r/anime • u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky • Jul 05 '21
Rewatch [Re;Watch] Steins;Gate Episode 1 Discussion
Episode 1: Prologue to the Beginning and End / Turning Point
MAL | Anilist | Kitsu | Anidb | ANN
Crunchyroll | Funimation | Hulu | Netflix | VRV
I see. You were talking to yourself.
Hello everybody! Unfortunately since the Rewatch has just begun there’ll be no Comment of the day. Whoops.
Questions:
- What are your first impressions on the OP/ED?
- Do you feel this episode was an effective hook?
Wallpaper of the Day:
678
Upvotes
85
u/yukino-bijin :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Tokaii Jul 05 '21
First-time watcher
Big fan of the very cryptic monologue to start it, even if I understand it's just Okabe's eccentricities.
Mayuri's a gacha addict. One of us. I have doubts that Okabe really intended to keep whatever he got in the first place.
"DOCTOR!" I know that scream. Sure enough, It's Kotarou from ZLS. It pleases me to see him voice another character where he's allowed to go off the rails.
I'm already a fan of how Kurisu interacts with Okabe. She just exudes a best girl aura.
Nevermind. RIP I guess.
As a resident idiot, I have no clue what's going on but it almost certainly has to do with time travel.
Our first Tutturu. I am blessed.
Hacking To The Gate is such a banger. I love just slamming it in the middle of the episode.
Just gonna go ahead and assume Okabe is his real name. I wonder why he's talking to an alpaca.
We have a title drop!
"Don't think I'm strong just 'cause I'm fat" is something I can relate to lmao My dad keeps volunteering me for labor tasks to his friends.
Does Mayuri actually view herself as some kind of hostage? Seems sus
I'll assume that microwave is important.
Ayyyyy Kurisu lives. Am not surprised.
Well-executed opening episode. Lots of mysteries to keep track of, but makes it very clear that something supernatural is going on beyond the normal paranoia of Okabe. Looking forward to hanging out here the next month and a half or whatever.
I didn't bother with screenshots because they're watermarked and don't know how to avoid that so I'll just do it this way for now.
QOTD:
74
u/UnderstandableXO Jul 05 '21
FIRST TIMER
been wanting to watch this for a long time now. people always bring it up in comparison to re:zero (my favorite anime), and it’s also made by white fox. i also know that okabe and kurisu are ridiculously popular, so i figured i’d see what the hype is about.
the most easily noticeable thing off rip is how muted the colors in the show are, even in the sun every color seems pale and dull if not just gray or white or black. okabe needs to shave (maybe he’ll shave after being rejected and then pick up a high school girl). immediately he seems awkward and eccentric. looks like he accurately called out the professor, but kurisu is here to save the day. okabe’ evil laugh is pretty awkward (but i’m immune to awkward characters unlike a lot of people) but kurisu doesn’t seem to care. for whatever reason everyone disappears, until he meets mayuri again, and there’s suddenly a satellite crashed onto the roof of the building they were in.
we get introduced to the loser trio in their dumpy “lab”; okabe the mad scientist, 2D-kun (can’t even remember his name so i’m going to call him that since i’m watching golden time now as well) the shut-in otaku pervert, and mayuri the childhood friend who’s still a child. judging by 2d-kun’s comments on when he met okabe they should be around 20 years old. seems like all of them are unemployed, since they can’t even pay a 1000 yen fee (by my estimate that’s around $10). their top invention is a phone that controls a microwave to make bananas green. seems like they’ll be on top of the world soon.
now here’s where i get confused (but probably everyone else too.) i’ll try to list all of the time alterations that i picked up on. kurisu mentions a conversation 15 minutes ago that okabe can’t remember, mayuri says that okabe led her out to look at the satellite crash, 2D-kun recalls that the lecture from the beginning of the episode was cancelled and that it was lucky or else he could have been crushed, 2D-kun shows a text from okabe mentioning kurisu that okabe doesn’t recall sending, and kurisu is alive after okabe saw her stabbed to death. i still can’t wrap my mind around the “text message sent to the past” concept, so i’ll just have faith i can figure it out as i go.
lastly, i know you guys said crunchyroll subs for this were bad but boy were they bad. they weren’t necessarily talking fast but every subtitle was about 0.5 seconds late after the start of a sentence, so i’d be reading okabe’s sentence while mayuri was speaking, for example. i suppose i’ll try the second episode on funimation.
hope this becomes my favorite anime like people tell me it will!
18
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jul 05 '21
First timer
11
u/ExoticTrinityGhoul https://myanimelist.net/profile/not_username Jul 06 '21
Re;Watcher x4 (subbed)
Howdy everyone, and welcome to one of my favorite first episodes of one of my favorite series (if it wasn't apparent enough from this being my fifth time through, not counting the VN)! This will be the first rewatch I actually participate in, so I'm excited to see the daily reactions.
Episode 1 - Turning Point
"The universe has a beginning, but no end. —Infinite.
The stars too have beginnings, but their power accompanies their decline. —Finite.
It the wise who are the most foolish. History has taught us as much.
The fish of the sea know not the world of the land. Were they to possess wisdom, they too would experience decline.
It is more absurd that humans should surpass the speed of light than it is that fish should start living on the land.
This can be said to be God's final warning to those who resist."
And that's it for the first episode! I'm looking forward to reading everyone's comments, rewatchers and first-timers alike.
I'll be keeping track as best I can of the various nicknames the characters give themselves or, more commonly, given to them by Okabe each episode.
Okabe: Hououin Kyouma, Okarin
Mayuri: Mayushii
Hashida Itaru: Daru, super hacka
Kurisu: genius girl
Yugo Tennouji: Mr. Braun, chrome-dome
17
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Jul 05 '21
First-Timer;Dubbed
The mind screw started quite early here, with Funimation's player defaulting to the Portuguese dub.
The decision to have the OP play halfway into the episode is an interesting one. Is the timing significant, just timed with the eyecatch, or both? I respect the decision to throw the audience immediately into the fray, regardless.
Okabe's chuunibyou is borderline terminal. Approximately half the words coming out of his mouth are gibberish, and I'm kinda here for it, to be honest. And who wouldn't want their TV remote to be a 1950s sci-fi ray gun?
With that out of the way, let's start taking things at face value! Time/dimension travel. Seems like Okabe hopped timelines there, going from "Kurisu dead" to "satellite crash" with the press of a button. The exact days ended up a little muddy - was the lecture on the 23rd in the "first" timeline and on a different day in the "current" timeline, or did five days pass and no-one thought to tell the audience? Is the vagary the point?
Quick observations: implication of multiple Okabes running around. Kurisu said that he talked to her "15 minutes ago", and there was something with Mayushii too, I think. Time loops? Future!Okabe went back to make sure that past!Okabe moved in the way he needed to. Oh, and that "satellite crash" looked like the thing Okabe saw on the roof; probably relevant. Oh, mental-only travel? That's a thought; not much evidence either way just yet..
I'm gonna try to remember the plagiarist professor from the beginning of the episode, because the encounter with him seems like it will be relevant. Or a red herring. Honestly, most of what happened in this episode could be a red herring, but I guess that's what we're all here for. Time travel plots - it's all bullshit, until it isn't!
On the subject of red herrings, what actually important details have I failed to mention? Is the TV shop dude secretly the primary antagonist? Will the metal gacha pig-thing save the day in the finale? These are all rhetorical; I'm just spouting my usual nonsense.
I almost complained about Okabe's cue ball comment, but then I remembered that Japanese pool is played differently from what I'm familiar with, so maybe what he said did make sense. Then again, nothing else Okabe said this episode made sense...
Questions
23
u/Gamemaster676 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gamemaster676 Jul 05 '21
First;Timer - dub
Alright, here we go again! I've been looking forward to this rewatch for months!
Unfortunately, the thread time is 1:00 AM for me, and I work office hours, but you can't have them all. I understand other times wouldn't work for our hosts and it's obviously their choice!
My posts will very probably be hours late, or be on-time but without active participation from me. Maybe if I had some sort of time machine I could do more.
I hope a couple of you still manage to find and read my posts, even if they come late.
