Steins; Gate
Shounak Reza
The protagonist of Steins; Gate is Okabe Rintarou, an ambitious self-proclaimed mad scientist who likes to call himself Hououin Kyoma. He runs a laboratory with his friends Shiina Mayuri (also known as Mayushi) and Hashida Itaru and wants to make a time machine. One day, he accidentally discovers something in his own laboratory that is somewhat similar to a time machine: a Phone Microwave, through which messages can be sent to the past, thereby altering past events and their present consequences. He comes across Makise Kurisu, an extraordinarily talented student who has published research papers at the mere age of eighteen and is curious to work with him on his ideas about time machines. With the passage of time, however, their subsequent discoveries greatly alter the courses of their lives and brings drastic consequences, and Okabe must do something to prevent the drastic things from happening.
Steins;Gate starts with a relatively slow pace and takes the time to develop the characters and the incidents, and after the first few episodes, it becomes pretty much similar to a roller coaster ride, as unpredictable things keep happening! The concepts of world lines, D-mails, and time leaping are extremely interesting. However, one thing that must be said about this anime series is that it is an emotional rollercoaster and I mean it. The characters, the situations- everything is so well developed. Okabe, Kurisu, Mayuri, Daru, Suzuha, Rukako- these are characters you start caring for, these are characters you get deeply attached too. Additionally, some dialogues and some particular scenes are so memorable that they get etched in our memories. When I started watching Steins;Gate, I did not really know if I would like it, but I ended up loving it and wanting more. The excellent characterization, the beautiful storytelling and the emotional depth make this an unforgettable anime, and I can see myself watching it again and again in the future.
