S2 and Working!! S2)

      Zaku Fan
      Reply

  102. ~~Tutturu~~

    WOW, finally finish the entire comments. That was fun. Reading and replying the entire comment is like doubling the fun I have with S;G. And listening to “Hacking to Gate” and “Sky Clad no Kansokusha” while I was writing triple that.

    Final remark:

    El Psy Congroo!! All my comrade, we will meet again in another great anime. 🙂

    lkaze
    Reply

  106. Best anime of 2011 up till now. Let’s see if F/Z or Guilty crown can exceed it,they’re the most potential challenger. Boku wa tomodachi could also compete but in different way of epicness, though

    Gonna change my top 5 in MAL, but it seems that it’s database crashed. Too many people join the epicness party?

    zeroyuki92
    Reply

      5. You’re concern is touching Divine but this hardly fazes me. When you dive the deepest and blackest pits of Fanfic and Rule 34 almost nothing in the internet can drive you insane. Nothing short of Cthulu can do that now.

        fragb85
        Reply

      6. I don’t believe that…

        I am not a genius, but I do know human should behave like human. When they don’t, something is wrong. The mere fact that you have to say that it didn’t faze you meant that it did, somewhat at least. Enough to summon the your need to reply to earlier comments.

        Nice try, silly rabbit…Tricks for kids.

        chaos
        Reply

      8. Frag, How come all of your comments are depressing?

        I have yet to read one comment from you that made me either laugh or smile. Never seen a “lol” or “:D” in your comments. Or even a genuine compliment to anybody. Maybe I am naturally positive and happy. I don’t know if I can make somebody happy, but at least I can guarantee that I do not make people sad.

        Of course, I have a feeling that I said something in the past to pissed you off. Then I read your comments to other people and think “If it wasn’t me, it would be somebody else.” So sorry if I oversaid some things or undervalued you, but I wasn’t wrong either. You definitely need to cheer up. Life is too short to worry about little things…

        😀

        chaos
        Reply

      9. Obviously you haven’t been reading any of my comments since you just made one of the most tactless, ridiculous generalizations I’ve read so far. Psycho-analyst you are not. You seem to have a problem understanding that your statements are prone to showing smug and condescending views on others.

        fragb85
        Reply

    2. No, that’s not Moeka.
      1) Suzuha said that she chose surname Amane because that’s her mother’s surname
      2) Mother never appeared in anime
      3) Her name is Yuki Amane

      fragb85 said the same thing so many times…

      PerlaNemesis
      Reply

      2. Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn’t the child usually take on the father’s last name?

        When a woman marry a man, she usually take his last name and so would the child. So both of their name should have been “Hashida”, not Amane.

        chaos
        Reply

  110. Haven’t been here for a while as I have time to watch the animes but gotta comment on this one.
    The series felt quite long, but the two last episodes definitely left a good feeling.
    If not for the comedic nature of the anime I’d have shed tears (well I almost did)

    On a side note, I want more of Rintaro x Mayushii background :\ That’s the part that didn’t get explained much >.<
    I did read the manga a bit, but that was behind the anime.
    I read the wiki page on Steins;Gate, but I couldn't picture the ending as vivid as this one. It was definitely unique.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    acolyte
    Reply

  111. What do you guys think Steins;Gate’s metaphor was?

    I mean, every movie, series, or novel that was ever written have a hidden metaphor in them. For example, do you think the Wizard of Oz was about a lost girl finding her way back home from the evil witch? Nope, it was a metaphor for switching from the gold standard to the silver standard. Read it up, it is true…

    chaos
    Reply

    1. This is an example of ‘Reading Too Much Into It’. Look it up – it’s a real phenomena.

      I doubt most stories have a large metaphor behind it. Some people write just because they enjoy writing stories. I can over analyse anything and make some convoluted analogy of a real life event ;D

      Hrmmm
      Reply

    2. Well the whole timing traveling thing reminds me of the genie of the lamp…you wish for something and it gets crazier and crazier until in the end, you wish it all never happened.
      Which we saw from the undoing of the Dmails, but even more so with the whole Kurisu stabbing — Okarin was basically trying to undo his influence in the event — if he had never interfered, she likely wouldn’t have been stabbed (her father only reacted to Okarin’s presence), and the time machine paper would have burned (no metal Oppa).
      But then they wouldn’t have met and fallen in love, and there’d be no story…so maybe that’s the point of the story 🙂

      rsquirrel
      Reply

  113. Not to be a hard ass but my only issue with your response is identifying okabe as coning his younger self when really it was his former self considering the time passage (three weeks):P but i do agree it is one of those great anime that come around once in a blue moon and it was one hell of a ride I would love to come back to when the mood suits me.

    gibby
    Reply

  114. Steins;Gate was great and so was the time spent with you guys, chaos, lkaze, Kansokusha, cybersteel, fragb85 and everyone. For me it was like this: download the episode > watch it > RC it. As long as I will remember Steins;Gate, I’ll also remember the hours spent here, understanding the many ways of the time travel, speculating about what happened in ep1, what will happen in the next episode, who was Titor, who was Suzuha’s father, was Moeka’s phone time-proof, what is Okabe going to do, etc… I’m really gonna miss my Tuesday’s night.
    Future’s potential is infinite, so hope to see you again at the next masterpiece and thanks for everything.

