Steins;Gate - The microwave is a time machine. [S;G0 localization!]

cj iwakura

Steins;Gate is a science-fiction/mystery/etc. series based around science, time-travel, and the occasional liquified foodstuff.

The microwave is a time machine. Okarin proved it. The self-anointed mad scientist nuked bananas into some gelatinous version of the future.
Or maybe it was the past. Doesn’t matter. No one thought he could do it, but he did it anyway.
He sent text messages through time to people he knew. To his friends. Some of them female. Pretty. He should have been more careful.

He should have stopped.

http://www.hulu.com/steinsgate

You can watch the series on Hulu, dubbed or subbed.
WARNING: For some reason, episodes 5-12 are NOT available in the dub. 4 leads directly into 13, which starts with massive spoilers right from the get-go.
The dub is quite good, so if you really want the missing episodes in English, you'll likely have to pursue the DVD/blu-ray release or just watch the subs.

The Players

Okabe Rintarou/Hououin Kyouma


The self-styled leader of the Future Gadget Laboratory. Often suffers from delusions of grandeur. Or does he?

Shiina Mayuri

Tutturu! Okabe's childhood friend, currently the only girl crazy enough to be a member of the FGL. Why? She's a hostage, that's why.

Makise Kurisu

A prodigy in the sciences, she tries to be the voice of reason to counteract Okabe's madness. And often fails.

Itaru Hashida

The other member of the FGL. A 'supah hacka', or 'hack', who specializes in computers, maid cafes, and his 2D harem. Don't ask.

Ruka Urushibara

Helps keep the Urushibara Shrine tidy, also studies swordsmanship under Okaba. Delicate as a flower, very soft-spoken, prone to outbreaks of shyness.
And a guy.

Amane Suzuha

The part-time warrior who helps run the CRT shop beneath the Future Gadget Laboratory. Knows bikes, CRTs, and how to bust heads.

Kiryu Moeka

The one called Shining Finger. Seldomly talks in public, but is among the fastest texters alive. Seeks the elusive IBN 5100.

Faris Nyan-Nyan/Akiha Rumiho

Works with Mayuri at the local cafe. She may seem as bubble-headed as her co-worker, but she's one of the few who believes Okabe's crazed tales of The Organization.

There's also a fan-translated visual novel, but for sake of time and ease of access, I suggest watching the anime then finding the VN if you enjoyed it(which you surely will).

Discussion of both is welcome, but be sure to:

-Tag spoilers.
-Keep content SFW.
-Stay On Topic.

Professor Snugglesworth

Well that was...fast.

I haven't entirely decided whether to start with the anime or visual novel yet. The former is up for free, so I might start there.

But first I have to finish Princess Tutu.

.....yes, I know, I balked at the name too. It's pretty good though.

cj iwakura

I'd suggest watching episode 1. I have a feeling it'll grab hold immediately.

Essee

The anime is easily accessible and I've heard (but haven't experienced for myself-- I'm about to watch it next week) that it's a fantastic adaptation of the visual novel, minus the fact that the art is somewhat simpler. I even noticed some of the music from the visual novel in the clips I've seen. Knowing what I do about how the original work is laid out, I'm not surprised the anime adaptation turned out so well, because there's less branching involved than your average VN. I think it would be fine to check out the anime first, then come back to the visual novel.

(Also, side note... isn't Ruka's last name Urushibara? I'm pretty sure about this since I've been on a huge S;G kick lately, and Ruka is my favorite character.)

cj iwakura

Essee wrote: »

The anime is easily accessible and I've heard (but haven't experienced for myself-- I'm about to watch it next week) that it's a fantastic adaptation of the visual novel, minus the fact that the art is somewhat simpler. I even noticed some of the music from the visual novel in the clips I've seen. Knowing what I do about how the original work is laid out, I'm not surprised the anime adaptation turned out so well, because there's less branching involved than your average VN. I think it would be fine to check out the anime first, then come back to the visual novel.

(Also, side note... isn't Ruka's last name Urushibara? I'm pretty sure about this since I've been on a huge S;G kick lately, and Ruka is my favorite character.)

I agree on the art, but it has its moments of paying homage to the VN art(some close-ups mimic the spiraling eye pupil effect), and yep, there's lots of music from the VN, used to great effect.

This has been my ringtone for the longest:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9uZXKR_mu4

Anzekay

The opening sequence for this anime is among my favorite opening sequences of everything ever.

Design student dream right there, it's brilliant.

Essee

There's also the fact that if you're watching the subbed version, the voice actors are all exactly the same, which is excellent... Funimation clearly did a fantastic job on the dub, but I'm just not sure if I can live without the original Okabe's FUAHAHAHA and HOUOUIN KYOUMA and the famous "I AM MAD SCIENTIST" lines. My heart! It is torn between the two! I guess the answer is for me to watch both someday. For now, I'm going to be watching with someone who's never seen it before, and usually prefers subs. So the dub will probably have to come later for me.

cj iwakura

I showed it to a friend who usually just watches subs, and he loved the dub, so consider that. They really nailed Kyouma's verbosity.

