THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, DON'T READ IT IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED IT YET!

Steins;Gate is such a chilling thriller anime!

As you know, Steins;Gate's story is based around the concept of time travel, and it's a compelling narrative! The main character, Okabe Rintaro, gradually becoming more traumatized as he witnesses his loved ones die in front of his very eyes, had me feeling empty and shocked. Him having to make a painful decision between saving Mayuri or Makise and altering world lines left me thinking a lot about world lines and how preventing their deaths all together has to lead to the nonexistence of the time machine.

While it is an indirect reason as to why they die, had the time travel not existed, there would be no reason to hack into SERN and there would be no scientific papers on how to create it. The direct cause of Mayuri's death is D-Mail, which alters the past and makes it worse because they are playing with God's rules. No matter what Okabe tried, fate would always meet Mayuri on the alpha world line.

SERN, which is the fictional version of the real-life research institute called CERN, is super intriguing and mysterious in my opinion. It frightened me when Okabe received an email with a disturbing photo attached. Story-wise, I think it's an outstandingly written plot.

When it comes to character writing, Okabe Rintaro is a theatrical type of character, who also refers to himself as Hououin Kyouma. He always puts on a "mad scientist" type act to make sure that others around him feel easy. As a character, he changes a lot throughout the anime and becomes less theatric, simply due to his traumatic experiences across all the world lines he has traveled through. I love the main character, especially the way he laughs.

Then there is Hashida Itaru, a character whose entire personality is being lazy, a hacker and preferring fictional anime girls over real life girls. I'd say he is generally well written.

Mayuri Shiina is the calmer, more innocent and clueless character in the story. She's the emotional anchor and I personally think she's an important and likeable character, despite not playing the biggest role.

Makise Kurisu is my favorite character in Steins;Gate! She is a proclaimed scientist and knows how to create the time leap machine that lets the individual travel back 48 hours into the past. Her personality is largely tsundere and she has a very high intelligence. She is the main cause of the creation of time travel, regardless of world lines.

Other characters in the story, including Rumiho Akiha (Faris-nyan), Amane Suzuha, Kiryu Moeka, Luka Urushibara, are all amazing characters in my opinion.

Soundtrack-wise, It's generally haunting and I really like the intro and outro music. The soundtracks help with building up the atmosphere.

Pacing flows slowly, but smoothly. There is a good amount of focus in the happy and joyful moments of Steins;Gate before it all starts crumbling down.

Conclusion: Steins;Gate is the best thriller I have personally watched and it's my favorite anime right now! I kept thinking about it for an entire week, that's how good it is! 10/10