I am a SLOW binge-watcher (and reader). Two hours is about my limit, after which I need processing time. At the same time, I enjoy watching online reviewers, and reactions to things that I’ve previously watched, to see if they’re similar to my own. So, why not take the time during a slow binge to chronicle my own reactions and speculations?
We're continuing our look at Steins;Gate 0. (If you wanted the original show, I did that as well.) Spoilers for that original Steins;Gate anime are inevitable, and I discuss the time travel theory, so don't read any further if you don't want to be spoiled about that.
Disc 1 analysis was here. Here's Disc 4, the last one. I've been watching about two episodes per day, having started August 11th, with an end date of August 25th (the day I posted Part 1).
I'm not sure if some of the things I've worked out (eg, why we kicked into the alpha timeline) will be explicitly explained, because a number of elements of the show are quite subtle.
We now know Alexis Leskinen is a mad scientist, but he was only feeding info while acting as an independent. Also the characters will revisit July 7th somehow (I mean, date stamps, and the Daru message we never saw). The actual war is behind the scenes, which makes sense as the whole show is built up as a character piece (again).
Of course, no matter what happens we'll need to go another 14 years into the future in order to generate the ending of the original show... but maybe there are more messages from said future? (Like Daru's?) The time machine is C203 instead of C204, so maybe that's allowed. Also Okabe needs to realize about "fooling himself/others" and maybe July 7th is what does that. (The time machine wasn't really destroyed? Or they make it seem that way?) Though Mayuri's past reaction needs to change too, based on her present self, so eeeh?
Again, I feel I simply need to watch. I suspect there's still some twists coming, and at present, I don't have the data to predict then. Note that at the end of this post, I will do a bit of research to tie things together.
There are two sections below, "Stream of Consciousness" which is typed as I watch the episode, and "Thoughts and Theories" which is written after the episode ends (before I watch the next one). Feel free to skip the former if you want my analysis more than my reactions (or vice versa).
Episode 19 - TimeLeap Machine
Stream of Consciousness:
-Terrorist Attack... pretty much. "You saw it"... but can you believe your eyes? There's the 48 hours note. Aw, poor Maho. Yeah, Daru nails it, Okabe was the one against it, that's why they're behind. Maho brings up a good point, stay focussed. "What did she need", yeah. Music swells.
-So there's SERN black holes and compressing memory to 36 bytes (ohhh yeah, guess they didn't know). The CRT (electron gun?). Braun has good questions; Okabe is on the clock, 48 hours to learn enough. "Something so far off", yeah, but not so much. No dead civilians? Someone did cleanup. (Where'd Leskinen end up? He must be pissed after all his work.)
-The lab crew are back, oh even with Moeka. Daru's making progress, Maho's unsure. Oh right, they have no way to verify it works... and she's not Kurisu. Amadeus' message, good call. WHOA, she's back? WOW Daru, finding Amadeus TOO? (He IS a super hacker.) Aw, her hair looks a bit red, eh?
-July 9, 4pm. The message helped them, yeah, for identifying Alexis. Aw, LabMem. "I will never give up", the Okabe we know. Kagari too, good point. Made it back to July 7, 3pm on the nose. (So, around when phones went out. Darn.) They have to delete the Amadeus data? (You don't think he backed it up?) "I don't have time to explain" -- I was gonna say, at least mention SERN, but they have other hacking to do.
-He doesn't know exact times, yeah. (We know it's 5:06pm for Kagari... actually, can he save Jenny?) His PTSD is kinda coming back. (Maybe don't get shot in the leg this time?) 4:19pm. He cuts to the chase. Fair point to Suzuha... she still wants to go though? Operation Arclight. (Oh, hold up - did SHE see Daru's whole message? No, it hasn't come yet.) Aug 21st, but I don't think Mayuri can convince him alone.
-Tender moment. He allows it? (I thought he'd do his mad science routine.) Uhoh, Jenny Reyes. They don't know it's her (again, reveal for audience though). NOW it's Kagari, yeah... huh, so she'd been programmed to kill Reyes? Or Alexis has accelerated the timetable (and he seems to know DURPA too). So he WASN'T completely an independent. 5:15pm, some additional reveals now?
-No, Okabe escaped. The time machine destruction a convergence, like Mayuri? Interesting thought. Oh, a fast forward without trying to get more info, didn't call that (is this another endless loop episode?). Maho's on board. Leaping July 8th at midnight now, so... oh, the clock just spins weird and the episode is over. That went fast.
