Gekijouban Steins;Gate: Fuka ryouiki no dejavu

After watching the fantastic series, I immediately wanted to see this movie. And if you're familiar with the story and the concepts and the characters, you are likely to enjoy this. But I'm not convinced this can stand on its own; I think it would not be as much fun as someone's first introduction to the world of Steins Gate.

In the context of the series it's quite good, although it does wander even further away from sci-fi than the series. The series was a sci-fi movie that had elements that weren't very scientific, such as it's approach to fate and the main character's odd time-related perception. The movie focuses entirely on these elements, so that ultimately it's closer to fantasy than sci-fi.

But as with the series, it's entertaining and amusing, with some very moving scenes. If you're a fan of the series you don't want to miss it. If you haven't seen the series, go watch it.

To preface this, let me say that I liked the main series a lot, but I didn't really understand why everyone loved it so much. It just seemed like a really good anime, but nothing GOAT material.

Now, this movie is not better than the main series. Not by a long shot. It's so much more... anime? If you know what I mean? There are just a lot more anime tropes and stuff that make it feel more like a traditional anime than the original did. There are so many more macguffins and plot holes, more moe stuff, more happy endings. Also, all the time travel stuff doesn't make nearly as much sense as the main series and I don't even think that it could even work in the context of the rules that the main series set up.

However, after saying all this, I still liked this movie more than the main series. I think the main series is done better, but that is different from how much you enjoy something. For example, I know on an objective level that Schindler's list is a really good movie, but after watching it I would probably give it a 5 out of 10.

It is DEFINITELY worth watching this movie if you liked the main series! It expands a lot on the relationship between okabe and kurisu, and especially on kurisu as a character. All the things that I wanted to happen (like kurisu and okabe being together, her realizing he actually traveled through time so he has someone to talk about it with, etc.) happened in this movie! I also really enjoyed kurisu as the main character.

The visuals and music are basically the same as the main series, and it also has a good ending, or at least a happy one. In my opinion, this takes the originality and intrigue of the original series and combines it with the anime traits that we all enjoy, and it does this to great affect.

In episodes 1 to 24 of the series Nitro produced what (yes, I know, lots of "debating" about this in the Groups) many consider THE BEST ANIME OF ALL TIME, a story that not only de-constructs time travel to a degree beyond anything Hollywood has ever attempted; but, at the same time, in the same story, has possibly the most memorable ensemble cast in the history of modern entertainment. (And possibly one of the best love stories in modern fiction as well.)

No mean feat that.

In episode 25 (also reviewed by this writer) they gave themselves a time-out and had some fun with the characters. It's optional, although the scene when Okarin enters US customs and announces he is a Mad Scientist looking to take over the country is ... priceless.

However in this wrapup film the Nitro team are back in force and flexing their muscles. Let's start with the negatives because there are so few: 1. Watching this if you have not seen the first 24 is a waste. Period. It is not a self-contained film. 2. The ending is ambiguous, but, hey, this from a production company that practically invented the word (CHAOS HEAD) so what did you expect.

The positives:

1. A movie which is at the same time a sequel and a prequel. How many other writing teams have pulled that off? 2. Will make you cry. Regardless of age or sex, bring the Kleenex. Lots. 3. An examination of scientific mystery - deja vu -- which no one else has attempted. That's a bonus.

After the events of the anime, Rintarou begins to feel the repercussions of extensive time travel, and eventually completely fades from reality. Kurisu, being the only companion to remember him, now must find a way to bring him back.

I really enjoyed the series and the movie is just as good, if not on a sub pair of the series.

My only annoyance was that I felt the love relationship with Kurisu and Okabe was a bit more forced then it was in the series.

But other than that I thought the movie was pretty good. Nothing else for me to add here but if you enjoy the series than you might enjoy this movie,

As a fan of time travel media, I say without reservation that this is the single best example in the 'genre'.

The film picks up a year after the end of the series. Kurisu and Mayuri are safe, and the Steins;Gate worldline has been reached. The Future Gadget Lab is inventing gadgets instead of time machines. The world is at peace, but Okabe is tormented by visions of the other worldlines, and he begins to slip away. At first, he only suffers headaches, but the visions get longer and more visceral, and he disappears entirely into another world line.

It is up to Makise to look for him, as she is the only one who remembers he is gone. The others have no idea. They are clueless. Daru is now the founder of the Future Gadget Lab. The world isn't radically different. Nothing falls apart. Makise gives lectures. Mayuri goes on Mayuri-ing. Daru hacks into CERN. Ruka practices swordmanship. A palpable sense of emptiness lingers over the lab, but that's it.

They still drink Dr. Pepper, though no one knows why. Okabe's influence is still there, but it is not attributed to him. As Bioshock Infinite posited, when the mind is confronted with a reality that its experiences can't support, it changes the nature of those experiences.

This is especially effective in this story, which is based around the concept of deja vu, which in Steins;Gate is a form of Reading Steiner. In the anime, Okabe was shocked to see that he was not the only one with memories of other worldlines. Ferris, Mayuri, Ruka, Daru, and Makise had these other worldlines imprinted on their minds, but they were regarded these memories as nonsense or dreams, just as we would. This is a lot like deja vu, and this film makes the connection even stronger. Deja vu is often foggy, like there's a fact floating out there in the abyss of your mind that you can't quite grasp, and in this film, the characters think of Okabe's existence in much the same fashion, like an ephemeral wisp that they've forgotten and can't quite remember.

Makise can remember better, but she has a hard time grasping his name, as though she is clutching at fog even as she is trying to return him to this worldline. She's the main character of this film, which just seems right. The last two episodes of the regular anime were about bringing her back, and the special was about bringing back the relationship between her and Okabe, so it makes sense for this film to be about her trying to preserve that relationship, to make sure it doesn't fade away. It's so natural, and it's a truly genius decision that helps this film stand out from the last two episodes and the special, that helps it stick in your memories.

She tries to go back in time and stop him from disappearing, but he doesn't want her to, not because he doesn't know what happen, but because he does know what'll happen. Her mind and soul will be torn apart as she desperately tries and fails to make things right. Her humanity will be all but gone, and she will be just a shell of a human being.

He knows this, as he has been through it himself, and he does not want to happen to her. In the middle of this film, he declares these thoughts in a speech to her, a speech that hits so hard, building off the conflict and dynamics that have been building from episode 1, pleading with her to not go back in time. Okabe delivers a lot of speeches at the end of the series and in the special about how hard it has been to time-leap over and over again. They all work, but this one is far above the rest, thanks to the writing, the context, and the amount of feelings and information communicated from Okabe to Makise. She didn't know what he was feeling before, but now she does, and it's torturous. She absorbs all of what he says because it's all completely true, and it's all so painful.

This film hinges on that relationship between Okabe and Makise in a way that no episode of the show, even episode 22, had, and it's wonderful. Their relationship is one of the most emotional, stimulating, and thoughtful in all of anime. I don't just care about these people. I'm enraptured by them, and the film deepens those emotions. It doesn't just capitalize on their relationship; it furthers it. The main conflict of the film is a conflict between them, which is fascinating and adds layering.

The love, care, empathy, and affection between these two people feels alive.

When the film ended, I was satisfied in a way I wasn't at any other point in the series. If the story of Okabe and Makise had ended after episode 24, or after the anime, or after the special, I would have felt content, but there would still be a piece of longing in my heart. There was no longing after finishing this film, except maybe the longing to watch it and the series again for the first time.

El Psy Kongroo.