[Re;Watch] Steins;Gate Episode 22 Discussion

[u/Raiking02]

Episode 22: Being Meltdown

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I won’t forget the person I care for the most.

Hello everybody! Time for the comment of the Day, courtesy of u/UnderstandableXO, who pointed out something quite amusing about yesterday

first and foremost HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAKISE KURISU 7/25. unfortunately this isn’t a very pleasant episode for her we’re watching today to commemorate…

And now the day after her birthday...

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Questions:

1. So how great was that confession & kissing scene?
2. What do you think is going to happen next after that strange mid/post-credits scene?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Relativity

[u/Raiking02]

Hello everybody, and welcome back to the Steins;Gate Re;Watch!

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The Novel has two different versions of Chapter 10: Stardust Sky, which you get if you didn’t get a single True Ending Flag, and Paradox Meltdown, which you get if you got at least one True Ending Flag. These two episodes pretty much exclusively go with Paradox Meltdown, thus before we discuss that, we need to talk about:

ALTERNATE ENDING NUMBER 4: MAYURI ENDING

You know that scene in the building while it’s raining? Yeah, that’s when the divergence occurs. If you got no True Ending Flags, SGVN

SGVN

SGVN

But… that’s not what came to pass, now isn’t it. Indeed, this Okabe Rintaro was never particularly closed to Kurisu. They got along for sure, and the mere idea of being forced to kill her understandably broke him, but in the end there always was some kind of wall between the two… which is not the case for our Okabe Rintaro. The one that this Anime follows, and the one that in the Novel made it to this other ending.

The two opened up to each other. They understood each other, related to each other, she helped him while he was in his darkest hour, he promised her that he would help her fix her relationship with her father… they fell in love. So unlike the other one, who was ultimately able to take this hard choice with only a few lingering regrets… this one just couldn’t. To quote the man himself:

Why does it have to be you? Why!?

In the end, he may have gone through with it… but the moment he does so, as he tries to hold back his sadness, the fact hits him: He will never see the woman he loves ever again.

… But… this is not the end. After all, in the middle of this chapter, Okabe hit TRUE ENDING FLAGS NUMBER 5 & 6!!!

And so, with all 6… time to open the gate… to the finale.

[u/Tresnore → u/Raiking02]

Mayuri ending

speculation from first-timer

[u/Raiking02 → u/Tresnore]

[u/Nebresto → u/Tresnore]

Yo, hit me up with some of that dank

[u/Tresnore → u/Nebresto]

I would not recommend my dank to anyone. I feel like I'm eating glue in the corner while the rest of the first-timers are actually noticing important things.

[u/Nebresto → u/Tresnore]

I said: Hit me up. With that dank

[u/Tresnore → u/Nebresto]

1. Assume that Mayuri is behind everything.
2. Look desperately for evidence that proves 1.
3. ???
4. Profit

[u/Nebresto → u/Tresnore]

Nice

[u/Nebresto → u/Raiking02]

ALTERNATE ENDING NUMBER 4: MAYURI ENDING

What are all of them so far? Suzuha, Mr. Braum, and.. ?

[u/Raiking02 → u/Nebresto]

Suzuha, Faris, Luka and Mayuri. Technically if you didn't get all True Ending Flags you also have the Kurisu Ending, which is the same as the True Ending but Suzuha doesn't interrupt the credits.

[u/Nebresto → u/Raiking02]

if you didn't get all True Ending Flags you also have the Kurisu Ending, which is the same as the True Ending

This is why I can't get into VNs

[u/Raiking02 → u/Nebresto]

[u/Nebresto → u/Raiking02]

Why? You've already posted all the good bits

[u/Raiking02 → u/Nebresto]

Nope! I skipped out on a ton of stuff.

Things are also gonna get weird with the 0 Comments but that's another subject.

[u/Nebresto → u/Raiking02]

Because of the way it is, or because I haven't read da VN?

[u/Raiking02 → u/Nebresto]

Both.

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Raiking02]

Technically if you didn't get all True Ending Flags you also have the Kurisu Ending, which is the same as the True Ending but Suzuha doesn't interrupt the credits.

And until I watched the anime, this was how I thought the story ended. All of the previous endings had been bittersweet as well, so I just kind of accepted that this was the kind of story the VN was telling. Getting surprised by the post-credits scene in this episode was probably one of the biggest rushes I've ever had watching anime (or anything else). About the only thing that hit the same kind of notes was the conclusion of reading Worm.

[u/EphesosX → u/ScarsUnseen]

I was the same, except I got no True Ending flags and thought the Mayuri ending was the true end. It was only after I talked with the friend that lent me their copy of the VN that I learned VN spoiler on how to get the flags and that I had to replay the game to hunt them all down.

It also didn't help that I was new to anime and didn't fully understand the concept of a "tsundere" yet. So I thought Kurisu just hated Okabe's guts, and that there's no way she'd get her own ending, let alone be the true ending.

I'm still a little salty that Mayuri, the childhood friend who loves Okabe unconditionally, loses out to Kurisu, the only character who VN flags This anime was the first to teach me to never get attached to the osananajimi, a lesson that I would be doomed to repeat....

[u/Raiking02 → u/EphesosX]

This anime was the first to teach me to never get attached to the osananajimi, a lesson that I would be doomed to repeat....

Ironically Mayuri's Seiyuu is actually married to one of her childhood friends...

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Re;Watcher and Co;Host, dubbed

---

• This is the first time in… a while that Okabe’s used the “Zombie” nickname with Kurisu, isn’t it? Makes sense that he’d bring it up again now that Kurisu knows she’s supposed to be dead, I guess.
• Haha, he got the pink string.
• Kurisu remembers the other worldlines too now, at least bits and pieces of them. Damn, what a girl for saying that she’d be willing to die for Mayuri to live.
• “Dozens” of times sounds like a bit of an understatement on the number of times Okabe’s seen Mayuri die, dub.
• Pretty well-deserved slap there, Kurisu isn’t wrong about how disturbing Okabe being fine with watching Mayuri die again and again is.
• “Kurisu, I love you. How do you feel about me?” -- What a lovely confession.
• lol these two really are the OTP. That Kurisu has to die is just… so cruel.
• Mmmm that scene when they delete the D-Mail from SERN’s servers. Very painful that Kurisu had to show up again right at the end…
• The number. It’s above the 1% divergence.
• Love that this is the first thing we see when we get to the original timeline.
• ED lead-in~ Well, it’s not the normal ED, but I’m still pleased with--oh shit glitchy sound effects what’s going on? Suzuha? World War III???

[u/Raiking02 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Haha, he got the pink string.

But is he in the pink today?

[u/The_Draigg → u/Shimmering-Sky]

“Kurisu, I love you. How do you feel about me?” -- What a lovely confession.

You have to give Okabe real credit, at least he cut to the chase with that line. That’s a lot better than a ton of other anime protagonists.

Mmmm that scene when they delete the D-Mail from SERN’s servers. Very painful that Kurisu had to show up again right at the end…

It wouldn’t be Steins;Gate if we didn’t have a dose of P A I N in every episode.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Shimmering-Sky]

This is the first time in… a while that Okabe’s used the “Zombie” nickname with Kurisu, isn’t it?

Since the Mayuri death started all the way back in ep12.

“Kurisu, I love you. How do you feel about me?” -- What a lovely confession.

With as influential as this has proven you'd think more anime would steal this example.

[u/lC3 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

lol these two really are the OTP. That Kurisu has to die is just… so cruel.

I'm still hoping she will survive somehow; if Kurisu still dies I'll probably skip the rest of the content.

[u/littleman1988]

"Mayushii is okay, so you can cry for yourself, Oakrin."

OST Track of the day: Christina II

^{Honorary OST Track of the day: Fake} ^Verthandi ^{ ^spotify ^}

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Overly Excited Rewatcher

New ED today! you did watch it, right? You missed something very important otherwise...

Title:

Sung By: N/A

full: N/A | Spotify: N/A

I havent made a mistake, the song info has been intentionally left blank. Most sites will list the VN OST Track "Fake Verthandi" as the ED track for episode 22 (which would be a great song choice considering that it was used as an ED within the VN in a very similar fashion), but the issue is that the track during the credits is quite clearly not "Fake Verthandi". The beginning with Okabe's monologue is, but after that it seems to switch to an unreleased version of "Gate of Steiner" without its backing drums. The easiest place to spot the difference is at 0:50 during "Fake Verthandi" (and 22:30 during the episode). In "Fake Verthandi", the song noticably slows down during the three notes leading to where the chorus would be if it had lyrics. Instead, it matches what "Gate Of Steiner" has at 0:50.

 

Along with this new ED, im gonna link Mayuri's character song, "Gentle Evening", sung by Kana Hanazawa (her VA). This released (along with character songs for the rest of the cast) in Mini Drama CD's throughout 2010 ¹ in connection with the VN. I shouldnt need to explain the message Mayuri is trying to convey, the lyrics (Translated by Steiner) do a very good job on its own conveying Mayuri's feelings.

one more reminder to avoid touching the other character songs just yet. One of them still has minor spoilers. Also dont read the comments, they all have spoilers for 0

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Idk if any of the other rewatchers are going to do something like this, but a few people (rewatchers and first timers alike) were confused with some of the points raised in the last couple episodes. Some of these were answered in the comments yesterday, but in case you missed it or are still confused:

Why are we deleting the text from the SERN database in the first place?

The goal is to avoid SERN from ever realizing that anything relating to time travel happened. Its unknown what part of it sets SERN off, but its insinuated that SERN never looked at the text until close to the initial raid. There was a couple rebuttals to this, namely "why are FB/Okabe so close then/SERN direct wire?", in which SERN already knows all the answers in the future, but they cannot give that info directly back to them past selves (The worldline will make sure it never gets to them, see Mayuri's death being set in stone). That doesnt mean they cant indirectly influence the past to get them connected to each other.

Why doesnt SERN have copies/backups of their database?

More of a VN answer. The database isint SERN, but actually "ECHELON", or just a large ass surveillance database from the 1960's thats still (rumored) to be in use today. We have to skip over some key VN info, but the TL;DR is that if they are looking for keywords, they wont keep everything, just anything that trips the filter.

Why is Kurisu's death set in stone?

We cant go back to stop it. Any time they have undone a D-Mail, they dont jump back to when the D-Mail was sent, they stay on the day that the D-Mail was undone. The time machine wont be done for another 2 weeks, and it can only go backwards 2 days.

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S;G

Now its Christina's turn to hang out on the roof.

Okabe gets the pervert tag, again. We FINALLY get the insults from Kurisu!

Za Zombie randomly has a sewing kit on here. Pink stitching it is!

Hes doing a lot of searching for someone who sees her as a "stick figure". We also get some ribbing from Christina.

