Steins;Gate Rehype? Possibly an everlasting one? (Contains Spoilers)

Steins;Gate - An anime that sets the stage.

Picture this, you're tired of the typical genres of anime, scrolling on crunchyroll/hulu for something new to watch. Unexpectedly you see an anime series at the bottom at the yearly list, "published 2010", capturing your eye.

You search it up on myanimelist.com, astounded to find that it had placed a unbelievable 3rd place on the leaderboard (No easy feat).

Now, you might wonder why this obscure series has a spot in the top three and it isn't any coincidence. Steins;gate is remarkable in various aspects, setting a very high standard - an epitome of a quality anime.

What makes Steins;Gate special?

Steins;gate - Not your typical drama

"In a crowded marketplace, being remarkable is the only way to stand out and avoid being invisible." Are the words of Seth Godin, in his book on the manifesto of "Purple Cow".

The anime has withstood the test of time, a testament of creativity and figuratively the "peak" of all media at the time. Steins;gate takes elements that are prior to anime in the 2000s such as Serial Experiment's Lain and Evangelion, and amplified it to the extent that it draws the audience into the show's realm itself. Steins;gate utilises many visual, verbal and creative interactions within characters to tell the story.

Characters - An underrated element?

One thing that is paramount to an unique anime would be the characters. Steins;gate plays on the audience's morality using its characters, we observe them grow with one another through various interactions whether it may be insignificant (filler episodes) or intimate. Each character has a crucial role in presenting the story; the show would undoubtedly be hollow with the absence of a single character.

Okabe (Hououin Kyouma, Okarin (by Mayuri))

I cannot commend the directors of the show enough for the complexity the main character, Okabe, has in this show. The first episode does not beat around the bush, plunging the audience right into the life of Okabe, the main character.

The ambiguity of the first episode makes the reader ponder about what the show actually is about, they take a dive into the life of Okabe, his surroundings, friends, setting. The director's choice of speech for Okabe is jumbled yet somewhat eloquent, the essence of life and substance in every lexical choice he makes.

This richness in his persona complements his identity, he is a "Mad Scientist" after all.

His first interaction would be with Mayuri Shiina, whom I will be explaining in the following sections. Okabe carries a form of pride, as it is suggested that he is seen as a caretaker for Mayuri Shiina. His flowery nature and his personality makes the audience perceive that he is intellectual and provoked with thoughts.

His attitudes with other characters are sometimes derogatory, a notable example being disputes with Kurisu Makise in the earlier episodes about joining the Future Gadget Lab and his monikers for his acquaintances.

Audiences can observe through his words the kind of person he is, and it may gather mixed reactions about whether he cares for his friends or the developing persona is just for clout or fame.

Throughout scenes in the anime, you can actively see struggle and glimpses of self-deprecation in Okabe as he tries to keep up with the "Mad Scientist" persona. Take the first scene as an example, Okabe does not relate to Mayuri when she finally rolls a metal upa (A gachapon item), his persona has been enshrouded by influences of the supposed "Mad Scientist" to the extent that his humane response to Mayuri is rather dismissive. 

His nefarious nature is also shown by the minute instances where he has conversations with his phone, consistent implied fourth wall breaking where he talks to the camera in Ep. 1. It really shows the amount of effort the directors went into making Okabe the way he is.

Okabe's self-deprecation is gradually embraced as episodes progress, he realises the fate of the world is really in his hands, its up to him to ensure the stability of the worldline he is in.

His social cues are also deeply reflected in the episode where he interacts with Lukako, a transgender character. He really does not take into account Lukako's situation and experience being a feministic male and, the way Okabe treats Lukako is utterly foul and derogatory. It really displays Okabe as a rather complex character, not only does he desire to be the persona Hououin Kyouma, he really does not take people into perspective. Okabe neglects Lukako's genuine attraction to him, and he does not have any humane reaction of actually taking her situation into account.

Although, this is greatly contrasted in his main interaction with Faris Nyannyan. Okabe risks his life to save Faris by their encounter with the Viral Attackers, bringing Okabe's heroic nature into the limelight. It is undoubtedly true that Okabe has empathy and genuine care for his friends, which is what makes him stand out as the MAIN character.

However, The duality of the "Hououin Kyouma" persona and Okabe Rintaro is shown majorly throughout the relationship between Okabe and Kurisu throughout the three weeks of the show (not accounting for multiple time leaps).

Mayuri Shiina (Mayushii☆)

The introduction of Mayuri Shiina in the first episode may spark a specific notion - shes just a supporting character, a sidekick of Okabe. The directors were very bright about presenting her in such a way in the first few episodes, shedding the spotlight on the relationships between Okabe, Makise Kurisu and Daru, the characters that have a lot of history and depth. Mayuri Shiina has the essence of a normal person, just tagging along with the rest and genuinely having a great time. Her existence in the show is a mere airhead, bringing out the quality of life of the show (Through scenes of carrying bananas, walking, working at MayQueen-Nyan² with Faris, visiting Rukako at the shrine) and inherent optimism to the others.

Oh how the tables have turned.

The jovial character's significance in the series sky-rockets in the middle of the series, where she becomes the catalyst of the real events that make Steins;Gate a bildungsromane - bringing transformation on the various characters.

The show directors really play on the audience's emotions, shifting the weight of emotional depth onto Mayuri Shiina's existence. She's the only character that is respected by all of the others whenever arguments start, bringing humility within her responses as she tries to converse and talk it out with the others.

"The whole time you [Okabe] and Chris-chan [Makise Kurisu] were hurting... While Mayushii was making costumes... like nothing was wrong... I feel so stupid! I didn't know anything!"

Mayuri has an idiosyncratic speech pattern in the quote above, in which there are frequent switches about how she views herself in the situation (Mayushii, a proper noun and the first-person pronoun "I"). Implementing her own name into her speeches are subtle but effecting in delivering her childlike tone, which is also complemented with the director's choice of pathos. They want an emotional response from the audience, to put ourselves in her shoes when her friends are hurt.

Mayuri's adequate vocabulary is polar opposite to Okabe, which is what makes the character dynamic very iconic. She is submissive and dependent on Okabe to live, due to her tragic past which may have had scarred her psychologically. This may have overall caused her to refer to herself in the Third-Person, remaining a childlike figure, because she couldn't really carry on with the fact that her grandmother passed on.

This intimate dialogue was also paired with juxtaposed scenes, in which Kurisu and Okabe began to argue while Mayuri Shiina was making her cosplay costumes.

This is only one incidence of Mayuri's developing character arch.

Mayuri is also very perceptive, which led her to deduce just by looking at the time machine that, Suzuha is indeed Itaru Hashida's daughter. This is key in her character development

Kurisu Makise

Aliases: (Christina, Zombie, The Assistant, Celeb-17, Money Bag, "Experiment-Loving Girl", "Perverted Genius Girl", "@channeler" and "Mongolian Spot")

Forum Names: KuriGohan, Kamehameha

Suzuha Amane (Hashida Suzu, john titor)

Suzuha Amane somewhat serves as the wildcard of the show, her ability to time travel serves as an alternative to the Phone Wave (name subject to change)'s way of warping times. Her father made the time machine