After watching Digibro's controversial youtube series that went into intimate detail on his take on the spin-off of Stein's Gate, I am left with mixed feelings.
When I first finished the series, watching as it aired, I found it quite engaging and it was incredibly nice to revisit the world of this show and see the characters that inhabited it again. There were some issues, and parts of the story didn't really click, but the show was a lot of fun for what it was. A spin off to add to the original story and do it's own thing.
But after hearing Digibro's searing critical review of the series, I am left in two minds. I loved seeing these characters again, and the addition of Maho Hiyajo was seamless. Her role as someone who knew and loved Kurisu as someone before Okabe was amazingly well done. The way the show deals with big ideas like trauma, PTSD, and the loss of will to live is also phenomenal.
But on the other hand, certain characters act utterly bizarrely (Mayuri and Suzuha for example) and the addition of Kagari felt incredibly forced and unnecessary. The way several side characters who felt integral to the original's plot end up becoming background decorations is extremely disappointing too. The home-made science aspect of the show falls to the wayside as the science lab can suddenly start doing amazingly complicated things with time travel. The "villain" revealed at the end was also really badly done. It's lot of details like these that start chipping away at the show's foundation.
So what is Stein's Gate 0 to fellow fans? Does it's issues detract from the original show? Or is it self contained enough to not really bother you either way?
Hey! New to the site so I'm not sure if I'm doing this right (adding a note that is) but I liked reading one of you articles that came up when I first logged in and saw this and found it interesting/relatable. Unlike you I watched Digibro's video without having gotten around to watching the show and for me, it pretty much convinced me not to watch it even to this day despite having loved the original season. Despite how that sounds I don't let critics think for me but I feel like he proved his point well enough for me to find Stein's Gate 0 as passable for the time being (keep in mind, I don't have a lot of free time so I usually only watch a show based on recommendation of some sort, whether that's a friend or an internet personality I trust).
Even though everyone is probably done talking about this case in particular, I still think this topic remains important for the fact that I always get mixed feelings when I agree with a critic as they point something out as objectively dumb or bad when I actually "fell for it" when I watched the show myself. Many times I can explain to myself why I like the dumb thing but lately I've been wondering if that's even worth the effort.
The term, "trash taste" is used so often in the anime community that you have to wonder why any of us are even watching these "Chinese Cartoons" in the first place. I say that despite being something I would never watch with my parents or siblings, the original Stein's Gate is its own little masterpiece that touched me personally. In that same vein, if Stein's Gate 0 helped you get a little more of that feeling, years after the first show came out, you shouldn't feel conflicted about liking that part of it; even if you can laugh along with someone trashing it and agreeing with them the whole way through. – pastelnon5 years ago
If you're a regular anime watcher, or have seen a couple of anime series, then you'll probably have come across a feature-lenght anime film. Important to note is that I'm specifically talking about films based on already established series, instead of stand-alone movies like Akira, Ninja Scroll, Perfect Blue and others.
Many popular anime series such as Naruto, Dragon Ball, Pokémon, Digimon and One Piece have over the years built such a financial success that production companies are able to invest in films dealing with, in most cases, sidestories insular to the main plot, but with a much more complex and detailed animation process, which really shows. The animation level in these movies is simply incredible and full with mind-warping sequences and gorgeous backgrounds.
However, I've found that, to my own arbitrary sensibilities, the screenplay doesn't always match the genius animation these movies have. Stories tend to feel like regular episodes flattened and spread out like dough. Sure, the cake comes out beautiful, but there's something missing in the flavor.
Do you agree with this? Why do you think this happens? Do you got any examples of a tightly written anime movie based on a series?
Good suggestion. Makoto Shinkai's 'Kimi no Na wa', whilst beautifully executed visually, still lacks something in it's storytelling, although I've read that Makoto isn't satisfied with it either. I think one of the problems comes from whether the anime film is production driven (by the money men) or creatively driven. – Amyus6 years ago
There's definitely something to that observation. Just remembering my time watching the Bleach movies and thinking "Nothing is really happening here, right?". Not to say that Bleach was a series known for narrative quality. But you were capable of grasping the stakes of the conflict. You could occasionally empathize with every party in the conflict. However, the characters introduced in the films are given to time to develop beyond being easily-understandable archetypes. Furthermore, the main cast isn't allowed to develop in any significant way; probably because the films canon standing is dubious at best. They always come off as cash-in side-stories; meant to capitalize on the popularity of the franchise before the fanbase jumps to the next one (slight shade thrown at My Hero Acadamia: Two Heroes). It never seems as though anyone on any of these production teams said "let's make a movie good enough to stand on its own". The only two I can think of, off the bat, with any lasting impact are Castle of Cagliostro (based on Lupin the Third) and Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven's Door. Cagliostro is primarily a Gibli film first; that's why I believe it endures. Lupin the Third is legend, similar to Sherlock Holmes and Batman; so long as you keep fundamental aspects of the character intact, you can do whatever you want with the narrative, style, tone, etc.