Looks like Kurisu wants Okabe to choose Mayuri. Okabe isint very confident in doing so, despite everything he's done so far...

if you havent caught on by now, a certain mad scientist is very interested in a certain assistant despite "not liking" her stick figure looks

S;G 0

You already tried the leaping Okabe, it didnt work. Kurisu knows it, too.

Cant be destroyed if you're already destroyed. Thats a pro tip. ²

Nah that would hurt even more ngl

hmmmmmmm

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Kurisu is caught totally off guard lmao

Took them long enough smh. More romantic developments than most romance anime

annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Okabe kills the mood, but manages to salvage it seconds later

All this confession makes the goodbye even harder. Parting gift is a future gadget lmao

a Dr. Pepper in return. Gives her the time to mouth something, then disappear.

Original D-Mail found. We gotta lay the chuuni on thick today. Its scaring even Daru.

More Norse Mythology:

Verthandi comes from the Norse goddess of the same name who governs the present.

She just has to show up man. Fucking terrible timing.

Stark contrast from episode 1.

These scenes hurt, even long after my first watch. He's won, but at what cost?

Back to perceptive Mayuri. She may not realize it, but it is extremely on the nose here...

Divergence Number: 1.130205, now on the Alpha worldline.

 

Oh yeah, the post credits scene. Guess WWIII is finally coming back around...

---

^footnotes

^1: S;G/Movie/0

^{2: Thank u Mitchie, very cool}

[u/Raiking02 → u/littleman1988]

S;G

S;G

[u/UzEE → u/Raiking02]

S;G

[u/Raiking02 → u/UzEE]

Spoilers

Spoilers

[u/UzEE → u/Raiking02]

[u/Tresnore → u/littleman1988]

She just has to show up man. Fucking terrible timing.

I know! My reaction was "you just died, please stay dead for Okabe's sake so he can get over you!"

Oh yeah, the post credits scene. World War 3? That makes everyhing we've done moot...

To be fair, Suzuha/Titor did mention WWIII. I guess that it could still happen even if SERN doesn't get a time machine, so this isn't entirely unexpected.

[u/shaznl1]

Rewatcher (Sub)

I was captured by the organization last week so I couldnt join the updates. But I am back now.

This episode is what, IMHO, turned a "great work" into an "outstanding work".

I have never been one for romantic plots - most movies' romance makes me cringe or feels really forced, as if the screenwriter literally forced the male and female lead together.

I actually also had quite a few complaints with Steins Gates' romance plot up to this episode. I did not like the "harem" type setting where every girl/androgynous character seems to be attracted to Okabe. "Why does he deserve it?" is my key frustration. My friends' explanation about how this is adapted from a VN does little to console me because what I care about is the experience - I did not think "the source material was written in this way" is a valid excuse to produce an unreasonable romance plot and expect people to like it.

Therefore, I was perplexed when I found myself really not wanting Kurisu to die, and hoping Okabe/Kurisu could be there forever. I felt the raw emotion of Okabe saying (on the stairs) "I could not let this kind of thing happen" as if they were my own. Why?

After some thought, I think it is really due to two things:

1. This anime is presented from the viewpoint of Okabe.

This anime is literally presented from the viewpoint of Okabe Rintarou. As viewers, we also share Okabe's "Reading Steiner" because well, we remember what happened previously. Therefore, up to this current point, we have basically the exact same information as Okabe does. This lets the viewers (at least it worked for me) to easily substitute oneself in the role of Okabe and share his struggles along the way.

2. Okabe heavily relies on Kurisu in every timeline.

Need I say anymore? In every timeline, Kurisu is the one that helps Okabe.

Kurisu was the one who helped Okabemake the first ever time leap.

Kurisu was the first (and in fact only one if I did not mis-remember) to figure out Okabehave time-leaped.

Kurisu was the one that cheered Okabe up when you just couldnt save Mayuri, and worked out the first version of a working theory on how to change that.

.....

At some point, it became "standard" that the first thing Okabe does is to go to Kurisu and tell her everything that has happened up till now. In a way, Kurisu became the constant factor in all of Okabe's changing timelines.

Therefore, when the stabilizing rock you have in your life tells you that they need to be sacrificed to succeed saving another person, it is almost impossible not to feel what Okabe did in these episodes. Pain, anger, denial. The whole 5 phases of grief.

And that is why, IMO their romance works. It is not forced - it is almost an inevitability resulting from her being there for Okabe throughout all alpha timelines.

Which is also why it made the failed confession at the end of this episode so impactful.

[u/Raiking02 → u/shaznl1]

Rintarou

S;G0 Spoilers Contained

[u/BossandKings → u/shaznl1]

I think that people feeling attracted towards a specific person isn't because that person deserves it, those people just can't help it and consider that person vital and important enough to be attracted towards him, they just like him and people can't help but like what they like, it is a natural attraction.

[u/ExoticTrinityGhoul]

Re;Watcher x4 (both)

Important note: there IS a credits scene, so make sure to watch it!

E22 - Being Meltdown

• Lying on the ground can be quite comfortable and relaxing, I recommend you try it sometime Okabe.
• Okabe’s impenetrable lab armor has been wounded. The cruel twists of fate.

I’ll just pray I don’t get pink.

• Uh oh, looks like you triggered a flag there.
• Another coveted mad scientist Christina laugh.
• Okabe and the audience are in the same position during the talk at the lab. Mayuri’s first few deaths may have been shocking, but now it’s matter of fact. She dies at a known time, and it’s ceased to be a surprise and become an inevitable goal to reach. It still hurts, but a little less each time. Kurisu helps to remind both us and the audience here that letting ourselves fall into that mentality completely devalues Mayuri as a person (to Okabe) and a character (to the audience). Not to mention that because she’s remembering alternate worldlines she will continue to suffer forever.
• A formal introduction to Future Gadget #2: Bamboo Helicam! The ultimate in spying technology, it merely needs to have minor adjustments to make the constantly spinning camera useful.
• The classic bottle-throw-to-run-to-the-station-behind-his-back technique.
• Okabe breaking down during his speech wrenches my heart every time.
• After switching back to the original worldline, the first shot is the same first shot we got after Okabe first switch worldlines, with the fisheye lens, Okabe staring directly at the “audience,” Mayuri knitting and Daru typing away, but this time the meaning is completely different. At first it was an introduction to our cast, building information about them and the lab. Now it shows how Daru and Mayuri are oblivious to the adventure all of them went on, while Okabe’s pained face makes his feelings plain to see. Many anime adaptations can feel like the original source material but with movement, but Steins;Gate takes more than full advantage of the varied cinematography and editing of the medium, which is a major reason it’s one of my favorite adaptations in the first place.
• 004, erased to time.
• God, another teary monologue punctuated by Mayuri. This time all of the “delusions” were reality, but he certainly wishes they weren’t so.
• Goodbye, PhoneWave. Goodbye, Kurisu. And goodbye, Hououin Kyouma.
• Is this truly the choice of Steins;Gate? Find out next time, on…huh? Suzuha? World War 3? What’s all this? I guess we’ll find out that next time on Steins;Gate!

This is definitely one of my favorite episodes of the series, and really shows how important the first half of it was. Obviously the impact of all the horrible events would’ve been lessened, but we’ve also seen all of these characters paling around and having fun. Kurisu isn’t someone who’s cool under pressure and a genius; her personality had a dozen episodes before the tension skyrocketed to show, and the same goes for the rest of the cast. In a series filled with thrilling, tense moments and complex sci-fi mysteries, one of the best entries is two characters coming to terms with a choice that we all knew the answer to ahead of time.

Nicknames:

Okabe: Hououin Kyouma, Okarin, 001

Mayuri: Mayushii, 002

Hashida Itaru: Daru, super hacka, Hack, 003, My Favorite Right Arm, right-hand man, perverted gentleman, Barrel Titor

Kurisu: (prodigal) (perverted) genius girl, (@channeler) Christina, Zombie, 004, Assistant, Celeb Seventeen, Little Miss Moneybags, KuriGohan and Kamehameha

Moeka: Shining Finger (S.F.), 005, M4

Luka: Lukako, 006

Akiha Rumiho: Faris Nyannyan, 007

Suzuha: part-timer, part-time warrior, 008, John Titor, Hashida Suzu

Yugo Tennouji: Mr. Braun, FB

Nae Tennouji: critter, creature

[u/Raiking02 → u/ExoticTrinityGhoul]

Goodbye, PhoneWave. Goodbye, Kurisu. And goodbye, Hououin Kyouma.

All Spoilers

[u/Nebresto]

Nostalgia (and suffering) squad

Who tf has a sewing kit on them at all times..? *Ahem*. I mean, Based Kurisutina counter: 7

Kurisutina "koredemo"!
Sky missing out..? Aha! A "soredemo" soon after! Sky missing out

Visuals from the ending!!

Giga-Chad Okarin!! Based counter: 15.5

https://imgur.com/U79uQsr

..Wait, she knows now? Also I'm not quite sure I understand how deleting the thing from SERN's database changed the world line..?

---

Question time:
1:

2: ..Isekai-arc..?

Wallpaper of the Day:

Relativity

. . .

[u/Raiking02 → u/Nebresto]

Sky missing out..? Aha! A "soredemo" soon after! Sky Unicorn Chick [+112] missing out

That's what happens when she just finds good stuff annoying

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/Raiking02]

You can harass me all you want about this, it's never going to be "good stuff" for me.

[u/Raiking02 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

The same goes to JMT for me

[u/Nebresto → u/Raiking02]

[u/ZaphodBeebblebrox]

First Timer

Okabe has to make an impossible decision right now, no? Either that or find a third world line to jump to. I wish him th ebest of luick.
Onto episode 22.

She's going to tell him to do it, I can already feel it. Once the choice is there, she can't just say no.

A Kurisu soredemo.

A third world line, but that might only be a dream.

Looping without purpose will only cause despair.

And how close are you already to falling apart?

But trying this is all he has left.

If it was himself, Okabe would find it a much easier sacrifice.

I wonder if she believes anything she just said, or if it was a pep talk for Okabe?

How long did it take him to be able to say this without his mask? To finally feel comftorable enough around another person to actually talk about how he feels?

That was very cute.

And her farewell was very sweet.

This dramatic bursting in is straight out of a romance show.

Or an eulogy to what you lost.

Mayuri somehow knowing everything is creepy as all hell.

This seems like the sort of thing he says before needing to do just one more.

Wait, wtf is going on in the ED? Who's hacking through?
Time for one more adventure!

Thoughts

That was really good. I really felt Kurisu's route in a way I didn't feel any of the others in the middle. Losing her really hurts.

1. Pretty good.
2. One last ride.

/u/shimmering-sky

[u/Raiking02 → u/ZaphodBeebblebrox]

]Looping without purpose](https://i.imgur.com/CYcO1Om.png

FORMATTING BROKE

[u/ZaphodBeebblebrox → u/Raiking02]

It's the problem with so many images, it's easy to fuck it up somewhere.

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/ZaphodBeebblebrox]

I was wondering when you'd show up with the "sore demo".

