Steins;Gate

A great show.
Story: 10/10 A+
Animation/Art: 7/10 B-
Sound: 8/10 B
Characters: 12/10 S+
Acting (subbed): 7/10 C
Acting (dubbed): 9/10 A-
Enjoyment: 9/10 A-
Overall: 9/10 A-

Story: Absolutely incredible. The balance of trying to save the world or those closest to you creates incredible tension and tragic moments. While originally seeming like a slice-of-life anime that could be considered a little boring it soon heads into the main plot of the story. The plot begins with the creation of the phone microwave when it is discovered it can allow someone to time travel. This puts the main characters at odds with the organization SERN and puts the main character Okabe in a position where he must decide between a friend, a love, and the world. At around episode 5 where the truth behind human time travel is revealed, the story really kicks into high gear and risks become ever more real and terrifying. The only criticism that keeps it from a 10/10 is that it starts off incredibly slow and the first 3 episodes feel boring, especially in comparison to the rest of the series.

Animation/Art: The show isn't focused on this. It's not bad by any means but it is certainly not special. It feels colorless and devoid of life. While I understand this is likely an artistic choice it does little to set the mood of the show in a meaningful way.

Sound: Upon rewatching, I have decided to increase this score. It’s actually quite good, each song plays well into the scene it's in and in many cases can really add to the emotions one feels in the moment. Three tracks in particular come to mind as being very good: Christina 2, Farewell, and Gate of Steiner.

Characters: By far the best part of this show. Each character is full of individual motivation and has understandable reasons for how they act. Each one provides meaningful emotional importance to the show and each in completely different ways. No character is like the other, each completely unique just like in real life. While some characters such as Kurisu are unlikable at first the show is great at creating a soft spot for them in your heart. The character that is most developed is Okabe the main character. Throughout the show, his actions and the mental toll they've taken on him become more and more visible until they are brought to the forefront and become his only motivation. In my OPINION, Ruka is the best character. They have a simple but understandable request and when the motivation behind it is revealed it is truly heartbreaking to understand what has to happen for the main character to fulfill his mission. Luka is one of the few anime characters to ever cause me to cry for their pain and despite being around for very little run time, easily makes an emotional impact.

Acting (subbed): Yes this is different from sound, it should be. The acting in this show is good but nothing that pushes it to the extraordinary level. Nobody feels like they are unrealistic and their voices don't take away from the immersiveness. Unfortunately, there aren't very many scenes that could potentially show incredible acting abilities, if there were any at all.

Acting (dubbed): I rewatched this series in dubbed. The dubbed version of Steins Gate is one of the best ones ever made, right up there with the Kaguya Sama dub. I actually preferred the dub for this show to the subbed, a rare event. The dubbed is very good and I would recommend watching it over the subbed. While there were a few moments where I thought it could use some improvement for the vast majority of it I greatly preferred the dub, not because I didn’t have to read subtitles, but because the actors just did better.

Enjoyment and Overall:
While my ratings may cause the show to seem subpar in comparison to other well-known anime it is still great. Everything is at least rated average for me, and the best parts of the show, story, and characters, each stand at the absolute top. The story is easily one of the greatest that I have ever seen, being tragic and heroic in ways that few other shows can do. The characters are undoubtedly in contention for the best in all of anime and even the side of side characters is well written. I would say that the characters alone warrant a watch. This has won its place as one of the best shows I've ever seen.