-Post-Credits scene? July 6th, midnight... and my monitor cracks, cute. Next, the actual war, fighting, clocks, gun pulled on Okabe.
Thoughts and Theories:
*So "Operation Arclight" needs to be retooled, in whatever way Daru from the future thinks it'll work. It will have something to do with perceptions fooling everyone. Also, Alexis was working with DURPA (probably deceiving them, killing Reyes was his plan, apparently) and the only reason they won last time was because Kagari switched sides. So why feed info to StratFor? (Are Russians even involved yet?)
*It makes total sense for the time machine to be destroyed here, no matter what. Otherwise one of them WOULD go back to try and convince Okabe, rather than have Okabe himself sending video D-mails to do it (as in the original show). Right? So maybe it's only Mayuri's death that fools with perceptions. (I suppose the alternative is fuel gets depleted.)
*The main thing is, they cannot let Alexis know they're onto him, otherwise he pulls the trigger. And they can't win without Kagari. (Can they fool his perceptions into thinking he's won? He doesn't know the ship's almost out of fuel, maybe they can use that.) If they get Amadeus on board with the plan, that would have a chance. Trouble is, there's only so much you can do in 48 hours... really less than 24 hours, given the time to complete the machine.
Episode 20 - Promised Rinascimento
Stream of Consciousness:
-(Rinascimento is apparently a store for ladies apparel? Okay, it's Italian for "renaissance" aka "rebirth"... Kyouma coming back?) WOW, nice shot of everyone in the lab at once (Steins;Gate?). The 65,536th round table meeting? O.o It's so lifeless? Nice imagery with the clock (doomsday clock?). I take it this is the OP too, given the credits. And the logo.
-Someone has an IV? It's Okabe? (Reading Steiner?) Daru calling. Huh, he was in mid-time leap, weird... OH CRUD. Maybe they made the device WRONG this time? Throwing him into the future?! Well, that can't be good. (How FAR into the future? Dystopia of years? Only a few months?) Suzuha's there so... well, that can't be good. She doesn't know Okabe? (Was he brain dead or something?)
-Moe moe, bang bang, nice codewords. Gotta be Daru. He's fatter, yet overall slimmer, heh. It's already 2036, wow okay. "In 2025, I'm supposed to..." (oh right, die). Daru said Okabe was dead... not technically a lie? The leap machine failed (wheee, called it)... so they lost their 48 hour window. (Wait, it didn't throw him forwards, oh well.) Why does Okabe forget?
-"Operation" Valkyrie, began their war with the world, which was desperate for the theory. Then in 2025, Okabe was trapped by Stratfor. Tortured there. And braindead (can I get a called it there too?)... is that Faris saving him? Aw. Only his body functioned, but they didn't want everyone to keep fighting over him. Yeah, 11 years, did someone cut his hair? Apparently so.
-Overwrite his brain with memory data from 2011, WOW, I did NOT anticipate that possibility... data from an old PC. "Deceiving the world", and there's the seed. (So Rebirth not only of Okarin but of Steins;Gate. Kinda glad I didn't waste time on a lot of theories, I don't see how this could have been anticipated.)
-Cheshire Cat, hahaha. (And Ruka is 'Warrior', oy.) So THEY cut Okabe's hair. Uhoh, their mission was a setup? Ruka's sharp. Okabe going, for real? Okay then. Ruka with the sword, daaamn. I feel like this cannot end well. (I guess in the end Ruka knew about everything too, huh?) He's still standing? Oh, not for long. The Seihin Zanma sword fighting style, awwww, so sad. "Worthy enough". Of course you were from the start. (Yup, first time this series got me crying.)
-Hi Maho. Heh, about looking like a kid. "Being calm"... because so many have died, yeah. "I thought I knew", hubris. Only running from the truth, yeah. Didn't understand. Said the same thing 11 years ago, huh. "Nothing is meaningless, even if it seems that way", nice addition. Get the time leap machine ready? Oh hell, that's right... the 48 hour limit is only BECAUSE OF THE BRAIN CHANGING TOO MUCH. His HAS NOT. So can they? Next: Scenes in future and past.
Thoughts and Theories:
*My journey is the same as Okabe's. I thought I knew where the series was going, I thought I understood, and they pulled the rug out from under me, yet again. Oh, kudos.
*Will it be possible that they do this AGAIN? Like, whenever the time leap machine fails next, he can prevent Ruka's death in the future, get more intel and go back again? Effectively being like Alexis and conspiring with his "future self"? That's marvellously insane, if so.