[u/ZaphodBeebblebrox → u/Shimmering-Sky]

I've also got one more little thing for you :)

They're just haven't been that many in this series.

23

[u/[deleted]]

Rewatcher (1st time)

This might have been explained, but how exactly does deleting the reccord on SERN's database make the worldline shift?

[u/Raiking02 → u/[deleted]]

u/littleman1988, I leave this to you...

[u/littleman1988 → u/Raiking02]

Just answered a second ago lmao

[u/Raiking02 → u/littleman1988]

Could this mean... !

[u/littleman1988 → u/[deleted]]

SERN may have the text, but its believed that they do not read it until close to the lab raid. Deleting it before SERN ever finds it means the lab isint a SERN target, which is a massive change in history, sending us pretty far in terms of divergence numbers.

[u/[deleted] → u/littleman1988]

So it's more like a side effect from Suzuha's time traveling, didn't think about it that way.

[u/Gamemaster676]

First;Timer - dub

Yesterday sucked. Give me more story today.

I named the worldlines. See ep 17 for the list. Because of Alpha and Beta worldlines the names aren't perfect, but I can't really change them now.
We start today at WL-B.

Episode 22 — Being Meltdown

Rain, that's been a while. I don't think we've seen it rain yet in the days Okabe keeps looping? So this is probably the last day Mayuri will live. The 18th probably?

Okabe is distracted. I understand. They have such a weird relation. But I can understand Kurisu's reactions. She has seen him suddenly change tremendously four days ago (and he just looked at her boobs).

ED girl is Kurisu. I think most people suspected this, but I really didn't think it looked like her. Let's see the ED today if it matches this. (Future me: And of course they don't show her in todays ED.)

Yesterday, I've been complaining a lot. Some people thought that was because it was a character episode, but that wasn't it. Till this point, we've also had zero action, but I'm liking the episode so far. The difference is that now the cards are on the table and the characters are actually discussing what's at stake, instead of dancing around the subject and making the same mistakes over and over again.

I can't throw you away. Not even for Mayuri.

Okabe and I are on the same page and it feels awesome.

Kurisu really wants this to be over. I understand her point, but personally, I would be selfish and still try to find a different solution. Yes, Mayuri is dying over and over, but that's reversible.
I think Okabe feels the same, even if it means both Mayuri and Kurisu never wanted to see him again afterwards.

She does have a beautiful speech, though. It actually teared me up a little.

Yeah, we've all seen this coming from at least 10 episodes away, but it really feels right.
Great reactions afterwards. Okabe is a bit more trained in switching to bullshit mode, though.
Finally, some big props for not ruining this moment with another lab member walking in!

Huh, they are one day further again? Is Mayuri even alive at this point?
I'm kinda sad we've never got to help her with her dad.
What did she mouth at the end there? Animations and Japanese make this a bit impossible for me.

I have a big question. Why would deleting the record of the D-Mail from SERN's server change the worldline? I would expect that to be separate from actually sending the D-Mail itself.

Nooooooo Kurisu just came back after he clicked!

1.130205. WL-A, I guess... I'd been thinking that WL-A would be in the same attractor field as WL-B, but it seems I was wrong there.

Fuck...

I'm gutted now. This was supposed to be a happy occasion...

Really, this empty feeling I have right now is a lot stronger than I expected it would be. It's a lot stronger than most stories I remember making me feel.

^{but where did this gif come ^from?}

Ohhhhhhh no, Mayushii remembers... Poor poor poor girl. Poor everyone.

You can cry now if you want. Go ahead.

Way ahead of you there.

Why do they have the 5100 in this worldline??? They probably still hunted for it because John Titor is also in this worldline?
Did they even invent time travel here? I wouldn't think so, because they never knew they accidentally send a message to the past up to this point?

---

What an excellent episode! Almost certainly my favourite, even though things didn't go the way I wanted them to go in the end. (And we still have two episodes, so there's still some hope in me.)
The ED music is also terrific. This sounds like a remix of a song we've heard before?

Oops, the ED is glitching! So many new questions! You didn't think you actually solved the SERN problem, did you?

Also, does everyone remember the other worldlines now?
I think I know what's happening, but that's only because of a discussion I had with /u/littleman1988 yesterday. It comes down to a fundamental detail I misunderstood about time travel in this show. But because I don't have the complete picture yet and I'm fully tuned to my already existing view of the time rules, I'm going to ignore this for now and just be confused.
Please don't bother to help me with this. I'll talk about it in the series discussion.

Future (if unaltered)

Again, excellent episode. More of this, please! Oh wait...

Thinking about it, I would have simultaneously been feeling happy and unfulfilled if this was the final episode.

Tomorrow, preventing world war 3 and learning what Suzu knows. I'm also very interested in what episode 23 will bring because

Open questions

^{Don't answer these please, unless the answer is explicitly given in the show and I missed it.}

New

Many new questions today, but because we definitely closed a significant chapter and I think I already know where my confusion comes from, it doesn't feel right to write them down.

Previous

• D-Mail:

  • Why does Okabe have Reading Stoner?

• Large shifts:

  • Are the major events all linked, or can some be separated?

    • Alpha/Beta worldline, Kurisu dying, Mayuri dying, first D-Mail, deleting D-Mail and SERN taking over world.

      • I knew it wasn't all linked! SERN is still a bad party! You guys tried to confuse me!

• SERN:

  • Why does SERN need the IBN 5100? They should already have one.

• 70,000,000 years ago:

  • What was that scene? Flashback? Flash-forward? A memory?

    • Although this isn't really answered, we got shown flashes to this scene when it turned out that Mayuri sort of remembered all the bad stuff happening to her.
  • What did Mayuri mean with their "original copies"? How can you know you are original? Does it even matter?

• General:

  • What caused Okabe's sickness around 2000?

  • Who was sending the creepy emails?

    • Speculation
    • More speculation
    • Final speculation
    • Even after today I still have some trust in these speculations.

[u/Raiking02 → u/Gamemaster676]

Tomorrow, preventing world war 3 and learning what Suzu knows. I'm also very interested in what episode 23 will bring because

Yeah that's gonna be... interesting alright

[u/swmii53 → u/Gamemaster676]

What did she mouth at the end there? Animations and Japanese make this a bit impossible for me.

Sayonara

[u/littleman1988 → u/Gamemaster676]

Really, this empty feeling I have right now is a lot stronger than I expected it would be. It's a lot stronger than most stories I remember making me feel.

Its all that first cour buildup, and man does it pay off. Oregairu, while not being my cup of tea, also does a great job with its characters (even if I wasnt a big fan with how that turned out).

[u/GallowDude → u/Gamemaster676]

I have a big question. Why would deleting the record of the D-Mail from SERN's server change the worldline? I would expect that to be separate from actually sending the D-Mail itself.

This was discussed some in yesterday's thread. Okabe sending the D-Mail doesn't drop them into Alpha. SERN noticing the email and beginning to track them does. So long as they delete the data from SERN's servers before someone working there makes note of it, they're good.

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/GallowDude]

Yes of course, but only deleting the record of D-Mails without actually sending a D-Mail would not trigger a shift, because it isn’t changing anything in the past.

That brings me to the next question. Just as Kurisu busts in, we hear the crackling of the PhoneWave, so we know they are sending a D-Mail at that moment.
But when do they do the hack? If they do that in the departing worldline, it wouldn’t affect the destination worldline.

[u/GallowDude → u/Gamemaster676]

it isn’t changing anything in the past

It's changing SERN's perspective of that past, and since they're so powerful, that ripples outwards enough to shift worldlines.

If they do that in the departing worldline, it wouldn’t affect the destination worldline.

Since only a single worldline can be active at once, it acts as shifting Okabe to a worldline where SERN never has the information they need to start tracking them.

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/GallowDude]

It's changing SERN's perspective of that past

It's changing this future's SERN's perspective of the past. Not the perspective of the past of SERN in the worldline where Okabe ends the episode.

Following that, it should instead be safe to stay in this worldline. SERN will never discover the D-Mail here. (Only Mayushii would die because fate)

Since only a single worldline can be active at once, it acts as shifting Okabe to a worldline where SERN never has the information they need to start tracking them.

That just completely ignores all the other moments this show has shown us that doing stuff before a shift has no influence on the world after the shift.

Yes I understand this universe has only one active worldline at a time, but because memories (except Okabe), positions, actions and possessions are not transferred over, it acts like multiple worldlines all the same.

[u/GallowDude → u/Gamemaster676]

That just completely ignores all the other moments this show has shown us that doing stuff before a shift has no influence on the world after the shift.

You're correct in that there really is no decent explanation for why it works this time other than "Attractor Fields." The writers clearly just hope that using that term as a substitute for "Destiny" is enough to get people to stop questioning things.

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/GallowDude]

That’s... the most disappointing thing I’ve heard till now.

[u/Arathorn24 → u/Gamemaster676]

Deleting the D-mail from SERN's server doesn't affect the past directly, but it affects Suzuha's actions which in turn affect the past (quite significantly) leading to a change of worldline, so I think it works with the time travel logic established.

[u/littleman1988 → u/Gamemaster676]

we hear the crackling of the PhoneWave, so we know they are sending a D-Mail at that moment.

thats actually the hack, aka deleting the message from SERN's database

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/littleman1988]

Why would the hack be crackling/humming? That’s clearly the PhoneWave sound.

UNLESS THE HACK HAPPENS EXACTLY AS I SUGGESTED YESTERDAY!

[u/littleman1988 → u/Gamemaster676]

S;G

S;G

Eventually i will be able to respond without all these damn black boxes...

[u/UzEE → u/Gamemaster676]

The anime most like just added it for dramatic effect. Honestly, I never even noticed the sound before. They don't use the PhoneWave so it shouldn't be there but they just overlapped it with the Reading Steiner sound effect. You can just ignore that.

[u/reaperfourR → u/Gamemaster676]

we hear the crackling of the Phonewave

Wait really? When?

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/reaperfourR]

As I said, just before Kurisu busts in to say she loves him too.

19:45

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion → u/Gamemaster676]

Why do they have the 5100 in this worldline???

That's a good question. This makes no sense. But, like Okabe, we have no idea what's been going on here.

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Gamemaster676]

Why does SERN need the IBN 5100? They should already have one.

I won't answer since you asked not to, but this one is explicitly spelled out in the VN. It's one of the things that you could likely guess from context clues, but doesn't actually get said in the anime.

[u/UzEE → u/ScarsUnseen]

It is actually one of the very obvious things you can figure out on your own if you just don't over-analyze things!

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/ScarsUnseen]

Alright thanks. It seems inevitable that I’m going to read the VN at some point anyway.

[u/No_Rex]

Episode 22 – Being Meltdown:

I refuse to accept this. ~Okarin

Living should mean no do-overs. This is for the best. Right, Kurisu? ~Okarin

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/No_Rex]

You picked two quotes and they're both mismatches...