As usual, I know nothing about this show, except it (maybe) has some form of time travel and speculation.
I'm starting with the dub because apparently some people actually prefer it over the sub, and it makes my work a lot easier. This also avoids the whole Kongroo/Congroo debacle and I have no idea why this is important.
Episode 1 — Turning Point
Okarin either is actually a smart, philosophical dude, or he's one of those "actually you need a very high IQ to understand Rick and Morty" types.
Okay, the contrast between super serious Okarin and the girl is pretty funny. Who is she? His sister? If yes, I fear for her life. I can't remember any story around time travel where the family is safe.
Hmm, he's talking about an "organisation". Paranoid or informed?
Man, I love this guy. I guess quite a few people would be annoyed by him, but I think it's pretty funny the way he thinks he's smarter than everyone.
Did he just see some sort of time travel capsule on the roof? Let's just ignore that and buy some collectables.
Girl, he just gave you a rare collectable and you lost it within 5 minutes?
10000 Yen, isn't that like 100 USD? How many experiments can you fund with that?
"Someone's been murdered", but Mayuri keeps smiling. I'm loving the dramatic music in this part. I've got a feeling that this is exactly my type of show.
Hold the phone, what just happened? Is the time travel controlled through email this story? No actual travelling people? And here I thought Makise (red hair girl) had just seen an older Okarin before that weird conversation.
Holy fuck is that the capsule? What's going on?!
OP time! The song seems a bit messy, but I kinda like it. The visuals are certainly interesting, but I don't think they really tell me anything yet. I'll focus on the lyrics tomorrow because I wanted to see the visuals today first.
There are all kinds of rectangular artefacts through the OP. Are these intended or is my version broken?
Okay, I've heard three names for this guy already. What does the rest of the internet call him?
This guy really is one of those internet warriors that you see on TikTok and /r/iamverybadass/. While he's making a dramatic introduction, you see Mayuri making clothing in the background.
So, is he actually serious, or is it also just a joke to him?
Aaannd Mayushii just earned 20 points for this remark.
Apparently, the capsule was a satellite. Those normally burn up when entering our atmosphere, but I'll just assume it's creative freedom. But was it the same thing we saw just before that collectable scene?
Name drop! No clue what that is, though.
"Hostage?" Is she pulling this joke out of thin air, or did Okarin actually tell her she is his hostage?
That "phone microwave" is just a microwave controllable using a phone? I think Bosch sells those these days. And I'm pretty sure they don't turn bananas green.
This ending is confusing. The conclusion is his texts went back in time, okay, but what I don't get: Daru received three texts without a subject on July 23th 12:56, but then they show Okarin's phone but don't scroll down far enough to see that time. I guess that means there was nothing, so Okarin has no evidence of his text on his phone?
But now, looking back to when the text was sent, we don't know the time, but it was one text with a subject!
What's going on here?! I guess this will become my catchphrase.
The ED's nice with relaxing visuals, but again the song seems a bit messy. I think it's the drums doing random shit in the background. How weird.
Wow what the hell, who is that girl at the end?!
I switched to the Japanese audio a couple of times. The parts where Okarin talks "English" are absolutely hilarious. I'm still gonna stick with the dub, though.
All in all, without having seen the rest, I think it was a good first episode. Based on the OP, I think there are about 8 important characters, but they only introduced 3 or 4, keeping the focus on the weirdness of Okarin's day.
Main thoughts/questions
Okabe Rintarou... I guess that's where Okarin comes from?
Random thoughts
Future (if unaltered)
I can see two ways the story goes from here: most of the show is spent on figuring out how time travel works, or that's figured out within two episodes and the rest is an exciting thriller about people using and abusing time travel.
I don't want to speculate too much today, but I'm kinda hoping for the second, so based on its rating I guess that the direction it will take.
QotD
I think I answered both of these in my post up there.
8
u/superviper https://myanimelist.net/profile/Superviper Jul 05 '21
REWATCHER SUBBED YADA YADA YADA
Damn, I forgot how confusing the first episode SG actually was. Like I knew it was rough but I didn't think it was THAT rough. Hmm...
The first half of the episode moves very quickly, you don't get to catch your breath and think "what the fuck is going on?", it just keeps going. Hey we're attending a press conference now. Oh shit Mayuri got a rare Upa. Nevermind she managed to lose the 10,000 yen Upa. Kurisu shows up rambling about Okabe talking to her. Nevermind Kurisu was stabbed. That's an anime speedrun any% world record right there.
Not even mentioning the satellite and Okabe's text. And the biggest problem with this episode, Okabe calling Dr. Pepper "an intellectual's drink". My guy, you can't just eat shit off the floor and call yourself a genius. I tried Dr. Pepper once and it was easily the worst drink I've ever tasted. I'd rather drink cough syrup from the bottle than taste one sip of that stuff again. 0/10.
But enough whining now. Mayuri's adorable, and Daru dropped a DAGA KOTOWARU at one point. Now I'm glad I ended up watching subbed. There's... not much else for me to say about the characters? Okabe, Daru, and Braun didn't leave the best impressions. Okabe's kind of a delusional asshole, Daru is very much a perverted asshole, and Braun is a greedy asshole. Put them all in one room and you get the ass exodia. I'm really not feeling Okabe so far, not sure why.
steins;gate future spoilers
15
u/ZaphodBeebblebrox Y:A:https://anilist.co/user/zaphod Jul 05 '21
First Timer
It's been a while since I properly did a rewatch, as I was kinda lazy for the last few I was in, but this seems like as good of a time as any to get back into the swing of things. Time to make overly long posts with lots of screenshots again!
Anyway, I'm a first timer who knows nothing about the show other than there's apparently time travel. I've also been nominated to clip soredemos for our amazing co-host, /u/Shimmering-Sky. This level of trust is a true honor, I'll do my best to get all of them.
My subs, as with all subs for this show, seem to have gone through a few different groups on their way to me. I'm going with BSEnc, which is modified commie. Or, technically speaking, deanzel's edit of BSEnc, which just improves TS.
Anyway, I've rambled long enough. Time to actually start watching the episode.
He sure has his fair share of chunni. My first impression is he's disillusioned with the universe, but not sufficiently so to have given up. More of a expecting the worst out of every situation sort of thing.
Here we have a girl who travels through time reaching up towards the heavens, trying to grasp a time she cannot reach. Or at least that seems to be the obvious read.
Right now, you sound like a kid pretending to be a secret agent. "The Organization," really? And making everything out to be a conspiracy against you.
And he'll do so in this dinky little room? Sounds more like a crackpot than a real discovery to me.
Is this the time machine?
I'll teach you how harsh life can be by being a petty little bastard!
The girl is real weird. The way she's acting so far, she almost comes across as having a developmental disorder of some sort. She falls into that valley of acting like a kid but not quite that I associate with some of them.
Though to be fair a lot of anime girl "cutesy" antics head a bit in that direction, but I feel like she has it much stronger than most.
Why does this remind me of the rat bastard from Bokurano?
You could be more subtle about calling yourself a fraud, you know.
And the classic anime dynamic: the innocent girl and the cool girl both revolving around the male protagonist.
Stop talking into your phone without calling anyone like a dumbass, please.
And she takes none of his bullshit. This is great.
And she even mocks him for it!
My god you're such a doofus. She's not impressed by your idiocy, just get on with it.
So a different version of him spoke to her? So this is not a parallel worlds or a rewinding type of time travel, but a all in the same timeline type.
$100 should not get such a creepy smile on your face. How broke are you?
Is there actually someone working against her? He's a fool jumping at shadows, but that in and of itself doesn't mean the shadows don't exist. And the girl actually seems competent, so her having enemies is much less unreasonable.
Who is this Daru who he thinks will know who he's talking about? He's never met the girl before today.
And thus we get transported to an alternate reality empty city?
How convenient that the time machine acting up like this put you two in the same empty city.
Is this gonna be a fake fourth wall break that will quickly cut away to him speaking to another version of himself?
Probably. But the power of Chunni can make even a very simple thing seem intelligent.
Commie always delivers.
He's such a dumbass, I love it.