*This future is not the same future that Suzuha came from initially. Because there's no Mayuri, hence no Kagari going back, hence the war cannot start... so there IS a paradox of some sort here. Yet they're all still in the beta line? I don't know how they're going to address that. Must be related to Operation Arclight. Does Okabe tell Daru to send that message from ep 17? (Or was it simply a final message to them before vanishing?)
*This might be a closed loop within a closed loop, ie- this future will be wiped out but still "existed" as it sends a message back. Then the new future of "Zero" as we know also sends its message back, wiping itself out and leaving Steins;Gate. Intertwining threads indeed.
*The show is very good at allowing two possibilities (eg. the time machine has to blow up versus it's simply useless with no fuel... or people working alone versus in league...) and then holding its cards close. But then it's always been good at that.
Episode 21 - Return of Phoenix
Stream of Consciousness:
-Maho narrates (again we're not getting an OP then). Oh, they can leap two weeks. Meaning to go back a year, they're leaping 20 times. (Thing is, eventually you're back so far that the tech doesn't exist, or you don't have your phone to receive, so...) 3,000 leaps planned?! Machine's C-203 still. (So IS this the future that Daru sends the message from? It must be, it's changed, no Mayuri. But then where's C-204?)
-Oh, hi Amadeus! Monitored his vitals, eh? "Time is irrelevant", heh. His companion? Oh, well then. So this *IS* only a one time thing. Mayuri's kindness became his excuse? (For it not being up to him?) It wasn't forced on him, he wants to carry the burden along with the others, nice. Hee hee, I like how the microwave is hooked up to other computers for the extended time. Backing up to July 10th, 2036...
-"Curse you, five hours from now me", cute memory. A favour? Yay, Ruka's alive. "I guess this means you'll be having this same conversation over and over" - pretty much. "No such thing as a fixed future", a veiled warning? (I thought he'd call her LabMem 006.) And June 26th, 2036. 1:29pm seems almost academic. "Two weeks before today, you're not even here", yeah, I wondered. Heh, "take a call".
-Fortunate he was only captured for two weeks, I guess? (336 hrs) Be proud, awww. Hm, she cannot modify the machine now, otherwise the current situation might be ruined since their future is his past, good point. OH WOW, Yuki's there with Suzuha?! Back again. So it's just before his capture. He told them he gets caught? Oh, because 2025.
-Interesting how the "world line convergence" could have worked in his favour before. Give Amadeus 10 minutes? (Ooooh, I like this music. Right, it's from ep 23 of the original.) Memorize this map? Uninstall her? Because she steers him wrong. Oh, just run for the time leap machine HIMSELF, huh. Trusting in the others, well that's sensible. "Ignore the rest of Valkyrie"... hm, is that Alexis back there?
-Multiple Okabes? He hears them like in the lab memory. Now he's running through 2024, 2021, warp star field (kinda), nice visual. Mar 3rd, 2017, GOOD LORD, and immediately right back through to... July 7th, 2011, 3:25pm. Unbelievable. (Did he bring back the knowledge of how to do a two week mind leap instead of two days?)
-Punch him? Dude, you just got back from 2036, I think you've suffered sufficiently. Wow, I didn't think he'd really do it. (Like, if Okabe's unconscious, that's a problem.) It's our mad scientist back?! Yeah, Maho doesn't get it. Daru loves it. Heck of a Kyouma laugh. Nice posing. Missing the coat.
-The Loli Girl, uh, really? (He's definitely in character.) It's a +1 lab coat. "He's back to our leader". Nice eyebrow twitch, animators. (Don't call me that, seriously.) Aw, she gets to be Lab Member 009, I'd kind of hoped for that. (Kuuuuu, OMG that pronunciation.) Hiyajo Safina?! (Maho = Safina how?) New operation. (Red star?) Operation Vega.
-"The Organization", yeah, that's... not inaccurate. They'll reply on pay phones? Okay, this is somehow hilarious, the pretending to talk to his phone. He wants to ensure the others get to the past? (I really didn't think that was possible, but...) El Psy Congroo, alrighty. They'll get Braun's help, makes sense.
-The vital mission to support the members. Rukako IS a treasure. (Hee, Maho sees why they like Okarin.) Good job, Daru. It's 5:06pm. Hmmm, in ep 17 that's when Kagari saw Mayuri and switched sides. (Shouldn't they have left by then? But no, Reyes would stop them.) Right, there is it, it played out as it would have without Okabe.
