Steins;Gate 0 First Impressions

“I’ve drifted through so many world lines, I’ve lost count… No matter the world line, I’ve witnessed time machines toy with everyone’s fate. I’ve even seen you meet your doom. Over and over, it never ends.”

Constructing a sequel to a popular series from several years back can be a tricky venture, particularly when the original work succeeded in tieing up most of its major plot threads. In such a scenario, a sequel series can feel unwarranted. It’s been seven years since Steins;Gate first graced the Japanese airwaves, and, even now, it remains the most popular and most critically successful of the Science Adventure anime franchise, regardless of whether you include Occultic;Nine under that banner. Given the success of the original title, it would be easy to write off Steins;Gate 0, both the game and this adaptation, as hollow attempts to cash in on the most successful adaptation from that series of games. Fortunately, whether it was necessary to make it or not, Steins;Gate 0 has some ideas that at least feel fresh and novel for the series. For those who haven’t watched the original series, this would be the point where you click away from this review and seek to remedy that particular shortcoming on your part immediately. This is not the type of show that can be discussed in a spoiler-free fashion.

The entire premise of Steins;Gate 0 is constructed around a plot point from the last few episodes of the original series, so attempting to avoid a discussion of Kurisu’s death would severely handicap one’s ability to discuss the sequel in even the most basic of terms. The principle idea of Steins;Gate 0 is that it takes place in the world line where Okabe failed to save Kurisu. Frankly, even if this were merely a simple “What if…” storyline this would have some intriguing implications, but given the intertwined nature of Steins;Gate’s alternate realities it can be hard to grapple how exactly this all clicks with the original series. That might actually be one of the more questionable factors when it comes to this first episode, since I found myself trying to map out the various chains of cause-and-effect that resulted in this particular timeline. It can distract a bit from the underlying personal drama, and throwing the viewer right back into the middle of things may work against it a little. Still, seeing the various characters as the deal with the fallout from the original series is fascinating. Okabe has thrown aside his Hououin Kyouma persona and is trying to forget the horrors he experienced by messing with the timeline. Suzuha is living with her father, Daru, in what might be one of the oddest family dynamics I’ve seen in a while. Her mother, Yuri, has also joined the group, but is unaware of Suzuha’s true identity. Even the formerly carefree Mayuri has been impacted as she appears to be haunted by loneliness and the vague recollection of happier world lines. Frankly, while I’m still not entirely sure that this sequel needed to exist, the drama present within more than warrants watching this first episode.

In terms of production, White Fox has continued to keep up the standards set by the original season. The character designs have received some minor overhauls both due to shifts in the characters themselves and due to the shift in the timeframe from summer to winter. Okabe, for example, has, in his effort to leave behind the Future Gadget Lab, left behind his iconic t-shirt and lab coat combo in favor of collared shirts, sweaters and formal jackets with the color scheme reflecting his mood and ranging from black to really dark grey. The original voice cast has returned and, in that regard, the only one that I took issue with was Daru. The Japanese voice for Daru always had a certain doofy quality to it, but I swear it’s been turned up to 11 here. Maybe it’s been a while since I listened to much of the Japanese dub (I don’t think it has been.), but I swear he was more toned down in the first season. This first episode spends most of its time presenting the emotional landscape in the aftermath of Okabe’s failure to rescue Kurisu, but we do get one new character in the form of a student of the American university where Kurisu studied named Hiyajo Maho. She certainly makes an impression as an undersized 21-year-old woman with a little bit of a chip on her shoulder whom Okabe wryly notes would be referred to by Daru as a “Legal Loli.” We don’t get too much of her, but she seems like she could be a fun character for the group to interact off of.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• Feris and Ruka arguably have the least character building in this episode. It’s not clear to what extent they’re aware of the events that Okabe went through, but they’re discomfort at his more withdrawn and somber persona is apparent. Ruka may have taken on slightly more feminine attire than was his default in the first season, which would suggest a degree of self-acceptance, but that’s hard to judge from just one episode.
• Moeka is briefly shown towards the episode, which, understandably, provokes a particularly negative response from Okabe. I’m intrigued by what her role in this world line may be.
• On a similar note, we have no sign of Mr. Braun in this first episode. His role can be slightly confusing. I would assume that he would still be an agent of SERN, but I may have misinterpreted the rules of world lines.
• Oh my stars! It’s an anime where I didn’t have to complain about poorly integrated CG!
• This may be my last First Impressions of the new season. Eight is a nice round number to stop on, but who knows? I may pick up a series or two to review regularly, but, if I do, I’ll probably combine episodes 2 & 3 into a single review so as to give myself a little breathing room after this week.