Before I begin I should make it clear that this review is not meant to promote an anime to those who havent seen it but rather it is meant to evaluate a great title. Thus be warned that there will be significant spoilers in this review so do not read if you havent already completed the show. With that out of the way lets get started. Who doesnt love the concept of time travel? Many scientists have been fascinated by the idea yet there hasnt been any real progress on this field in todays world. Not only is our technology still lacking from accomplishing this feat but ethical consequences also remind some of us why time travel may not be ideal. Putting this in perspective think about what would happen if you were suddenly transferred into a future twenty years from now. You may meet your future child or grandchild and you wouldnt even know it. However by meeting them in this way youre also changing history itself and that could have some serious implications on the present world you live in. SteinsGate explores the interesting concept of time travel by taking the form of a psychological thriller. Story 9/10 Basically we have a group of college students who have discovered a way to send text messages to the past and in doing so they can alter the world. This ties back to what I talked about earlier should time travel really be attempted? Well the group experienced firsthand just how incredibly wrong things went after they tempered with time. For each message they sent back to the past the world around them has slowly but gradually changed. All of this eventually led to a secret organization named SERN catching on to the groups experiments and brutally murdering one of the members. From there on the story took a serious turn shifting genre from a normal Scifi/Slice of Life to a Thriller. The protagonist of the story is ultimately caught in a dilemma between saving the life of his childhood friend who was killed by an agent of SERN and saving his new love interest from dying. For the majority of the second half the protagonist travels back in time repeatedly in attempt to save his friend from dying. It is also in this second half that we can clearly feel the protagonists pain and suffering since he is the only character who retains any memory after travelling from one world line to the next. The plot has successfully constructed a believable thriller without too many inconsistencies and it is subjectively very entertaining all the way. Character 10/10 In my opinion almost all characters in SteinsGate are either well developed or just plainly likable. In fact SteinsGate wouldnt be half the show it is without these characters. The group of college students I was talking about earlier get together in a shop keepers basement which sort of serves as their secret lab. Heres a quick run down of the lab members. Okabe Rintarou He is the protagonist of the story and the founder of the lab which really isnt what you would call a lab... but I digress. Love him or hate him you will definitely remember the guy. He introduces himself as a mad scientist and calls himself Hououin Kyouma he actually prefers others to address him as Hououin or Kyouma rather than his real name. From talking to himself on his own cellphone to giving other characters strange nicknames you will probably think hes an idiot. Personally I think hes part of the reason why this show works well since the overall tone in SteinsGate is dark his character manages to provide enough comic relief to balance the mood. In a nutshell this man is usually a goofball and only becomes serious when it counts. Makise Kurisu She is the main heroine of the story and the assistant to Okabe. She often serves as the voice of reason to Okabes whimsical decisions. Her interactions with Okabe are arguably some of the most enjoyable moments in SteinsGate. On the surface they would constantly bicker but its clear from the start that they have strong chemistry together. And as one would expect she becomes the main love interest for Okabe. Thanks to Okabe she has at least 8 unique nicknames the most common one being Christina. She can be best described as calm and intelligent. Also shes one of the few tsundere characters I actually love with a passion. Shina Mayuri The other central heroine of the story. In a sense her role in the story is just as significant as Kurisus since the actual thriller part of the story doesnt begin until she has been killed. She is the childhood friend of Okabe and has an unusually cheerful demeanor. She often refers to Okabe as Okarin and calls herself Mayushii. Hashida Itaru Usually referred to as Daru he is the super haker er hacker in the group who does most of the technical works e.g. hacking into SERNs system and learning about their secrets. When hes not busy hacking he is a perverted otaku who likes to make dirty jokes in the presence of girls. Akiha Rumiho Normally addressed as Ferris she works as a maid and has a habit of ending all her sentences with nyan. Essentially moe personified. Amane Suzuha From the beginning we can easily see that she knows a great deal about time travel. It is later confirmed she is John Titor the enigmatic time traveller who told Okabe to save the world. She feels insecure when around people probably due to the fact that she lives in a dystopian future governed by SERN. Kiryuu Moeka A girl who is pretty much mute constantly relying on text messages as her primary method of communication. In reality she works as a spy for SERN. Urushibara Ruka An extremely effeminate boy who deeply respects Okabe. He wishes he was born as a girl instead because other guys often made fun of his looks. In short all these characters have their own quirks and serve their purpose well in the story. Definitely one of SteinsGates strongest points. Art 8/10 Animated by the relatively new Studio White Fox the producer of another great work Katanagatari the animation style is pleasing to the eyes for the most part. It isnt comparable to high budget productions of Kyoto Animation P.A. Works and Ufotable by any means but it does serve its purpose for a thriller. The animation is pretty consistent for characters and backgrounds with backgrounds being more pronounced. Character designs are sufficient enough for the average viewer to stay interested. Last but not least I should mention that the visuals in SteinsGate have somber colours which work well in reminding the viewer that this is a Mystery/Thriller title with an underlying dark tone. Sound 8/10 The Opening song along with two other insert songs are done by Kanako Itou who in my opinion is a talented artist. The songs are pretty catchy and memorable. The original soundtracks are not especially awesome but they do contain some great pieces such as Gate of Steiner Christina and Farewell. However I can say that most of the soundtracks fit the animated scenes well and effectively accentuating the mood of those scenes. Moreover the voice actors did a great job on voicing their respective characters. Miyano Mamoru well known for his role as Yagami Raito in Death Note did another fantastic job in his role as Okabe his mad scientist laughs are spot on and effectively captures Okabes playful insanity. Hanazawa Kana and Seki Tomokazu voiced Mayuri and Daru respectively both are experienced voice actor/actresss who excel at bringing out the best emotions in their characters. I have to say I have never heard of Imai Asami before her role as Kurisu seeing how she isnt exactly a seasoned voice actress. But after her performance as Kurisu I really think she ought to have more roles in the future for she has successfully displayed emotions on a level I think only a veteran could have accomplished. Special mention goes to Tamura Yukari who did a nice job on Suzuhas part. The voice acting is overall consistent and great. Enjoyment 10/10 At this point you should already know I absolutely enjoyed this show. There arent many anime out there that have impressed me as much as SteinsGate did. The first half of the series did well to introduce the characters through witty conversations and dialogues. Its light hearted and comedic at the beginning then it gradually gets darker as the story approaches its climax. The transition from the light hearted comedic first half to the more serious dramatic second half feels smooth and natural. That isnt to say this show has no flaws because every anime has a flaw in it somewhere. In the case of SteinsGate it left a few questions unanswered along with some very minor issues with the first halfs pacing. But that doesnt make it any less enjoyable for me. Significance 10/10 There is plenty of rewatch value here. Many plot points that come across as confusing the first time around make a lot more sense during a rewatch as the viewer gains a better understanding of the characters and the mechanics of how time travel works in the series. Speaking of the characters I absolutely love the dialogues and the quirky interactions exchanged between the lab members particular Okabe and Kurisu and this also contributes to its high memorability. Unlike most shows in its genre which are seldom memorable in the long run SteinsGate manages to establish itself as arguably one of the most impactful shows in the medium. Overall Score 9.7/10 As someone who has seen a lot of anime and considers himself to be a veteran of the medium SteinsGate remains to be my favorite anime to this very day. While it is by no means a perfect show I firmly believe that it does many many things right and very few things wrong. And for that I consider it a masterpiece on many levels. Final verdict? SteinsGate is a gem among anime. A mustsee for any anime fan especially for those interested in time travel. It is a title to be remembered for many years to come. El Psy Congroo