In this new episode of Anime Breakfast we are going to relive with you Steins;Gate, an animated series adaptation of the homonymous Visual Novel that explores time travel in a new and unconventional way, redefining a genre
The universe has a beginning, but no end: it is infinite. And then the stars… they too have a beginning, but they will perish by their own energy: they will become extinct. Those who possess the gift of intelligence are indeed the most foolish: it is quite evident, just look at history. In a sense, this can be considered God’s last warning to those who resist.
Okabe Rintaro
The passage of time and intertemporal travel, as well as the concepts of cause and effect in case you go to change something in the middle of a peek into the past, you know very well, are rather recurring topoi in any entertainment medium. Donnie Darko and Interstellar are the first two milestones that come to mind in the cinematographic field, while in the videogame world we find pearls such as Chrono Trigger or Life is Strange. In between, just as one might expect from a Visual Novel then adapted into an animated series, we find the protagonist of this weekly episode of Anime Breakfast. Yes, we are indeed talking about Steins;Gate. Let’s go, walking among beautiful girls, mad scientists and… jellied bananas.
Noisy Times | Anime Breakfast: Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate was born in October 2009 on Xbox 360 as a Visual Novel developed by 5pb. and Nitroplus, as the second episode of the “semicolon” series, or rather of the Science Adventure, preceded by Chaos;Head and followed by Robotics;Notes. Subsequently, starting in 2011, the broadcast of the animated series begins by the White Fox studio, directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki and Takuya Sato and produced by Gaku Iwasa. Composed of 24 episodes and published in Italy thanks to Dynit (you can currently find it streaming on Prime Video), the animated series obviously shifts the focus of the narrative.
Unlike the Visual Novel, in fact, narrated in the first person by the protagonist Rintaro Okabe himself (the mad scientist mentioned above), the animated series detaches itself and assumes a choral narration in the third person, giving it a greater cinematic and making viewers more than intruders in Okabe’s head, actual witnesses of the events. It may seem like a trivial matter, but in reality it is one of the focal points for the success of Visual Novel adaptations in animated series: this step is not always without trauma for those who have experienced the story by playing it. In the case of Steins;Gate, however, the work done was truly excellent.
Walking on sleeping | Anime Breakfast: Steins;Gate
Summer 2010, about a year after the events of Chaos;Head. Rintaro “Okarin” Okabe, our protagonist, and his ditzy childhood friend Mayuri Shiina go to Radio Kaikan in Akihabara to attend a conference on time travel by Dr. Nakabachi. While they are at the location, Okarin runs into a beautiful and seductive girl, Makise Kurisu, who not only bumps into her, but she starts insisting that she met him minutes ago. However, Okabe does not suffer from presenile dementia and is extremely convinced that he has never seen her in her life, also because he would remember it.
After that, things get pretty weird. After hearing a terrifying cry, Okarin rushes upstairs and finds Kurisu’s body immersed in a pool of blood. In a state of shock, Okarin rushes out of the building and sends an email to Daru, his best friend and colleague, but suddenly he has a strange feeling. He turns around, and sees that a satellite has crashed on the Radio Kaitan building. He returns to the lab only to find that, indeed, a satellite was there that morning it really fell on the Radio and as a result, the time travel conference had been canceled and never happened. As a final bit on the weirdness of the Steins;Gate storyline, let’s just tell you that Rintaro will later accompany Daru to one more conference, only to be reunited with Kurisu… alive and well, and as gorgeous as ever.
Cycle | Anime Breakfast: Steins;Gate
As you can well understand from the synopsis of the first episode of the Steins;Gate anime, the main theme of the series is that of time travel, however addressed more from the point of view of causality and the impact on destiny, rather than as a true own intertemporal adventure. Okabe, Kurisu, Daru and Shiina find themselves up against incredibly addictive power and possibilities, but which have significant, and sometimes quite drastic, repercussions, on the course of events, on their life and that of their loved ones. The story also examines the concept of responsibility and accounting for the consequences of the choices made by the characters, with a long passage on the ethical and moral implications of the manipulation of time.
There is not only this, however, in Steins;Gate. The theme of madness is also placed at the center of the narrative: we have not used the words “mad scientist” lightly, just now. Okabe is a visibly unstable boy, with an endless number of insecurities and who, therefore, tends to take refuge in a fictitious identity, that of Houoin Kyouma, to escape his reality. A reality that is inevitably too close to him, but that he will necessarily have to face by placing himself in front of the consequences of his more or less reckless actions. An emotional journey into man’s fragility and a profound reflection on his very existence.
Finally, the scientific references within Steins;Gate are much more marked than those present in Chaos;Head (which is deliberately a more philosophical and psychological thriller), even if vertically less if we look at Robotics;Notes. Aside from the comparisons, however, the series has managed to skillfully mix, in its marked complexity in some passages, elements of science, philosophy as well as chaos theory. We find references to concepts such as the butterfly effect and the grandfather paradox, which are addressed and explored in an in-depth and intriguing way. A truly captivating and engaging mix for all viewers attentive enough to follow the various steps, because it leads the mind to follow not only the events narrated on the screen, but also to carry out a real intellectual reflection.
Self Affirmation
In short, we conclude this episode of Anime Breakfast on Steins;Gate by highlighting how much the series has had a significant impact on the anime industry in general, as well as our lives in particular. A redefinition of the genre that definitely served science fiction and that was able to demonstrate how, net of everything, even an animated series can deal with complex themes ranging from science, psychology, philosophy, in an intelligent and engaging way. Captivated with a superb combination of sci-fi, iconic characters, fluid storytelling, and most importantly, impactful themes. Highly recommended!
That’s all we had to say about Steins;Gate in this new installment of Anime Breakfast! Let us know if you’ve seen the series below in the comments (we remind you that you can find it streaming on Prime Video!) and stay tuned with us at TechGameWorld.com for all the news on the subject of cinema and TV series!
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