Steins;Gate – 25 (OVA)

When Steins;Gate ended back in September, I did not want anymore.  The roller-coaster adventure that ventured not only through time itself but every human emotion ended in one of the most perfect ways possible.  Its finale was remarkable and one of the most memorable and favorable I have ever seen from an anime.  Anymore and it would’ve been a drop-off of what Steins;Gate 24 was for me.

But that was then, and this is now.  In the short weeks following the finale to Steins;Gate, I realized I wanted to see an epilogue in the current timeline of what Okabe, Kurisu, and everyone else was up to.  What were their lives like now, I’d wonder.  Well, fortunately my wishes were responded to and this OVA, the 25^th episode of Steins;Gate, satisfied my craving for seeing what happens after the conclusion of episode 24.

Steins;Gate – 24 (Finale)

Whenever the finale to an anime approaches, your mind begins creating various fantasies of how you imagine the ending.  Taking every possibility into account, there are always those normal ones where everything goes right and it ends on a high and happy note, and then there are those depressing ones where nothing seems to go right and it ends in regret and sorrow.  There are those bittersweet ones twisting love and sacrifice together, and those random, unexpected ones that nobody saw coming.  Then, after all that, the finale comes and you see which one, if any, is correct.  As good as it may feel to call the ‘correct’ ending, it’s much more satisfying to get the ending you desire.  And that’s exactly how Steins;Gate ended.

Steins;Gate – 23

In an anime that’s a 10/10, there’s always a point, a scene, or something you can look back on where you know it surpassed all expectations and elevated itself into greatness.  There is no explanation, requirements, or guidelines that define what the scene should do but you know it, and can feel it, when it happens.  And that scene just happened in Steins;Gate with Okabe’s video.  Perfectly amazing.

Steins;Gate – 22, Usagi Drop – 9, Dantalian no Shoka – 8

Back from vacation meaning a full week of anime to catch up on.  And since I’m already days late on all my weekly posts, I’ll borrow a format that has worked so well for tomphile over at Ani-Philes and combine this week’s shows into one post.  Hope you’re enjoying all of these shows as much as I am!

Steins;Gate – 21

The juicy information revealed in this episode is that Mayuri has seemingly existed through, or retains memories, of all the D-mails and time leaps that Okabe has carried out thus far.  If that is true, then Mayuri and Okabe are well aware of every event and every death that has happened thus far.  You can’t help but feel bad for Mayuri after witnessing all that’s happened.  But it’s not for the multiple deaths she’s had to bear.  No, seeing Okabe and her grow more distant over the entire season is truly the most difficult and depressing thing she’s gone through.

Steins;Gate – 20

Imagine for a moment that Kurisu, not Okabe, is the person adventuring through time to save Mayuri (or Okabe or whatever you desire) and restore order to this time-travel chaos.  Totally awesome, I know, but you have to wonder how different the entire series would have been if we were following Kurisu’s struggles rather than Okabe’s.

Steins;Gate – 19

It shouldn’t be surprising to see Okabe do everything possible in order to save Mayuri.  But when he needs to save Mayuri’s murderer, too, then things become a little complicated.  And add in the possibility of them working together, even though Okabe will never forgive Moeka for what she did in alternative timelines, to find out who FB is just makes things even more complex.  Never a dull moment in Steins;Gate, that’s for sure.