Steins;Gate follows the story of Okabe Rintarou. He's a somewhat paranoid looking self-proclaimed mad scientist who works on bizarre experiments in order to eventually one day rule over the world. In reality, he has a sad looking lab that is more of a simple room he rents over an electronic store. He can barely pay the rent sometimes. Hardly anyone takes his theater act seriously and he is often made fun of and ridiculed. That doesn't stop him from working on experiments and constantly updating them with nonsensical names that aren't really upgrades. Part of his act is that he is always in contact with his imaginary organization, and often talks to himself pretending to be talking to them when he gets put in desperate situations. Then there's his iconic laugh. There's no denying he is one of the most loveable and interesting characters in the medium. As the series progresses, his character will grow and show more sides of him. In the beginning, he puts on the paranoid act, and later one, he finds good reason to.

As he starts to work on experiments with his friend Itaru the otaku, they discover that they have found a way to send emails back in time. This eventually leads to time travelling. It also leads to them getting targeted by shadowy figures. A lot of the science behind this series is made up to try to rationalize what is going on as everything begins to distort. Too many viewers took this too seriously. Have they ever time travelled before? What authority do they have to criticize this when the writing does more than good in trying to make sense of what is going on? This is science fiction, which doesn't require the 100% reality analysis as long as it is written well enough. Sure, someone can subjectively say that it nonsense. However, subjectivity without explanation is irrelevant, and that happens too many times. So many say they don't like that something, though very few actually know or explain why. Reviewers should justify their positions and be as clear as they can.

From the beginning, the subtitles themselves are something. As a product of the internet, I could really relate to the internet humor that is in this series. Because it's specific to Japanese culture, the English subs incorporated Western internet humor into the jokes from around that time for the English audience, far back from around 2011. As a result, the jokes are very amusing and even involve mentions of 4Chan. The music can be haunting, or outright incredible such as in the opening sequence. This is one of those few series where I never skipped the opening sequence because it is that well done. I would even advise not to skip the opening for reasons that are amusing to find out on your own. Not only that, the ending sequence song is always a treat, especially after appearing right after many of the shocking twists and disturbing turns the series cliffhangers with, leaving the viewer drained and reflecting. There is a particular use of it without the credits in a certain episode that begins to show the viewers just how much of a disturbing situation Okabe has found himself in. There is realization of horror not just coming of him, but from the viewers when they realize it as well.

The story and mystery have impressive writing. Episode by episode, bits and pieces start to form together, and the viewers are left wondering what exactly is happening and theorizing. Loose ends get tied together eventually, character arcs come full circle, and yet something always seems to happen that keeps expanding the lore and the many possibilities. As complex and mysterious as the story is, everything feels tied together in a surprising way. The wonder of mystery in this series feels as if it doesn't ever end. The twists are always great with reveals that can leave one gasping. Even as a romance, it presents incredible and heartwarmingly emotional writing. And the comedy is among the highlights as well, and very relatable as I mentioned earlier.

Sometimes, Steins;Gate can drain the viewer's emotions and leave them empty. That's because this series tackles the horror behind time travelling, not just the wonder. Okabe's struggle becomes to create his ideal timeline. Despite that, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. In order to manipulate time and redo events that didn't go as planned, he has to undo events that are precious to him. Since he keeps his memories whenever he goes back, he is left constantly as if he were cursed with the memories of those events. This results in what feels like endless amounts of bittersweet moments. His descent into madness shows his desperation and fall into insanity. Regardless, he doesn't want to give up.

To try to understand this feeling he gets, think about dreams. Haven't you had dreams where you meet people you don't recognize and build friendships and romances with them and also with those that you do know? Eventually, you wake up happy still thinking it's real, just to realize it right away that it was only a dream. Then that feeling of loss and disappointment comes in. This feeling can relate to what Okabe feels.

After the set up in the first few episodes, the series goes out of control and never quite calms down. What I appreciate in this series is that no main character gets left behind. Each one gets deeply explored, and their innermost personal issues and ambitions get fleshed out and developed. Every character has a story, and this series makes each one matter, unlike other anime that often leaves characters behind and in the background. For example, Moeka is one of the more minor characters. Despite that, the twisted abyss of her mind and insecurities gets explored enough and shows her paranoid vulnerability, and desire to belong to something that can give her a reason to want to be alive. An isolated disaster, it's some of the most darkest content in Steins;Gate. Not only that, there's the topic of Suzuha, which explores the satisfaction, or maddening dissatisfaction one feels in lifetime accomplishments, and Yugo, the father who would go to the questionably extreme for her daughter.

For a long time, Steins;Gate was a series I always saw from a distance. Many viewers accused it of trying too hard and failing to be intelligent, to calling out it's fans as elitists. Yes, people who have never made an anime, and never learned how to, have all the answers somehow. Now, neither have I, though I try to be more critical than that. It's cursed alongside other anime for supposedly being "too slow and boring." I feel the need to address this out of annoyance. Honestly, these viewers are just not paying attention. The story building in Steins'Gate would perhaps be more amusing if viewers would stop looking at their social media every 5 minutes and turning on the 3X speed. If viewers feel the need to watch anime faster, they might as well just drop the series. Some are too used to anime that is easy and brain free to consume. The Western oversaturated film industry of bland and soulless action works has conditioned people into losing their attention spans because that is what they get used to. It must have guns, sex, violence, and explosions, or else it's garbage! When something that isn't action that requires some thinking comes around, it's looked at with hostility. At it's core, there is a hatred for thinking that is all too commonly found. The hatred for thinking is by design when one begins to look into what is making people act this way.

Think about it. It was cool to be the braindead loser in high school. It's not cool to be the nerd. Those who were smart had to start failing their grades and ruin their own lives just to fit in. Those who develop a passion for studying get made fun of. Where did this kind of bullying come from? Even media tricks people into thinking that different is bad. In actuality, the normal is what is boring. If everyone looked and thought the same, the power structure would win without worry. It is the people who are weird, different, and outcasts that create the most excitement in life and who really stir up influence on the masses and history.

Looking back at old board posts from 2011 when Steins;Gate first aired, it was praised everywhere, even where it wouldn't be expected. Despite that, it bored people to see this in people's favorites. People's favorites are about what they want to pick, not what others want them to. To say someone's taste is boring is condescending. How could one use their own taste as the authority to criticize someone else's this way? If someone watches anime with passion, they're favorites and 3X3 will always change. This is my case, as my favorites continue to morph, as I begin to find more and more anime that feels like it can give Ashita no Joe and Legend of the Galactic Heroes a run for their money. Can they be topped for me? I would hope so.

Coming from Texhnolyze, I can see it in this series, as Hiroshi Hamasaki directed both. I appreciate that Chiyomaru Shikura, who wrote Steins;Gate, composed the opening himself for his own adaptation. Steins;Gate left me with a memorable experience. If I had to complain, I would have liked to know more about "Reading Steiner." The stakes are really high here also, though the amount of convenience here can take away from it. Also, Mayuri nearly annoyed me with her "tutturu" goofy personality, though it grew on me eventually. Despite that, I was glued to my screen and watched most of this in two days out of how impressed I was with it. A lot of times I tend to pause and get distracted. Not here. I was fully engaged with the episodes. I feel for those that had to wait months when it first came out for each weekly one. As the timelines continue to expand, Steins;Gate amazes with the wonder of possibility and creating your own destiny.