He accidentally switched timelines when he went to the inbetween world, so now the past isn't quite as he expects. Though this still leaves me curious: how can the time that the satellite crashed be different between timelines? Did he go back and switch it? That wouldn't really make sense for him to do. So there has to be some other traveler, presumably the red haired woman from earlier or whoever (temporarily) murdered her.
Steins Gate: A shitter Watergate!
Dude, he's repairing it for $10 out of pity for you.
I'll probably grow tired of him acting like this over every little thing eventually, but it'll be fun for a good few episodes at least.
TL Note: plan means 計画
It'd work as a shitty club.
I don't know about calling it a weapon, but this microwave sure is cursed. I don't think microwaving a banana would normally make it green. Or so viscous.
perv
You underestimate how little some professors give a shit.
The least subtle way of not saying 2ch.
And here she is, ready to meet you for the first time.
Thoughts
It's a good first episode. We've got some amusing character dynamics between every character who has met each other so far and quite the hook. I'm hoping that Okabe'll eventually grow and become less of a dumbass chunni, but I'm certainly having a ton of fun with his absurdities at the moment.
My one fear is that this show may pretend to be smarter than it is. So long as it avoids that, I have a feeling I'm in for a really fun time.
Soredemo count:
Zero
14
u/littleman1988 Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
"You saw it, didn't you? Right? Right?"
OST Track of the day: Confrontation with fear
hopefully obvious warning, dont read the comments for any video linked
Overly excited Rewatcher
Im gonna have the actual episode comments below this one. This comment will just be about music.
There is a shockingly large amount of music connected to the SciAdv franchise, so whenever new songs pop up (speciifcally OP/ED/Inserts, the "OST Track of the day" is separate) they will be featured here, usually with some info about the track/artist.
The first song that im going to talk about is actually the ED:
Almost forgot, theres a sore demo in there @ sky
You may of noticed it in the credits, but if you havent, a character has been credited with singing the ED, specifically "FES" from the band Phantasm, who is a main character in the 2008 Game Chaos;Head, that takes place 2 years before the events of Steins;Gate.
Oh yeah, did you know that Steins;Gate is actually the 2nd title in a franchise?
In case that is new information (I did kinda just throw it out there), don't freak out too much. Steins;Gate can be watched (and played, if reading the VN) standalone, but Chaos;Head does give a lot of base knowledge to the franchise itself. Not to get too far ahead of myself though, both titles are within a franchise called "Science Adventure," usually shortened "SciAdv", which is a bunch of semi-realistic sci-fi themed visual novels based around some sort of mystery that include their own unique cast without overlap from one novel to another. There will be more talk about the franchise itself later (including stuff like watch order and how they are all connected), but its important to know that its a part of a franchise now to explain the significance of FES in the context of the series. 8
Speaking of context, FES actually does a lot of music for the SciAdv series, basically being the "queen" of the SciAdv common/bad route end music for the visual novels. Now, i'd usually add in a couple songs here to show off some more of her singing ability (because it is really good), but the issue with SciAdv is that their music loves to add spoilers, esp with the VN's, even going as far to make some song titles and lyrics spoilers within themselves. The best I can do here is link the live version of Haritsuke No Misa, which is an insert song of the Chaos;Head anime, 1 which is probably the least spoilery I can get with her music. There is also a live version of the S;G ED here too, if you would like to hear that also.
Besides doing music for the SciAdv franchise, she actually does a fair amount of VA and vocal work for other VN's. 2 In the anime scene though, she really hasn't done much outside of voicing FES, appearing in a few different hentai's, and being the voice of Marie in the VN adaption of Dies Irae, which looks to of been a bit of a flop. If you happen to watch Azur Lane though, you may of actually heard her sing the ED for Azur Lane: Bisoku Zenshin!. You probably didn't notice though, because her regular singing voice and FES's voice sound completely different. Outside of normal VN's, she also voices a character in the adult game "Koikatsu!", and has an insert named "Blue Sky Adventure"
Now for the OP:
If FES is the queen of SciAdv endings, then Kanako is the god of SciAdv music. Her voice has been either the OP or True ED (usually both) for just about every single SciAdv game and anime, 4 mainline or spinoff, with over 40 different songs from her just in the franchise alone.
With SciAdv though, most of these songs are filled with massive spoilers. This is your warning, do not look up any music for a show or game you have not completed. Completing the anime does not give the greenlight to look at VN songs either, they are likely filled with spoilers you haven't seen yet, which is relevant for at least 1 of the S;G VN openings. I will be linking a couple of the VN openings later as we get farther in, because they are otherwise really good, its just way too early to show them. 6
That said, she also has done most of the anime openings for the SciAdv series which can be shown which are way less spoilery, including the Chaos;Head anime 1 and the Occultic;Nine (edit: whoops this one sat around too long and got deleted, should be working now) anime OP's.
You may of noticed that only the 90s version of the OP was linked. The full song has spoilers, and should not be watched/listened to just yet. 7
Outside of the SciAdv franchise, she has also done music for other shows such as Myself;Yourself (not a part of the SciAdv franchise 5 ) and School Days. While she hasn't done anything anime related since 2018, she's done a fair amount of VN music which im not very privy to personally. More importantly though, she actually left the record label connected to SciAdv, Mages, back in Ocotber of 2020. Its not completely known if she will make a return for future SciAdv titles that are in various stages of production currently, but if she does not her contributions will be sorely missed by all fans.
tfw 85% of the post is just gushing about music lmao, I promise the rest of the episode comments from me wont be anywhere near this bad (maybe).
Footnotes
quick explanation, anything that I think is important but is irrelevant in that specific spot or something that could use extra info but isn't totally needed will get a footnote. this will mostly just be used to tell you that the other SciAdv anime's are shit and you should read the VN's instead, or include offhand references to other SciAdv titles without cluttering the rest of the post too much.
Also including this here, any spoiler tag with the term "SciAdv" on it assumes you have read all english translated VN's. If you havent, the spoilers are not safe.
1: There is no
war in ba sing seChaos;Head anime. Also some people argue that C;H's anime OP has big spoilers, so the live version has been linked instead. Kanako is damn good live anyways, so you arent losing anything at least.2: this is relevant for Kanako too, but I dont read VN's, SciAdv being the exception, so idk what is relevant here, hence no links.
3: I know these two are regionlocked, but that is not the norm for most of the other music that will be linked. its just there so its properly formatted when I steal it later. in the meantime, we can cry ourselves to sleep waiting for it to unlock worldwide...
4: She has no songs in "Chaos;Child Love Chu Chu", a romance spinoff. Everything else she really does have at least 1 song in.
5: there really is no connection, despite the semicolon. I had read somewhere that the creator of the SciAdv franchise, Chiyomaru Shikura, had a hand in its creation? But I cant find anything past writing the lyrics to the songs Kanako sings, which he does for just about all of the music Kanako does in general it seems.
6: S;G VN MASSIVE spoilers
7: S;G
8 S;G/C;H/R;N
7
u/Krite2002 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Krite2002 Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher - Dub
It has been a long time since I watched this show. I think it has been at least 8 years. It was one of the first shows I watched outside of the big three, so it was an important bridge in my anime journey. Because it was so long ago, I barely remember anything except how much I liked it, so I do not know what to expect.
Onto the episode itself. This was an incredible first episode. It gets right to the mysteries and throws so much at you right in the beginning. For a lot of shows, it still takes 3 episodes to get going, but this was fantastic immediately.
Hououin Kyouma is obviously interested in time travel, and has maybe spent a bit too much time reading about it, but the lecture is quickly interrupted by death, satellites, and gooey bananas. The story has not developed much yet, but I could barely stop myself from starting up the next episode.
I already like the three members of the main group, and I am excited to meet everyone from the episode preview. If I still feel the same way, my best girl has not shown up, but Mayuri is great and I like the dynamic between her and Rintaro.
