Let's Watch Steins;Gate

[Randomguy]

Let's Watch Steins;Gate

Hi, I'm Randomguy. You may remember me from such Let's Watches as "Let's Watch FMA:Brotherhood".

I found myself with some free time lately, so I decided to start watching another anime, and settled on Steins;Gate, which I'd heard good things about. I wasn't originally planning to do a Let's Watch of this show: I was just going to sit back, relax, and just binge watch the whole thing. Then I saw the first episode, and couldn't bring myself to keep watching... without first re-watching the episode, writing down what the time was whenever it appeared onscreen and trying to and figure out what the hell was going on.

So, without further ado:


Episode 1: Turning Point

Event Log:

At 2010 / 07 / 28, shortly before 11:50: Okarin hears an impact on the roof. It appears to be a small satellite. There’s someone walking around on the roof.
A text is received. A metal Oopa discovered.
At ~11:56, another text is received. The metal Oopa has been lost.
The lecture begins at 12:00 on the dot.
Okarin has an outburst in the middle of the lecture: Apparently the professor plagiarized the work of someone called John Titor.
The red haired girl, Makise Kuriso shows up. She apparently has published papers. I’m assuming she’s a Professor. She claims that Okarin met her at ~11:45 and had an outburst. Okarin has no memory about this.
Okarin finds out how much the metal Oopa is worth. His excitement about the 10 000 yen shows how poor his “lab” is. That’s like 100$.
Okarin discovers Kuriso's (or should I call her Makise? I'm not sure.) corpse. If it is in fact her corpse? That “blood” wasn’t exactly blood coloured, and Okarin seems… unhinged enough to miss that. Maybe that whole scene was staged for his benefit to create a stable time loop? I’m just going to assume it’s real and give them artistic licence on the glow-y blood.
Okarin hits send on his text to the hacker guy about Kuriso's murder, and something happens. Apparently he goes back in time, or possibly to an alternate timeline, where the streets are empty.
In this “alternate timeline”, a much larger satellite has crashed, instead of landing safely. It has destroyed the top floor of the building.


Apparently a few hours later, we get formally introduced to the girl he was with, Mayushii, and his “hacker” friend, Hashida Itaru. We also get our first look at Okarin's lab, which looks less like a lab and more like an apartment packed with science experiments.
I’m… I’m just not going to comment on Alpacaman.
From the news, we discover that in this alternate timeline, which I will call Timeline 2, the large satellite crashed into the building around 12:00. That'd explain why the streets were empty when Okarin showed up: the police probably cleared out the surrounding area after the crash, and only started letting people back in the area a few hours later.
We find out that Timeline 2 Mayushii was there because Timeline 2 Okarin dragged her over to have a look at the satellite.
In Timeline 2, the lecture on time travel as cancelled.
“Steins;Gate has chosen!”. No idea what this means. I vaguely recall something about the series being based on some internet hoax involving time travel, which may have had something to do with someone in real life named John Titor, but I can’t go looking it up now for fear of spoilers.
Okarin continues to be unhinged. He successfully irradiates a banana.
Some nice alliteration about radioactive bananas from Itaru.
At about 4:00, Okarin and Itaru return to the university building. They discover that the texts that Okarin sent were received on 2010/07/23 at 12:56, 5 days before they were sent.
In the pre-credits of Episode 2, Okarin flips out at Kuriso. And this is where I realized I absolutely HAD to make an event log to make sense of things. (This is where I’m getting the “about 4:00pm” bit. Okarin sayd that Makise died three hours ago.)


Working Hypothesis:

Here's what I've come up with so far: There are 2 timelines: Timeline 1, with the small satellite that made only a small impact when it landed safely, and Timeline 2, with the large satellite that crashed and destroyed the top floor of the building. In Timeline 2, the lecture on time travel was cancelled. I’m assuming both timelines have their own copy of everyone.
At exactly 12:56, when Okarin from Timeline 1 (henceforth Okarin-1) hits send on the text, he is transported to 12:56 at Timeline 2. Apparently due to timey-wimey side effects, his text gets split up into three parts and sent back in time by 5 days. Here, he meets up with Mayushii-2, who was dragged along to the university by Okarin-2 when he heard the news about the large satellite crash. I don’t know what happened to Okarin-2, but I’d put 60% chance that he ended up in Timeline 1. Either that, or he was just "overwritten" by Okarin-1.
At about 4:00 Okarin-1, meets Kuriso-2, the red haired professor.
Not long after that, and not seen onscreen, something happens that sends Kuriso-2 to shortly after 12:00 in Timeline-1, where she confronts Okarin-1, who of course has no idea what she’s talking about because their first meeting (from her perspective) has not yet happened from his perspective. Interestingly enough, these are the sort of shenanigans that normally happen in stable time loop situations, not parallel timeline situations.