    It was all the choice of Steins Gate

    Kratos
    Reply

    1. LOL! If you like us that much, then I have a facebook account and an yahoo account if you feel the need to chat.

      I rarely use facebook anymore, but I am a whale on there. Used to have 1,000 friends. I use the yahoo for yahoo answer in helping confused and ill-guided people find solution and the right answers.

      Yeah, it was fun. Hit me up if you want to stay in contact…

      chaos
      Reply

      5. @deaf It’s about a diary that has content from the future like from the title Mirai Niki.
        Depending on how you use it, you will either get through your troubles easily or you might end up dead following the contents of the diary.

        The staff for GUILTY CROWN makes me hopeful of it’s outcome. If I’m not wrong the director is the same as DeathNote and the writing staff is from Code Geass.

        cybersteel
        Reply

      7. @cybersteel,

        pfssss, please. That is poor hippie talk. Money doesn’t make you happy, but tons of it can sure buy you things that can make you happy, except friends, family, and love.

        They say money will only bring you more of what you already have. Since I am already happy, more money can only make me more happy…

        😀

        chaos
        Reply

      9. Science is for people who have no faith…

        I do not believe in those delusions. I see what is real and put them to the test. If what you say is that neither wealth, fame, intelligence, beauty, or power ever made people happy that I say they didn’t do it right.

        Then again it depends on how a people define happiness. Some think like those 5 make a person happy, but not always. Some even define happiness as being miserable. Others seek death to escape. I have been dead before…twice to be exact. I saw the end and I am perfectly happy with having nothing at all.

        So wealth, fame, power, intelligence, and beauty do make a person happy, it just need to be used correctly. And I also get my happiness from sharing those 5 things with my friends and family. What other people do with these things doesn’t apply to me, I am an outliner by definition.

        chaos
        Reply

      10. Science is for those who are curious about their world and would rather proof and probability over pure faith.

        It’s like I have this thing against you Chaos =P. I look for your opinions almost purely because I disagree with a lot of what you say… ahahaha…

        Hrmmm
        Reply

      11. LOL! Hrmmm, your comment brought a smile to my face… 🙂

        You’re not the first one who have said that…nor the last. Good! I do the same thing about everybody else. It’s like I have a natural nature to rebel and go against the flow of everybody else. So I am not surprised when people say they want to disagree and argue with me for no reasons at all. The name “Chaos” only demand either fear or hate from all those who heard its name. It’s not a name for just anybody to use.

        I just expect you to have a strong base and can firmly defend your POV from my relentless attacks. Just don’t become defensive and respond out of emotions instead of confidence and passion. If you can, then while I may disagree with you, but at least you would have earned my respect.

        chaos
        Reply

    1. Nope. For the spring and summer season bracket YES. All time No.

      Try looking at the averages post per episode of series like Code Geass and Macross Frontier (especially their finale eps), also Madoka Magica in its final few eps last Winter season, and many other shows. Passing the 200-300th comments mark in the finale is pretty common for exceptionally popular series here in Random Curiosity.

      Ghostalker
      Reply

      1. Because of the ambiguous ending that left everyone speculating whether Lelouche was still alive

        If S;G had done something similar with a cliffhanger on whether either Kurisu or Okarin was alive maybe

        rsquirrel
        Reply

  119. For me I would say that last week’s episode would have been a more epic final episode than this one, since future Okabe practically laid out what was to be done and the plot was there, this final episode merely acted out the anticipated. I think if the last episode had been left as last week’s episode, the ending would have been a lot more amazing, not that I didn’t enjoy this episode.

    Shirikatsu
    Reply

  121. I found myself confused with the final minutes. In the timeline where the injured Okabe Rintarou is handing badges, their should be two Okabe right? The one who see Kurisu covered in blood and the other Okabe carried by Suzuha back in the capsule (which is the Okabe that is injured and the one that gave the badges).

    Ghostalker
    Reply

    1. Nope. Everything happen as it did…

      There is only one Okarin. It just that he travel to the 3 weeks into the past and back. The real question is why weren’t there 3 Okarins?

      Like the movie, “Back to the Future 2” where Martin had to travel back to the past and encounter himself who was in Back to the Future 1. So why didn’t Okarin meet the Okarin who first travel back in time with Suzuha?

