Some 14 years ago, a young, impressionable mrtats was having his first encounters with anime; Steins;Gate was a new anime back then, but it had already managed to climb the rankings on MAL (MyAnimeList). What better food for a young inquisitive mind than a sci-fi psychological thriller?
I had a chance to re-watch Steins;Gate with a friend who doesn't really watch anime. The only anime he truly liked was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and he was of the opinion that no other anime existed at that level of quality. Then I asked the ultimate question: "Have you watched Steins;Gate?" This led us to binge-watch all of Steins;Gate in a night.
We need to talk about what Steins;Gate is broadly about before we can dive a bit deeper. It is a series about time travel — a topic that has fascinated humanity for as long as we have been aware of time. Who doesn't want to go to the past and change something?
Of course, time travel lies in the realm of fiction, but that doesn't mean we can't explore it. How would changes in the past affect our lives in the future? What would happen if we could rewrite a single regret, or undo a single mistake? These are the questions Steins;Gate asks.
While Steins;Gate asks these questions, it doesn't treat them lightly. Time travel is not presented merely as a convenient fantasy or a simple wish-fulfillment device. The series is interested in what it would actually mean to interfere with time, even in the smallest ways.
That is where Steins;Gate begins to separate itself from a simple sci-fi premise. It enters into a territory where everything is at stake, and exploring these stakes is where Steins;Gate starts to shine.
And here we are, after a night of binge-watching. My friend rated Steins;Gate very highly. It came out of left field for him. But for me, it was a journey into the past.
I hadn't changed anything on this journey. Even though I knew what was to come, I lived each moment with the same passion I did 14 years ago. Steins;Gate was just as I had left it, and it will be as I leave it now.
If you haven't watched Steins;Gate yet, I highly suggest that you do. I tried to keep this spoiler-free, so you can enjoy it in its unadulterated glory. But if you have watched it, we can discuss the details if you mention me in the comments.
AI Disclosure: Text got edited by AI for grammar correction. Word choices, tone and style are all mine.