Heaven's Door is less enduring a work than Caliostro (and significantly less enduring than Bebop proper). The film was beautiful and had some of the best action I've seen animated. The story was simple but well executed; it channeled Noir-era films in a much stronger way than Bebop proper did. If the connection to its parent series didn't exist, it would probably (definitely) be less relevant than it already is. However, that film is worth watching on its own. It's a decent work; worth your time even if you don't know Bebop from Rocksteady. Nowadays, it seems like most anime don't reach the level of prominence to justify a feature film. That said, broadly speaking, the anime that do still reach that level of popularity were never really narrative powerhouses to begin with (Hero Aca being the exception). – OtisPickett6 years ago
A good observation. I think it comes down to either or in a lot of cases. Production companies can invest time and effort into visual affects and cosmetics, but the narrative quality suffers. Is it just them being lazy? Maybe, in the case of Bleach, or One Piece they just simply ran out of material. I think Bleach ran out of material during the anime but... yea different topic... lol. Do they production companies value or money or full effort creativity? I think the answer is obvious for most of the mega mainstream animes, despite stories like One Piece and Dragon Ball being considered classics. Great Entry! – Kibishii5 years ago
This article could explore the popularity of a particular character in a fandom, even when the appearances have been limited. A good comparison maybe someone like Boba Fett from Star Wars. This piece could take a look back at the history Broly, why he has remained so popular, and predictions on his role in Dragon Ball Super.
Yeah, that sounds really interesting. – patelrushi225 years ago
I go to a lot of conventions and I see so much Akira merchandise. Eventually I had to re-watch the anime because I hadn't seen it since I was a small child.
Without watching super analytically, I noticed a lot of anti-war imagery. While this may not be a surprise, I feel that we may be glossing over some deep messages hidden within rhetoric and symbolism.
It deserves a deep analysis.
There are lots of articles out there about the A-bomb's influence on anime and manga that could help with an analysis. Lots of people have pointed to Akira as being an attempt to reckon with the events at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Although it doesn't have anything to do with anime, the book Life After Nagasaki is an amazing, in-depth look at both the events that transpired there as well as an investigation into the lives of several hibakusha (people who lived through the A-bomb and suffered injuries/radiation poisoning). – ees7 years ago
Many people seem to have dropped Re:Zero due to hating the protagonist, Natsuki Subaru. He is overly headstrong, impulsive, selfish, and powerless – not the most common traits of a protagonist in action anime. But what people hate about Subaru the most is his greatest triumph of the anime, that is overcoming his pride and knowing when to ask to help and rely on others. He literally feels like a protagonist of his own game and even references his chronic reincarnation as returning to a "save point", and it takes him until the tail end of the series and much suffering and death to come around, past the point that many deemed him insufferable and stopped watching. Exploring and analyzing Subaru's character and the show's themes, along with a second analysis of the anime's effectiveness in conveying its messages, would be interesting to see in either justifying premature stoppage, or urging people to "suffer" through his journey.
I'm interested to write about psychological anime. I'm picking this topic as my first article on The Artifice! – MC076 years ago
I'm watching Inuyasha for the first time and as a biracial person, I identify a lot with his complicated relationship to his race. He's half human and half demon, but is always trying to squash proof of his human half by overcompensating his demon half. He experiences negative stereotyping because of his identity and though I'm only in season 3, it seems like Inuyasha's struggle with identity will lead to him being forced to "choose" one or the other.
Half-demon characters are fairly memorable in anime, and it's usually a big deal when it's revealed. I'm thinking Rin from Blue Exorcist, here. Even looking at Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho and his discovery of demon heritage could be tied to the concept of "passing" or even embracing one's culture when it's been erased from your history.
I feel like this is a really good insight and for someone who doesn't watch or read a lot of anime/ magna this could be a different way of looking at 'cultures' through media. Cultures here being the demon vs human culture – ambermakx6 years ago
One staple cliche in anime and manga over the decades has been the tsundere/tsundere childhood friend. Disregarding the sometimes odd definitions of childhood friend (eg kids who met on one day once), the portrayal of excessive violence against male characters for either perceived or minor transgressions is almost always played up for (groan-worthy) comedic effect. The reverse is only rarely seen, and is thus certainly seen as less socially acceptable. What social phenomena contribute to this strange view of violence?
A good point. I think that is largely due to the tradition of women being viewed as more delicate than men. I can't explain the sociology behind that.. lol. Perhaps, the fact that women are associated with fertility and child birth. Men are have been accepted as the protectors or "shields" throughout history. This is definitely not to generalize genders, and attach any tropes. Everyone is an individual, but I think those facts have a lot to do with why it is always the tsundere girl beating up the guy, and not the other way around. It would be a bad look if the guy was always beating on the girl. A great entry! – Kibishii5 years ago
No other anime (or TV show in general) that I have seen has developed characters as perfectly as Cowboy Bebop. The most amazing part is that it does it via episodic storytelling. Most episodic shows (think most crime shows like CSI), focus on one-and-done plots as filler while maybe having a subtle arc occurring in the background. Cowboy Bebop has no filler. Every one-and-done builds connections between the characters, reveals details about pasts, and develops each character until the incredible climax. What makes Cowboy Bebop so successful at this, and why have other shows struggled to do it?
I have yet to see Cowboy Bebop but I have heard many great things. I want to start it soon. Two other anime's however I believe is worthy of great character development would be Naruto and One Piece. – danderson7 years ago
The difference between Cowboy Bebop and Naruto/One Piece is that Bebop is almost entirely episodic outside of a couple core episodes and it is only 24 episodes. Naruto and One Piece have hundreds of episodes to cover the journeys of their lives whereas Bebop can't, it has to cover backstory through the episodic adventures that culminate in the series question episodes in the twenties. Naruto/One Piece can have actual filler episodes as well because of how long they air for. I think it is interesting in comparing this to shows like Law and Order, since most of the stories affect the leading cast. I do think there are other shows and films that can detail a character's arc/personality and it would be important to detail how some shows succeed and others fail in this regard. – Connor7 years ago
