English Dub Review: Steins;Gate 0 “Eclipse of Orbital Ordering -The Orbital Eclipse-“

Wherein there are holiday festivities, and a good time is had by all.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Kagari has just been discovered to have been living at Ruka’s shrine this whole time, much to Suzuha’s frustration. However, it’s not quite the reunion Suzuha though it would be; Kagari has lost her memory, leaving her little more than a dead ringer for Makise Kurisu, and a painful reminder to Okabe of the who he’s lost.

Kagari soon becomes a beloved member of Okabe’s circle of friends, just in time for the New Year’s celebration, which Mayuri is throwing for everyone at the local shrine. Things are pleasant and enjoyable, as new and old friends alike gather at the shrine to celebrate the new year. There are laughs and love aplenty, and Okabe starts to think that things will really be alright in this timeline, despite his anxieties.

This peace doesn’t last long, however. Just as it seems everyone is going to live happily ever after, a band of gunmen breaks down the door to the Future Lab with everyone inside. Panicked flashes of Mayuri’s death terrify Okabe, and provide him with the grizzly reminder that nothing good can last in his world.

Our Take:

Well, its another week, and another episode of Steins;Gate 0 that continues to perplex my blackened anime-reviewing heart. Prior complaints I’ve had about the series still stand in this episode. A lack of focus and a lack of intrigue plagues this series with a dullness; a failure to hold my interest that makes Steins;Gate 0 rather challenging to enjoy on a week-to-week basis. At the same time though, this isn’t the kind of bad that lots of seasonal anime tend to descend to these days. The show is clearly trying, though I’m not sure if it’s really succeeding. Is it cute? Yeah. Is it funny? Sometimes. But where is the drama? Where’s the hook? A central conflict, a mystery, something to focus on and catch my interest would be more than welcome in this series thus far.

That’s not to say that the original “Steins;Gate” didn’t have similar issues. Slice of life has never really been my jam except in certain cases, (“The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” has stolen my heart for all time) but its easier to get through when you’re watching a show as a completed story instead of a week-by-week iteration of chapters good and bad. Time is a great thickener of things, and its easy for me to remember the original “Steins;Gate” as a classic that overshadows the new and unfamiliar series I am now presented with.

Yet, I am not confident in my criticism of this episode and this series so far. The last few minutes of this episode made my heart drop into my stomach, as I felt the familiar terror that shriveled up my insides when I watched Mayuri die over and over again in the original series. This might indeed be the tipping point, the moment where things escalate from “Slice of life” to the kind of gripping science fiction existential thriller I’m chomping at the bit for from this show.

I suppose only time will tell, and when I finish the season and take a look at the finished product my opinions may be changed somewhat. But for the time being, I have to review the episode as it presents itself to me. Save for the last few minutes, this is a pretty boring episode. It might speak to greater things in the future, but unless you’re really desiring a slice-of-life anime with some science fiction theming, I don’t think this episode is gonna do it for you.

But hold on just a little bit longer. The best is probably yet to come.