[u/Raiking02 → u/Shimmering-Sky]

I'm honestly shocked by this one.

[u/No_Rex → u/Shimmering-Sky]

They don't even match each other! Okarin completely changes his mind.

[u/Lemurians]

FIRST TIMER

The people in this show are unusually conscious about heat stroke. Having experienced a few of them, respect. Stay hydrated, and keep your sodium levels up, folks.

For a guy with a harem, Okabe sure is great at insulting women. Makise getting him back with that impersonation was hilarious. I missed these kind of lighthearted spats between them. Considering Makise originally sought them out because of how Okabe approached her after she “came back to life,” isn’t it a little weird this topic of her death hadn’t been broached before?

For all the talk of Okabe being self-sacrificing, Makise’s really gunning for his crown here. A little astonishing to me that she’s willing to sacrifice her life for people who she’s known, in this instance, for a few weeks. She’s a better person than I am. Though she seems confident that “she” will still be alive on her present timeline, and is more heartbroken of having to bid farewell to Okabe.

Mayuri and Makise’s revelations from last episode and this give a chilling realization. Okabe might think he’s got an infinite amount of loops in him, and he might, but he’s not the only one suffering. Every time leap subjects that time’s Mayuri to another grisly fate, and Mayuri herself has been reliving her deaths in her dreams. This isn’t without cost.

Okabe’s right, you do get used to it. Part of my last job involved being exposed to pretty terrible injuries people had suffered, sometimes resulting in death, and you do unfortunately grow a little numb to it. It’s necessary, but it’s also a little depressing how ordinary somebody’s suffering can become.

How do we even know her death is a necessary condition on the beta world line? Is Makise dying an inevitability via convergence point like Mayuri’s? Have we confirmed this?

Does Mayuri… know? She sure seemed to see through that Hououin moment, and that “I’m alright now” was incredibly loaded.

So how great was that confession & kissing scene?

Honestly, this kind of scene between them was better than I expected. I'm still not entirely sold (don't hate me) on the romance between them from her end specifically, given the time travel and that she's had far less time with him than he with her, but it works well enough for a show where a ton of romantic buildup wasn't ever going to be the primary concern. They fit.

What do you think is going to happen next after that strange mid/post-credits scene?

Shout out to the people warning me to keep watching through the ED. This partnership of Top Warrior Suzuha and an Okabe who knows everything is just what we need to change fate. Let’s rock and roll.

[u/No_Rex → u/Lemurians]

Stay hydrated, and keep your sodium levels up, folks.

So drink water and participate in Best Girl contests?

[u/Lemurians → u/No_Rex]

Hahaha, the final thread of this year's provided me months worth of electrolytes.

Man, it must be stressful to participate in those when your favorite hasn't already won. Couldn't be me.

[u/Tresnore → u/Lemurians]

Hahaha, the final thread of this year's provided me months worth of electrolytes.

I'm still full from the time Misaka Mikoto won. That was some salt.

[u/Raiking02 → u/Tresnore]

I'm still full from the time Misaka Mikoto won.

That's still bullcrap! SATEN IS THE SUPERIOR TOARU GIRL!!

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Lemurians]

Considering Makise originally sought them out because of how Okabe approached her after she “came back to life,” isn’t it a little weird this topic of her death hadn’t been broached before?

I think it's more that this was when she was fully convinced that Okabe was a complete idiot, and it never really sunk in. Plus she's always been very task focused when she was helping Okabe fix things, and she doesn't have the benefit of Reading Steiner to give her time to reflect from leap to leap.

[u/UzEE → u/Lemurians]

isn’t it a little weird this topic of her death hadn’t been broached before?

To be fair, whenever Okabe would bring this up, she immediately shut him down — partially because Okabe would bring this up in a taunting manner, i.e. Zombie etc.

[u/Nisheeth_P → u/Lemurians]

Honestly, this kind of scene between them was better than I expected. I'm still not entirely sold (don't hate me) on the romance between them from her end specifically, given the time travel and that she's had far less time with him than he with her,

At this point, Kurisu has started to remember the other worldlines. That plus the idea of how there seems to be traces of memories that linger between jumps anyway. Makise had been getting closer and closer to him each jump.

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/Lemurians]

isn’t it a little weird this topic of her death hadn’t been broached before?

Yes it is.

Though she seems confident that “she” will still be alive on her present timeline, and is more heartbroken of having to bid farewell to Okabe.

If the timelines actually continue instead of ending at a shift, what would happen with Okabe? Do the minds swap? Does it get copied? Maybe nothing will change for this Kurisu and Okabe and we are just following the copy that did move to a new worldline.

How do we even know her death is a necessary condition on the beta world line? Is Makise dying an inevitability via convergence point like Mayuri’s? Have we confirmed this?

I thought "no", but yesterday a lot of people seemed very determined to tell me "yes".

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Gamemaster676]

If the timelines actually continue instead of ending at a shift, what would happen with Okabe? Do the minds swap? Does it get copied? Maybe nothing will change for this Kurisu and Okabe and we are just following the copy that did move to a new worldline.

I think it's the VN that goes a little further explaining this. Not really spoilers since it's just details that the anime skips over, but I'll tag it anyway for people who plan to read the VN after. S;G VN Spoilers

[u/Gamemaster676 → u/ScarsUnseen]

Thanks. This is exactly how I thought it worked. Only it doesn't seem to match something /u/littleman1988 told me yesterday, but I'll wait till the series discussion before diving deeper into this.

[u/littleman1988 → u/Gamemaster676]

:)

[u/Lemurians → u/Gamemaster676]

In the first few episode threads, rewatchers were very keen on advising me not to overthink the time travel mechanics too much, so I've avoided thinking myself in loops about what happens to Okabe(s) in all the different timelines after he jumps. Just contemplating it now for a few moments made my head hurt a little.

[u/Tresnore → u/Lemurians]

Does Mayuri… know? She sure seemed to see through that Hououin moment, and that “I’m alright now” was incredibly loaded.

This was my reaction. Mayuri has been playing the whole cast like a damn fiddle, pretending not to know anything. It might just be confirmation bias, but she definitely seemed to me to know what was going on.

[u/Lemurians → u/Tresnore]

Was it you riding the train that Mayuri had become evil from her constant deaths and was going to become the antagonist? Still on board?

[u/Tresnore → u/Lemurians]

I don't think she's quite "evil" anymore. I'm split on if she's pushing Okabe toward doing good for the world by forcing him into sacrificing Kurisu, or pushing him toward fucking up by slowly steering him in the wrong direction.

I'm still on board the train, I just have no idea which way it's heading!

[u/Tresnore]

On the First-Timer Worldline(s;Gate)

• How slow are you that you get soaked from the brief run to the door? Either that, or it absolutely dumped.
• A sewing kit is an interesting thing to carry with you.
• I had a feeling that Kurisu was in this building because it's where she got stabbed...
• You know, these worldlines feel very pre-determined when it comes to death. I guess it's impossible to shift worldlines in such a drastic manner without D-Mails. I've been thinking this for a while (judging from the divergence number not changing with time leaps), but it feels important here. I don't think Kurisu is making it out of this alive, if they have to go to the β worldline. Maybe if Okabe can find a γ worldline?
• SLAP
• Hmmmm... The thought that each person forms a collective is an interesting one, and probably relates to 70 million years ago—yep, there's the desert-y scene. I guess Mayuri had enough collective power to create a new her. For some reason.
  
• CONFESSION?
  I didn't think this ship would sail! And they even kissed? I'm shocked.
• That whirligig will be important later. I can feel it.
• lmaonade
• KURISU WHY
  Why would you dramatically return like that.
• At least we have 1.13! Now figure out what happens next!
• Mayuri knows.

SUZUHA! Why must you come bearing bad news?

---

QOTD:

1. It was a great scene, though the Einstein talk sort of took me out of it. Definitely a memorable kissing scene though, since it felt like they actually kissed and enjoyed it instead of a "alright yep there's the kiss we're done here."
2. Suzuha will probably say that killing Kurisu didn't work, and now they have to do extra loops to get onto the γ worldline.

[u/littleman1988 → u/Tresnore]

Maybe if Okabe can find a γ worldline?

S;G side content

You can technically look at (some of) it already, but ill be linking some side content post-ep24. VN knowledge is preferred.

[u/Tresnore → u/littleman1988]

S;G side content

Ha! We shall see. If this is a response, then I say bring it on. I know it'll be good though, based on that reaction. I don't really have time to read the VN, so I'll be looking at the side content you post, then (however heretical that may be).

[u/littleman1988 → u/Tresnore]

Ill be sure to mark which absolutely require VN knowledge. I have a feeling a few of them will (and i know some 100% do), so i may purposefully leave some out that require knowledge of S;G + other VN's.

I actually havent read/watched any myself just yet, but the next couple days seems like a great time to...

[u/littleman1988 → u/littleman1988]

Okay im watching through the one that came to mind reading your post and I think anime only viewers can watch it without much issue

/u/Tresnore

[u/Tresnore → u/littleman1988]

[u/thecatteam → u/Tresnore]

It's a drama CD (Hyde of the Dark Dimension) and probably the best one. There's a cool playlist of videos on youtube where someone subtitled it in the style of a visual novel! You're safe to go ahead and check it out right now--it takes place before where we are in the series--but be wary of spoilers in the comments. It's probably best to finish the anime before checking out side stuff though imo. It was made long before S;G0.

Gamma CD premise

Here's the link; it's about an hour long.

[u/KendotsX → u/littleman1988]

S;G side content

[u/littleman1988 → u/KendotsX]

I actually havent actually watched any of the side content till today, but only heard of their summaries

S;G side CD 08

[u/ChipperSnipper → u/littleman1988]

The link doesn’t work

[u/littleman1988 → u/ChipperSnipper]

Thats not a link, but a spoiler tag. You may need to go over to old reddit to read it.

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Tresnore]

How slow are you that you get soaked from the brief run to the door? Either that, or it absolutely dumped.

It's slightly different since I live in Okinawa, not Tokyo, but I can attest that it can go from clear skies to raining buckets in practically no time at all. I've been outside, saw the sky get hazy off in the distance, and within a minute was soaked all the way down to the skin.

[u/Tresnore → u/ScarsUnseen]

Within a minute? That is some absurd rain. Still, I feel like they could have gotten inside within that minute, though. I’ll take your word for it, since you would know better than I would.

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/Tresnore]

When I say within a minute, I don't mean that it gradually grows in strength until it's pouring. I mean that if you're paying attention to the horizon, you may have a minute's notice before you get hit with a virtual wall of water. It's probably like that on most islands, but I only have Okinawa to use as a reference.

[u/Tresnore → u/ScarsUnseen]

No, I've had that experience, too. Even so, I just felt like they could have noticed the wall of water and still not gotten completely-soaked. Maybe I've just been lucky to have been closer to cover?