The metal Oopa will be critically important to the plot. Here’s why: Mayushii-1 got the metal Oopa. Mayushii-2 never had it. And the time that Mayushii-1 lost the metal Oopa roughly corresponds to the time when Makise-2 crossed over into Timeline-1. So perhaps Mayushii-2 will find the metal Oopa next episode. Her reaction to finding the thing, and insisting she never had it before now, will be another clue to help Okarin figure out what’s going on.

One more thing: The corpse that Okarin found could belong to either Kuriso-1 or Kuriso-2. Or theoretically another version of Kuriso from a different time or timeline, but probably one of those two. And I have no idea who could have killed her and why.

Jeez, I feel like I need a timeline graph already. But I'm going to consider that a good sign. I'm really enjoying this show so far.

[Lethologica]

Oh hey, it's S;G. I like and dislike this show, so discussion will probably be fun times.



Okarin discovers Kuriso's (or should I call her Makise? I'm not sure.) corpse. If it is in fact her corpse? That “blood” wasn’t exactly blood coloured, and Okarin seems… unhinged enough to miss that. Maybe that whole scene was staged for his benefit to create a stable time loop? I’m just going to assume it’s real and give them artistic licence on the glow-y blood.
Holy ****ing ****, he gets this on watch 1, episode 1? I give up. Some people just understand storytelling.

[Randomguy]

Episode 2: Time Travel Paranoia

Event Log:

I feel like that “reaching one hand up towards the sun” imagery is common in anime intros. (granted, 2 data points isn’t a whole lot to extrapolate from.)
Looks like Okarin just got emathculated pretty hard by Kuriso during her lecture on time travel. Also, I love the Dr. Who reference in the dub.
Ryuka (i’m probably spelling that wrong) has a crush on Okarin! How cute.
Wait, what? Did I here that right? “The personification of feminine grace… and a dude.”
I heard that right. Ryuka is a dude.
Eh, I ship it anyway.
Okarin is realizing that he remembers things that no one else does. Which is inconvenient, since he appears to be a Schizophreniac and people are used to dismissing his nonsense.
Now we get some exposition about John Titor. Also “worldline” instead of “timeline”? ugh. The dubbers dropped the ball on that one. Anyway, it seems like in Timeline-1, John Titor went back to year 2000. But in Timeline-2, Titor never went back to year 2000, and has no intention to. Interesting. As a result, in Timeline-2, he’s much less well known. This might explain why the lecture was cancelled in Timeline-2: No John Titor to plagiarize from.
Enter stage left: Moeka, who takes a large number of pictures and wrangles Okarin’s contact info from him. She is very attached to her phone. I’m betting she’s going through some of the same timeline-hopping stuff Okarin is, and is taking pictures to have a record of where she’s been and when (using the timestamp on the picture), to convince herself that she’s not going crazy. That’d explain her attachment to her phone. I feel like the picture of that old computer also suggests time traveller.
Watching Okarin interact with the waitresses at the maid-cat cafe is very endearing. He's actually kinda nice when he's not acting completely insane.
The banana has either time travelled or teleported back to the bunch. And Kuriso's caught them red handed in the act of bananaportation.


Episode Notes: First Impressions

I’m assuming that Okarin is a high functioning paranoid Schizophrenic, what with him always talking about the Organization being out to get him. That, and him claiming that he set his phone to turn off in anyone’s hands but his own. He’s also clearly quite brilliant despite all that, even though he got his academic butt whooped by Kuriso during her lecture.
Wait a moment. What if Kuriso’s corpse that Okarin saw in episode one was just a hallucination? Visual hallucinations are actually a potential symptom of paranoid schizophrenia (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/192621.php). Normally I’d say that the writers wouldn’t pull something like that, but Okarin actually does show many of the symptoms of Paranoid Schizophrenia, which may could count as foreshadowing, so it wouldn't be completely out of the blue.

Pigtail girl who got a job at the old CRT store. (video game store?): She seems exciteable. Don’t know what her deal (or her name) is. I’m sure I’ll find out eventually.