-Alexis knows about the Valkyrie thing. He's posturing now. Hmph, offering brainwashing over death, mad scientist to the end. OHH, there was so much conveyed in that single LOOK, wow. WHOAAAAA, Moeka?! WHOAAAAAAA, Braun already got her. WOW. WOOOOOW. (No ED for this ep either then, damn. Wait, the opening music? And still two eps so...??) Hee hee hee, so focussed on Okabe that he misses a taser.
-"I time leaped to come here" but yeah, from kinda FAR. So here it goes. 5:17pm. "It's too early", so there's some piece that he's missing. Boom. Next, things are very melancholy. (It really does make sense that Arclight cannot succeed, so what can they do?)
Thoughts and Theories:
*That was a lovely and dramatic failure. (I mean, not completely, they saved Kagari.) You kind of hate to see it overwritten, except it has to be, since Mayuri needs to live in the overall future. This has been a bizarre two episode diversion. And even with the future knowledge Okabe has, it still didn't work? (Is there a double cross happening behind Leskinen? We saw Reyes briefly.)
*So we had a one episode diversion into alpha, and then another into the future. But something's missing. (Will Okabe still be able to jump back two weeks? If so they have some time to work it out.) At the same time, we know Arclight isn't how things lead into the original series - so how do we make this a dramatic win with Mayuri surviving? Or is it possible to bring both timelines to a satisfactory conclusion, just Steins;Gate is better? (Daru did say that Suzuha and Mayuri had found another route.)
*Okabe deceived the world with his death, and he knows this. Is there some way to deceive the world about the time machine destruction? (Doubt it. It needs to go.) Some way to deceive the world about Mayuri's death? (Probably. Which would lead into finding a way to send himself the message.) The trouble is, they can take down Alexis (which was really satisfying, gotta say) but there's too many other moving parts. Both DURPA and Stratfor seem involved. (Weirdly Alexis was calling for DURPA in the past but we saw him with Stratfor in the future, and they were the ones he was informing.)
*Part of me muses that C203 to C204 might be because of the invention of an extra gadget in the interim (the device that lets you D-mail a whole video file instead of 36 bytes?). But the numbering was never that rigorous anyway.
Episode 22 - Project Amadeus
Stream of Consciousness:
-From July 8th, 6:32pm, back to the 6th, same time. (I guess after all his travels, they can get the mind leap machine working faster.) Okabe sees Mayuri's umbrella. So a while after she heard them talking (why is he walking upstairs, no Mayuri talk yet?). We've just given up on the OP now. (I mean, the music was just the ED.)
-Daru suggests just saving them. "That makes things unpredictable." It is a major element for starting WWIII, so might be a convergence (I think so). He told them about the future leaps too? But not details. And they never saw Kyouma in this timeline. Maho brings Amadeus, since it's a day earlier. "As long as the chance isn't zero, giving up is not an option." SERIES TITLE DROP.
-The lab members never change? Kyouma is back, Maho is confused. "It's like the Organization", heh. Hee hee, Christina. Aw, so he is embarrassed? "Okarin is so obnoxious, arguing and delusional, which is why is absurd logic works." Well, Daru's mind hasn't changed. Their reactions are so good to Kyouma. They let them board the time machine? (What, since it'll be destroyed?)
-They know how to foil Stratfor and Leskinen, as well as DURPA. Leaving foreign interference. "Can't you come up with a single plan of your own", heh. Maho says look into the WHY and WHAT. Goes on tiptoes - I don't get their reaction. I DO get her hitting them for that. :) (Books are good.) So how do the Russians know?
-"World line convergence" would correct for Leskinen's actions? (Tried to use to his advantage, much like Okabe did his death.) Where *did* DURPA get their info? "Same country", ehhh, I dunno. A thought? They find the clip about Nakabachi's stolen paper not being burned up (riiiight, they need that AND they didn't think to make the connection to Russia yet, DUH).
-If Russia had completed one, there wouldn't be conflict? They had wanted to destroy Kurisu's PC, to keep others away until their work could be done. Her knowledge... they want to destroy Amadeus? (But we see her in the future?) When Amadeus was taken over, the world line changed. Before Russians are involved?? (Spring of last year was when they got the data. Yeah, that was before the first PhoneWave. And D-Mail just results in SERN.)
-D-RINE? A sendable message over RINE? But the system was only in beta a year ago; only Daru had it then. He needs to protect Kurisu's data... not enough? A huge nation, they can make copies. They have to wipe her out? (Kurisu is serious about the suiciding.) Now Okabe wanders off and finds Mayuri. (I guess due to convergence, he has the same conversation?)
