I've finally finished Steins;Gate, and it's one of the best anime i've ever seen. The first time i watched it i couldn't get through the first couple of episodes, but im glad i gave it another shot since i would've really missed out on an amazing show if i didn't. So if you're reading this to know whether to keep watching (or even to start in the first place), then yes, it's 100% worth it.

The story revolves around Okabe Rintarou, a self-proclaimed mad scientist who has to deal with the consequences of messing with time after finding a way to send emails into the past. Time travel is not a particularly original theme, but the limitations and problems that come with it in Steins;Gate make it compelling enough to draw you in and lead to the plot advancing in unexpected and exciting ways. The pacing is a bit slow at first, but after the first few episodes the show draws you in and always leaves you wanting to know what happens next.

The visuals are fine. That's all there is to say about them. The show didn't have the highest budget, and it shows. Not to say that it looks terrible; it's just nothing exceptional. The animation is solid, and the more mature art style and muted colors are a welcomed change of pace from the saturated color palettes that are common in most anime.

Steins;Gate sounds really good. Miyano Mamoru's performance as Okabe Rintarou stands out, but all the voice acting is fantastic and fits the characters perfectly. The show also has a solid soundtrack with a good opening and ending.

Even though most of the characters are somewhat stereotypical (an airhead with a good heart, a perverted nerd, a tsundere, etc.), they're well-written with understandable motivations and make decisions that seem logical from their point of view. Everyone, including the side characters, is likable and adds something unique to the cast. Okabe Rintarou stands out as his mad scientist persona leads to entertaining interactions with the other characters, with all of them choosing to deal with his antics in their own way.

The first time I watched it, I struggled to get through the first 3-4 episodes because the pacing was slow, and it felt like nothing significant happened. Still, later on, as I started to get more invested in the characters, the show began to hook me in, and I really enjoyed my time with it. The first half of the show is basically just set up for the actual story, but even the less vital parts of the show felt rewarding as the characters are all enjoyable to watch, and following them for so long made the impact of the second half bigger than if you just skipped straight to that part. Overall I really enjoyed the show and appreciated the more slice-of-life aspects for the purpose they served in the bigger picture.

Steins;Gate is an absolute masterpiece. It's one of the shows that every anime fan should watch at least once, even if the science and time travel theme doesn't particularly interest them since even without that it's still an exciting drama with a great plot and interesting characters.