And Mayuri is PERFECT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vTaTWjDUFg

Anzekay

The cast for the dub is actually really good. Some great talent in there.

The voice actor from Spice and Wolf plays Kyouma iirc, which pretty much is an instant win.

Professor Snugglesworth

The only issue I have with starting with the anime first is that I would then be playing through the VN (of which I assume is the standard VN length. i.e. "long") already knowing about the big twists and story beats.

Unless it's a VN with multiple-branching arcs, and the anime only adapts one?

Anzekay

If you are a huge fan of VNs, go ahead and play it first I guess.

But the anime itself is sublime and, honestly, I enjoyed the story in a theatrical form than as a VN. Vastly improved the tension and drama involved. You're going to spoil one good piece of media either way.

cj iwakura

The VN also has some major pacing issues, like most VNs. The anime is comparatively very well paced.

Professor Snugglesworth

Think I'll go Anime then. I've still got a large list of unfinished VNs as well as other recommended ones (like Muv-Luv, which is like a billion hours but apparently is also amazing).

Essee

cj iwakura wrote: »

I showed it to a friend who usually just watches subs, and he loved the dub, so consider that. They really nailed Kyouma's verbosity.

And Mayuri is PERFECT.

I know it's great because I watched clips from it, and all of them were great (and sometimes contained more relatable jokes than the original Japanese memes) and I love Funimation's dubs in general. I just... I don't know... I feel so conflicted because the sub cast is also incredible in the original! The realism in the acting just blew me away over and over. Obviously the dub could do that... I just... ... okay I'll just show them both and they can pick which one we'll continue to watch. Curses.

cj iwakura wrote: »

The VN also has some major pacing issues, like most VNs. The anime is comparatively very well paced.

Really? I actually didn't feel like the pacing was bad, unless you mean the fact that it takes a lot longer to read than it does to watch. Because yes, it definitely does, the same way regular books are always waaaayyy longer than their adaptations. But when every single moment of it is so perfectly glorious, I feel like it's worth it if you're willing to give the VN a shot. I don't know if it's SO much better that if you aren't sure about trying VNs you shouldn't watch the anime instead, but... I personally never got the feeling I sometimes get from other VNs (even ones I love) like "ugh, get on with it already, I know you have more awesome plot coming soon." Almost the whole thing is a rollercoaster, and even now I find it hard to get off. I uhh, I also admit to being biased in favor of the original art because I feel like clips from the anime make the characters look kind of weird at some points, so that helps my opinion a bit, but anyway.

I'm expecting to find the adaptation to be nearly on-par with the original, overall! I would definitely recommend that anyone on the fence try the anime first so they can get sucked in.

Edit: Also, you might want to mention that for those of us outside the US, Funimation's website also has the series, both subbed and dubbed as much as it is on Hulu. Their site is reeeeally touchy, though...

cj iwakura

I think you have to register to watch the dubs on Funimation's site? I don't know if it's cost or not.

Also, you can imagine my annoyance at watching Episode 4 on Hulu and then it jumping straight to (MAJOR SPOILER)

youknowwho getting shot in the head.

DarkPrimus

I shared this show with some of my friends recently, watching it at their house over the course of a number of weeks.

One of my friends was instantly hooked because he already knew about John Titor. The rest of them had to take a few episodes to warm up to it. I can see how the beginning can be a love-or-hate kind of thing.

However, after they sat down and talked about naming the e-mails, everyone got into it. And of course, they only got more involved as the show went on.

Anzekay

I have this test to see whether my praise of any anime is justified or not.

I watch it with my (also geeky) Dad. He's not super into anime, but he likes stuff that is good.

Steins;Gate passed this test with flying colours. I'm fairly certain anyone with taste and even a remote interest in this sort of thing would love this show.

DarkPrimus

I don't know about that. The show loses a lot if you don't know anything about Japanese otaku culture, or anything about time travel in pop culture.

Essee

cj iwakura wrote: »

I think you have to register to watch the dubs on Funimation's site? I don't know if it's cost or not.

You don't have to be logged in to watch, so nope! Anyway, Hulu gets (most of?) their anime directly from Funi, so Funi's site always has similar free offerings (which, yeah, probably means that unless you subscribe to them, the dub will cut off at episode 4 and pick up again at episode 13-- but you won't end up accidentally skipping any episodes because their site works differently). Funi tends to give you more dubbed episodes if you do subscribe, though, whereas Hulu may or may not have any more than the free offerings. Unfortunately, Funi's own servers are in SERIOUS need of an upgrade, which is a problem even if you're subscribed... but hey, once a page loads the video streams fine, and you get legal streaming outside the US. Is the full dub for this even available on Hulu Plus? I had a friend check and he said it doesn't look like you can watch the full dub there even with Hulu Plus... soooo maybe Funi's site is actually the only option for streaming the dub right now.

Professor Snugglesworth

Does Crunchyroll have this series? I've been looking for an excuse to try the 30 day trial.

cj iwakura

Nope.

DarkPrimus

Professor Snugglesworth wrote: »

Does Crunchyroll have this series? I've been looking for an excuse to try the 30 day trial.

That's how I watched it originally, but they must have taken it down since it was released on DVD/BD.

