Steins;Gate 0: Season 1/ Episode 1 “Missing Link of the Annihilator -Absolute Zero-” [Season Premiere] – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
After many years, Steins;Gate returns and with a bit of a reintroduction episode for the premiere, you get quickly reacclimated and excited for what the season will hold. Network Crunchyroll Creator Jukki Hanada Director(s) Kenichi Kawamura Writer(s) Jukki Hanada Air Date 4/11/2018 Noted Actors Okabe Mamoru Miyano Kurisu Asami Imai Mayuri Kana Hanazawa Suzuha Yukari Tamura…
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After many years, Steins;Gate returns and with a bit of a reintroduction episode for the premiere, you get quickly reacclimated and excited for what the season will hold.
| Network | ||
| Crunchyroll | ||
| Creator | Jukki Hanada | |
| Director(s) | Kenichi Kawamura | |
| Writer(s) | Jukki Hanada | |
| Air Date | 4/11/2018 | |
| Noted Actors | ||
| Okabe | Mamoru Miyano | |
| Kurisu | Asami Imai | |
| Mayuri | Kana Hanazawa | |
| Suzuha | Yukari Tamura | |
| Hiyajo | Sayuri Yahagi | |
| Ruka | Yū Kobayashi | |
| Faris | Haruko Momoi | |
| Daru | Tomokazu Seki | |
| Moeka | Saori Gotō | |
| Yuki | Yukari Tamura | |
The Introduction
In the original Steins;Gate, Okabe fought tooth and nail, becoming terribly traumatized, to save Kurisu and keep Mayuri alive. In Steins;Gate 0, he gave up on Kurisu. Something which Suzuha, with seeing what this BETA world line becomes, which includes 5.7 billion dying and her mom being killed in a violent way, she can’t accept. Yet, with Okabe barely visiting the lab and outright abandoning being his old eccentric self for group dates, tennis, and things of that nature, it seems there might be no hope.
That is, until he meets Hiyajo Maho and meets the AI program Amadeus. An AI with memories, and personality, made by Kurisu. Making it seem, no matter the therapy he has or medicine he takes, he’ll never escape Kurisu.
Other Noteworthy Facts & Moments
- It’s December 10th, 2010.
Highlights
As Long As You Have Some Memory of The Original, You Should Be Fine
It’s rare for me to ever watch a series twice. So, even though there was definitely an opportunity to watch the first 24+ episode season, 25 including the OVA, I didn’t do that. So, while the names were a little fuzzy, as soon as Mayuri went TOO TOO ROO! It all came back to me.
Well, enough to remember the majority of the relationships and characters. Okabe, may no longer a mad scientist, but thanks to Ruka and Faris, in glorious cosplay, the zaniness of the show quickly comes back with Daru presenting the icing on the cake. Add a reminder of the future Suzuha was trying to avoid placed in the beginning of the episode, and it may make only Yuki someone you may struggle to remember. If only because she was introduced in the OVA.
It May Not Require Seeing The Original Series
Stripping what knowledge I have, while I do feel like you may get a vibe you are missing something, I think while a little bit handicapped, you could get into this series without watching the original. Granted, it will be a slight disservice since you won’t get to see mad scientist Okabe, but there seems to be enough hinted or given to give you an idea. We see Kurisu fall into blood signifying the source of Okabe’s issues. Moeka’s appearance brings fear and we see Mayuri dying and with Suzuha bringing up the different world lines Okabe has been through, you get a very condensed idea of what went on.
So while not a full recap, those who never saw the original will get a gist. One which will probably push you to, at the very least, read a bunch of wiki articles to catch up the best you can. Especially if you don’t have the time to watch a video like the one below which, based off my memories, seems accurate.
First Impression: Positive (Watch This)
There aren’t a huge amount of franchises in anime that, with 24+ episodes, and multiple seasons, doesn’t seem like it is predominately filler. Steins;Gate, on the other hand, with 24 episodes down and 24 episodes planned just for this, a spin-off of a bad ending, I strongly believe will remain an exception. Just because there is this rare mix of sci-fi and zany characters while also having a sense of emotion and heart. Not to forget, it never goes off the deep end. The science never becomes so complicated you strategically tune it out, the characters never get so ridiculous they become annoying, and when it comes to the show becoming emotional, it is always well-timed and never cheap.
But, what leads to the idea this season will continue what the first one did is because it feels like it is simply continuing a world line that was avoided towards the end of the first season. The vibe remains the same and it is like it is 2011 all over again. What a wonderful time.
I hope that’s not the case here. I’d love to actually see the show play out the bad ending. All the while have their futile fight against fate. Though with 24 episodes, eventually they will have to hit the happy ending.
Part of me wonders what the ultimate point of this is. As much as I love the characters and am happy enough to see them back, I’m not sure that telling this segment of story is actually going to add anything to the overall narrative. An alternative timeline is interesting enough, but it kind of feels like events are pushing the characters to act and get us back where we ended up anyway. I guess if it goes a totally different direction that could be something. Still, not a bad first episode.