-Maho tells Amadeus there's a reason they can't do it. Okabe continues wandering. Talk with Amadeus? A view. At night. Very advanced AI. A final walk? (I still don't think this will work though.) Callback to prior ep... heh, and funny voice. Everything has reason and purpose, otherwise it's erased, interesting perspective of an AI. (Suzuha cutaway? Oh yeah, Daru's device.) The world is chaotic. The jumble allows miracles.
-Happy that he's sentimental, but there is a world line where they can be saved. "I killed the original you". (Literally. Not confessing to that though.) "I gave up" is what kind of killed her, fair. "My pride won't allow a sacrifice to be made for me." Like you never existed, no one will remember. Except him? 3,000 leaps of regret to get here.
-Not much joy in existing as the start of WWIII, fair. But within her power to save the original, if that's the reason she exists? Aw, that's actually nice. They've been up all night. July 7th, 7:15am, before Daru goes to see Suzuha. They can compress an attachment, that makes sense. (I guess Daru spent the night fixing the PhoneWave? Though it was already producing gels.)
-'Break into servers', with Maho's key. "Der Alte, wurfelt nicht". ED as we do emergency mode. "The possibilities are endless", final words of encouragement. Okabe also has words, "on that promised day where time intersects ... we will meet again". There they go, new ending music... oh, nice shattering effect for Amadeus. **1.123581** That's new. Next time? Looks like another attempt, which I think still fails.
Thoughts and Theories:
*They're still in beta, with WWIII, they just don't have Amadeus. (Would I be thinking this plan works, if it weren't for the original series? Maybe.) Yet instead of 1.097 (closer to alpha) putting us in 1.13 (the start of the show) we're in 1.1236... in between. But closer? I guess? (The closer you get to 1.2, the further you get from Kurisu Makise.) It also means that the future Okabe came from is definitively gone, since it included Amadeus.
*This is a BIZARRE wrinkle. On the one hand, it shows how their actions in the closed time loop can affect things outside... in the Steins;Gate line now, there will be no connection to Maho (aw, have we lost LabMem 009?). But even if they don't have Kurisu, have they eliminated the mind-to-data THEORY? Like, Leskinen might still be able to brainwash in the future (if perhaps not as effectively), and if Kagari's presence in the teaser is any indication, he does.
*So how does this help? They've likely also lost Maho... oh NO, without her I think they lose the Mind Leap machine too! Hell, everything to this point has been in the wrong world line, and there's only one episode to tidy all this up. (I guess we'll never know why Steiner activated in ep 5?) I don't see any way to predict what will happen. All I can think is Daru's future message somehow.
*Incidentally, RINE is a social messaging application that replaces emails (I guess like texts, or Facebook messenger?). In the visual novel game, it's how Okabe's been communicating with everyone, instead of through email. Aha, based on real-world "LINE" (similar logo and all), which was released March 2012 (huh, nice timing).
Episode 23 - Arclight of the Sky
Stream of Consciousness:
-Actually, Maho's still there. Okay. (I guess Leskinen still did want to be close to Okabe.) "Given up talking funny", so some of yesterday still took place? 7:39am. Met for different reasons (I am glad she's still there). Jump to 2:32pm. Mayuri's call to him about Suzuha leaving. (I'd forgotten.) He answers the same way, huh.
-3:21pm, no time, no kidding. "Can't even find out and confirm what exactly has changed", you and me both. (Orihime shout-out again.) They won't leave, dude... there's still convergence. OH, this time he sees Kagari? (And Moeka sees him?) Leskinen conversation as before... but Kagari escaped this time? Huh. Insufficient brainwashing (I somehow called that).
-Delay tactic. Go Moeka... crud, he's SHOT? (In the leg still, huh.) LabMem 005. Kagari kills Reyes, so that played out like that... and this time it wasn't word of God, it was all about meeting Mommy (riiiight). Kagari vs Suzuha, yowza. Mayuri needs to... WHOA, that was kinda badass. "That was scary", yeah. "Nothing good will come of it", fair point to Kagari (though I guess they could lie low, and just pop up after their past selves leave).
-Okarin has the power to change the future... no, everyone has it inside them (nice messaging there). Okarin is the guide, Mayuri gives Hikoboshi the push. Kagari come too? Mayuri's nice. "Do it for me too". He gives them the warning. "When I'm all pathetic, slap." Whoops, they're coming. Kagari asks him for advice about being Mommy. Awwww, precious hostage, nice callback. She'll help now. "I'm trusting you", sweet. (Tearing up a little.)