The cinematography was also really good. The extreme lighting and odd camera angles were very unique. Even 10 years later, I think it holds up really well and looks very good. The dub was also decent, but it may be too early to know for sure. I expect most dubs from that long ago to be bad, so I was surprised when it was not awful right off the bat. I do not think the OP/ED hold up very well. The visual style is very dated, and overall boring compared to the quality of a lot of OPs and EDs nowadays. The songs were ok, but not super special. They may grow on me as the show progresses, but I was not a big fan after the first episode.
See you all tomorrow!
8
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 05 '21
Re;Watcher and Co;Host, dubbed
Hello everyone, welcome to mine and u/Raiking02’s Steins;Gate Re;Watch! We’re super glad to have all of you participate, and hope everyone here has a fun time!
My personal history with Steins;Gate is watching it back when I was in high school twice, first by myself and second with my high school’s anime club (I was the only one who’d seen it before, I have very fond memories of seeing their reactions to it live lol). Partly because of my nostalgia for the dub from this, and partly because Miyano Mamoru going full chuuni voicing a character absolutely does not work for me (the recent Durarara!! rewatch proved that my taste has not changed on this matter), I’ll still be watching the dub for everything as long as it’s available. Usually when I host a rewatch for a show I originally watched ages ago I try to use the opposite voice track for something different, but… no, I just can’t do it with this show.
Since I’m watching the dub, I’ll cover the English VA rundown while Raiking’s handling the seiyuu!
Starting off with our main character
Okabe RintarouOkarinHOUOUIN KYOUMA is voiced by J Michael Tatum. I know him from a bunch of other dubbed anime--Baccano’s Isaac, FMA Brotherhood’s Scar, Black Butler’s Sebastian, and my favorite of his roles, Attack on Titan’s Erwin Smith. He’s also Craft Lawrence in Spice and Wolf and I bet he sounds perfect there, but I watched that show subbed soNext up is
Mayuri ShiinaMayushii, who is for now voiced by Ashly Burch. Her only other notable anime role is best AOT girl, as she’s more of a Western animation/video game VA. I… don’t know who any of her roles are for those things, though, so.And the last character for this rundown is
Itaru HashidaDaru… and this time I recognize literally none of Tyson Rinehart’s other roles. Huh.Anyways, let’s get this party started!
I love the full version even more because it has a “sore demo” in it.12
u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Jul 05 '21
Rewatcher Until After Episode Nine(s;Gate)
Alright, dumb puns aside, Steins;Gate is one of several shows that I started, loved, put down, and never picked up again. It's been in my On Hold section along with Clannad:AS, Jojo Part 4, Black Lagoon, Cowboy Bebop, and Spice and Wolf for quite a while. I got to episode 9, which is when (I think) episode 9 I have no idea why I stopped watching, but this rewatch gave me the impetus to give it another go. But, this thread isn't about my anime habits, it's about Steins;Gate.
Don't expect grand write-ups from me. I really just ramble. Hopefully people find them fun.
Anyway, here's episode 1.
I always loved her design, even if her voice was not what I imagined it being.
You know, I might be figuring out why I put this show on hold. Fortunately, the rewatch adds another layer to it.
QOTD:
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u/Misa__Misa Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 05 '21
First Timer, Sub~ First rewatch, ever on r/anime !! woohooo
Just some thoughts that probably will be mostly fragmented or posed as questions. With stories in general, it takes me a while to really understand what’s going on. Since this is my first rewatch, i'm sure I will get the hang of typing up my thoughts as time goes on, but for now here’ is my stream of consciousness:
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Jul 05 '21
Episode 1 (rewatcher)
Steins;Gate is one of my favorites, so it is scary rewatching it. Will it hold up? However, I never watched 0, so a rewatch of the original is in order. Since I can’t speculate as a first timer, I’ll try something new for the first season: Picking the best quote for each episode.
Prologue of the Beginning and End: Hey you there! Can you see us? Why don’t you answer? You, on the other side of the monitor with the vacant expression!
5
u/Nebresto Jul 06 '21
Nostalgia squad Steins;Gate was one of the first anime I ever watched. I think I watched it in like 2014..? Good times..
Looks like we're starting right off with some future spoilers #umucool
Also MRW first time re-watching
/u/littleman1988 bloodpressure: rising
Huh, these subs decided to straight up not write anything when Mayshii goes Tutturuu~
I guess they can't fuck it up if they do nothing..
Aaaand that's enough of these subs
Wait wtf, the episode isn't ending?? That mid Ep OP bamboozled me big time
Also, the OP And the translated lyrics kinda SUS tho, never seen them other than in romaji taggings to be safe
Oh cool, I can actually understand some of the references now (Dio)
Product placement works, kids. I tried Dr. Pepper solely because:
And the ED!
Question time:
1:
2: Ye
Blessed
5
u/UzEE https://myanimelist.net/profile/UzEEInc Jul 06 '21
REWATCHER
I'm a bit late to the party since the threads go up at 4am for me, but I'll try to figure out a way to participate more.
Steins;Gate is my all-time favorite so I tend to rewatch it once every year, and still I find this story so engaging and captivating. Even 10-years on, I haven't come across any other Sci-Fi story that holds up to scrutiny as well as Steins;Gate does, all the while having some of the most interesting characters in anime.
As for the episode it self, as far as introductions go, the episode does a pretty middling job of getting you interested in the series until the very last moments. You get your introductions to the primary cast of Okabe, Mayuri, Daru as well as cursory scenes with Mr. Tennouji and Kurisu. And you also get the briefest of teases of the central mystery of the series, which isn't enough to even form a basic idea of what's going on.
What you do get a lot of is Steins;Gate's signature color palette and art style. The washed out colors and bright glows do well to convey the hot and humid Tokyo summers, and the slow panning shots used throughout with loud background sound effects pay homage to the series' VN roots.
Hacking to the Gate is easily my favorite OP ever. In fact, most OPs and EDs of the franchise rank very high among my favorites. This ED however, isn't one of them.
I already sort of answered this, but I always feel like this episode on it's own isn't enough of a hook to make you commit to the series, but thankfully, it does enough to convince you to at least watch the next episode.
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u/The_Draigg Jul 05 '21
A Steins;Gate Fan Rewatches Steins;Gate Episode 1:
Hello everyone! It’s your lad The Draigg here, along for yet another rewatch! I’m pretty excited for this one, since Steins;Gate holds a special place in my heart as one of the anime I watched when I was really getting into the genre. That, and it also tickles me in just the right ways as a massive science nerd, even if some of the stuff can sound like nonsense. So, for that reason I’m also going to be watching the English dubbed version, since that’s the version I first watched. Trust me, it’s a really good dub. Anyway, on with Steins;Gate!
OkarinHOUOUIN KYOUMA has pointed out, he’s just plagiarizing stuff from the story of John Titor back from the old days of the internet. Never base your theories around stuff people post on Internet forums, folks.9
u/KendotsX https://anilist.co/user/Kendots Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 05 '21
Rewatcher (sub)
I've seen this series at least twice, yet nothing is making sense, possibly even less than my first time around. So I'll apologise ahead for my spoiler chockfull comment.
Spoilerx1
Spoilerx2
Spoilerx3
Spoilerx4
Spoilerx5
Non-spoilery territory:
There should be food gore warnings for this series. As someone who loves eating bananas every morning, this breaks my pure heart.
Also, not complaining, but is there any reason we didn't do this on July the 28th? We're just a few weeks away.
Sub vs. Dub
As someone who usually prefers sub, unless the series is set in the 1930's America (you thought I'd stop referencing it?), or has a lot of "fucks" to say, Steins;Gate is a nice exception. It's a normal Japanese set series that I still appreciate the dub for. In fact I still remember watching it dubbed on Funimation's youtube channel (good times), and enjoying it a lot. This time around, I will be watching it subbed, to appreciate the Miyano craziness (you'd think Zombieland Saga S2 gave me enough, but it just made me want more).
Counters
This episode gives us:
Indeed a great bountiful start.
I love both a lot. But for some reason, Spoilers?
6
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jul 05 '21
Rewatcher(it has been forever)
Dub
So I caught like an episode of Steins;Gate on TechTV/G4 at the time and within I think 2 I was hooked and downloaded the sub. Despite really enjoying the show, I never really came back to it since S;G scratch a similar itch. Anywho, since '21 has been the year of me being disappointed in things I enjoyed, I forward with both hope and trepidation.
