Hello Everyone,
Raistlin and I have been looking for a project to do together for some time now and after I published my recent completely biased non reviews of Steins;Gate 0, he suggested we try to find something on that theme. Don’t let the good times end… Raistlin had a somewhat different opinion of the original Steins;Gate than I did when he saw it and we decided a discussion of that series would be fun. We could go over our different view points. After a second viewing though, things did not quite go to plan… So Instead we bring you a semi fictional time travel review of Steins;Gate. Every Wednesday, one of us will post a bit of the story review, starting this week on my blog! Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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November 2018
As some of you may know, I’m a devoted fan of the Steins;Gate franchise. I know, I know, who isn’t? The original anime is still beloved by tons of fans and the new season has been surprisingly appreciated.
I love Steins;Gate so much that I regularly go read other people’s thoughts on the subject. And today I have an especially scrumptious treat, since the other people in question happen to be on of my favourite people, namely Raistlin0903. He wrote about the original series way back in February 2017, let’s all see what he had to say…
Wow, he really captured the warmth and joy of having such a full cast. I mean a lot of what makes Steins;Gate so precious to me is the plots willingness to give everybody their own place in which to exist. It makes this assortment of weirdos and losers all comfortable and safe. Giving them a chance to actually save the world. In turn, this makes a weirdo like me, watching from the outside, feel a little comfortable and safe, an potentially capable of great things! It creates a warm place where it seems possible that someone like me would be welcomed, and even find a few friends.
It’s tough to really translate that feeling into words but I really love how Raistlin went about lovingly painting a picture of a cohesive and wonderfully layered group. Raistlin can always be counted to find the very best in people and situations and it really shines through in his description of the Future Gadgets Lab members. Man, it makes me a little happy just reading this!
And he mentions the dialogue. I always feel like there may have been something lost in translation but still, the banter works so well to establish everyone’s relation to one another. It’s almost eerily natural in these definitely unnatural circumstances.
A really strong start! Way to go Raistlin! Ok let’s see what else it says here…
“The first half of this series is just incredibly slow. I don’t mind slow series at all, but with all the quirky and crazy things happening in the beginning it was at times hard to stick with it.”
Whaaa… Well I guess I can see his point but the beginning is sort of my favourite part. That’s where you get all the most human moments that bring so much weight to everything else.
Let’s face it, a story like Steins;Gate needs some really sturdy foundations if it’s to avoid becoming boring gibberish. You have to take your time really laying down the groundwork. Besides, it’s not is if it was just some exposition slog. Everybody’s so fresh and fun and innocent in the opening arc.
You know guys, I bet Raistlin was just super impatient to get to the time travel stuff that it ruined the fun of the early episodes for him. That happens to me a lot. I know there’s more than a few shows that I probably would have enjoyed a lot more if I didn’t go in with some type of expectations.
You know what, Raistlin’s a great guy who deserves to enjoy a great anime. Maybe we should give him a little help here. Just one little D-mail, what could be the harm in that…
Good things take time
There, just a little reminder we all could use once in a while. And sent…
I remember watching S;G as it aired. The complaint that it was slow was common, and for a few seasons afterwards people were still recommending it with the caveat that it’s slow in the beginning “but it gets better”. I agree, though, it was great from the get-go. If the show had a week phase at all, it was – IMO – the middle phase, where the vn-structure was reduced to repetitiveness (I’ve since played the VN, and that’s the part the anime really doesn’t get across). But that’s only a few episodes and it gets going strong again very soon.
I have a lot of thoughts on the obstacles of adapting traditional vn structure to more linear narratives for anime…
Interesting topic for a post, no?
Only for you and me, my friend
Every time I read this, it brings a smile to my face. Now to see the post with all the added screenshots, it has only become better 😊I have really enjoyed working on this with you, can’t say that often enough! 😊
I love it too! I hope the readers enjoy it as well!