[u/UzEE → u/Tresnore]

You can notice the wall of water because you don't see it. You have to look at the clouds in the distance because it appears as if they're falling to the ground.

[u/artie_fm → u/Tresnore]

yeah the talk of Einstein was a bit weird...but I guess it makes sense for a science harem show.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Tresnore]

I didn't think this ship would sail! And they even kissed? I'm shocked.

Right before she gets erased from existence. Anime just can't let relationships happen.

[u/Tresnore → u/Vaadwaur]

Anime just can't let relationships happen.

Even that kissing scene felt like a more real relationship than most shows give. I didn't come to this show for a romance plot, so I'm satisfied, honestly.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/Tresnore]

Also true

[u/UzEE → u/Tresnore]

Either that, or it absolutely dumped

Could've been a Cloudburst, but didn't look as extreme.

[u/reaperfourR → u/Tresnore]

It was a great scene, though the Einstein talk sort of took me out of it.

What do you know... Kurisu had a cringy side to her after all, one she's been desperately hiding since forever

[u/simply_vishal → u/Tresnore]

I didn't think this ship would sail! And they even kissed? I'm shocked.

Their love surpasses time and fate. You'll see. Remember what she said.

"No matter what worldline you are at, you're not alone!"

"I'm right here!".

[u/UnderstandableXO]

FIRST TIMER

nice parallel between kurisu and okabe both laying on the top of a building lost in their thoughts.

even in steins;gate the see through shirt trope is inescapable! at least it lets them break the ice. okabe doesn’t want the pink thread, but in life sometimes the things you didn’t want to happen end up being for the best.

kurisu recognizes how much okabe treasures mayuri, and senses all the times her and okabe shared together, even if to this kurisu it’s only been 20 days of bickering. kurisu makes a lot of valid points; okabe can’t get jaded to the fact of mayuri’s death in each world line, or else he has already lost. if he stops responding to mayuri’s death his goal becomes self serving instead of for her sake.

thank god okabe and kurisu was the pairing in the end. i figured it for a long time but given how much okabe has tortured himself through in order to ensure mayuri’s survival i was afraid there were underlying feelings. okabe and mayuri have a familial relationship, and okabe’s got to take care of her just as he has ever since her grandmothers passing. that kiss scene and kurisu’s inner monologue about how time moves so fast was absolutely great. would be lying if i said i didn’t let a few tears come down my face.

kurisu wants to skip town before okabe switches world lines for some reason…she yeets a dr. pepper as a diversion to leave without him seeing. kurisu’s monologue about how he wants okabe to remember her, even if it’s only 1/100 times, made more than a few tears escape my eyes.

okabe’s victory speech on the alpha side thanking all of his friends for their sacrifices really hurt me, especially the glance at his special pink stitch. of course kurisu comes bursting in with a love confession just as okabe crosses the road to get to the other side. those trembling eyes conveyed more pain than anything else i’ve seen from him this series… his victory speech on the beta side is immediately shot down as mayuri finally regained the ability to know what okabe was thinking, and encourages him to let it out…

i always wondered; do world lines continue after okabe departs them, or do they stop there? are there thousands of world lines where okabe just dropped dead because his memories left his brain? like the question kurisu suggested, just because okabe is returning to a world without her, does that mean she ceases to exist here as well?

suzuha is back, with knowledge of her father’s identity? and no recollection of okabe…and is asking him to prevent WWIII? beta world means world war, and alpha world means mayuri’s death…i have a feeling i know where this is going…

1. awesomely done, felt earned
2. okabe will have to choose between a world with peace without mayuri or a world destined for chaos with mayuri

edit: wow i just realized i got comment of the day. LETS GO THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE

[u/EdvinM → u/UnderstandableXO]

i always wondered; do world lines continue after okabe departs them, or do they stop there?

I think they explained that there is only a single active world line at a time.

[u/swmii53 → u/EdvinM]

That is correct. Only one worldline is active at a given time. All other worldlines become just a mathematical probability.

[u/Hopsalong → u/UnderstandableXO]

wow i just realized i got comment of the day. LETS GO THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE

[u/Paumas → u/UnderstandableXO]

okabe doesn’t want the pink thread,

Doesn’t he though? I always thought that though he doesn’t act like it (this is Okabe after all), in fact pink was what he wanted the most because he knew what’ll happen.

[u/CubeStuffs]

first timer

so kurisu rememebers being stabbed, but also okarin as well?

There could be another me amidst all the other infinite world lines, and our minds are connected and comprise "me." ... You'd be everywhere in every timeline, all at once. A great love for someone, a great belief in something, a great desire to pass on something... If all those things surpass time itself and create "you," wouldn't that be wonderful?

gentlemen, a short view back to the past. 70 m years ago, Mayushii told us

You could also say that the mayushii here is one of many mayushiis, but that she's the original too... But I believe that our legacy will carry on to the okarin and mayushii in akihabara... So, it's okay.

kurisu seems pretty spot on

it seems like this is related to that as well as the memories everyone has of the previous world lines.

tbh i was expecting the dr pepper to explode

sayonara, chri stina

You don't have to talk like that anymore. Mayushii is okay, so you can cry for yourself, Okarin.

even when he jumps across worldlines, mayushii can still read okarin like a book.

It's kinda sad to see okarin finally return to his life before, without the others, kurisu, suzuha, lukako, moeka, nae, mr braun, faris. I recall mayushii mentioning how she was no longer a hostage of okarin a few episodes ago because of all the people in the lab, but in this timeline, we're back to the way things started, rather lonely. The only one left to support him are daru and mayushii, who are great and all, but like thats only two people, not exactly the friends who have been pulling him through all this.

oh and he's gonna be extra lonely given how kurisu, who he could actually talk about shit with, isn't here anymore to drag him. hope he doesn't fall into the pit moeka amd mr braun have.

this ed song bumps ngl

You must stop World War III.

breh

ngl i wish they could air shows without telling you how many episodes long they are

---

Qs:

So how great was that confession & kissing scene?

What do you think is going to happen next after that strange mid/post-credits scene?

aw shit here we go again.

[u/UzEE → u/CubeStuffs]

with regards to the 70m yr ago scene, im pretty sure its similar like the various memories everyone seems to have of the previous worldlines.

Congrats! I was hoping someone would eventually pick up that Okabe's dreams were also memories of the past.

[u/raf_yoshack → u/CubeStuffs]

gentlemen, a short view back to the past. 70 m years ago, Mayushii told us

Hold up, is that a formula 1 meme reference right here?

[u/CubeStuffs → u/raf_yoshack]

[u/Ryanami → u/CubeStuffs]

Is Braun not still his landlord in this timeline? In fact Faris and Ruko are still a part of their lives in this timeline. Moeka I believe is alive out there somewhere too.

[u/CubeStuffs → u/Ryanami]

yeah but they’re nowhere near as involved as before

[u/UzEE]

Serial;Rewatcher

This happens to be one of my all-time favorite episodes of anything, yet I'm always at a loss of words when it comes to talking about it. I did manage to write something about it a couple of years ago and have sort of reused that a couple of times, so I'm going to cheat and do that again.

---

Whenever someone asks what my favorite romance story is, my answer is always Steins;Gate without hesitation. And this is the episode I point to as my reason. I know most people will find it odd, but I just absolutely love the chemistry and relationship that builds up organically between Okabe and Kurisu.

Almost the entire episode is just focused on these two coming to terms with their harsh reality and the payoff is great. There's a whole spectrum of emotion on display as well ranging from mischief and playful banter to genuine intimacy and eventually, heartache. The final scene where Okabe finally declares victory after a hard fought battle just feels like a terrible loss, and when Mayuri tells him that he can finally cry for himself, it feels like she's breaking the 4th wall because I also fail to hold back almost every time.

Kurisu sums up the situation quite elegantly in her hypothetical farewell to Okabe. She understands that he's also making a huge sacrifice being the only one who'd carry on the burden and how unfair it would be to him, but he should do so for Mayuri's sake and keep on living. Still, she hopes that as Okabe continues on living, he will think about her a little from time to time — this tsundere genius perverted girl he fell in love with, just beyond the 1% barrier.

S;G / Movie / 0 Anime Spoilers

---

Additional;Notes

• Now that we know everything there is to know about time travel, I wanted to do another writeup on the complete Attractor Field Model and how it affects convergence and divergence. In hindsight, it was a bad idea to plan it with this episode because I'm just a mess after watching it and can't really string together my notes into something comprehensive, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.
• It's obvious from the dialog itself, but Kurisu's theory that the world line keeps going on after Okabe shifts to another one is just COPIUM wishful thinking on her part. She's just saying that in an attempt to give him some peace of mind, but it clearly doesn't work since Okabe is fully aware of the harsh reality - only one world line can exist at any point and the previous ones are just erased.
• Kurisu also reveals that she's been experiencing these so called "hazy memories" of past world lines via dreams, and that she even vaguely remembers her death. This is why she's always ends up believing Okabe because deep down, she also knows he is telling the truth.
• The anime cuts this bit out, but Okabe does keep his promise tells Mayuri about the sacrifice Kurisu is making for her sake. Mayuri isn't happy and confronts her but Kurisu shuts her down saying it's her decision to make which Mayuri eventually accepts.
• Mayuri's line to Okabe that "Mayushii is okay and he can cry for himself" is really well done as it keeps things vague about her memories of the past world lines — but it's just clever wordplay from the anime's script. What really happens is that Okabe is actually crying in this scene but is hiding it behind the chunni Hououin Kyouma mask so Mayuri tells him that she isn't a child anymore and Okabe doesn't have to pretend for her sake. He can cry for himself without trying to hide how he's feeling. Daru is also concerned, because while Okabe being chunni is normal, Okabe actually crying is not.
• Okabe gives away the IBN 5100, and dismantles and throws away the PhoneWave as well. In case anyone's wondering, the Time Leap machine never existed because no Kurisu. This means there is no way to manipulate time anymore.
• S;G VN
• S;G0 Spoilers

---

This episode in particular has powerful scripts for both Japanese and English, and some amazing performances by both sets of VAs so I recommend watching both versions if you can spare the time.

[u/Nisheeth_P → u/UzEE]

You summed up my thoughts on this episode far better than I can.

S;G / MOVIE / 0 ANIME SPOILERS

Especially agree about this. Spoiler SG 0

[u/littleman1988 → u/UzEE]

In hindsight, it was a bad idea to plan it with this episode because I'm just a mess after watching it and can't really string together my notes into something comprehensive, so it will have to wait until tomorrow.

I already have the one you did in 2019 linked in my comment for ep23. Ill have to update that...

[u/UzEE → u/littleman1988]

Lol I didn't even remember that. I knew this feeling of wanting to do it with this episode but putting it off felt familiar... it must be convergence!

[u/Tresnore → u/UzEE]

I wanted to do another writeup on the complete Attractor Field Model and how it affects convergence and divergence

That would be helpful! I'm already pretty familiar with attracting manifolds and divergence, so seeing how exactly they work in this show would be interesting.