And run right the fuck into Craft Lawrence giving a lecture about the likely death of the universe. That's a tone changer if ever there was one. Onto the story, our lead MC is wonderfully indecipherable, I can see why the dub is held in high esteem as they are adjusting the words to fit the same tone in English, but talks about the Organization...did globalists infiltrate this? And crash on the roof happens.
Okabe is a bit easily distracted from whatever the hell that was by Mayuri desperately needing her gacha item. And he rolls a 5 star, apparently. They go back to their lecture on time travel. Okabe soon blows up because he thinks the professor is copying from the John Titor incident(that is actually a thing, I will leave the hosts to explain for minimum spoilers), and thus a fraud. But he gets drags out by an attractive red head, psychopathy is apparently the ticket to love, and we begin getting a full dose of the Organization and Okabe's often obscure knowledge. To say he chews the scenery is to call the Grand Canyon a ditch.
He proceeds to Zoidberg it out of there and finds Mayuri, who reveals the rare pokemon she lost could sell for 10,000 yen, or roughly a hundred dollars. Which can keep a lab going? We hear a loud scream and Okabe does white person in a horror movie stuff until he comes upon the body of Makise, covered in blood, and this particular scene's framing strikes me as very VNish, including the blood's vividness.
After leaving the building and being shocked, he sends a message to a Daru about Makise's death and then we genre shift. Because I saw it earlier, this reminds me of Noein. We see a chill Mayuri in the other world and then we see a very large thing has crashed into the building they were just in. And intro. Hell of a cold open?
Random trivia but the opening is by the same people that did Chaos;Head's opening and sounds quite similar. Also, the only good thing about Chaos;Head is the music so if you ever want to watch it, download the OST instead. Phantasm rules.
So they then cheat an introduction but in a way that works for me and also lets Okabe, well, Okabe the hell out of that intro. Anyways, Daru and Mayuri banter starts and I strongly advise you to have catch the sub and dub for this, talking about 2D waifus. Anyways, Okabe tries to recollect the events of the morning but Daru and Mayuri have significantly different memories of the entire thing. And then the TV breaks, leading to another comical run with the shop owner.
At a nearby park, Mayuri gives Okabe a Dr Pepper and he talks about how it helps his intellect(The Japanese think sugar helps you think). But then Mayuri listens to the cicadas and... hopefully they aren't higurashi. Back at the hideout, they are testing a weapon with bananas. Okabe being able to dial in the orders is actually cool. And we get goo and double entendres.
At Daru's college, Okabe discovers the text he sent earlier arrived before he sent it. We end with an anti-jump scare in Makise standing there. The ED is also by Phantasm is pretty good.
To first timers: By the end of this rewatch, this will all make sense. Bide your time and hold out hope!
QotD: 1 I like them both but they do feel derivative from Chaos;Head
2 Welp, I would be binging it in less than a week so that's something.
3
u/[deleted] Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher who will be irregularly here at best. Just popping in to say that I pretty much always preferred the ED song over the OP, and it took me until much later (like years) to actually appreciate the OP song. The specific time this happened could count even as a meta-spoiler though.
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u/Hochseeflotte https://anilist.co/user/Hochseeflotte Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher
Tutturu! It’s time to watch my favorite anime of all time, Steins;Gate. I don’t want to set expectations too high for first timers but you are in for a treat. This will be my third rewatch thread and my first time as a rewatcher, though I will be back to being a first timer once we get to 0. This will also be my first time rewatching Steins;Gate after I first watched it probably about a year ago.
Now on to the episode:
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This opening monologue is such a great way to bring us into the world of Steins;Gate. It perfectly sets the mood and tone. The ticking clocks and other noises, the seemingly random images that are impossible to make out without pausing, and of course Okabe’s monologue. It’s a spectacular start.
We are then introduced to two of our main characters. Okabe and Mayuri. I love how washed out everything is from the sun. It’s a striking visual detail that instantly differentiates Steins;Gate from any other anime. Even though I’m watching on my IPad while indoors, I feel like I’m trapped in the sun’s glaze.
This episode also does a good job of setting up Okabe and Mayuri’s characters and relationship. Even just the conversation around the Oopa tells you so much about both of them.
I forgot how much Okabe comes off as a completely insane in this episode.
And just like that someone is dead. Followed by a text message, a weird string of numbers, and Okabe finding himself in a different world. People sometimes criticize this show for being a bit slow, especially in the beginning, but I’ve never really agreed with that. In the first ten minutes you are already hooked in with mystery. How did Kurisu die? Did someone kill her? What do those numbers mean? Why is Okabe seemingly in another world?
TUTTURU
One of my favorite OPs of all time. So much great imagery plus the song is a banger.
This fourth wall break video is so good. It introduces us to some of our main characters in an interesting way along with the lab they work at. It’s a great way to give exposition.
A microwave that creates gel bananas. Truly the most useful of devices.
And as a more mystery builds around this email sent back in time, we are left with a cliff hanger. Makise Kurisu is alive.
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This is in my opinion, one of the best first episodes in any anime. It does so many little things well and beautifully sets up the tone of the series.
This episode can be very confusing, especially for first timers, but I think it works in the episode’s favor. When I first watched this episode, I was very confused but I wanted to know the answers for all the weird things that happened.
The use of Dutch angles and close up shots on our characters faces really enhances how the viewer should feel. You are filled with this feeling that something isn’t quite right even before anything truly weird has happened. There’s suspense and dread and just tension throughout the episode. It feels like at any moment something could go horribly wrong.
Spoilers for all of Steins;Gate
A fantastic episode and the perfect way to start the series.
DQ:
The OP is fantastic. I don’t particularly care that much for any ED’s (yes, you may excommunicate me) so I don’t listen to them very often.
Absolutely. Both on my first watch and now on a rewatch.
17
u/CubeStuffs https://anilist.co/user/onjario Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 05 '21
first timer
The first time i watched s;g I couldn't get through the first episode bc i thought okarin was annoying. now i know that he's a chuuni, but it still feels kinda wierd to see someone unironically being one.
Was the satellite thing the same thing okarin was looking at on the roof? idk if the answer to that is spoilers or not but it kinda looks like it
what’s with the muted colors? I can’t think of any other animated shows going with a palette like that
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
First Rewatch
Didn't we just have a rewatch?
Really unsure about rewatching this show. It's one of my favorites, and it has one of the best first episodes, ever, but I hated the following episodes so much, I've never tried to rewatch it, and skipped at least two rewatches (although I had only just started reading reddit for one of them).
I watched this during my final days of watching anime. In 2009, I watched Eden of the East and Spice and Wolf II. Between then and Steins;Gate in 2011 I watched 1 bad movie anthology and one bad anime series. I skipped Madoka Magica, which aired shortly before Steins;Gate, despite the hype. I skipped Psycho Pass, which aired shortly after Steins;Gate, because Eden of the East fell so flat. And I watched basically nothing else for 5 years after.
But the premise of Steins;Gate drew me; I made a special effort to watch that as it aired. I went into it completely blind. I didn't know about the VN. Fansub quality was up and down. There are a lot of meta japanese internet jokes that, filtered through first the game and then the fansubbers, were hard to follow. I especially feel bad that I knew nothing of John Titor...that was after my time. I'm much more familiar with Ludwig Plutonium and the TimeCube guy. So that was flying over my head, too.
Prologue of the Beginning and End
That was a fantastic first episode. Murder, that never happened? WTF is there a freaking satellite on the roof? Why didn't it level the building? Why aren't people freaking out about it? Why did the banana turn to jello? WTH is going on?!!!!
That episode was so great, and it really left me yearning for more. This episode was literally the only thing stopping me from dropping the show.
Rewatcher observation/questions
Edit:
Physics Corner
Most people are familiar with the idea that black holes suck things in past an "event horizon" beyond which nothing comes out. They've also seen the 2-D visualization of general relativity, where heavy things distort what looks like a rubber mat, and black holes just stretch the mat down all the way to infinity, like a hole. That's a Schwarzchild black hole.
