English Dub Review: Steins;Gate 0 “Altair of the Point at Infinity -Vega and Altair-“

Okabe can’t hide from his past forever.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Daru and Maho are hard at work trying to recreate the time travel experiment that resulted in the creation of the original time machine Makise and Okabe developed so long ago. Their efforts proceed slowly and sometimes explosively, but their progress is getting them ever closer to the secret of time travel.

Meanwhile, there is a distance growing between Okabe and Mayuri, who is increasingly concerned that her friend is doomed to be miserable. Later, heads to the apartment, where he stumbles across Daru in the middle of trying to fix the time machine.

Daru tries to hide it, but Okabe, much to his horror, realizes what Daru is up to. The two fight and Maho reveals herself and tries to explain her good intentions, but Okabe is having none of it, and sparks fly between the three of them. Maho approaches Okabe on the roof of the building to try and convince him to join their efforts, but it’s to no avail.

That night, Okabe and Mayuri meet in the park, and Mayuri reveals how twisted up inside she is about Okabe’s mental state. With tears in her eyes, she confesses that every time she sees Okabe, its like there’s nothing but misery behind his facade. Things end with the two of them looking at the stars together, with Okabe re-evaluating his whole frame of mind.

Our Take:

We’ve been overdue for an episode of Steins;Gate 0 that fulfills its promise of the dark, melancholy timeline which was hyped up when it first revealed itself to the world. Too often Steins;Gate 0 has been sitting on its laurels, trying to be silly more than anything else, but this episode seeks to change all that. It’s an excellent return to form which keeps focussing on Mayuri, Okabe, Daru and the struggles that they’ve shared together. This is easily one of the essential episodes of the show, and 22 minutes that makes me happy I’ve stuck with it so far.

For so long now, Mayuri has been quietly pleading with Okabe to return to being the mad scientist he once was. Those contemplative, melancholy scenes between the two of them have been compounding in their power over time, becoming increasingly important and emotional over time. These scenes have crept up on the audience, subtly building in importance as Mayuri continues to grow ever more desperate to see her friend happy. This episode represents the culmination of those moments, where we finally see how much everything has weighed on Mayuri’s shoulders. It’s tragedy at its finest, and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t getting at least a little weepy by the end of the episode.

This is easily one of the best and most important episodes so far, where Steins;Gate 0 really shines. We see how Okabe’s friends are occupying the mad scientist role that he once held, and how far Okabe has fallen from who he once was. It seems a little late to the game, considering that the last couple of episodes have been lackluster, but this week makes up for that in spades. I loved the raw energy that Okabe lashes at Daru as he recounts the trauma of what he’s once endured. It’s a gripping moment that pulls you in by the collar and doesn’t let go.

An episode like this is where the excellent vocal direction really shines. I love it when the cast gets a chance to really let loose and put themselves into the characters. You can feel the love that the voice actors and actresses have for this story in each line they deliver as if they were actually standing on screen. Whether its Maho confronting Okabe on the roof or Daru delivering Okabe the knuckle sandwich he needs, each moment in this episode is delivered splendidly.