Moeka: Is this one of those tropes in anime and manga where a shy girl is named "Moeka" because it has "Moe" in it, in the same way that a disproportionate number of protagonists are named "Hiro"? As I mentioned above, I suspect her of being a time traveller and timeline jumper. Not much else to say about her yet though.

Itaru: He’s a bit creepy, but I like how snarky he is, and he keeps Okarin grounded.

Kuriso: We already new that she’d jumped from one timeline to another. But her showing up at the end of the episode at a dramatically appropriate time suggests that she’s time travelling intentionally, not accidentally.

Mayushii: I wonder what her story is. How’d she end up in the same friend group as Okarin and Itaru? Is she a classmate of theirs? Okarin's younger sister? I'm not sure.

[Eldan]

Actually, World Lines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_line) are a thing, I don't think they dropped the ball.

[Grinner]

Hoo boy, this will be fun.

...Although you're doing a lot better than I did watching it through. :smallwink: I'm having trouble keeping all the details together, even knowing how it will end.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Or, should I say...

FUWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~

Also, I think the subs used "world line" as well. I don't know the original Japanese enough to know if they're deliberately going for that slant or not.

[Lethologica]

*cough* The name's Kurisu.

Feel free to ship anyone and everyone. It's a VN adaptation, that's what VNs are for. Not a fan of the way the show treats Ruka, but that's not Ruka's fault.

World line is a correct translation; the term they use is 世界線 ('sekai sen'). 'Sekai' means 'world'.

Never underestimate the rule of drama.

[Grinner]

Actually, World Lines (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_line) are a thing, I don't think they dropped the ball.

I don't think the usage is exactly the same, though.

In that article, the term "world line" refers to the totality of an object's movement over time, and it doesn't really refer to anything physical. It's just a method of representation, I think. It's definitely an interesting way of thinking about physics, but in Steins;Gate, the usage seems different.

From what I remember, there are multiple world lines in the series. Each world line consists of a collection of timelines, and given how Okabe is tasked with changing the world line in order to prevent Kurisu's father from taking over the world (or was it SERN?), we can safely assume that the future is pretty much predestined within any given world line. Otherwise, it wouldn't be too difficult to prevent that from occurring.

While the universe seems to resist attempts to change the future, it is possible to find the right point in spacetime at which world lines meet (which is what Suzuha spends the series trying to do), thus allowing an individual to direct the universe along a different world line. It's an interesting compromise between the concepts of free-will and destiny. From an extradiegetic viewpoint, it's also kinda handy for the purposes of drama, since it allows time travel to occur without the butterfly effect kicking in.

Does the series ever address the problem of multiple universes? If there's only one universe and the many states in which it can exist, I can kinda see applying the term "world line" if you treat the universe as a single object. It's hard to explain...

[Randomguy]

*cough* The name's Kurisu.
Augh! I literally switched over to watch the sub for episode one to make sure I spelled all the names right. I guess I made a typo when writing one of them down. :smallsigh:
Thanks for the correction.



Feel free to ship anyone and everyone. It's a VN adaptation, that's what VNs are for. Not a fan of the way the show treats Ruka, but that's not Ruka's fault.


I didn't realize Steins:Gate was a VN adaptation. Neat. I guess I can probably expect some ship tease between Okarin and just about all of the other characters, then.



World line is a correct translation; the term they use is 世界線 ('sekai sen'). 'Sekai' means 'world'.

It may be the correct literal translation, but it seems like they're talking about to timelines, and not world lines. (which I did not know where a thing). Although, I have to say that overall the dub has been really good about non-literal translations. I've noticed a lot of well used idioms. Also a few that aren't as well used, but that doesn't happen so often.

[Grinner]

It may be the correct literal translation, but it seems like they're talking about to timelines, and not world lines. (which I did not know where a thing). Although, I have to say that overall the dub has been really good about non-literal translations. I've noticed a lot of well used idioms. Also a few that aren't as well used, but that doesn't happen so often.

The term refers to something more complex than a simple timeline. Wait a bit longer.

[Lethologica]

The term refers to something more complex than a simple timeline. Wait a bit longer.
No, I think Randomguy is correct.

The term for a timeline in Steins;Gate is 'world line', and the term for a collection of world lines with a convergent result is 'attractor field'. See the Steins;Gate wiki for details: Attractor Field (steins-gate.wikia.com/wiki/Attractor_Field)

[Grinner]

No, I think Randomguy is correct. The term for a timeline in Steins;Gate is 'world line', and the term for a collection of world lines with a convergent result is 'attractor field'. See the Steins;Gate wiki for details: Attractor Field (steins-gate.wikia.com/wiki/Attractor_Field)

Ohhhhhh....My bad.

