My favorite show of all time: Almost perfect plot and the feels train

I know that this review is going to be another non relevant one because there’s a lot of them praising the show like I’m going to do. But I actually want to say something about it since I’ve watched it 8 times at the moment and it’s my all-time favourite work.
As always in my reviews, sorry for my English and the writing as I’m going to spit ideas and thoughts I have without having a script of how I’m going to write it.

I’ll try to not make big spoilers (at least without marking them as spoilers) so it should be safe to read if you’re interested somehow in reading it having not watched the show.

Steins;Gate is one of the most praised shows in all time and, in my opinion, this praise is absolutely justified. Time travel stories are really difficult to write and keep reasonably consistent without paradoxes in every step the story tries to make, and Steins;Gate dealing with time travel is fairly outstanding and almost flawless.

Plot: Build Up and how to finish an anime

First, let’s talk about of, possibly, the strongest part of this show: it’s plot. One of the most heard criticism about this show is its slow beginning and I’ve to agree with it but not altogether. Steins;Gate start is reasonably slow and can understandably bore watchers used to more “straight-to-the-point” anime but I think that this start is absolutely necessary to build up all the things necessary to make this show as great as it is.

Now, I’m gonna make major spoilers:
All this confusing, slow start is the basement of all the story. In fact, in Steins;Gate does only happen one thing: Makise Kurisu dies and Okabe saves her conducing to the “Steins;Gate” timeline. But, of course, it can’t happen as simple as I write it because the show’s world is pseudo-realistic. All the build up with the D-Mails prepare this scenario and make it possible to happen if you accept that time machines are possible and it stablishes all the relations between the characters (and most importantly, it establishes why the hell would Okabe try to save Kurisu in the first place).
The build up is not only necessary but shows how science works: theorize, then try to check your theory’s validity and, if not, try again. That’s the way science works and that’s the way Steins;Gate works. And, to me, that’s a pretty solid reason to the beginning being the way it is (while I can also understand why some people don’t like it). Like Kurisu said, 99% of science is boring but (I add this part) the other 1% is fucking awesome!
I'm also adding that the science involved in their explanation of time travel is, with all the fictional things that are obviously involved, reasonable. I really like that fact because it's not out of nowhere, it has an explanation (having in mind the hypothetical and fictional side of time machines) that is reasonably scientific.

And having talked about the build-up, let’s now talk about the second half: the big ball of “wibbily wobbly timey wimey stuff” and how they build one of the two best plot endings I’ve ever seen. And for doing it I’ve to make critical spoilers:

~!The explosion of this second part starts at episode 12, whit the Rounders attacking the Lab and killing Mayuri for the first time. At this point the show’s only purpose (and Okabe’s) is to undo all the things that were made to save Mayuri (taking advantage of the time travel method they have created). Like you probably know, this leads to Kurisu’s death and the correspondent dilemma that Okabe has.
Apart of all the thriller and emotions that one can have watching all the process (I really fucking love chapter 22 and cried to it while watching the show for 8th time), and I have to say it’s all amazingly well done, the real strong point is how they break the loop and change the dilemma into nothing .Both can be saved, no, both HAVE to be saved. And without breaking the logic of the Universe they’ve build. It’s just a master move to finish with a happy ending but without needing to break anything.

I also have to comment the casual romance grown between Kurisu and Okabe. It's natural, understandable and beautiful. It's not the main plot and still is better than nearly any romance I've seen. It's the cherry on the cake of Steins;Gate. It only gives more humanity to the show and why Okabe is doing what is doing to save both Mayuri and Kurisu.

And yes, Reading Steiner is a nearly god-level hability that Okabe has because, yes, he’s the protagonist. But I don’t think that this fact should blur the rest of the consistent, entertaining and thrilling story.