      I guess the only explanation is that it is in a different timeline. Thus, Okarin didn’t encounter his other self who travel back in time. The original Okarin will send the D-mail which loop the chain of events that led back to the injured Okarin later on. Thus, in the end, there is only one Okarin.

      chaos
      Reply

      1. So Okabe actually did travel back to the past and the future?

        The confusion in me was actually the thought that…

        1.)the injured no.1 Okabe who faked Kurisu’s death might somehow “merge” with the other no.2 Okabe who saw the fake dead Kurisu when no.1 Okabe and Suzuha escaped to travel back to the future (which lead to the scene where Okabe just came out of the hospital and gave badges)..
        2.)if they did travel back to the future then there is no way Kurisu would have been alive, because in ‘that’ timeline Kurisu is indeed dead. Then the timeline where there is a fake dead Kirusu actually should have been a different timeline altogether than the timeline in episode 1 and 23.
        3.)I’m convince that there is only 2 Okabe in the scene where Kurisu is to be stabbed in ep24 (not 3), the scene in episode 23 is the same as the one in episode 1 – They did a time-travel method here similar to the ones in Haruhi’s “tanabata’ and ‘Disappearance’.
        4.) The timeline in episode 24 is a different timeline than the one in episode 1 and 23, most likely a reset timeline method. Instead of just traveling back to the time when Kurisu is about to be stabbed, they reset everything before the events in ep1 and ep23. Thus in episode 24, the events in ep1 and 23 never existed.

        Maybe I should not be thinking too hard about this at all, but I think Haruhi did a better job in presenting time-travel than Steins, but it’s confusing still. Anyways it’s all good. My personal rating for Steins is as follows:

        Story: 8 – There is no denying that Time travel is a sci-fi fiction that is really interesting, intriguing, mysterious. But time-travel stories just like this raises a lot of issues that in a way affected my personal viewing experience. The series presented 2 or more method of time-travel, the most prominent which I’m familiar with are the one that is similar to Haruhi Suzumiya and the other which is similar to Madoka Magica, the later is more easy to follow.
        Animation: 8 – I found the character design unique (but not a big fan of), the background detail is quite lacking, the choice of the color tones is however perfect for the atmosphere – dark and unsettling.
        Sound: 8 – Nice OP and ED. BGMs are very good in adding depth, voice acting are top notched.
        Characters: 10 – An exceptionally strong cast, everyone has a role to play both major and minor ones that is memorable.
        Enjoyment: 7 – I like Steins;Gate more because of the character interactions and not much of the time-travel aspect. The best parts of Steins for me are the episodes before Mayushi’s death, just listening to everybody is just that fun to watch. After Mayushi’s death, it kinda lost that steam for me, the repetition and drama is quite tedious at best, it became all Okabe and the others relegated to just background characters. The ending, no matter how fairytale it is still did a good closure for the series.

        Overall: 8 – some everything up, overall Steins;Gate is a very good series that I could easily recommend for everyone else whether sci-fi fanatic or just casual anime fans.

        Ghostalker
        Reply

      2. The VN actually explains this in detail. Suzuha’s time machine can alter the divergence at will. In order for Okabe to meet his other self, who made the first attempt, they need to travel to the exact divergence. So basically even as small 0.0000001% can lead to a different wordline but with minimal variations, that the overall major events of the worldline is mostly the same. So all Suzuha needed to do is alter the divegence slightly and they will never have to meet their other selves.

        fragb85
        Reply

  123. super impression , Okabe is a super hero now that he managed to save the world and the girl he love at same time. Kuriru is so cute in this ep , she tried so hard until the end hope that the movie will be super too. hope they have a happy life.
    this serie actually makes a big smile on my face .one of my favorite serie ever mayushii is also super cute. el psy congroo.

    pokpokza
    Reply

  126. Everyone by now probably knows that Suzuha mother is Yuki Amane. However Mayuri often mentions a cosplay friend which she helps with sewing her cosplay clothes. While Okabe chases Mayuri all over town during one of her visit to said friends house.

    cybersteel
    Reply

  128. Dear moderators. The entropy of my comments on this blog may or may not cause a major worldline shift to the negative by focusing too much attention on the concept of entropy, possibly resulting in an entropy control idea sure to cause many a dystopia or horrible thing.

    If it were possible to delete all comments by my on this particular blog discussion(just this episode) I would be incredibly relieved!

    o_oll
    Reply

    1. Kizumonogatari?

      Are you referring to Bakemonogatari series? Kizu is the beginning event that happen before the Bake series if I am not mistaken. It foretold the story of how our main character met and fought Shinbo along with how he met his mentor.