[Lethologica]

Ohhhhhh....My bad.
Well, hm. Actually, the way I put it might have been too strong; see below.


It may be the correct literal translation, but it seems like they're talking about to timelines, and not world lines. (which I did not know where a thing). Although, I have to say that overall the dub has been really good about non-literal translations. I've noticed a lot of well used idioms. Also a few that aren't as well used, but that doesn't happen so often.
While this is true, it may be that the Japanese expression used in Steins;Gate is distinct from how the concept of 'timelines' is normally expressed in Japanese. In that case, a correct translation would maintain the distinction. I've been wandering around the net looking for (a) an English-to-Japanese translation of 'timeline' that isn't just the Katakana loanword, and (b) an explanation of why 'world line' was used. I haven't had much success on either score.

In particular, 'world line' may denote a specific kind of timeline, with behaviors peculiar to the setting, as opposed to the general concept of timelines. Saying anything more about this is getting into the spoilers Grinner and I have been churning through.

[Randomguy]

Episode 3: Parallel World Paranoia

Event Log:


"Don’t you take your eyes off her for a nanosecond". "Sure thing boss." :smallamused:
Okay, the guys are being really creepy about the banana double entendres here.
Basically everything Mayushii says about chicken tenders is hilarious.
Gah! Why would she open the microwave then?
And the results of the experiment: The text message was once again received 5 days ago.
Here’s what I don’t get: If the microwave is a time machine, then why didn’t it do anything to the chicken tenders? Well, other than burn them.
They appear to have burnt out their time machine.

"The IBM 5100 was built before basic, so it’s the only computer that can read IBM’s proprietary code."
"The IBM5100’s singular abilities are needed to halt CERN’s ambitions." It has a secret function that only a few of the engineers know about.
One thing from Titor’s message: "in 2015, WW3 occurs." The show's set in 2010, so that's actually only 5 years away. That's a lot more imminent then CERN's takeover.
From the CERN documents: “Error: Human is dead. Mismatch.”


Episode Notes:

Turns out Kurisu showing up at the same moment they time travelify the banana is a complete coincidence. She’s apparently quite averse to the idea of time travel, which makes sense when you think that she’s probably sunk quite a bit of time into proving that it’s impossible. Apparently her math was wrong somewhere, though, because CERN's own documents say that they successfully created mini-black holes, which she said was impossible.

So, we know that both Moeka and John Titor are both looking for the IBM5100, and from last episode it was mentioned that there were rumours of one being around. I wonder how they’re connected? Moeka could be working for Titor, or against him, or she could want it for the same reason. Also, she’s definitely a time traveller.

If CERN controls all of the advanced technology in the future, then how did John Titor get his hands on time travel? He also knew that the miniature black holes (Z-program) was already successful by this point in time, even though CERN kept that a secret. It’s possible that info about the Z-program was revealed decades after the fact, and that Titor managed to steal time travel tech from CERN, but still. Seems suspicious.
Also, if he can travel through time, why not go back to 1975 when the IBM5100 first came out and just grab one? Unless the amount of energy you need depends on how far back you're going, which I guess makes sense. In fact it makes a lot of sense: One standard microwave draws enough power to send a message back 5 days, or a banana back 5 minutes, or a bunch of bananas back by less time then then they were even in the microwave. So the heavier something is less it travels back given the same energy. This might also explain why the microwave didn't mess up the chicken tenders.

The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2 aren’t actually caused by the text that Okarin inadvertently sent back in time, although that would have fit nicely with what we new about timelines. So however their time travel microwave works, it doesn’t create a new timeline when it sends a text back in time. But something happened to transport Okarin to a different timeline. What gives? Maybe there’s something else that happened simultaneously.

Even if it only sends information back, that's still pretty useful. Finding out the stock market 5 days in advance comes to mind. Or the lottery numbers. Shame they broke it, though.
Hang on: if they broke the thing and now can't fix it, then how did they make it in the first place? Especially if they didn't know what it did when they did make it. Are they just throwing science at the wall until something sticks?

No idea what the “human is dead” bit is referring to. It can’t be Kurisu. Or can it? No, probably not.
Makes sense that time travel is hazardous, though. After all, look at what it did to the banana.