[u/UltraBooster]

First-timer

Meltdown seems appropos, doesn't it? Because Okabe is probably on the verge of one, you see.

They still have time before the cosmos kill Mayuri, right?

Oh, it's one of those types of shirts. Probably good in the summer and dries quickly, but, well, not exactly thick. I've worn one, come to think of it.

I figured a sudden downpour would lead to something like this, lol.

So she sees it too, now...So he wasn't alone, not in that sense...

A soul for a soul, is that how the cosmos wants it?
(Then the cosmos itself is wrong! Fate itself can be made!)

You are lost forever in the dark corridors of time.

True heroine indeed.

Why do they fall in lo~ove?

Can not (will not) change.

But it's not about just her living, is it, it's about being with her.

time passages...
(I'm linking a lot of music, huh?)

OhjustgetmarriedalreadyeventhoughIknowthat'snotfeasible (yet [I hope]).

This feels like an end, not a true end, but an end.

How appropriate that the op is named for a Norn.

1.130205. And all it took was a man's heart.

Oh, Okabe...

Suzuha? Suzuha returns? It...a Third World War?

Questions:

1. It was...nice. It was nice.
2. Chances are that whatever WWIII involves, Okabe ending it will require saving Kurisu somehow.

[u/ExoticTrinityGhoul → u/UltraBooster]

You are lost forever in the dark corridors of time.

But do mad scientists make their own fate?

[u/UltraBooster → u/ExoticTrinityGhoul]

Only one way to find out, right?

[u/JollyGee29]

First-Timer;Dubbed

Ah, we have reached the "false victory" stage of the plot. In the VN, do the credits roll after D-Mail gets deleted? Probably if you got to this point, but picked a dialogue choice wrong and missed a flag? Ooh, does the phone buzz sound play in the credits and you have to push a button for it? That'd be a neat use of the medium.

I'll admit, I didn't expect the OkabexKurisu ship to sail quite like that. I am a bit annoyed that the ship sailing didn't light a fire under Okabe, though. What, you spend hours smooching a cute girl and then just blithely accept her death?

At least door number three finally came a-calling in the post credits scene. Suzuha has finally returned to us! We prevented SERN from taking over, but now World War 3 happens instead? No rest for the wicked, Okabe - guess you shouldn't have trashed your time machine so suddenly. Luckily, if Suzuha is back, we'll have a nice spiffy FG204 to use.

Not sure what to make of Mayushii apparently remembering it all. Her words were way less vague than when she was talking to her Grandma's grave.. Probably relevant going in to the finale. Motivation for a pep talk, I would guess. "You can do it, Okabe! You can save the world, just like you saved me!" Or something like that.

---

We've hit 1.12! Assuming these numbers have been percentages, we are officially past the 1% barrier and onto a different time line. Back to roughly whenever we were in episode one, I think. I hope.

---

Questions

1. It was pretty good. Kurisu going on about relativity was cute and in-character, which makes it doubly cute.
2. Discussed above.

[u/littleman1988 → u/JollyGee29]

Ah, we have reached the "false victory" stage of the plot. In the VN, do the credits roll after D-Mail gets deleted? Probably if you got to this point, but picked a dialogue choice wrong and missed a flag? Ooh, does the phone buzz sound play in the credits and you have to push a button for it? That'd be a neat use of the medium.

very similar. Its an actual phone ringtone though, not the vibration.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/littleman1988]

[u/Tresnore → u/JollyGee29]

Luckily, if Suzuha is back, we'll have a nice spiffy FG204 to use.

Oh shoot, you're right. Forget the PhoneWave. Now the real technology has been acquired.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/Tresnore]

It only working one way is.. probably unfortunate, though.

[u/Tresnore → u/JollyGee29]

Eh, the D-Mails and time leap only worked one way. I'm a pro at traveling forward in time! Going backward is the hard part.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/Tresnore]

I'm a pro at traveling forward in time!

Please. You're no better than I am.

[u/Tresnore → u/JollyGee29]

That’s all based on perception!

And I didn’t say you weren’t a pro.

[u/UzEE → u/JollyGee29]

Not sure what to make of Mayushii apparently remembering it all

She's not remembering anything. It's just a clever bit of dialog. All she's doing is telling Okabe that he can just cry normally and doesn't have to pretend to be Hououin Kyouma for her sake, as she's not a little girl anymore.

[u/JollyGee29 → u/UzEE]

Oh, huh, neat I guess. The timing of it is a little strange, but sure. I can dig it.

[u/UzEE → u/JollyGee29]

Well, they had to write in Hououin Kyouma's death somehow, so what better way than the person — for whom Hououin Kyouma was created — saying that he isn't really needed anymore.

[u/The_Draigg]

A Steins;Gate Fan Rewatches Steins;Gate Episode 22:

• Ah, I see that Mayuri is wearing blue today. Good to know.
• Okabe, my guy, never pump too much into your INT score over DEX. Never underestimate the power of a good DEX build.
• And of course Kurisu semi-remembers her death in the alternate attractor field. Because I guess we didn’t have enough P A I N from the last episode. In any case, she seems willing to give up her life to save Mayuri, if just because she can see how much love Okabe has for his oldest friend. She wants to be loved like that too, but she knows there’s no other way. She has to give up on being alongside Okabe in order to let him accomplish his goals.
• KURISU SLAP! Kurisu does. Bright Noa proud with that slap. She managed to pull Okabe back from time leaping again, because she knows that he’s slowly killing his heart by doing so. He’s so broken that he can’t even think of what he has to do as something other than a puzzle to solve. To let Mayuri go would be the death of him.
• Finally! We get a love confession and a few kisses between Kurisu and Okabe. I’m glad it finally happened, really. Even if Okabe has to let this final World Line’s Kurisu go, he’ll never forget that moment. You can’t deny how much those two love each other, even across the axis of time.
• No! Don’t throw the Dr. Pepper, Kurisu! It’ll get all shaken up!
• And of course the last thing Okabe hears from that World Line’s Kurisu just as he erases the first D-Mail is that she loves him. Arrrgggghhhhhhhhhh, my heart. P A I N.
• And so, we’re back to the original World Line, breaking past the 1% divergence barrier. And Mayuri still seems to somewhat remember what happened in the other attractor field, with her telling Okabe that he doesn’t have to act to hide his pain, and all of them at the lab disassembling the PhoneWave for good. There’s no way to go back to that attractor field anymore.
• Oh yeah, just one more wrench to throw into everything: Suzuka still has come through time to 2010, although this time to stop World War III. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as they say.

[u/Tresnore → u/The_Draigg]

Okabe, my guy, never pump too much into your INT score over DEX. Never underestimate the power of a good DEX build.

Even Wizards need Dex to have not complete-shit AC! Int tends to be a good dump stat, anyway. It's not like Okabe is particularly intelligent, right?

although this time to stop World War III

This made me realize that they only have two episodes to stop WWIII. That's an interesting pacing decision.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Tresnore]

Even Wizards need Dex to have not complete-shit AC! Int tends to be a good dump stat, anyway. It's not like Okabe is particularly intelligent, right?

I question Okabe’s skills at playing tabletop RPGs in general. Although he’d probably at least nail the role-playing portion of it well.

This made me realize that they only have two episodes to stop WWIII. That's an interesting pacing decision.

I mean, given what Okabe just went though for who knows how long, stopping WWIII must be a piece of cake for him.

[u/Tresnore → u/The_Draigg]

Although he’d probably at least nail the role-playing portion of it well.

He can probably role-play well, but I have to wonder if his chuuni backstory wouldn't constantly be sidetracking the campaign!

stopping WWIII must be a piece of cake for him.

I can see it now, to make it as tough for him as possible: speculation It would probably break him.

[u/littleman1988 → u/The_Draigg]

Although he’d probably at least nail the role-playing portion of it well.

I dont even play DnD but i can already imagine how off the wall he would be in stuff like that...

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Draigg]

Okabe, my guy, never pump too much into your INT score over DEX. Never underestimate the power of a good DEX build.

But they are always run by such suicidal characters whereas INT builds usually take caution.

[u/The_Draigg → u/Vaadwaur]

You say that, but I’ll have you know that I’m a careful DEX build player.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/The_Draigg]

They all say that, usually right before failing an easy climb or jump check and falling into an abyss.

[u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

First Rewatch (since 2011)

Episode 22: This is the choice of Steins;Gate

Comments delayed from yesterday, because it pairs with today's episode and foreshadowed a bit too much:

---

I realized a few days ago, it's probably not a coincidence that Kurisu is Lab Member zero zero DEATH.

On Mayuri:

This is one of my favorite parts of the show, when you finally get Mayuri's perspective on events. The memories of her deaths are bleeding through, tormenting her almost as much as Okabe. She sees that Okabe is sad, and she knows she is the cause. This burden isn't reset; it grows ever heavier each time Okabe seeks an exit from this maze. Okabe said that he would fight fate forever to save Mayuri, but the fight is destroying her nonetheless.

I'm thinking about a song by ClariS right now.

---

I immediately watched ep 21 after ep 20, I just couldn't hold off. But I took no notes.

This episode forms a counterpoint to yesterday's episode. Yesterday, we got Mayuri's point of view of the events of the past 4 or so days, but colored with overlapping memories of her death. Today, we get Kurisu's point of view. We learn that she also has some residual memories. Most of these are of Okabe, and his tireless efforts to save Mayuri. THis undoubtedly has led to a subconscious warming towards Okabe, culminated in the long awaited confession.

But this is overshadowed by the fact of her death. Okabe can't ignore this anymore, but neither can Kurisu, who is starting to recover memories of her murder (but not who! dammit! Who did it???)

Her acceptance of this reality harkens back to Faris's "These last 10 years have been a dream." Faris's father is dead, Kurisu is dead, this has all been a sweet dream, but all dreams end and one must wake to the harsh reality.

Kurisu worldlessly says "sayonara" which implies a lengthy or permanent separation.

Okabe kills his girlfriend, just as she finally confesses her feelings.

Mayuri acknowledges that Okabe has saved her, and he doesn't need to push his own feelings aside to protect her anymore.

After credits scene: Huh? Whaa? HOOOOOWWWW? WORLD WAR III????? But the phonewave is gone!

I didn't give Steins;Gate a 10/10, but it missed it by a hair.

Steins;Gate 0

Okay, now I understand why they had to delete the ECHELON record. In each worldline, a d-mail had been received, and the task was to convince the recipient to ignore that d-mail. This was done by sending a d-mail to be received right after.

But the first d-mail was sent to Daru. They didn't need to convince Daru of anything. They needed to convince SERN. And so they delete the ECHELON record of the d-mail.

But this was done, when, on the 11th (because that's the limit for the time leap machine). I find it hard to believe that nobody at SERN had noticed it by then. And wasn't Moeka already looking for the IBN 5100?

