Controversial way to begin this blog post, but I stand by that statement. Disclaimer: This is my opinion, and I'm entitled to it. You don't have to agree or disagree with it. While I was disappointed, I do think that Steins;Gate is one of the better series I've seen in the past year which says something, so don't take this as a OMG, HE THINKS STEINS;GATE IS THE WORST!!!! HE MUST DIE!!!!! It is a good series. I just feel it isn't as phenomenal as people make it out to be.
The main reason I didn't enjoy this series as much probably has to do with other visual novel series I have seen over the years. To anyone who hasn't seen or watched any of these, you should probably stop reading here, partially for potential spoilers, partially because you will have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.
Gosh, their eyes ARE far apart... |
After watching both Kanon and most of Clannad (I still can't watch it past the "everyone is depressed and dies saga. Yes, I know it turns out alright, but man...waaaaaay too much emotion going on there.), I found that the series seem to be formulaic, meaning that the characters, plot setup, and feel of the series began to get predictable.
Again with the eyes. Once you see it, you can't unsee it. |
I greatly enjoyed the first half of the series. It had a great blend of science fiction, action, suspense, nerd humor, and conspiracy theory in it. Episode twelve, where the series was split up for American release, ended on a cliffhanger that had me wanting more. Sure, it wasn't the best I've ever seen, but for what it was, it was good.
Eyes aren't as bad here. Man, I need to focus on something else. |
That's when it hit me. This sounded fairly close to Clannad, in a few ways. All the women seem to be connected to the time device, all were somehow affected by the messages...I began to wonder. Then I got the second half and while it was good, it sadly confirmed my fear. In order to get a good ending to the series, each of the original messages needed to be negated. How is this accomplished? Through each girl/confused male getting her/his own storyline!!!!
Though the series tried to throw a few curve balls, I couldn't help but feel like this was, though not Key or a romance story, a visual novel series. It started off so good. A lot of excellent potential. In the end, it was thrown away to predictable storylines, plot, and sadly, a diminished experience for me. Again, the series is good, it just was more transparent with the plot device than I hoped.
Yes, I know there are differences between Key series and Steins;Gate. Romance isn't the motivating factor, the main male character isn't as two dimensional as the others, it had a good ending. The problem came when the plot unfolded, and I correctly predicted several "twists" without knowing the plot in advance. It is like playing the New Super Mario Bros Games. Formulaic. Predictable. Diminished experience.
So that is why I feel Steins;Gate isn't the megaton series most say it is. Again, it is very good, and I encourage anyone to check it out. I'm just saying because of my nature, the experience was ruined for me. I was hoping for more original setups and advances in plot. That is my honest opinion, and please remember it is just an opinion. A few other things bothered me about this series as well, but that was the main contributor to my disillusionment of the series. Keep an open mind, and form your own thoughts. That is today's lesson.
Now on to The World God Only Knows. Going from series that was supposed to be original to one that makes fun of series based off of dating sims. I'm in the perfect mood for that.