      Yay! Hopefully, we get to see more of Senjougahara…

      chaos
      Reply

  131. 1 question

    if okabe changed the future timeline to the current where neither makise nor mayuri dies, who would sent the d mail to his past self telling himself to cheat the death of makise kurisu now since there wouldnt be a okabe rintarou in the future who failed to stop the time machine race?

    then at the end of the ep they show another okabe going thru the cycle, however aft he goes to the perfect timeline no body will save that okabe cuz theres no okabe to sent him a dmail!

    pls explain 🙁

    Za Zombie!
    Reply

    1. your basing on the assumption their only one world line their was alpha line beta line an stein gate line each with branching paths before he fixed all events he forced his past self too wittiness the events that would trigger all others after the change he went too a new time line were they did not known what would happen because time travel did not exist it was in was in alpha an beta only that why both those worlds ending in despair because they wanted the power

      jimmy
      Reply

  134. Here is something interesting from wiki itself:

    “An anime adaptation aired in Japan between April 6, 2011 and September 14, 2011, with a movie adaptation greenlit. Movie will show new footage and won’t be a recap, attending to a Chiyomaru Shikura’s livestream. [4] A sequel game titled Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling was released on June 16, 2011. A second sequel game titled Steins;Gate 8bit is set to be released on November 28, 2011.”

    So the new movie contains new footage, no recap…WOW!

    Plus 2 new games…

    chaos
    Reply

  146. Heres the trippy thing most people might not have noticed if you payed attention to the first ep at the title it says the Prologue of the Beginning and the End…………..ISNT THAT EPIC!
    its the prologue of the first and last episodes!! i didnt not see that coming

    Torrigan
    Reply

  149. I feel like I’ve missed something spectacular.
    I went into this series knowing 2 things.. a friend told me 🙁

    1. Our resident mad scientist would ultimately have to pick between Kurisu and Mayushi.
    2. It all works out. Happy ending, according to him.

    I guess that first one would be forgivable. We would have noticed anyway as early as Okabe started undoing the D-mails. But that still ruined the emotional build up for me. If I didn’t know any better, I would have probably cried like a baby.

    That second one.. Not so sure. Knowing that things work out in the end, kinda ruins the suspense and thrill as a whole. I would have anticipated the next episodes two-folds.
    If anything else, that made the finale a little less awesome.

    This is why I feel like I missed out on a wonderful experience.
    Sure, I can rationalize that maybe this series just didn’t hit it off with me.
    But I know, in my gut, that I would have absolutely adored it otherwise.

    Sigh…

    PS: I still thoroughly enjoyed Okabe and Kurisu’s moment back in ep22! 🙂

    JLee
    Reply

  150. Okay, this just occurred to me.
    Okabe has Reading Steiner, which causes him to retain memories when shifting world lines.
    So from the POV of Okarin of 2025, he will send a video d-mail to the past, the world line will shift, and he’ll end up in the Steins;Gate worldline, thereby erasing the Okarin that saves Kurisu, and his memories of the 15 years after 2010.

    tetristhemovie
    Reply

    1. what you say is only half true he will erase his other self but not before the message is sent that why his past self had too witness the event of her death too start the chain which led too the now that why at the end he excepted she was gone living her life an was surprise too find her an said it must be the will of stein gate that they get too meet again an have a life together

      jimmy
      Reply

  151. yeah its a good ending, since makise remember her memories of 3 weeks future, when okabe called her christina and the code El psy congroo, ” i told you im not Christina, and im not your assistant …. ” after that she remember that shes a member of the lab, then okabe welcome her once again .

    Johny
    Reply

  152. Just finished Steins Gate, and its almost 1 in the morning. SG is brilliant, epic, unexpected, mindblowing, etc… I just want to know, who is Daru’s future wife and the mother of Suzuha?

    Havok
    Reply

  154. This anime was amazing. I didn’t expect it to be this good, because I watched Chaos;Head and thought it was utter crap. Steins;Gate delivered in every way though.

    I can’t help but think though, if time machine can be invented, it *will* be invented eventually. So all Okabe and co did was delay the inevitable. Still, I’m a sucker for happpy endings, so I’m glad it ended how it did. Especially since Kurisu found Okabe in the end.

    Andrew
    Reply

  157. Jesus is a time traveler from the future, He traveled by using a time machine and disposed it in the
    past. The miracls he granted were inventions of the future. He made wine out of water by using a special
    type of instant powder. The miracle which healed blind people is by using a special medical lotion
    which is common in the future. The miracle which granted him to walk on water or split it was due
    to special type of inventions which reect the atomic structure of water istself. The greatest of
    his wonders the reanimation of Jesus can be explained by a second time traveler from an alternative
    future who tme-traveled into the time period. At that moment two Jesus exitsted at the same time so that
    the world rejected the corpse of Jesus. That is the so called disappearence of Jesus. The later returning
    of Jesus is the time travel back to the future.

    Deebam
    Reply

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