Speaking of Kurisu, let's take a moment to figure out which one's which:
We know that the Kurisu that Okarin ranted at after seeing her corpse is the same as the one that confronted him in Timeline 1.
We know that she's also the same Kurisu that gave the lecture about the impossibility of time travel in episode 2, since she knew Okarin's name. And all other instances of Kurisu appear to be the same one as that.
...
What?
So Kurisu started off in Timeline 2, travelled to Timeline 1 and back in time 3 hours to confront Okarin, and then went back to Timeline 2 to give her lecture? How the hell did she switch timelines and times, twice, without noticing? I guess that's possible if she stayed in the radio building the whole time, and didn't check the time. Or her phone.
Geez, this theory is getting increasingly unlikely and it's the best one I can think of. My next best guess is that future Kurisu from Timeline 2 went back and switched timelines to play out a script, written by future Okarin, so that the Okarin of episode 1 reacts in the correct way and flips out at Kurisu-2 when they first meet (from her perspective) in order to ensure that they meet in the first place.

So... who's the corpse? Kurisu that was originally from Timeline 1? Kurisu from Timeline 2 in the future? Kurisu from some other timeline? A hallucination? A dummy covered in fake blood? Probably not that last one, but who knows?

And for that matter, how did she die? Who killed her? What was their motive? I guess the motive would depend on which Kurisu the victim actually is. The possible suspects right now are anyone who has (or will have) access to time travel, so: CERN agents, John Titor, Moeka, maybe even future Okarin. Or the person who mysteriously landed on the rooftop of the radio building in Timeline 1. Now that I think of it, Roof Person is also probably a time traveller. Or the death could have been caused by a time travel related accident, which has been established as a possibility. Person is dead, and all.

Speaking of Roof Person, I went back and took a screencap of the one very brief image we were given of her.

http://i64.tinypic.com/ohkadf.png

So if I ever see a character wearing brown, fingerless gloves, then they are (probably) Roof Person.

[Grinner]

So Kurisu started off in Timeline 2, travelled to Timeline 1 and back in time 3 hours to confront Okarin, and then went back to Timeline 2 to give her lecture?

I think you're confusing yourself. (You're definitely confusing me, at least.)

In the episode 1 log, you stated that the time travel lecture was cancelled in Timeline 2.

[Randomguy]

I think you're confusing yourself. (You're definitely confusing me, at least.)

In the episode 1 log, you stated that the time travel lecture was cancelled in Timeline 2.

The lecture that was cancelled was the pro-time travel lecture, at 12:00, that some guy plagiarized off of John Titor. Kurisu's lecture, on why time travel is impossible, which happened at 4:00 ish, was not cancelled and definitely happened in Timeline 2.

[Lethologica]

Speaking of Kurisu, let's take a moment to figure out which one's which:
We know that the Kurisu that Okarin ranted at after seeing her corpse is the same as the one that confronted him in Timeline 1.
How do we know that again?

[Randomguy]

Speaking of Kurisu, let's take a moment to figure out which one's which:
We know that the Kurisu that Okarin ranted at after seeing her corpse is the same as the one that confronted him in Timeline 1.



How do we know that again?

We know this because the reason that she confronted him in Timeline 1 is because he raved about her being dead in their previous meeting from her perspective.

[Ravian]

We know this because the reason that she confronted him in Timeline 1 is because he raved about her being dead in their previous meeting from her perspective.

I'm not so sure about that (I also haven't finished the series yet so this is just my opinion rather than a spoiler).

I may be recalling it wrong, but I thought she said that he wanted to talk to her for some reason, not specifically because of him ranting about her being dead.

My theory is that there's a stable time loop and he'll end up traveling back in time to either set or try to stop events in motion.


Thanks for doing this by the way. I've been trying to finish this series for a while (I'm around the midway point, having stopped twice now due to other distractions.) Hopefully this thread should finally give me the excuse I need to finish the damn thing.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I continue to be impressed by your attention to detail. :smallbiggrin: I think it'll pay off for you.

I don't recall if they explained why the chicken tenders didn't turn out quite the same; they definitely give an explicit reasoning in the VN, where they go into a lot more detail about stuff. It's been a while since I've seen the show, so I could be mis-remembering.

[Randomguy]

I'm not so sure about that (I also haven't finished the series yet so this is just my opinion rather than a spoiler).

I may be recalling it wrong, but I thought she said that he wanted to talk to her for some reason, not specifically because of him ranting about her being dead.