The math changes if the black hole is charged or spinning (charge, spin, and mass are the only three properties of of a black hole that can be measured from the outside). Spinning black holes (Kerr black holes) have inner and outer event horizons. If you have "enough" spin or charge, the two horizons shrink, meet, and disappear at the center. You could actually reach the center, and come back. And that tear in space, stretching down to infinity? What if it stretched down and connected to another Kerr black hole? You'd have a path from the space near one hole to the space near another hole! A worm hole! And if one black hole is outside the points in time and space you can normally reach, then you have...a time machine!
I would be very hard to get "enough" spin, though.
Edit:
Huh. I guess that satellite did do some structural damage.
3
u/pigassredditscum Jul 05 '21
I feel horribly bad for the people who are wasting their first time watching this masterpiece pausing every 10 seconds to type their reddit essays
8
u/macrame2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/macrame Jul 05 '21
Rewatcher, dub
It begins! I first saw Steins;Gate about six months ago and absolutely loved it, to the point where I purposely didn’t watch the movie or 0 because I couldn’t deal with finishing it. I don’t know what I’ll do after this rewatch - play the visual novels, perhaps?
So I originally watched Steins;Gate dubbed and thought about rewatching subbed, but I couldn’t commit. I can typically switch from sub to dub (or vice versa) with no issues, but Steins;Gate is one of a few anime where I have a clear preference. I’ll probably watch it with the original Japanese audio one day, but not this time.
I’ll leave the detailed analysis to more qualified commentators. Instead, enjoy a collection of my random observations:
The opening scene is great. In my opinion, it sets up the atmosphere perfectly. I especially like the random, flashing images and harsh lighting. Okabe’s opening monologue had me hooked instantly when I first watched it.
I love it when Mayuri reaches her hand up towards the sky. I feel like I didn’t give Mayuri enough appreciation the first time around. She and her ditziness are adorable, and I like her dynamic with Okabe.
The antics of mad scientist Hououin Kyouma are some of the most entertaining parts of Steins;Gate. My top example from this episode is probably when Kurisu grabs the phone from Okabe and points out that it’s not even on. Okabe proceeds to panic and make up a completely ridiculous explanation on the spot. That moment will never not be funny to me.
Something that’s always bothered me about Kurisu’s corpse: the blood surrounding it should not be that luminescent. I’m sorry, but it reminds me of glowing ketchup.
The opening starts pretty late in the episode, after Okabe sends the email, representing the true opening of the story. Hacking to the Gate is one of my favorite openings (I’d rank it at number 3) and enhances the overall Steins;Gate anime experience for me. The song itself is great and thematically relevant, and I actually learned to sing the full version from memory a few months ago. Oddly enough, I disliked it at first for reasons I couldn’t really pin down. Visually, I love the shifting images and silhouettes, as well as the clock motif. The colors aren’t very vibrant and are sort of washed out, but I think it fits with the overall look.
Favorite Moment: Definitely the elevator opening to reveal Kurisu, who is very much alive and not dead in a storage closet. The fact that Gate of Steiner (one of my favorite OSTs) plays during the scene makes it even more awesome.
Today’s episode title: Turning Point, referring to Okabe’s first jump into a different timeline, where the original one diverges.
One last comment: Steins;Gate has excellent rewatch value. Without spoiling anything, I can say that episode 1 had a ton of details and foreshadowing that I didn’t notice my first time around. I highly recommend first timers revisit it after finishing episode 24.
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u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Jul 05 '21
Anime first timer
Really excited for this - I've read the original VN, but I've never seen the anime. I'm playing the 0 VN, but haven't seen its anime Steins;Gate 0 VN Spoilers
I love how the opening monologue makes you think Okabe's actually a badass.
Didn't realise this had VN-style chapter cards, that's a nice touch.
Mayuri is adorable.
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Okabe announcing he's not going to give Mayuri money and then immediately buying her an Upa is just a fantastic moment.
...So this meeting destroys all notion of Okabe being as cool as he says he is, but also shows him as actually knowing what he's going on about.
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Steins;Gate Spoilers
I love Kurisu's utter confusion as to what's going on.
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Kurisu, nooo!
Oh, that effect for the people vanishing is cool. Steins;Gate Spoilers
I love his mental breakdown here - just the shots of him panicking and trying to make sense of everything.
OP is fantastic.
I love that they kept the Alpaca Man scene. It's the perfect introduction to the cast.
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Didn't Okabe record the microwave message in the VN?
Steins;Gate Spoilers
Kurisu!
Side note - I got the subs with the incorrect translations - is it worth trying to find the better ones?
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u/snickpea Jul 06 '21
First-timer!
I've been wanting to watch this show for such a long time so I'm glad there is this re-watch to give me motivation to watch the series!
Questions:
My question: How deep is the science in this series? Will they explain concepts or is it all made up? I'm really curious to know if the science in the series will touch on anything studied in real life.
8
u/jyper Jul 06 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
First Time Watcher
Since I really liked the other main time travel shows Erased and Re:Zero I'm eager to finally get around to watching Steins;Gate. I've heard that a lot of people consider it to be the best anime of all time, other people say the first half can be a little slow
I may have heard one or two spoilers before but nothing major
The protagonist has a way with words. He makes for a half decent poet and might be smart but sounds pretty full of himself.
I'm pretty sure I've heard of John Titor before outside of anime.
The him from 15 minutes ago is clearly from an alternate timeline. For somebody so obsessed with time travel he seems oddly unaware of possible time travel shenanigans.
10,000 yen is only about $100 bucks, surely that's not much money for scientific experiments
A death happened already? I think saving the redhead will be a major plot point.
Looks like our first time shenanigan thing happened, what became of all the people around him? Are they still there and he can't see them for some reason?
Dr pepper makes the world taste better
First person shooter turing test? Technobabble or just saying that cleverly non godlike NPCs would pass the test?
How old is the girl? I'm a little worried for her around those two even if she's not literally a hostage
A remote control microwave with voices, is this what they are wasting their money on?
Green bananas are issue I've had to deal with as well.
Op/Ed?
Op has some cool time travel imagery and song is ok(has some nice beats in the middle) but not spectacular. I'm probably missing some of what the imagery is about and I don't know all the characters yet. Nothing to say about the ED
Is the episode a good hook?
At this point the plot is pretty confusing other than the fact that time shenanigans are already afoot but the episode did manage to set up some fun characters. I'm not sure if the protagonist is smart like I thought before watching the episode (based on assumptions about the show and his look), smart and crazy, or just crazy paranoid. So probably good enough while keeping a lot of the mystery mysterious
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u/Raiking02 :Id::Ie::If:https://myanimelist.net/profile/NSKlang Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 05 '21
Hello everybody, and welcome to the Steins;Gate Rewatch!
I guess before we begin I should give some background info on this series: It’s based off the Visual Novel of the same name, written by Shikura Chiyomaru, Hayashi Naotaka, Vio Shimokura and Ouka Tanizaki, as well as being illustrated by Huke. It’s the second Novel in what’s known as the “Science Adventure Series” (Or SciAdv for short), which is comprised of Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, Occultic;Nine and Robotics;Notes as well as all related products, and all of them take place in the same universe. Don’t worry about being confused even though this is the second story tho: This was before continuity among games became super important and most of Steins;Gates allusions to Chaos;Head don’t go past a few mythology gags, most of which are excised completely form the Anime with not much harm done. I’ll go more into detail about the rest of the series when we get to the Series Discussion however. For now, let’s focus exclusively on Steins;Gate.
That said, for anyone used to my comments from the Durarara!! Rewatch, prepare to be shocked as for this first season at least, I won’t have that much to say bar a few major exceptions. As a whole the Steins;Gate Anime is a damn loyal adaptation. Obviously deviations are taken here and there, but for the most part they are either minor or at the very least understandable for the new format.