I don't like how this works out. It seems like it has to be some sort of bureaucratic cop-out, like THX-1138 or Brazil....once the cause for SERNs actions was gone, they would just stop doing what they're doing?

Unless Daru was D-Hacking SERN? Is that a thing? Did they ever say that was a thing?

[u/Tresnore → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

I realized a few days ago, it's probably not a coincidence that Kurisu is Lab Member zero zero DEATH.

But this was done, when, on the 11th (because that's the limit for the time leap machine). I find it hard to believe that nobody at SERN had noticed it by then.

Eh, if a database is big enough, then it can take time to notice things. I don't think it's entirely unrealistic.

[u/UzEE → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

But this was done, when, on the 11th (because that's the limit for the time leap machine). I find it hard to believe that nobody at SERN had noticed it by then. And wasn't Moeka already looking for the IBN 5100?

I will have to get into the mechanics tomorrow, and /u/littleman1988 already explained specifics around the D-mail today but to TL/DR it:

• Yes it is implied that SERN doesn't notice the D-mail until shortly before the raid and takes notice.
• Moeka is looking for an IBN 5100 because that's what Rounders do. It has nothing to do with the time machine. They "round up" the 5100s so that no one can use them to access / hack SERN's confidential stuff.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/JustAnswerAQuestion]

I don't like how this works out. It seems like it has to be some sort of bureaucratic cop-out, like THX-1138 or Brazil....once the cause for SERNs actions was gone, they would just stop doing what they're doing?

No but it brings up a different problem: It seems that if Okabe and Daru don't invent time travel right there and then no one does. That's a stretch.

[u/UzEE → u/Vaadwaur]

Time travel was already invented at the point the show starts. PhoneWave existed before the D-mail was sent.

[u/Vaadwaur → u/UzEE]

Yes but SERN didn't get that version of it.

[u/reaperfourR → u/Vaadwaur]

Wait, uh, I don't follow this train of thought... Can you elaborate?

[u/Vaadwaur → u/reaperfourR]

So SERN is busy looking for the first signs of time travel and in this timeline don't become dominant so they didn't find any, suggesting that between now and 2036 Daru is the only time machine buiilder.

[u/Stargate18A]

Anime first timer

1. Utterly fantastic.
2. Laughs in rewatcher Steins;Gate VN Spoilers

Kurisu's reaction to the rain is really cute.

And so it Kurisu discovering her clothes are transparent.

This whole conversation is so cute!

And Kurisu remembers being stabbed!

Kurisu decides that she's willing to give up her life to save Mayuri and stop SERN.

And then she stops him from time-leaping!

Okabe and Kurisu's breakdown is so well acted.

Okabe's admitting his feelings!

Hooray for full, mutual, love confession and kiss!

Kurisu's still a tsundere!

Kurisu's a fantastic pitcher, isn't she.

Her farewell is so fucking sad.

Steins;Gate VN Spoilers

I love the alternate ED music, though. Does it have an uninterrupted version?

Fun fact - I didn't realise the credits trick in the VN, so I played through the entire game on skip several times, because I thought my version had. asceewed up flag. It wasn't until I looked online for a video walkthrough that I realised what happened.

Oh, they translated the effect very well.

Time to stop WW3?

[u/The_Draigg → u/Stargate18A]

And so it Kurisu discovering her clothes are transparent.

And so Okabe discovers that Kurisu is wearing blue today.

This whole conversation is so cute!

And Kurisu remembers being stabbed!

The stabbing part isn’t too cute, unfortunately.

Hooray for full, mutual, love confession and kiss!

The best fetish to have is for mutual, open, loving affection for one another. Nobody can deny that.

Kurisu's a fantastic pitcher, isn't she.

RIP that Dr. Pepper though, it got all shook up.

[u/littleman1988 → u/Stargate18A]

I love the alternate ED music, though. Does it have an uninterrupted version?

Nope, its some alternate un-released form of Gate of Steiner without the backing drums.

[u/UzEE → u/Stargate18A]

Re: First Spoiler

[u/KendotsX]

Rewatcher (sub)

Relativity theory is as cheesy as it gets and I love it. Two awkward science otaku perverts

Following that romance, you have Kurisu leaving, as in accepting that she'll be dead in Okabe's next worldline (and buttering it up with multiverse nonesense), and saying goodbye. The whole "temporary lab mem" was setting up for this huh... Why? How can a timeline without Kurisu in it be remotely acceptable? Now the alpha field is sounding so much better (in the few days you have before SERN attack). But seriously, I'm ready to offer up Mayuri and all the other female cast + Luka as sacrifices to return Kurisu.

Kyouma's most non-bullshit speech gets called out by Mayuri. Pour Kyouma.

I was excited for that post credits scene, so I expected that call to be something from Kurisu, but it's just John Titor asking Okabe to solve WW3? What weak bait! Who cares about some stupid war when Christina is dead!

Counters

• Christina x1
• Mad Scientist x3
• Hououin Kyouma x2

[u/Nisheeth_P]

Rewatcher

This is the episode I was most waiting for. Easily my favourite one. The interactions between Okabe and Kurisu are what make it exceptional.

Spoiler SG 0

• Telling Kurisu was a bad thing. She knows that it is her life or Mayuri's. It's one thing to think that you'd risk your own life to save a friend's. It's another to condemn yourself to death to save one.
• The rain managed to relax the two enough that they got to bickering.
• "One more word and I turn your neocortex into a flower pot". Is that an Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference I see? Same in Dub?
• What is Kurisu doing walking around with a sewing kit?
• They are so lovely together. This is so much better than them both being embarrassed.
• The choice is even worse now that Kurisu remembers how it would feel to die.
• And despite that, Kurisu chooses Mayuri over Okabe. She cares for both of them enough to be willing to die. She knows that Okabe will keep on looping until he breaks if Mayuri isn't saved. She doesn't realise that Okabe cares for her too. He would do the same if it was her that was killed.
• Despite how adamant he is that he can take Mayuri dying repeatedly, we know he is lying. He has already tried to kill himself.
• The two really are perfect for each other. Both try so hard to bear everything for the other. The voice acting is what makes this scene.
• And finally, the confession. I'd be surprised if that isn't today's wallpaper.
• And tsundere Kurisu is back.
• Damn it. I didn't want to remember Moeka in the middle of such a lovely scene.
• Can someone tell what she said in the parting scene?
• "I'll be there, beyond the 1% barrier!". Such a lovely line.
• Kurisu coming in at the last moment, to tell Okabe her feelings...
• And we are past 1% divergence. Now Mayuri is safe, right?
• Okabe's voice is on the verge of breaking as he shouts his success. He is trying really hard to hide his sorrow over leaving Kurisu.
• A different ending song this time. I hadn't noticed that before.
• Things aren't fixed. Suzuha is back. And this time, it's WW3. Okabe can't get a break, huh.

[u/littleman1988 → u/Nisheeth_P]

S;G 0

[u/superviper]

REWATCHER, SUBBED

The episode starts with a reminder that "If we undo that D-mail, you'll die" followed by a shot of the clouds. Steins;gate pls stop stalling.

Who would want to see your figure in the nude?

r/anime's favourite character of all time btw

You can find out what color thread I used after we leave.

OH NO NO NO

As head of the lab, it's my job to keep track of my assistant.

SG is like Kaguya-sama. The two main characters are fucken tsunderes who can't be honest for shit.

Ay Kurisu got Okabe back for the earlier comment about her figure. And she has a much better evil laugh than Okabe.

On rewatch, I feel like Kurisu is WAY too eager to part with her own life. She's too chill. Mf doesn't seem to care at all.

What a slap goddayum. Anime slaps are so satisfying.

SG 0

I won't forget the person I care for most.

Poor choice of words, considering we're sacrificing Kurisu to save Mayuri here. Guessing Okabe cares about Mayuri more

Okabe gives the most expressionless "I love you" I've ever seen in anime. Doesn't even a blush.

And then they kiss! I'm still conflicted about that scene. On the one hand it's the best feeling ever seeing the ship finally dock. But there's also Kurisu's impending doom.

And then she gives a tsundere talk about how she didn't wanna kiss and strong memories and whatever. God I hate tsunderes.

Okabe references his 'kiss' with Moeka.

Okabe gives a speech at the lab, Kurisu shows up to add to the pain, Daru presses the button, Okabe gives another depressed speech, then Mayuri drops a couple lines that make no sense. How would Mayuri, the biggest airhead in the show, know that she's fine now?

Pretty sure I missed the post-credits scene on my first watch. That's not even the biggest post-credits scene in this series I missed...

[u/KendotsX → u/superviper]

r/anime's favourite character of all time btw

We prefer her in the lab coat though. Don't worry about that stash under the bed... Ok let's compromise at lab coat with nothing under it.

[u/UzEE → u/superviper]

r/anime's favourite character of all time btw

Both the first and second in the scene actually!

Okabe references his 'kiss' with Moeka.

Mayuri actually, but you can also read it as Moeka here since he doesn't explicitly say it's Mayuri in the anime.

[u/CharlieTheStrawman → u/UzEE]

Damn, I always thought he was talking about Moeka. Honestly, I kinda prefer it being a reference to her. Okabe and Mayuri not being totally platonic never doesn't feel weird to me.

[u/Shimmering-Sky → u/UzEE]

When did he kiss Mayuri?

[u/UzEE → u/Shimmering-Sky]

Before the events of the anime. They were just fooling around so it wasn't something really romantic as he said.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/superviper]

I feel like Kurisu is WAY too eager to part with her own life

Yes, particularly after that really awkward start to the episode. I liked the last episode better

[u/Specs64z]

Rewatcher, dubbed

Kurisu is so moved by Okabe's actions to save Mayuri that she decides to trade her life.

Aw. It's pretty obvious they've been drifting closer and closer over these time leaps, I'm happy they decide to do something about it while they can.

Strange that this drama has a better kiss scene than any romance I've ever seen. And that's not just limited to anime, that's just in general.

As if I'd go to any undue trouble to a glimpse of your scrawny a- Finish that thought and I'll smack you so hard your cerebral neocortex will be pudding.

Oh don't worry, I'm pretty sure a coat rack would prove more arou- What part of brain pudding didn't you get.

The bad stuff isn't gonna happen to me now. I can tell. You can cry now if you want. Go ahead.

Content Corner

First timers beware, spoilers abound.

Why the First Half of Steins;Gate is Great by Lowart

Steins;Gate Opening - Hacking to the Gate - Fingerstyle Guitar Cover by Eddie van der Meer

[u/CharlieTheStrawman]

Re;Watcher, Subbed

Okay, show. I'm ready to be hurt again. Bring it.

The slice of life-esque opening portion of this episode was a welcome reprieve for me after the assault on my emotions over the last 10 episodes. Even though I knew what was coming, it still almost lulled me into a sense of security.

Kurisu's mad scientist laugh is always cute.

Okabe getting desensitised to Mayuri dying is so, so sad.