-Leskinen is making the call, damn him. This instant? The missile is enveloped by the machine?? Still an explosion, so it looks like it was destroyed. "1 new RINE message", hmmm. "Listen well, you fools," heh. He tells them it went through space-time? (Seems like a poor plan, why not let them think they succeeded.)
-Aug 21st, 2010, 5:55pm. There's TWO time machines. (I seriously did NOT THINK THIS WOULD WORK.) A message to Mayuri from herself? And then the second machine is gone?? "Do you love Hououin Kyouma", he will have failed. So confront him and open his eyes. Talking in stereo, wow. "Thirty seconds left" (until they vanish? daaamn). Remember when Kyouma was born. "Feelings spanning 26 years and one more are entrusted to you." (Er, Okabe never said how far in the future he came from, technically.)
-Does Steins;Gate exist... I'm sure it does. The second machine is gone? (I guess that was the original two leaving, not them coming back?? So countdown was the time they had for a cloaked call.) The shards around them... they had to jump to avoid a paradox, and no fuel. Thrown to some random era? (Um, wait, so Mayuri really is gone for good, she can't hide out? Daaamn again.)
-Jealous of being able to remember world line changes, ehhhh, maybe you shouldn't be. Stardust handshake. Oooh, wow, travelling hundreds and thousands of hours like light from a star. NICE metaphor, she's so good at those. "Waiting for you"... in Steins;Gate. And now the return.
-Phone message on Okabe's phone (which they have, right). 6:12pm, turn on news. So they do get this info now, because this particular future will have Okabe send back that message. So this is the original show. Damn. And so here it comes. The slap that woke Steins;Gate. And the original show music. (Title "Milky-way Crossing"??) So this message from the future wasn't coming from anything in this series after all. (And we can see around him, the people of the future in this new timeline, that's nice. Aw, even Kagari.) "It doesn't really mean anything."
-Maho's there too, wheee. Talking with Daru. The 2010 Okabe being embarrassed? (I guess she did meet him after the message was received.) Deceive the world. Heh, Faris was recording. And Daru's message goes to Suzuha-chan in 2011?? Hold up. (I guess Mayuri at some point spoke about the message from her other self??)
-Maho says Okabe's testing? It's 2025, before he dies, that makes more sense than 2036 (and explains young Suzuha). "He doesn't die, he leaves from space-time", some crazy positive thinking. True enough. The world can be deceived. WHAT?!? He's going to FIND THEM? The Kerr black hole tracer, oh my God. Kagari says return the Oopa to Mommy, awwww. But this twist of people existing outside the closed loop, DAMN.
-So Steins;Gate exists, and it's going to overwrite their own, the same way the overwriting was... ow. Operation Altair. He makes the impossible into possible, yeah. A new song again. OHO, Maho is narrating the original opening information, that's a CLEVER twist. Again. Huh. So. Yeah. ("Gate of Steiner", which song was that? This one?)
-ACK, STILL GOING?! BC 18,000. Suzuha sees nothing outside but a big sand storm. And then a plume of light. Kyouma walking out of it. I can't even. "Sorry to keep you waiting", that's a hell of a closing line. Pan up to the stars, logo, bam. Little tear from me. (Next time: The OVA hijinks, I'm surprised they did one of these for that.)
Thoughts and Theories:
*That was a very clever ending (the first one, though the after credits one was good too). I see I was approaching the series wrong; I saw it as a tale of disillusioned Okabe until he sends the message, but of course that's completely WRONG for how time travel works on the show. He sends the message because he received it, that was never in question. The question is why DIDN'T he send it, and the answer is Mayuri didn't slap him. In the end, she's as much the path to Steins;Gate as him.
*I do question the execution of that plot, simply in terms of the number of lost threads. Why was Fubuki's Reading Steiner and Leskinen's tests on her never addressed? (Begs the question of how common it is.) Were the misdirection cutaways to Yuki's clumsy injuries necessary? (It sabotaged her character in a sense.) How was DURPA connected to all this? (Same country is a hand waving explanation... did they have Amadeus access?) Was there a reason for Mozart codes (aside from the name Amadeus)? The Russians being less involved on account of no Amadeus also needs to be interpreted by the viewer (particularly since they were probably still on the ball for destroying the PC).