To finish this section I'll state that of course little inconsistencies are present (because it's a fictional story and can't be absolutely flawless) but I don't think they affect the quality of the show. Not gonna make further discussion because there's a [Reddit post](https://www.reddit.com/r/steinsgate/comments/4eovbv/is_th… ) with proper discussion about it. !~

Characters: 2nd strongest (but also probably the weakest) part

The characters on Steins;Gate is a very curious part of the show. I'm gonna talk about each character separetely to state how some of them are incredible and likeable characters and others not so much:

LAB MEMBER 001: Okabe Rintaro: The main protagonist of the series. He guides all the show and it's narrated on his point of view. This character is, probably, the best of the show (personally I like more Kurisu, but Okabe is an outstanding protagonist) and the one with more evolution through it (is the main protagonist so it's not surprsing).
We can see his path from nonsensical mad scientist chuunibyou to sad scientist (the very start of Steins;Gate 0) and the despair he has to go through over and over and over again. We can also see how the aparently self-interested mad scientist is at the end of the day a very good friend always willing to help his friends (aka Lab Members). His evolution is brilliant and I can really empathize with him: his reactions are very human (a little mad, though) and makes him one of the best protagonists ever.

TUTURU! MAYUSHII DESU: Mayuri Shiina: Mayuri is a usually controversial character. She's warm and kind to everyone and I think that, in general, she's enjoyable. At the beginning she's just the childhood friend of Okabe without much more depth, but (specially in S;G0) she's something more like that.
Of course, if you have watched S;G she's one of the main plot events in the series. And that's good and bad, because, excluding S;G0, she's not a lot more than that but also has a little development and being the only one that can cheer and make Okabe feel like home, with his hostage.

SUPAH HACKAH: Itaru Hashida: Not gonna make a lot of comments on him; he is the right arm of Okabe, always helping him with computer-related problems and sometimes being more pervert than I'd like. I like him and his strong friend-caring sense (specially in S;G0, but we are talking about the original series).

THE ASSISTANT : Makise Kurisu: My personal favorite of the show because of it's tsundere personality and her science-minded view of the world. She also evolves a lot through the show (but following the tsundere path) with all the members, specially, of course, with Okabe.
She helps him in all the worldlines, trusting him every time he time leaps (sometimes is easier than others) and, somehow, growing closer to him every time they meet in a new worldline. And of course, the cherry on the cake, her romance with Okabe. She's, with Okabe, the best character on the show.

KYOUMA-NYAN : Ruka and Fayris: Not as important (and in the case of Fayris sometimes annoying) but, specially Ruka, enjoyable. About Ruka, I like her trans issue (but not how, for example Okabe, deals with it) and how it portraits how difficult is to be trans nowadays.

OTHER CHARACTERS:
Mister Braun is a not bad written character (but I have some background from the games), but obviously is difficult to like him (anyway I can understand his way of being). The character I like the less in the original series is Moeka. I don't really have to discuss why because is evident. Well, it's just a manipulable character that kills mayuri over and over again. Fuck her.

OVERVIEW: I really like the characters on Steins;Gate but it's very influenced by Okabe and Kurisu that are amazing characters. That being said, the whole cast is pretty well written or enjoyable (depending on who we are talking about) and makes this series good.

Music and Visuals: Amazing and appealing

The visuals are not nothing outstanding or incredible, but they appeal the tone of the show . Not gonna comment much more about it because I like it and it's appealing.
The music, instead, is a part that I fucking love:

1. The OP: Hacking to the Gate appeals the show very much and is an actual banger. It sounds technologic (appealing to time travel LOL) and its visuals are completely appealing to the weirdness of time travel. It's confusing, yes, but it appeals the show very much.

1. The ED: Musically impressing and making its effect very very well at the end of every chapter. Nothing much to say, I love it.

1. The OST: Appealing and absolutely masterpiece. I really like it, and appeals every fucking moment. Themes like Gate of Steiner and Believe Me are the best shit out there. Can't demand more to a show tbh.

Conclusion: Perfect Enjoyment and what I can't express with words

To conclude this absolutely long and boring review, I'm gonna try to write what I can't express. This show is the best I've seen in my life and if you don't agree there's no problem: it's all about personal taste. What I want to say is that my enjoyment on this show is not a perfect score, is perfect score times perfect score. I've watched it 8 times and still noting some details that I didn't notice on other watches and it's emotional moments hit me every single time I watch it. Emotionally talking this show is perfect imo and I love its main characters. I love it very much.

Thanks for your time and I hope my review isn't too messy!