Here's a rough transcript of their conversation. In retrospect, I could have probably looked it up instead of transcribing it myself, but either way:


Kurisu: So what were you trying to tell me back then? Earlier.
Okarin: Earlier?
K: A quarter of an hour ago?
O: They let you out of a nuthouse? Hold on, Makise Kurisu? [is confused, then realizes who she is]
K: [impressed he knows who she is.]
O: [acts crazy]
K: Look, I just wanted to ask you about…
O: And you’re a fool to expect I’ll talk! [starts talking into phone about being cornered by an agent.]
K: [Figures out phone is off.]
O: [Acts crazy.] [evil laughter]
K: Great, you’re crazy. Clearly this is asking a lot, but I need you to summon up whatever focus you can spare. Think back 15 minutes. You were trying your damndest to tell me something? And going by the look on your face it was worth hearing.
O: [Acts crazy] [evil laughter] [exit stage left.]
Okarin's internal monologue: She’s clearly a lunatic.

Sure sounds like she's referring to the meeting in episode 2 to me. Oh, and you gotta love the irony in that last line. :smallbiggrin:

Okay, hang on a second. Let's label the meetings between them for easier discussion.
Meeting A is them meeting in episode 1, transcribed above.
Meeting B is with Okarin and Kurisu's corpse.
Meeting C is in the pre-credits scene of episode 2.
Meeting D is Kurisu giving her lecture in episode 2.
Meeting E is at the end of episode 2 / start of episode 3 when Kurisu shows up at their lab.

My current hypothesis is that, from Kurisu-2's perspective, the meetings go in this order: C --> A --> D --> E.

This mostly makes sense. However, there are a few problems with this
A small problem is that in meeting C, Okarin gives Kurisu his name. By which I mean he yells it at her dramatically while she's going off to give her lecture. But in meeting A, Kurisu never uses Okarin's name. This isn't that big of a deal, the meeting may have just been written that way to avoid giving too many hints to the audience, but it's worth noting.

Here's the bigger issue: At the end of meeting C, Kurisu leaves directly to meeting D. (which we know because at the end of meeting C some guy says "They're ready for you now, miss.", with "they" probably referring to the people in the lecture hall.) And in meeting D she does use Okarin's name. This sort of suggests that D was directly after C from her perspective. There's that, and there's also the fact that I brought up before: For the order to be C --> A --> D, Kurisu would have had to time travel twice, without noticing, on her way directly to meeting D. Which is starting to get unlikely.
It's still the best idea I've got, though, so I'll stick with it for now. Hopefully I'll get some answers in the next few episodes.

[Randomguy]

Episode 4: Interpreter Rendezvous.

Event Log:

And from one brief flashback, we find out that at least one of Mayushii's parents is dead. :smallfrown: Well, at least we know a bit about her now.
Text message from Titor. Add Okarin to the list of people that want the IBN 5100.
"The world needs only one despicable mad scientist! We need to realize our goal of global dominion before the upstarts cut us off at the pass!" Real Selfless, Okarin. Save the world from CERN so you can take over yourself. Nice. Also, technically you're the upstart here. They are an established evil organization.
Mayushii has work and Itaru needs sleep, so looks like Okarin’s going to have to put his evil plan on hold for now. Not like there’s a strict time limit, though. They've got a few years.
Okarin has managed to merge the new information about CERN with his earlier delusions of being schemed against by "The Organization." Which I guess simplifies thing, better then adding a second secret society that’s scheming against him.
Apparently Kurisu’s father was fixated with time travel as well. I wonder who he was?
Way to dine and dash, Okarin.
I agree with Okarin here. What the hell?
Okay, some sort of board game tournament? At a maid/catgirl cafe?
I’m just waiting for Okarin to run out of hot air and lose horribly.
And his first move is to surrender. That was actually clever of him. He’s still a drama queen though.
But they did find a lead on the IBN!
That's interesting: Kurisu's apparently only 17. And she’s already a published papers? And giving lectures? Wow.
The IBN 5100 was donated to the shrine 10 years ago. Same year Titor originally showed up in Timeline 1. Huh.


Episode Notes:

Okarin's code words stem from his usual paranoia, but in a situation with time travel they might actually come in handy sometime later: If someone that's not supposed to have a code word uses one, then it's possible that they got the code word at some point in the future and then travelled back. It's always the same thing, though, which makes it less useful.

Okay, the last part of this episode is quite funny: Okarin's switching between talking to Ruka's father and Kurisu, and whenever he talks to Ruka's father he's super polite, and when he talks to Kurisu he's incredibly rude and condescending. He's literally switching back and forth from one sentence to another!
This is an extreme example, but it also demonstrates how he treats people in general. Some people he's "nice" too (still overdramatic and eccentric though) and other people he just sort of treats as subordinate, like Kurisu and Itaru. Now that I think of it, his condescension might even be, like, a form of affection.