Anzekay

DarkPrimus wrote: »

I don't know about that. The show loses a lot if you don't know anything about Japanese otaku culture, or anything about time travel in pop culture.

My Dad knows nothing of Japanese otaku culture, but he found the jokes amusing because they are funny in and of themselves (though there were certainly references to things like 2chan/4chan etc he didn't get), and while there is all the John Titor stuff in there, there isn't really much in the way of time travel pop culture you need to know to enjoy it at all!

Sorce

This show is pretty good, if for no other reason than

KURISU-TINA is a /b/tard.

There are lots of other reasons it's good though. The weaving of the story, the interactions of the character, and of course the over-the-top-and-yet-not Okabe along with many other things. Plus, it's the second chapter in a larger 4-part story being told by Nitro/5pb as an "science adventure". Though you don't need to have seen the previous (or watch the next) to get the whole deal; they're all standalones in the same world thus far. I'd recommend watching them anyway.

Seguer

Deceive The World

Anzekay

Hack Into The Gate

Kirbith

My husband and I had a chance to watch through all of the show earlier this year since he got me the DVD/BD sets for my birthday. I was really impressed with the dub cast, Okabe's voice actor was particularly awesome. So since I see there is a sequel movie that came out earlier this year in Japan. Is there any word yet from funi on when they will have an english release for it?

DarkPrimus

I don't think they've even announced that they have the rights to it yet.

silence1186

I love this series. The amount of detail they loop together with the time travel is super impressive. I watched the sub, and I thought the cast was extremely impressive, all managing to nail their respective characters, be it mad scientist, /b/ tsundere, super positive girl, super hacker, or what have you. There was an OVA that served as an epilogue to the main story, I wonder if they'll dub that.

My introduction to this series was actually the manga, and the point it was out to was that part

When you know who gets shot in the head.

And I was quite taken aback (as you might have imagined) so I watched the anime to continue the story from that point. I actually loved the whole relationship between Okarin and Mayuri, it was so sweet and genuine and believable.

And the Opening Song is one of my favorites, hands down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgQkL_byTCE

Essee

Itou Kanako has easily become one of my favorite artists as I've been playing through Nitroplus's visual novel library (she does the openings and/or endings for basically all of their stuff). I really love her voice, as well as the the unusual rhythms and melodies she tends to use. Here's her OP for the VN while we're at it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su9WVB-CnVM

Anzekay

Yeah I got my hands on the OP single when I was in Japan last year. Well worth it, since there is a song on the single that I think is (somehow) better than the OP itself

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjJ1c7cQDcs

Seguer

Itou Kanako is an amazing artist and having her for Steins;Gate made it just that much better an experience.

silence1186

They took down the dub episodes beyond 4 on Hulu (granted, it skipped right to 13, but still).

Professor Snugglesworth

This thread was timely conceived, it seems: http://m.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2013-07-06/jast-usa-licenses-steins-gate-visual-novel-in-n-america

cj iwakura

Impressive. Wonder if it's the fan translation.

Lenore03

Whole reason I got Saya was with the hope this would happen.

cj iwakura

http://tempusedaxrerumtl.wordpress.com/2013/07/06/jast-usa-to-release-the-steinsgate-visual-novel-in-english/

As you may know by now, JAST USA is releasing the Steins;Gate VN in the west, I am one of the translators that worked on the project.
Not to sound like an advertiser, (I don’t get any fee based on sales, but a fixed amount before the full release), but I implore you to purchase it if you can, not only will you get a superior experience to the anime, but if you’ve already been through the previously released unofficial English patch then there is also reason for you to pick up the official version, it looks nicer, the entire script has been redone, and through the wonder of engine access it also includes certain features that weren’t present in the original game.

There is also a small glimmer of hope for the rest of the SciADV series, 5pb will be watching the sales closely, so if Steins;Gate sells well in the west we may even see the other titles heading our way in the future, I also know that JAST has an interest in Chaos;Head, so it’s up to the consumer to decide the fate of the Science Adventure series.

It is, and always has been, my prime objective to spread this series to those that do not speak Japanese, so that the full scope of it can be available to you English-speakers too.

For me the main appeal of the VN is the superior art, great use of music, and the brilliant texting mechanic.

Professor Snugglesworth

Sounds good to me, I'm on board.

But the big question is "when"?

cj iwakura

I'd say 2014 is a good estimate. Watch the anime now, get the expanded VN experience later.

cj iwakura

Just saw Episodes 15-19 of the anime, VN and series spoilers:

I'm not surprised they removed the Nae = psychopathic tsundere killer arc. It worked fine without the extra nightmare fuel, and it made sense for FB to, you know, LEAVE THE HOUSE instead of firing a gun twice at home.

silence1186

cj iwakura wrote: »

Just saw Episodes 15-19 of the anime, VN and series spoilers:

I'm not surprised they removed the Nae = psychopathic tsundere killer arc. It worked fine without the extra nightmare fuel, and it made sense for FB to, you know, LEAVE THE HOUSE instead of firing a gun twice at home.

I had no idea this happened at all, only watching the anime. Well huh.