English Dub Review: Steins;Gate 0 “Eclipse of Vibronic Transition -Vibronic Transition-“

Okabe’s worst fears are almost realized, when a familiar face arrives to save the day.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Okabe and the others are cornered by a group of armed men led by a mysterious woman in a biker mask, mimicking the tragic events of the alpha timeline. They try to kidnap Kagari, but are stopped by the arrival of Mr. Braun, who fights the attackers and scares them off.

As things progress, Okabe and Itaru speculate as to why they were attacked and realize that if Braun helped them, then the attackers couldn’t be the same rounders that were in the alpha timeline. Meanwhile, Suzuha and Ruka share a touching moment of solidarity, as Suzuha explains why things have been so hard on Okabe lately and why he seems to carry such a heavy burden.

Okabe sees it best to get further help from Mr. Braun, so despite his fears, he reveals to Braun that he knows all about his working for CERN and his relationship with Moeka Kiryuu. Braun is taken aback by Okabe’s intel on him and eventually agrees to protect Kagari and the others from any potential attack.

Later, the gang gathers to try and figure out a codeword Braun overheard one of the thugs using during the attack. They think its connected to Mozart, which further connects them to Amadeus. Okabe then tries to contact Maho about Amadeus, but she says that it would appear Amadeus has been hacked and can’t be accessed. This just in time for Okabe to receive a surprise call from Amadeus, who, through static and distortion, begs Okabe to help. In the final moments of the episode, Okabe experiences the dizzying effects of time travel once again, as the phone call apparently pushes him onto another world line.

Our Take:

This week on Steins;Gate 0, we’re treated to a decent offering of story and mystery that seems to be forming this series into the kind of science fiction intrigue I’ve been wanting for so long.

That’s not to say, of course, that this episode is perfect; I still think it has some problems with pacing and actual episode content that are worth discussing. It occurs to me that very little actually happens aside from long dialogue scenes of characters discussing what’s happening and explaining things that I as the viewer already knew. While this works from a character perspective, when Suzuha has her moment with Ruka as they share each other’s pain, it doesn’t make the episode particularly fun to watch. I get it, Steins;Gate 0, everyone is depressed; please get to the point so we can get the ball rolling here.

It’s not even that the dialogue is stupid or poorly written, just that it’s excessive and rather monotonous. This is further exasperated by just how big the cast has gotten since “Steins;Gate” started. The entire future gadget lab has something like eleven members, and that makes it hard to spend quality time enjoying the antics of any one character dynamic. In the original, the Okabe-Kurisu banter was well complimented by Itaru’s otaku perversions, but now their dynamic is drowned out by having too many cooks in the kitchen. In addition, it’s far less interesting to watch a show where we already know where each character stands. The discovery of learning the deeper truths about each of the future lab members has evaporated, since…well, we already learned them. That was a huge part of the original series’ dynamic and its absence is sorely felt.

But when things get interesting, this episode really shines. Even if it’s just for a moment, that moment when Okabe answers the phone call from Amadeus is terrifying. Coupled with the familiar world-warping which accompanies a world line change, that moment pushes me to the edge of my seat demanding more.

Yet, I’m worried that more in a significant fashion may never really come. Perhaps the “fillery” aspects of this episode are just what anime has to do to meet its 22-minute runtime. And, if that’s the case, then maybe even a franchise as beloved as “Steins;Gate” isn’t immune to the effects of market expectation.

One can only wait and see. For now, though, what’s done is done. It’s not bad, but until this show starts making some major moves, I can’t really give these episodes a high score.