With more than 2.3 million members on MyAnimeList and currently ranked #4 overall, Steins;Gate’s anime has earned its place as a cult classic. With its eccentric characters and a complex re-elaboration of the time travel narrative device, it managed to break through its intended niche audience to reach mainstream status. Most praise its sci-fi elements and story structure, which leads to the series being a well-oiled machine that hooks viewers and rewards them with a perfectly placed payoff at the end of the series, as the events of Episode 1 are revisited and fully explained.
However, critics also generally note its defects — mainly, how long it takes for Steins;Gate’s story to really take off. At a careful analysis, other flaws appear, such as the unlikeability of some of its main characters. For instance, Okabe Rintaro, the protagonist, comes across as magniloquent and self-centered as well as disrespectful to others and generally insufferable. Nevertheless, one could argue that the show’s interest in and compassion for these unlikeable characters is where its true value lies. Every one of Steins;Gate’s main characters is an outsider, a ‘freak’ — and at the show’s core is the investigation of these characters’ ‘otherness,’ as it slowly unravels the mystery of their alienation and eccentric hopes and dreams.
The Loneliness of Steins;Gate’s ‘Freaks’
Self-proclaimed ‘mad scientist’ Okabe Rintaro is the audience’s door into the world of Steins;Gate. His ambitions to create a time-travel machine appear utterly delusional, and his grandiose and self-centered ways are as off-putting to other characters as they are to the viewers. At the very beginning, his treatment of Kurisu, the real scientist of the series, and his refusal to call her anything but ‘Christina’ alienate her and the audience in equal parts. Okabe is an unemployed 18-year-old who wastes his time playing at science without any real prospects for the future.
… Or so it appears. It takes a while, but the show does eventually reveal Okabe’s true nature, which is surprisingly thoughtful and extremely generous. It’s Okabe’s love for his childhood friend Mayuri that pushes him to create his crazy adventures in hopes of keeping her entertained. Mayuri, whose naïveté is almost as unbearable as Okabe’s delusions, is another outsider — her childishness hides a profound trauma that almost broke her when she lost her grandmother at a young age. Okabe’s ‘games,’ as preposterous as they are, helped her come back to reality and life.
Okabe’s time travel shenanigans seem to attract other ‘freaks’ along the way. Itaru, or ‘Daru,’ is another of them — a gifted hacker who spends his time as a true otaku, playing games and fawning over moe girls. Perhaps masquerading a kind of loneliness painfully familiar to the typical anime viewer, he is profoundly shaken by the revelation that he will be a father. Faris, whom Daru is a big fan of, represents the other side of the coin. She is a successful waitress at a maid café, her ‘persona’ sold to the customers with “nyan”s and cute remarks. Her commitment to the role that otaku are obsessed with, so incomprehensible to the average viewer, comes from personal passion but also regret. As much as she loves her job, Faris’ rejection of her real self — and by extension, of reality — can only come from the guilt she carries for feeling responsible for her father’s death.
Steins;Gate’s Real Outsiders
In addition to advocating for the ‘freaks,’ Steins;Gate presents the audience with characters that may feel closer to home. Rather than being outwardly odd, these characters are society’s outsiders, either for their exceptionality or their socially unacceptable nature. Apparently average, both in appearance and personality, Marise Kurisu is arguably the one real ‘other’ in the series. A brilliant scientist, she is often cold and timid, hiding behind a wall of detachment. As the series reveals her past, the reason for her behavior is finally disclosed: a woman in a world of men, she was hindered in her career as a scientist by her envious father, whom she surpassed. As famous and accomplished as she may become, she will always have to choose between parental affection and personal fulfillment.
Shunned by society and another recipient of Okabe’s unexpected generosity, Ruka is the other true outsider of the series. When the audience meets Ruka, they are wearing female clothes but are revealed as being biologically male. Despite showing confusion over the matter, Okabe shows true friendship to Ruka, most notably when he attempts to alter the timeline in order to have them be reborn as female, according to their wish. The anime never tries to make fun of Ruka’s gender identity or depict them as an oddity. If anything, the show’s approach to the issue is remarkable in its tact — Ruka’s episode is one of the most touching.
Okabe manages to alter the timeline and Ruka is reborn as a female, but he is forced to then undo the change in order to save Mayuri’s life. Ruka accepts but first asks to go on a date with Okabe. As awkward as Ruka and Okabe’s date is, Okabe really tries — and later apologizes for ruining it. Ruka’s words before their female timeline is erased are telling of the anime’s compassionate and progressive nature: “Whether I’m a boy or a girl, none of that matters.”
A final take on the theme of ‘otherness’ comes from Suzuha, one of the series’ most interesting characters. With the looks of an innocuous young woman, the revelation that she is a time traveler from the future is all the more shocking. Suzuha comes to the past in order to prevent the invention of the time-travel machine, which will bring about a dystopian future. Interestingly, her ‘otherness’ comes from her belonging to a different era, her fate being to exist as someone who will never really fit in.
With an intricate plot full of twists and revelations, Steins;Gate may trick the viewer into overlooking its themes in favor of its thrilling time-travel shenanigans. Yet, perhaps on a second watch, one cannot miss the choice of characters and stories that gives Steins;Gate true value. Through its compassion for outsiders and tactful treatment of delicate issues of love, pain and belonging, Steins;Gate earns its place as one of the best anime of recent years.
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