And so Steins;Gate 0 ends, not with a bang but a melodramatic whisper. Welcome to the finale of Steins;Gate 0. Whatever it was trying to do, it mostly failed, so lets jump in!
So with this finale I can definitively say, Steins;Gate 0 failed to live up to the hype. It’s not a bad series by any means, but every time it came to a crossroads, Steins;Gate 0 chose the wrong path. This finale is an excellent example of that. It chose to follow Mayurii going back in time to convince her old self to slap Okabe. But that wasn’t the interesting part of the story. To me, the story I wanted to see was the video getting made. I wanted to see Okabe and co surviving to the year 2025, using the Time Leap machine or D-Mail to always stay one step ahead. That, to me, is a far more interesting and unique story than what Steins;Gate 0 has given us. And considering how much was just… left to rot, it would have been a leaner story to.
Before I tear into it to much, Steins;Gate 0 did have some things I enjoyed this week. Specifically, I enjoyed the “consistency” in Beta Okabe’s timeline. How he had to “die” in 2025, but instead chose to “disappear” with the time machine. It fits the theme of deceiving the world Steins;Gate 0 has been going for. Okabe traveling to the far far past to find Mayurii and Suzuha is also, while melodramatic, a fitting end for Beta Okabe’s story. Its like he, his world line, was the only character to get an actual conclusion. The only detractor from it, for me, is how we skipped 15 years into the future after the final rooftop scene. I don’t care about watching the rooftop scene 6 different ways, the World War 3 story-line is far more interesting!
Speaking of the rooftop scene, oh boy, have I gotten tired of it. We saw this scene multiple times and it never changed. In the original, there was a similar sequence with Mayurii’s death, but there is a big difference between them. The originals had different situations, pushed into a train, shot, run over, stabbed, etc. This sequence only ever ended one way. Missile from Deus Ex Helicopter. Add to that the fact that we already knew Okabe was going to succeed. In the original there were 3 options, Mayurii dies, Kurisu dies or they both live. It was up in the air and had good reasons for each. Here the choice was binary, with no ambiguity. To put it simply, the rooftop wasn’t an interesting scene. It doesn’t help that Steins;Gate 0 isn’t an action series, so what little it had fell apart. And then there was Kagari…
Oh my goodness Kagari. Without a doubt the worst character in the series. Completely superfluous, emotionless, no personality. There was no reason for both Kagari and Reyes and Moeka to all exist. Reyes had less than 5 minutes of total screen time, yet was supposed to be a threat. Meanwhile Moeka already filled the socially inept, secret agent badass. Steins;Gate 0 could have had an interesting time testing Moeka loyalties between Braun and SERN, while still keeping Braun as an ally in this series. She was already a threat from the previous series, and Okabe had history with her. Instead we get a brainwashed, mostly terrible Kagari whom I don’t care about. We are supposed to connect with her, feel for her and the difficult choices she has to make here. But with no personality she might as well be a brick wall, instead of a character.
At this point, you might notice I am repeating myself. That’s because I am running out of things to say about this finale. Its just so… dull. It’s a poor topic for a paragraph, but I have word-counts to reach blast it! A finale should not leave me with a lack of things to say, that is how… dull this ending was. Maho, Daru, Ferris, Ruka what happened with them? They were basically not in this series at all, focused on Maho and Leskinen. The only characterization we got was from the original series, and then Steins;Gate 0 just try’s to shove them in at the last few episodes. It may seem like I am nitpicking here, but there is so much fat and waste in this series left on the sidelines. Absolutely no trimming happened in their quest to shove an entire VN into a single coherent plot.
So, all in all, how did I feel about Steins;Gate 0? Well you can find out in a day or two when I write up the final review. This post should give you an indication however that I am… less than enthused. While I am writing it though, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Anything I missed that might change my mind while I write it up?
Let me know below and I will see you again soon!
“To me, the story I wanted to see was the video getting made. I wanted to see Okabe and co surviving to the year 2025, using the Time Leap machine or D-Mail to always stay one step ahead.”
I knew when you first started it that this was what you wanted out of this series and I was thinking about warning you. Walking into Steins;Gate 0 myself I knew I wouldn’t get that, I knew it would tease it but fail to deliver. But ultimately I figured it would be better for you to see it for yourself.
Also wait a second…did they not reveal the thing about Yuki?
They revealed nothing about Yuki. They mentioned her/showed her once or twice, just like Reyes, but then just left her behind. They used her as a red-herring for the Leather Suit Agent. What was there to say?
And yes, I appreciate you not warning me, because right now this disappointment is fueling my review. Had you warned me I would be more forgiving most likely. But now? Now I am annoyed.
Woah, they actually didn’t reveal it. Huh…that’s an odd omission. It was kinda big deal.
Well now your just going to make me wiki it.
Reading that spoiler has made me even more annoyed. *sigh*
Yep, and it’s part of the reason why Kagari’s existence is such a mindfuck to me. Because when you take that into account and Kagari then her existence makes no goddamn sense.
TLDR: Catching up from ep3 will be a chore. At least Ill understand new SG memes, if there are any.