Steins;Gate 0 – 7 [Eclipse of Vibronic Transition -Vibronic Transition-]

Oh boy, Steins;Gate 0 was definitely a thing this week, whatever that means. This time we have clashing styles, interesting plot twists and one hell of a cliffhanger. Lets jump in!To start off, lets get the obvious out of the way. Steins;Gate 0 is not an action series and it shows. The opening “combat” scenes of this episode were… weak, to be kind. Animation was stunted and in general it just wasn’t great. This isn’t unexpected though. Steins;Gate’s design/style doesn’t lend itself well to smooth, fluid fights. It has always been a series focused on its characters, not the action. That said, the actual narrative portion of the “combat” was pretty interesting. We have no idea who the leather-clad women is, though I have suspicions, and Mr.Braun’s entrance was both unexpected and exciting. I have always wanted to see more of his character, get a deeper look into our landlord ever since Steins;Gate, and we finally have the chance. And boy did this week spend a lot of time with him.

So Mr.Braun was one of the main focuses this week. I have to say I was not expecting him to be on our side, but it makes sense. Braun prizes his daughter Nae above all else, so even he wouldn’t call Rounders on them when shes in the apartment. It was interesting to see his two sides during his conversation with Okabe however. Between doting father and dangerous secret agent, he basically got blackmailed into helping Okabe. Can’t wait to see where this goes, especially because his allegiance buys Moeka’s as well. However this does raise a new question. Who was the woman in leather? In the original it was Moeka, however with Braun on our side, it can’t be her. There is a hint with Yuki Amane’s wrist, but personally I think thats a red-herring however, with her relationship with Daru. No, my personal bet continues to be Dr.Reyes.
Speaking of Daru, we got a nice quite scene with him and Okabe I really appreciated. We’re told they are best friends, and we got shots of it in the original Steins;Gate, but now we finally get some alone time with them together. Theres no games, no hiding, Okabe speaks frankly and Daru just wants to support him. Okabe keeps Daru close, in contrast to Ruka who also got a talk this week. Really, I can’t help but think Okabe’s decision with Ruka is selfish. Shutting him out for his own benefit, to have one person solidly in one world line, without thinking about them at all. Its beautifully selfish, and Ruka’s casual acceptance of it says alot about their relationship. Its these one on one character moments, Daru and Okabe, Okabe and Maho, or Okabe and Amadeus/Kurisu, that were always my favorite scenes. Hope we get more.

That said, we are going to atleast get one more one on one scene, and gee this one might take up a whole episode. Quick notes for those who may have missed it: Watch after the credits, for Steins;Gate 0 pulls a Marvel this week with an ending scene that throws everything on its head. While on paper I am ludicrously excited for Kurisu and Okabe to speak again, especially with Okabe being as broken as he is, I can’t help but question why. Why did a call from Amadeus/Kurisu(?) trigger this? Who sent it and how? There are so many questions and aside from the ending with Kurisu, this episode felt like it dragged on for me. Its like jumping from cliff-hanger to cliff-hanger and it bugs me. Its forcing me to ask, is Steins;Gate 0 really that amazing or am I just absorbed in nostalgia for characters I love?
Its a question I normally wouldn’t ask. Normally something like that is irrelevant, so long as the viewer enjoys the show. However the performance of this episode, easily the weakest so far as it only had my attention in spurts, has made me wonder. How do you all think Steins;Gate 0 is performing so far? Is it living up to your expectations? Did you go into this having already seen the original or is this your first taste? Am I just riding on the nostalgia of my love of the original or is Steins;Gate 0 every bit as gratifying as we had hoped it would? Having waited for this series for years, its hard for me to be objective on the subject. So please, let me know below and I’ll see you next week for what will no doubt be a rollercoaster of an episode. See you then!