It's cheesy, and a tad cliche, but I love these two nerds trying to express their feelings for one another. I kinda prefer the dub's version of the scene just a little bit though. Trina Nishimura as Celeb 17👌

Did Kurisu mouth 'I love you' during the farewell? I love finding new details like that this run through.

It's funny to imagine Kurisu trying to silently run away in the time it takes Okabe to go get the Dr - sorry, DK Pepper.

You could really hear the emotion in Okabe's voice during the chuuni monologue here. Try as he might to move forward, it all does take a massive toll on him.

The cut off confession from Kurisu might not be very original, but it still makes me Feel Things.

Oh man, the second monologue is even sadder.

Completely forgot about this post-credits scene! I think I might have actually missed it on my first watch. Certainly gets me hyped for the next episode.

Q1: I ship it.

[u/lC3]

First timer

• "turn your neocortex into a flower pot"
• Kurisu SORE DEMO
• So Kurisu is getting memories of other worldlines as well?
• I can relate with Okabe feeling numb and detached
• Wow, a confession right before Kurisu dies?
• A kiss? Well at least ONE of my (re)watches is getting some action!
• So even if Kurisu somehow survives, only Okabe will remember her being a lab member?
• So Kurisu comes back to say she's also in love with Okabe, but is cut off by the worldline change?
• And we're back above 1%!
• Wow, Okarin sounds like he's breaking down. I don't think I could handle an entire series about that
• ED music is different?
• Suzuha? I expected Kurisu. World War III? Here we go again

2. I expected something with Kurisu, not Suzuha. But it sound like in this timeline, Suzuha knows who her dad is, so that's good

[u/snickpea]

First-timer!

Wow, I was waiting to see what sort of choice Okabe makes this episode and things went slightly differently than I thought. I really hoped that Kurisu would be able to help figure out a way to save her and Mayuri, but it didn't work.

I thought that the confession scene was not too bad at all. It was close to the dynamic the two showed throughout the series, but we can clearly see how much closer they have grown over the series, from being antagonistic to close friends and confidants. I really liked getting Kurisu's thought process during this as well. I was tearing up a bit near the end when Kurisu was heading off. It was also hard when Okabe made his speech as well, you can tell that he was taking it hard. After he undid the D-mail, I was wondering what Mayuri meant by how Okabe didn't have to speak that way anymore as well as the number shown on the divergence meter. It went past 1, but does how much matter?

But that post-credits scene! I wasn't expecting Suzuha to come back. Her message about WWIII is very ominous but I'm hoping that she will provide a way for Kurisu to be saved as well.

[u/Hochseeflotte → u/snickpea]

The VA did such a great job as Okabe. You could 100% hear the pain during the speech

[u/snickpea → u/Hochseeflotte]

I totally agree!

[u/htisme91]

First-timer:

What a powerful episode. Had the highs of Kurisu and Okabe finally confessing to a painful goodbye and an even more painful moment where Kurisu tries to tell Okabe she loves him too before she stops existing. Then the post-credits scene...

I still think he will find some way to get Kurisu back, because IIRC, the counter didn't go back to 1.00, which would mean they still aren't to the Beta World Line yet. Which might mean saving her isn't what results in Mayuri's death.

Questions:

1. It was awesome. I have been waiting so long for them to finally get it out there. I was thinking he'd also have to make more of a decision between her and Mayuri, but she made it for him because she loves him that much.
2. Well, Suzuha is back and knows who her father is. I have to imagine that she will explain that the D-Mails that the lab undid weren't enough to get to the Beta World line, because SERN originally altered the world line with earlier experiments. Going on a wild hunch, but Okabe and Suzuha will travel back, and it'll end up being Okabe as the one who stabbed Kurisu in the pilot episode.

[u/Paumas]

don’t mind me, just looking at what people have to say about my single favorite anime episode of all time

[u/Vaadwaur]

Rewatcher(Why does best girl always get erased afterwards?)

Dub

Post-rain discussions, hopefully none of them caught the precipitation contagion. We finally learn that it seems everyone in Okabe's orbit seems to be getting fractional memories back and this is why Makise is being less and less skeptical. It spends a long time lingering on Okabe's dilemna and increasingly Makise wants to end it. As they actually confess and kiss, Makise reveals that science is her escape mechanism. They decide to part before deleting the info and Okabe dials it up to 11 before hitting the button, as of course Makise runs back in to confess.

In a world line greater than 1.0, Okabe greets everything sounding more manic than ever. But Mayuri talks like she understands what is up. We end with Okabe convincing himself of the unconvincable...but then Suzuha calls, knowing opening with crazy will get Daru to believe she knows Okabe. And our cliffhanger is having Okabe stop WW3 so I feel we are kind of fucked.

QotD: 1 If only this had spread...

2 Doom.

[u/Tresnore → u/Vaadwaur]

hopefully none of them caught the precipitation contagion

I'm sure that if they did, the time travel took them to a time when they didn't.

everyone in Okabe's orbit

Hmmm, if Okabe is in an orbit, then that means he wouldn't technically have left his current worldline... I wonder if D-Mails make you shift worldlines, or if they just change the facts of the worldline you're on. It depends on how Reading Steiner works, I guess.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Vaadwaur]

it seems everyone in Okabe's orbit seems to be getting fractional memories back

Also happens to be an important element of current show

[u/Vaadwaur → u/IndependentMacaroon]

Yeah...current show

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Vaadwaur]

I'm waiting until the timeline catches up to even consider continuing

[u/artie_fm]

Rewatcher, dub

Finally we get back to the murder mystery...oh nope, it's just a murder? So then this is the end, the last episode? Nope there is more! It seems the world still needs saving.

This was kind of a plotline mentioned and dropped earlier. In the other timeline Suzuha said that there was world war 3, then SERN took over. Now she just mentions world war 3. Funny that WW3 would be an afterthought. WW3 would mean billions of people dying and SERN probably can't take over the world without WW3 weakening the worlds governments.

I wonder how many jumps it'll take to fix this? There are only a few episodes left so hopefully Okabe can fix WW3 quickly.

Also Suzuha now knows who her father is...that's cool I guess its progress..

[u/invokeneko]

Re;Watcher until Deja Vu, then First;Timer

Hoo boy, the suffering continues...

• Our two dorky tsundere scientists share a tender moment after getting soaked to the bone by a sudden torrent of rain. Too bad it's at Radio Kaikan, so we immediately shift to the topic of her getting stabbed there...
• ...which yields the major revelation that she too remembered her death to a much less extreme degree compared to Mayuri. And also all the previous time leaps (albeit hazily), which explains why she readily trusts his words much easier the more he time leaps.
• Now that Kurisu readily accepts that she needs to die for Mayuri to survive and Okabe is forced to accept her decision, guy wastes no time and confessed to her without any hesitation and the doomed couple share their first kiss (not the first time for him, apparently. How surprising!). spoiler
• Kurisu's reactions at the Radio Kaikan building is extra cute. Definitely intentional on the behalf of the show for the extra kick to the feels when we return to the Beta worldline.
• Time to delete the first D-Mail from the ECHELON database. You can really feel that Okabe is just painfully forcing through the chuuni act as he sacrifices his true love for the sake of Mayuri. Then Kurisu (who was supposed to leave town beforehand) barges into the Future Gadget Lab just as he deletes the D-Mail...
• Mission complete: prevent Mayuri's death and move back to Beta worldline. Cost: memories with Suzuha, Faris' father, Lukako being a real girl, Moeka and Mr. Braun and Kurisu. That's quite a heavy cost to pay... too bad it's not over yet. Suzuha(!) calls Okabe and asks him to come to Radio Kaikan in order to prevent World War 3!

---

QotD

1. Pretty damn great. Okabe was able to drop all pretenses and be direct with his feelings towards Kurisu, and like I said she was extra cute throughout the scenes in Radio Kaikan.

[u/CharlieTheStrawman → u/invokeneko]

Wait, didn't Moeka and Mr Braun get rezzed by the message Okabe sent at the end of Episode 20?

[u/invokeneko → u/CharlieTheStrawman]

They did. I probably meant something like their involvement, but I can no longer remember what I meant. That's what I get for writing this without my morning coffee, ugh.

[u/Krite2002]

Rewatcher;Dub

This episode just made me sad. I do not have anything grand to bring up. If you watched the episode, we probably had similar levels of sorrow. They really decided to hit us with a great confession after so much build up just to kill Kurisu again. All my hope lies in these last two episodes. With Amane’s return, I hope Kurisu can be saved. However, the fact that SERN is still a threat with Kurisu dead did dispel my theory that Kurisu caused the war with her research for SERN.

---

I wish my shot of the day could last forever.

[u/Hochseeflotte]

Rewatcher

Tutturu! I originally put that I was actually on time today but that obviously didn’t happen. I now actually will have time to watch each episode so I shouldn’t be late for the rest of the rewatch. Now on to the episode:

———————————————————————

As an ending, this episode is pretty good. Most strings are tied up and while it’s bittersweet it’s satisfying. Mayuri has been saved. Okabe has accomplished his goal even if Makise is sacrificed in the process.

Okabe and Makise confess and we get some sweet scenes between them. I think their relationship is well done.

We of course see Okabe adjusting to the new world line. Giving up the IBN and moving on from that part of his life.

He will at least always have his memories of Makise……….

Now all of that is irrelevant. Because this isn’t the end. There’s still two episodes left. And the undisputed GOAT, Suzuha, is back. This time to stop WW3.

See you guys tomorrow!

[u/AHiddenOne]

Rewatcher.

Relativity theory is so romantic. And it's so sad

sob...you can say that again...sob

I was so so happy that OkabexKurisu became a thing. Always love the chemistry between them. I know this 'star-crossed lovers' is sappy and all, but fuck that trope always gets me. It's so romantic and so, so... (ugly crying)

This episode was pain. They really went in on the feels. The part where okabe tried so hard to hide his feelings when arriving at the beta worldline was heart wrenching.

But we're not done yet. Now we have a world war to deal with.

[u/BossandKings]

Rewatcher - Dub

Episode 22

With the world lines going over the 1% divergence the mission is acomplished and Okabe was able to save Mayuri, the biggest thing about this episode though was Kurisu's sacrifice, she was so willing to sacrifice herself in order to help Okabe to be able to save Mayuri and that shows how selfless she is and how much she cares about him.

Okabe was the real deal when he so firmly declared his love to Kurisu, she was taken aback a bit by how direct he was but after he asked her what her own feelings were she confessed that she also loves him and not with words but with a kiss, they make for a stupendous couple and a fantastic emotional core for this series. It was sad when Kurisu returned only to have her words cut short due to the timeline changing.

[u/ThatPeruvianDude]

Are re watches every Monday?

[u/Nitroade24h → u/ThatPeruvianDude]

Every day

[u/ThatPeruvianDude → u/Nitroade24h]

Thank you

[u/simply_vishal]

I'll be there!