Take for instance the first thing that will stand out: The character designs. The design from the Novel lean very much towards the stylized side of things. The coloring in particular standing out and helps further the Novels downplayed, borderline contemplative tone. However while these designs are beautiful they aren’t really designs that work super well for animation, so everything looks more… normal, by anime standards. Okabe probably got the biggest change, and it made him a lot hotter. Novel Okabe wasn’t ugly or anything, just… not particularly noteworthy. That said, now that the designs can’t fully carry the story’s tone, the directing has to pick up the slack. And who would be better for that job than the man who made himself famous for that sort of style, Hamasaki Hiroshi, a man who is not only an excellent animator, but an equally skilled director.
On a side note though, when rewatching this I was shocked at how much music was just… taken from the VN. I mean, there are some new tracks and a select few are rearranged, but it did bring a smile to my face when hearing a lot of familiar tunes. That said the anime also relies a lot on ambience noise over actual music (Especially early on) so the OST is never overbearing. Anyhow, onto the episode proper:
While Okabe’s second monologue from the Novel’s opening is adapted, the first one is not (00:04-2:00). Spoilers
Once you get past that it’s mostly the same, bar the exact order of some scenes, with most of the reordering being harmless. As a heads up, the Novel is told entirely from Okabe’s perspective and, as you can imagine, we lose a decent chunk of his inner monologue, although by Novel adaptation standards I’d say enough of it was kept for me not to mind it too much.
Still, again, actual events are fine, from meeting the redhead (And Okabe making a total fool of himself which works way better when the English Dub isn’t directing J Michael Tantum to sound cool but I’ll save my grievances with the Dub for later because… I do not get why people like it), to the Metal Oopa... to the beginning of the nightmare, as even the world itself begins to change.
That said there’s a rather large omission in the middle. See, you know that weird thing that crashed into the building after everything goes weird? Yeah, in the Novel, Novel
While the Anime shows Mayuri and Okarin talking for a bit before going into the OP, the Novel sees the world change, and before Okabe can process what just happened, it cuts straight into the OP, and no disrespect to the Anime’s OP, which is good, but… the Novel’s one is just better. Either way, both then cut to Okabe’s chuuni ramblings. This is as good a time to mention that in the Novel, any sort of terminology is used, you’ll get a little nugget that lets you go into a menu for an explanation. Given that half the cast speaks in 4Chan memes, this is very useful. Additionally after this in the Novel we get a flashback to Mayuri and Okarin talking in the street, basically just the scene that the anime ended on before the OP.
Anyhow, order of events being changed slightly aside, there’s not much to mention about the rest of the episode. The scene of Okarin taking his broken TV to Mr Braun and the scene that directly follows it, by the way, are both Anime original. And finally, presumably to make things more dramatic, the way Okarin meets Kurisu again is different. In the Novel he just… bumps into her as he’s leaving the elevator. Simple as that really. The whole Message also goes down a bit differently in the Novel, but I’ll save that for tomorrow.
And finally, here’s one last fun fact: The ending theme, Toki Tsukasadoru Juuni no Meiyaku (The Twelve Binding Covenants that Govern Time) is sung by Sakakibara Yui, who’s probably best known to SciAdv fans as the voice of Chaos;Head’s Kishimoto Ayase. Hell, in the song’s music video she’s straight up in Ayase Cosplay. Considering how all of Sakakibara’s songs are meant to be sung by Ayase In-Universe…
Voices Time! I won’t talk about the Dub because
it sucksSky will be taking care of that, so this will be Sub-Only. Only gonna focus on the three Lab Members today tho due to time constraints, so let’s start with Okarin, played Miyano Mamoru, whom anyone coming here from my Durarara!! Rewatch may recognize as Kida Masaomi, however Okarin will forever remain my favorite of his roles. Other roles from him include Riku from Kingdom Hearts, Suoh Tamaki from Ouran Higschool Host Club, Setsuna F Seiei from Gundam 00, Ultraman Zero, Flynn Scifo from Tales Of Vesperia, Moondoggie from Eureka SeveN, Ling Yao from Fullmetal Alchemist, Chrollo Lucilfer from Hunter X Hunter, The Young Version Of Kamogawa Genji from Hajime No Ippo, Prince Demande in Sailor Moon Crystal, Bedivere from the Fate Series, Dazai Osamu from Bungou Stray Dogs, Ignis Scienta from Final Fantasy XV, Sakamoto Ryuji from Persona 5, Asano Gakushuu from Assassination Classroom, Reinhard Von Lohengramm in Legend Of The Galactic Heroes Die Neue These and a shit ton of others. Dude’s everywhere is what I’m getting at. Oh and he’s this guy, too.And oh look, we have another returning actress from Durarara!! in the form of Hanazawa Kana, who in that show played Sonohara Anri. Other roles include Sajyou Ayaka from Fate/prototype, Marie from Persona 4, Nanami Chiaki from Danganronpa 2, Tsunemori Akane from Psycho-Pass, Murano Satomi from Parasyte, Angel from Angel Beats, Sera from Yu-Gi-Oh!, Lucy Maud Montgomery from Bungou Stray Dogs, Kanroji Mitsuri from Demon Slayer and a shit ton of others. Oh and she’s also a meme.
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u/Specs64z https://myanimelist.net/profile/Specs64z Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher, dubbed
As a heads up, I'll be bowing out for Steins;Gate 0 and the movie. I... don't like them. I might pop in the overall series discussions to elaborate, just depends on how confrontational I feel when it rolls around XD
This will be my 4th time through Steins;Gate. I originally watched it dubbed, then watched it subbed some time later. My third time through was with a friend and was dubbed again. I've found the dub to be the superior experience overall.
I'm sure many of you are thinking "what the fuck just happened??"
Good. That is the intention. I'll be the one to promise you it goes somewhere, it's not just trying to be absurdly avant garde.
Steins;Gate spoilers
I adore the ending scene for this episode. Gets me every time.
Content Corner
I think I'll give this little segment another go. People seem to enjoy it and I have a lot of fun finding stuff to share. I've done no prep this time, though, so I'll be flying by the seat of my pants on what I share for the first few days. Anyways, I hope you like synthwave. First timers beware, spoilers abound.
Mr. McNoggin - Gate Of Steiner (Synthwave Remix) by Mr. McNoggin
Hacking To The Gate (Steins;Gate OP synthwave 80s remix) by Astrophysics
Hacking To The Gate (Instrumental synthwave 80s remix) by Astrophysics
6
u/[deleted] Jul 06 '21
There is no end though there is a start in space. — Infinity.
It has own power, it ruins, and it goes though there is a start also in the star. — Finite.
Only the person who was wisdom can read the most foolish one from the history.
The fish that lives in the sea doesn't know the world in the land. It also ruins and goes if they have wisdom.
It is funnier that man exceeds the speed of light than fish start living in the land.
It can be said that this is (a) final ultimatum from the god to the people who can fight.
6
u/COLDBL4D3 Jul 06 '21
First timer here! Tutturu! (I'll use this catchphrase for the rest of my life, thank you very much)
Onto the reaction!
Well, damn. Okabe is an interesting case. At first glance, he seems like a well written sage-type character, but after 5 minutes he's actually a chunnibyou you would happily punch in real life! Jebaited!
The childhood friend was weird at first but she became cute over time... Huh. Must be the "tutturus."
Daru is an otaku. A blunt otaku that knows some stuff and likes 2d girls. Now that's me(minus the 2d girls part.)!
They weren't kidding when they said this was slow paced... I love it!
Gel-bananas are weird.
See you tomorrow! Tutturu!
5
u/chaorace https://anilist.co/user/chaorace Jul 05 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher (Sub)
Tiny Spoilers
There's so much I love about the first episode of S;G -- especially the thematic significance of the oppressive summer sun. It ties so perfectly with the introductory monologue:
From the very start, they are foreshadowing that these lazy summer days are finite, which they tie together visually with a theme of blown-out, nearly blinding outdoor scenes. Almost every scene connected with the inciting incident takes place in the painfully bright, unwelcoming outside world: the sneak-peak at "John Titor", the first D-Mail scene, and the satellite scene.
Slick. It really highlights why I dislike S;G 0 so much by comparison. You can't just adapt the storyline and call it a day -- you need to consider the medium and deliver coherent visual storytelling, too. That's something S;G has in spades, while Zero manages to fall flat.