One new mystery is added in this episode: Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine? Whoever it was, they probably intended Okarin to end up with it. They were probably also a time traveller. So... Titor? Future Okarin? Moeka?
Wait... what if the thing that caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2 was that someone went back and left the IBN for Okarin to find? I'm not sure whether or not that makes sense. I do know that whatever caused the change, it must have involved going back into the distant past, because of the differences between the two satellites: For the two satellites to be different, they must have been designed differently, for different purposes, and the design phase of the satellites would have happened years before they launched or crashed.

Running Plotlines
I'm going to make a quick list of the running plotlines, to make sure that I don't accidentally forget anything important.


The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2
The small satellite landing vs. the large satellite crash
Titor's appearance in year 2000 vs Titor's appearance in 2010
The mysterious roof person from Timeline 1.
What caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2.
How Kurisu went from timeline to timeline.
Who killed Kurisu, what was their motive, and which Kurisu was killed?
Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine?
Why did Moeka want the IBN5100? Is she working for Titor, for CERN or neither?

[DarkCorax]

I really enjoyed Steins;Gate. It's always interesting with this kind of show to watch someone going in blind and trying to work out what is happening, managing to be eerily accurate in some areas while being wildly off base elsewhere. :smalltongue:

[Eldan]

I quite like this show. I also found my old avatar again.

[Calemyr]

Posting primarily to be sure I can find this again. Full Metal Alchemist was fun, but Steins;Gate is a whole other game. Seriously. Everything makes "total sense" looking back at it, a lot of clues are there all along, and the mysteries all fit together neatly once you see it all, but until the closing credits you're left scrabbling with the clues you've got. You're a very smart guy, Randomguy, so watching as you spot and piece together every clue, thread, and red herring will likely be the most entertainment I'll get all year.

I don't think this is a vital spoiler, but it's really useful for understanding this story. A World Line is a collection of time lines. If I wake up and have a bowl of cereal, go back in time and tell myself the milk is bad, then wake up and have a Pop-tart instead, I've got two timelines, but the state of the world hasn't changed in any meaningful. I have one less pop-tart, and didn't end up with a bowl full of sour milk. Now, if I decided to go to Kwik Trip to fuel up before work, start chatting with the cute lady behind me in the line, and ultimately meet the girl of my dreams in a chance encounter, then go back and time and give myself coupons to Super America, I end up going there instead, and never meet the love of my life. That's a much bigger change, but it's still very much on a personal level. The world doesn't change. But then say I went back in time to around the year 2000 and started raising an epic stink about airplanes, and how a fully fueled plane could not just flatten a major landmark but the flaming fuel could both destroy it utterly and make the death toll so much worse, well... changes might have been made. New security and safety features on planes, for example. 9/11 fails utterly. No world uniting against the tragedy, no war on terror, no backlash from errors stemming from it. End result is one idiot's raving changes the world immensely. Imagine what the modern world would have been like if those planes had been brought down long before they found their targets. That world would be a new World Line, with its own various timelines based on my choice in breakfast and relationship status. Killing Hitler would be another World Line changer, I would assume.

Something happened that day that radically changed the chain of events. The crashed satelite might have broken the chain of events that killed Kurisu, for example, and Kurisu might be a crucial element in the future. That metal opa might interfere with just the right electronics at just the right time to save the world, perhaps, and its loss has damned us all. Itaru might have finally impressed that cat-maid girl if Okarin hadn't gone even more unhinged and started making something of his life. Mayuri might... pffffft... nope. Can't type that with a straight face. The girl may be cute and a wonderful source of breather comedy (annoying too-ta-roo sound be darned), but relevant she is not. Anyway, something changed that day that had a major impact on the state of the world.

Or, if you prefer, you could look at a World Line as a rope, made up of a large number of relatively close timelines. Make a big enough change and you jump from one rope to another.

Hope that makes sense. It's critical to the plot, but to the concept rather than the resolution, so I think it's just useful to know.

Other than that, there's one question I'd add for your list of things to remember: Why is it only Okarin that remembers the first World Line? I remember that really bothered me first time around.

