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AniMazing is one of our Periodicals, created because of our love for anime and manga.

What we do with AniMazing is recommend good anime to watch or manga to read, but rather than concentrate on reviewing, we will focus more on the elements that make each work awesome and, well, amazing.

We plan on talking exclusively about completed works, old and new. After all, the worlds of anime and manga are so vast that it’s worth exploring everywhere. We will try not revealing any plot twists, but sometimes we get so excited over a piece that some might slip through the cracks.

That being said, let’s get this show on the road!

Today’s AniMazing: Steins;Gate

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Story

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Okabe Rintarou, a light-hearted, self-proclaimed “mad scientist,” tackles the mysteries of the odd microwave in his makeshift laboratory in Akihabara, Tokyo, together with his friends Mayuri and Itaru. One day in the summer of 2010, he and Mayuri visits the Radio Kaikan to attend a conference, where he accuses the lecturer of stealing the ideas of an elusive internet figure. Annoyed, he leaves the conference and wanders around the building when a scream directs him to discover Makise Kurisu, a young esteemed scientist, lying in a pool of blood. As he runs outside and texts Itaru about the incident, the world around him suddenly changes. A strange satellite crashes into the Radio Kaikan, and the streets are deserted. And when he visits again, he meets Kurisu, alive…

Short Review

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Wow. This anime is beyond words. Intriguing plot, memorable characters, beautiful animation, fresh suspense – this anime has it all, easily qualifying as the best anime of 2011. I cannot find negative things to say about Steins;Gate. If I were nit-picky, I might poke fun at the nonsensical physics the plot revolves around, but to be fair we’re obligated to suspend disbelief for that. In a nutshell, this anime is a must-watch. If you haven’t seen it, you should. But if you’re not yet convinced (you skeptical rascal you), then let’s talk about what makes it so damn good.

Three Awesomes

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Awesome #1: Outstanding character development

It’s hard to disagree: Steins;Gate excels in character development at an unprecedented level. As the plot moves forward, the events slowly reveal more and more about each character. We learn about their backstories, their motives, and their ideals. These revelations are often so dramatic that the wow-factor is sure to delight any suspense or mystery fan: you know, the kind of incredible convergence from the climax and denouement of Durarara!!.

The more episodes you watch learning about the events surrounding Rintarou, the more entranced you’re bound to get. From Rintarou himself to the rest of the laboratory team and everyone else introduced into the plot, each has a tale to tell and emotions so alive that you feel immersed in the world of Steins;Gate. And that’s just undeniably awesome.

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Awesome #2: Freshness: none of your typical gender-stereotyped characters.

Anyone who has watched a good chuck of anime from a variety of genres is bound to notice a tiring repetitiveness in most character designs. From a broader view, male characters tend to be strong, brave, and incredibly stupid (remember Bleach?) all at the same time. Meanwhile, female characters usually take the cutesy, klutzy, moe types. I’m sure you all know about all the tropes (tsundere, yandere, lolita, etc.), so I won’t explain further.

In a similar vein of its awesome character development, Steins;Gate takes those usual ideas and rams them straight out of the show. None of the characters conform to an ordinary and predictable archetype that you might expect of most anime. Recent anime these few years have similarly tried to mold new personalities into the characters, and well, Steins;Gate is a model example.

Rintarou is brave and heroic, yes, but he also happens to understand things quickly like a normal human being (have you ever watched an anime and cringed at how dumb some male characters are at noticing things? Rintarou isn’t like that). Kurisu is also set as an intelligent person and quick to react to events. Each character takes a typical anime personality and gives it a unique twist. I won’t reveal too much here, but any viewer is bound to notice how different they are from typical anime characters.

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Awesome #3: Exhilarating plot suspense and complexity
The plot of Steins;Gate mostly centers around several mysteries and their subsequent resolutions, so I can’t spoil too much here, but be prepared for some top-notch suspense and intriguing plot twists. The magical microwave, the anachronistic phone messages, and the dark plans of SERN all tie back together in a grand, complex string of events. Or should I say a worldline exhibiting divergence?

Watch this anime if…

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…you want to experience a meticulously crafted plot together with some terrific characters to arrive at epic revelations that will make you dream about the world of Steins;Gate and its characters. And aren’t you curious about the meaning of “Steins;Gate”?…