English Dub Review: Steins;Gate 0 “Epigraph of the Closed Curve -Closed Epigraph-“

Okabe gets to speak to a long lost friend once again.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Okabe has just heard from Maho, speaking for her lead professor, Alexis Leskinen, the announcement of a new type of AI called, “Amadeus”, which can replicate someone’s personality from their memories digitized into a computer. The announcement is groundbreaking, but Maho is met with skepticism from the crowd at the conference, which claims that such a feat is impossible. Hearing this, Okabe taps into his inner Phoenix Wright and announces his objection to the crowd’s limited imagination, declaring that new ideas and inventions are not just figments of science fiction, but the way of the future. This shuts the crowd up pretty good and earns him the respect of Maho and Alexis, who thank him but politely ask him to chill out a bit. Maho then demonstrates Amadeus’s abilities by having a version of her created from her memories speak to the crowd, which astounds and enthralls Okabe.

After the announcement, Okabe attends a post-conference party, digesting the incredible things he’s seen today. There, he runs into Maho, who isn’t exactly cut out for the party scene. The two begin to talk and bond over their respective bonds with Makise Kurisu, who was friends with both of them before her tragic death. They share stories of how they knew her, and it’s not long before Maho starts to break down in tears, still in grief at her loss. Alexis soon shows up and speaks to Okabe, thanking him for attending the party and defending his work earlier. Hearing that Okabe knew Makise Kurisu, he offers him a chance to test the real version of Amadeus they’re working, the version emulating the consciousness of none other than Makise Kurisu herself.

Despite his emotional baggage, Okabe can’t pass up the opportunity, and the next day goes to Maho’s lab to speak with her and meet Amadeus face to face. Maho explains the implications of Amadeus to Okabe, and warns him to remember that the AI personality he’s about to speak to is just that, an AI, and not the real person he knew and loved. He banters with Maho for a little bit but is interrupted by the voice of Makise herself.

Wide-eyed and somewhat terrified, Okabe looks into the face of his dead friend, Makise Kurisu, who politely greets him from behind a computer screen. She’s a near-perfect replica, though she isn’t exactly as Okabe knew her. (Specifically, she thinks the possibility of time travel is possible) The tension is lightened a little bit as Makise implies to Maho that she’s crushing on Okabe, and that’s why she invited him to the lab. Things start resembling how the two used to interact, as Makise reveals her sassy side to Okabe, making him think of the old times they used to share.

Alexis, who eventually comes in to observe Amadeus and Okabe, offers Okabe a job to aid them in their experimentation. Through his phone, he can speak to Amadeus whenever he wishes and is to report back to the lab twice a month to summarize his findings. Okabe accepts, but one can see the weight this new development places on his shoulders.

Later, things come to a close as Okabe continues his mundane life, listening to Mayuri talk about how she’s planning a party to cheer up Suzuha. Amadeus tries to call him on the phone, and eventually, he answers. He starts to see Makise more and more in the AI program and finds himself slowly becoming more enraptured with the AI program. The episode ends as tears stream from Okabe’s eyes. It’s definitely her, Makise Kurisu.

Our Take:

So this was a much slower episode than last week. Very exposition heavy, with scenes that felt like they dragged a bit as a lot of plot information, is dropped in some pretty lukewarm dialogue scenes. However, by the end of the episode, this gives way to some genuinely sad emotional moments with Okabe, driving his pain and suffering at the sight of seeing his old friend home. Overall, it’s not bad, but a somewhat tepid episode; perhaps necessary in the long run of the show, but something of a down note for this early in the season.