*Again, don't get me wrong, I like that they weren't explicitly explaining everything. (Like the cloaking of the ship for the phone call, it took a moment to deduce that.) And the return of Kyouma was great. But too much felt unclear, in the end. At the same time, I guess this clarifies the start of Episode 12 in the original series? Mayuri seemed to be in a desert. I guess that's this ending. So they had to have this in mind initially, somehow (was it in the original video game?).
*I think another issue is it felt rushed. They were cutting out the opening and ending in order to do plot over the credits. Most of the time travel happened towards the end... which makes sense, but why only start the end at episode 17? I mean, the alpha episode was nice, and the Daru dating episode was a character piece, but in retrospect the show seemed to be dragging its feet early on. Particularly with Kagari. Even the Amadeus departure episode seemed dragged out. Maybe it was an adaptation issue, I'll have to look into how the original visual novel played out.
*23 eps is also kind of weird (not counting Ep 23Beta at the start, or the OVA). Had they planned on 24? Though I guess "Episode 23" has resonance. Ruka's death actually was the biggest emotional punch for me overall (even more than the end), so I'm glad we saw the future (even though it wasn't really the future). Capt Janeway's quote comes to mind... 'The future is the past, the past is the future. It all gives me a headache'. Anyway. One ep to finish up.
OVA Episode (Ep 24) - Bittersweet Intermedio
Stream of Consciousness:
-The Leskinen wants Oden poster again. This is just after New Years... so in the middle of Episode 11? Alexis has a silly pistol. Yeah, they're packing. Reyes, will you get a line? (Nope.) Looking at February. Hey, the OP, it's been a while. Oh, the OLD OP, Okabe in long sleeves.
-Working for Braun. Kagari's not used to being paid I guess. There it is. Valentine's Day event starts Feb 3rd. Right, in Japan it's about women giving chocolate to men (generally speaking). Amadeus wants Maho to give some to Okabe. -.- (Who convinces Maho in the path without Amadeus, only Leskinen?) Oooh, flashback.
-Nice way to convey the cultural differences there. Her quote, eh hehe. And turnabout is fair play. (They run away after losing arguments?) Nice philosophy; I liked that scene. Oh, Faris is eavesdropping. "Eye of the sky God, Horus"... I've kind of missed Faris' weird conspiracy things. Hahaha, Moeka's there the whole time. Moe-meow. ^^ (It's for FB, I guess?)
-Some Nae time. WTF Suzuha, what weird soap opera are you involved in?! (Of course, Kagari is the oldest, despite appearances.) Okabe finally appears. No attackers lead, checking in. Mayuri says pick out a phone. (Ahh, the chocolate's for Mayuri. Or Ruka?) WTF Suzuha, are you taking the wrong pills?
-Cosplay girls, sans Yuki. NO! Wrong fan service, oy oy. >.< Mayuri makes a good point, Fubuki's kinda fun (and this is the second time she's hitting on Mayuri). Faris is everything a scheme? Commercial. Aaaand she's pulling a Kyouma. With all the ladies. (Nice group shot, actually.) Suzuha's insecure? Wants to see Yuki though. ^.^ Montage? (Fubuki, you are fun.) Faris has a planned scheme.
-Maho is very much doing science. Kaede is apparently not a cook (but is spacy). Moeka put foil in the microwave?! Mayuri's having trouble too, this is backfiring on Faris. HAHAHA, "you'd expect someone to know what they're doing". Yuki and Ruka. An anime within an anime? Oh, it's Daru's game. Peaceful, unless you're at Faris'.
-Aw, praise from Mom. Oil? Oh no, the cosplay girls. NO! Wrong fan service, oy oy. >.< (Big sis did this to Big bro, indeed.) Um, did Braun make chocolates? Keep in the fridge, sure. Faris knows the animators. Ahhh, that's why they brought Nae. >.< Suzuha talked to DARU about Kagari and Okabe? Really? (I mean, I know the original was a harem anime, but seriously?) And yeah, weird relationship joke.
-I wouldn't worry about paradox until you know, like seriously. May Queen Nyan^2 event people, sure. Very trying for Faris. So Braun did make some for Nae. Um, did the cosplay girls exchange? (Can I ship Fubuki and Kaede??) Aww, Moeka to the butler. Yuki and Daru makes sense.
-So Kagari WAS for Okabe, but with the message to get along with Mommy. Ohhh, and Ruka, and Daru. "With the things Kagari left behind"... also Ruka, her Dad, Mayuri, Braun... ohhh, because she's gone now. Riiiight, we've time skipped past ep 13. Final thought from Suzuha. Hmmm, and the SECOND closing, that's clever. (Wait, what about Maho, who left?)