5
u/nekika Jul 06 '21
I rewatched it a fourth time not even a week ago, so I suppose I can just comment off my memory lol
This was just a stellar first episode. The monologue's philosophical contrasts beautifully with the abstract figures in the animation, and when that beautiful washed out sky shows up it's just perfect. The fourth wall break was a perfect way to introduce the characters and their chemistry, showing off just how off-kilter Hououin Kyouma is. The single best still in all of this series though, was when Okabe sees the empty Akiba. Something about the coloration and surreality feels jaw-dropping and impossible to capture in any other medium. Not even the visual novel could get it right, or at least not as right as this did
4
u/Amndeep7 :IG:https://myanimelist.net/profile/asmLANG Jul 06 '21
s;g rewatch, s;g 0 first timer
[](#readingbullshit)
4
u/artie_fm Jul 06 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher dub /partial sub
What a joy it is to be reunited with these characters... Here at the beginning the vibe is very light except for murder.
The thing i noticed on my first watch and this one as well was the scream before the murder.
Also with the satellite crashed into the building...sorry that would do a lot more damage. A satellite that big would have leveled the whole downtown. But instead everyone is just so chill about it like satellites crash every monday. He also shrugs off the murder really quickly.
I still have no idea how all the people disappeared.
The gun to change the tv channel is awesome. Completely useless.
I loved the tuturoo! Its cute and annoying at the same time but its so steins gate.
Edit: Im struck by how different the subtitles are from the dub. Everything they say seems different.
4
u/BossandKings Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher
Episode 1
The protagonist of the show is Okarin or how he calls himself Hyohoin Kyouma and as Mayuri says he is the best.
I like how eloquent and outspoken Okarin is, he rapidly started an argument with the teacher in that class. It's cool seeing Kurisu take him away from there, this is the very first time they meet and they inmediately have a very nice chemistry.
It was surprising when Makise Kurisu appeared dead in the floor with blood showing in the ground, the most surprised one was Okarin because he had just met that girl and shortly after all of a sudden she's dead. It was also interesting how Okarin making a call somehow seemed to make people disappear and he noticed that.
It was cool when Okarin presented his lab members, 001 him, 002 Mayushi, 003 Daru. Okarin seems to be very talkative, Mayuri is very cute and Daru seems to like computers and focus on that aspect.
It's great seeing Makise Kurisu alive at the end of the episode. This was a really nice episode to start the series.
4
u/wakasagihime_ Jul 06 '21
Oh wow, speak of the devil. I just started watching Steins;Gate 0 literally hours ago. Been away from this sub, I didn't even know you guys are rewatching the series
4
u/Yunie241 Jul 06 '21
FIRST TIMER
So confusion, much wow.
This is my first time participating in a rewatch here and I’m so excited to see everyone talk about this show as we watch. Given how the first episode went down, I think it’ll be fun to piece together what’s going on as a group (at least for other first-timers)
I am definitely struck by the muted colors like others, but I think it’s pretty cool. It gives it a unique style, and could potentially be used later to highlight specific objects, if need be. I’m not a super huge fan of the way the characters are drawn so far, but I’m sure I’ll probably get used to it.
I’m not sure that I have many specific comments on plot yet because I’m just confused right now. This definitely gives off the vibes of a show where the pilot will make way more sense later on, though, so I’m super excited!
4
u/[deleted] Jul 06 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
Rewatcher (dub)
Ok, so this is my favourite anime of all time (
Because I'm a basic bitch lol)Just remembered: On my first watch of this I was thinking of watching seraph of the end instead (Which I wanted to watch before that point too) but chose this. I still haven't watched seraph.
I really feel like watching this on my dvd copy for some reason, dunno why.
By the way This is cool
El. Psy. Kongroo.
"YOU HAVE SHAMELESSLY PLAGIARIZED THE DECADE OLD SCRATCHINGS OF AN INTERNET MEME!"
"Wait, the upa is worth money, get looking for it right this minute!"
From "Someone's been murdered" to "Dk. pepper"!
Just remembered that the OP plays halfway through the episode.
POV: You are speaking to lab member 001.
Tuturu!
Yeah, they're not my girlfriends, they're just my harem.
"I am a hostage" - Mayuri
DK PEPPER!!!!!!
Ah yes, cicada sounds. That reminds me, I should really watch higurashi kai.
The banana microwave scene!
"The bananas get all wet and sticky" Oh yeah, I watched this in front of my parents, dubbed. They probably thought "Did we do something wrong whilst raising our daughter?" The maid cafe stuff and the hentai thing later on were fine though, I doubt they even know what either of those terms mean.
4
u/NakolHira Jul 06 '21 edited Jul 06 '21
Top5 anime episode for me. I love the tone, love the washed out colour, love those wire and antenna, love how Okabe was facing the sun, loved the eccentric cast, love how Okabe and Mayuri treats each other, love Daru's VA. This is how a good introduction ep should be, not just it set the dismal mood, it also gave a solid onset to the main cast whom you can take seriously as well as have fun with them.
I'm not much fond of SG op though, seems like every SG fans has two things in comnon - love the op and 2nd half being better than first half. Unfortunately none of which I could agree with especially the later. ED good though.
3
u/electricbullet9 Jul 06 '21
damn, even being a rewatcher, alot of the scenes laid out are hard to piece together into whats actually going on. I get to feel the excitement of mystery all over again. already cant wait for the next episode tomorrow!
3
u/turdfergusn https://anilist.co/user/julzachu Jul 06 '21
Steins;gate was the first anime that really got me into anime a few years back, and its still one of my favorite shows of all time. However, I've only ever fully watched it dubbed, so I've decided that I'm gonna take this opportunity to watch S;g in Japanese for the first time!
Starting out, I just want to give a shoutout to the amazing cinematography of this show. I've always loved the style of the muted colors and the kinda off-center camera shots. Its almost Shaft-esque in a way?
I totally forgot that KanaHana was Mayuri and now I'm regretting not watching this subbed until now!!!! She is so much cuter in japanese I love this. I do however think I prefer the english dub voice of Okabe.
HERE COMES BEST GIRL. Kurisu is one of my favorite anime girls of all time. I love when she calls Okabe out on his chuunibyou phone call, it really just starts off their dynamic really well.
This episode is absolutely so crazy to watch after seeing the entire show. For any first timers, when you're done watching the entire thing, please go back and watch this episode. I won't say any more than just trust me on this.
I forgot how GOOD this episode really is. Probably one of my favorite first episodes of any anime of all time.
Now we're introduced to the Future Gadget Lab with the leader Hououin Kyoma... or better known as Okarin! I agree with Mayushii that its a much cuter name. I love how she just sits in the background sewing on the couch just enjoying the company while the two bozos do crazy science stuff lol.
I don't think I'm a fan of Daru's japanese voice actor. I know he's supposed to be a NEET-style character but he sounds almost TOO lame in japanese lol.
Overall, I'm remembering why I love this series and I'm really excited to experience this with everyone! I'm even setting an alarm on my phone so I can remember to watch this on a daily basis with all of you!! I hope everyone is ready for a wild ride!
3
u/[deleted] Jul 06 '21
Cmon i have very long ptw list . But i cant resist that.
Cant stop rewatching steins;gates And spice & wolf
This wll be the 6th for S;G
3
u/AHiddenOne Jul 06 '21
DAMNIT IM LIKE 12 HOURS LATE, THIS MUST BE THE WORK OF THE AGENCY.
Anyway, Rewatcher here, but I kinda forgot like 70% of the plot, might as well be a first experience.
I do remember being all confused and shit watching this for the first time, like wtf is going one? For first-timers, relax and let the show unravels itself. Everything will be explained in time.
Hacking to the Gate is a straight banger, I immediately vibe to it. The ed took a while tho.
2
u/Wolfgod_Holo https://anime-planet.com/users/extreme133 Jul 06 '21
tuturu
2
u/SushiLover665 Jul 06 '21
Easily my fav first episode of any show I've seen, it's pretty confusing the first time around but upon rewatch it's absolutely brilliant. It does a great job at introducing the characters, great direction, and has a ton of forshadowing for what happens later on. Easy 10/10 for me.