Steins;Gate

God, what an incredible, incredible story.

I went into Steins;Gate knowing nothing. I'd never heard of it, I'd never seen any clips of it and the only character I recognized was Kurisu (who simply felt vaguely familiar). I tried it out on a recommendation from a friend, and went in with no idea what was waiting for me, other than "time travel is involved." To be honest, I thought I was in for a pretty standard sort of... sci-fi thing, I guess? I dunno.

What I got, instead, was a goddamn masterpiece.

Steins;Gate is a story about time travel. It's also about memories. Oh, and romance, of course. And also the fleeting nature of life, the precious moments between people, and the determination it takes to really fight for what you love. If Okabe Rintaro was real, I'd grab him by the collar and kiss him on the mouth.

By the way, don't expect this to be a... formal review of any kind. I feel that writing in a clinical, "objective" way tends to detach us from our actual emotions about a piece of art, and when discussing my thoughts and feelings, it comes much more naturally to just write from the heart. And boy does my heart have a lot to say, so let's get going.

What Steins;Gate does better than almost any show is its ability to really pull you into it. I don't mean in terms of immersion, I mean in terms of binging-the-whole-thing-in-a-single-sitting-because-you-can't-stop-thinking-about-it. Sure, like some people say, it does have an arguably slow start. But even then, the baffling prologue- which later becomes mind-bogglingly cool- is more than enough to keep interests piqued until stuff kicks off. Everything about the story is so tightly woven, so immaculately planned out, that it's able to throw mystery after mystery at you, dangling threads over your head that you might not even realize are there until they all wind together into one rope- kind of like the possibilities of world lines, I guess? That analogy might be a little forced.
Anyway, Steins;Gate is gripping. If you have the attention span to stay engaged- difficult in this day and age, I know, but I believe in you!- then you are so, so rewarded for it. The entire first half of the show is all a Chekov's Gun for the second half, building up miniscule changes and little pieces until, suddenly, they all come cascading down together and sweep you away with the realization that god damn, this shit is genius.
This slower, more casual buildup also works perfectly for its characters- you're given all this time to see them bounce off of each other (Okabe and Kurisu's bickering is quite possibly the most realistic and enjoyable dialogue I've seen) and become attached to their personalities, before the second half hits you with a thousand emotional gut punches and cracks your heart in two. Even Faris, who has the least time on screen, manages to deliver a really powerful story about coping with a loss, albeit with a bizarre sidequest leading up to the heart-wrenching moment in that particular episode. That is by no means a complaint, because Steins;Gate doesn't mind being a little weird or funny, even when it's making you feel indescribable sadness. Seeing Okabe go through so much pain, so much grief, over and over again in a desperate bid to save his loved ones is so, so beautiful in a way I struggle to describe. The payoff to everything is perfect, episode 22 in particular has burned itself into my mind with how emotional it makes me. Beneath the mad scientist persona, the chuunibyo nonsense, the bravado and comments, Okabe is a man who would give up everything he has just to know the others are safe, alive, breathing and seeing the world. What a guy. He's a dork. I love him! So much.
The music. Oh my god, the music. It's perfect. Hacking To The Gate is the best OP out there, and Takeshi Abo's soundtrack has such a weight to it that when you hear that Gate of Steiner melody kick in, you know you're in for a treat. GOD this show is so GOOD. I don't even know where to go with this, there's so much about Steins;Gate that I love. Did I mention how goddamn COOL it is to watch this show multiple times? The prologue is just about a thousand times more interesting after the ending. It's genius. It's really, really genius.
Moeka is underrated and deserves more love.
Watch this goddamn show. Watch it twice. Three times. Dozens. It'll be worth it each and every time.

El Psy Congroo.