-Okay, good, closure for Maho. Gave it out? Bit late? Oh my God, Kurisu gave her some last year? It's... in the Radio building. With an apology. Way to sucker punch me for more tears, anime. (Incidentally, just noticing now that the DVDs don't seem to have the extra features. BluRay only?)
Thoughts and Theories:
*The episode probably works best after episode 13, before the massive time skip. Though given the final 60 seconds, it can work here, knowing what we know now about Maho and Kurisu's relationship... and I *did* like the flashback scenes. Pity there weren't more of those during the run of the show.
*I feel like maybe the whole anime would have worked better if I'd had slightly different expectations going in. Then I wouldn't be waiting for events that never pay off (like doubt over Okabe knowing Kurisu in such a short time, related to the jasmine tea... or some other shoe with the cosplay girls which was a long string of background...). The final payoff was good, but I think in the end I do prefer the original.
*Starting research. Someone points out that even though Okabe 2025 is "overwritten" by Steins;Gate, he still exists until Suzuha leaves in the future, which is why he can kick out of the closed loop into the far past, the way that Mayuri and Suzuha did. Leaves the question of how is Okabe gloating after the two of them travel back, maybe?
VISUAL NOVEL
*Quick research on the visual novel to see about the adapting... took inspiration from light novels "Epigraph Trilogy" (not an adaptation). "If you can't save the one you love, how can you save humanity" is a clever tagline (not sure if it's official). I like the opening; now I see why there were snowflakes in the first OP.
*Hm, apparently Yuki gets replaced by Kagari for the lab, in a Leskinen plot somewhere? (Yuki sent to Europe.) There's a branching decision to end the first chapter, not sure if that plays into it.
*Kagari varies wildly (personality) in the visual novel branches, interesting. Trying to research that and I'm getting info on some attack in a parking garage on Dec 15th... also maybe Kagari IS in the biker outfit instead of Reyes in a branch? Anyway.
*The Yuki fake-out is apparently something pursued by Okabe in a branch; a commenter points out that if Anime Yuki had any subconscious skills, they would have come out when Suzuha jumped her at the Christmas Party earlier. That is a good subtle detail. Yuki's just a massive clutz.
*Six endings... with routes that can branch to form a zero when mapped? Apparently to access the "true ending" you need to complete one of the main paths forking from the end of chapter one, before trying the other. (Due to a D-RINE message.) And most key gameplay is Amadeus and phone calls, not the RINE app.
*For the curious, the endings are categorized as: Bad/Leskinen Ending ; Kagari Ending ; Kurisu Ending ; Maho Ending ; Mayuri/VegaAltair Ending ; Milky-Way Crossing End.
REFERENCE;CODE BETA
This is the small (translated) book which came with the Elite version of Steins;Gate 0. It has a Glossary, animations/illustrations, and cast/staff interviews.
The Glossary is interesting, going in depth about terms, as they come up in a linear way through the episodes. This includes:
* A mention that while Leskinen fed info to Stratfor, Jenny Reyes was employed by DURPA... so that explains some things. (Like the throwaway line about them being in the same country. Try same University.) I guess they tried to convey this by having that DURPA guy call Kagari "Reyes", but it was never clear she wasn't somehow working for Leskinen. (Him killing her could have been a double cross, not a rival organization thing.)
* There's also an explanation of Orihime (Vega) and Hikoboshi (Altair) as depicted in Tanabata folklore, only able to meet once a year (separated by the Milky Way River). So that connects, and saves looking it up.
* Okabe's final time machine in 2025 is C193. And it makes sense that the future HQ of the resistance was at the Radio Building, they're not traveling in space.
***
That concludes my thoughts on the Disc 4 episodes and some supplemental materials. I guess there were definite challenges in doing the adapting, as it wasn't as linear. So that could explain some of my earlier complaints. Even some of the cosplay girls are playable in the visual novel as you swap around to get more character pieces, so that gives them more agency. (I swear Fubuki is, if not a lesbian, in love with Mayuri.)
Kudos for the anime creators making it work in the end, I was impressed by the time travel aspects. In particular the conclusion not simply being the end of the original... going to 2025 and having another time travel trip was very smart.
If you want to read someone else's opinions about the whole Steins;Gate 0 anime, here's a review by Dennis Carden and here's a review by Richard Elsenbeis (both from 2016).
Thank you for reading, and if you have any thoughts about my reactions, or the series itself, please do comment! (At this point, I don't think we need to worry about spoilers.)