[Kato]

Ah man.... not I feel like I should go back and watch the show again alongside you... Hm... I'll give this some serious thought.
I love this show, I love Okabe, I love Kurisu, I love how the characters work of each other... I don't like some of the unnecessary bad science but otherwise this might be my favorite anime, or at least top 10.


A World Line is a collection of time lines.
Huh? How is a world line different from a time line? :smallconfused: Or, well, maybe not exactly. I still think the analogue is not fitting.

[Eldan]

I think this show has the very best bad science. Hilarious bad science that shows a certain love for actual science. Unlike a lot of so-called SciFi.

[Calemyr]

Huh? How is a world line different from a time line? :smallconfused: Or, well, maybe not exactly. I still think the analogue is not fitting.

It's simple. A World Line is multiple timelines that are related, the same way a book is multiple pages that are, probably, related..

[Randomguy]

A World Line is a collection of time lines.

I guess this makes sense. In theory they're just very similar timelines, in practice it would be useful for time travellers to group them all together and give them the label Worldline 2814 or something to distinguish it from the Worldline where Axis powers won WW2.



Other than that, there's one question I'd add for your list of things to remember: Why is it only Okarin that remembers the first World Line? I remember that really bothered me first time around.

I originally thought that Okarin was the only one to remember the first World Line because he literally travelled from one world line to another, and no one else did. Recently though I've been considering the possibility that he hasn't been travelling, just that something happened that changed the world line and he retained the old memories. One piece of support for this is the texts that Okarin sent about Kurisu's death, which he can't actually find on his phone. So that particular piece of physical evidence from the other World Line is gone.

The thing that distinguishes these two ideas is other physical evidence, like the metal Oopa and more importantly the texts that were sent about it. If the texts are on his phone now, it's time travel, if they aren't, then it's a change in memories. Okarin hasn't mentioned that they were missing, but he might just not have noticed if they were, what with all the other more significant stuff going on.

It's actually a very important distinction, from my perspective at least: If his memory changed instead of him physically going from one worldline to the other, then my current theory on Kurisu's personal timeline is completely wrong. (Well either that or we have a weird situation where Kurisu time travelled while Okarin is just remembering a different timeline).

At this point I'd bet on actually travelling from timeline to timeline instead of just a change in memory, but if it were a change in memory I would guess Okarin was unaffected because of his schizophrenia.

[JCarter426]

I recently recommended this to a friend but he still hasn't finished it. So it'll be interesting to see someone else's speculation.

But regarding the worldline issue, the terminology originates from John Titor himself. He borrowed it from physics but he didn't use it the same way - it's basically just his term for timeline. The collection of similar worldlines thing is called something else in Steins;Gate.



Temporal space-time is made up of every possible quantum state. The Everett Wheeler model is correct. I have met and/or seen myself twice on different worldlines. The first was a training mission and the second is now.

I was born in 1998 so the other "me" is 2 on this worldline. There is a saying where I come from, "Every possible thing that can happen or will happen has already happened somewhere".

For starters, the fact that I'm here makes it different. I've also noticed little things like news events that happen at different times, football games won by other teams, things like that.

I would guess the temporal divergence between this worldline and my original is about 1 or 2 percent. Of course, the longer I am here, the larger that divergence becomes from my point of view.

[Randomguy]

Episode 5: Starmine Rendezvous

Event Log:

Pigtail girl whose name I still don't know just reacted to Kurisu as though she was history's greatest monster.
Poor Okarin, never getting to do his fancy introduction for the IBN5100.
Mayushii is Okarin's hostage? o.O
His willing hostage? 0.o
Looks like pigtail girl has some future knowledge.
And she reacted to a new chopper as though it was an air raid. That, and those comments an episode or two ago about being a trained warrior? I'm guessing time travelling World War 3 veteran.
Mayushii and Okarin were childhood friends. Not surprising, but nice to have it confirmed.
So... the part timer can call him Okabe and he doesn't even blink, but Kurisu calls him that and he flips his ****?
Oooh, they decoded the documents!
Some tidbits from the CERN reports: "The control of spacetime and its destruction of history". "Creating a stable world spanning from past to future. This will be the true purpose of CERN as it enters the 21st century". "The Z program will test the feasibility of space time transference through the collision of high energy protons"
Kurisu accepts the new evidence and changes her beliefs accordingly. Good on her.


Episode Notes:

Kurisu has a lot of the same tastes as Okarin: Lab coats and Dr. Pepper. I think they would actually get along quite well if Okarin wasn't tremendously condescending 80% of the time and borderline abusive 5% of the time.

This episode we found out a bit more about Mayushii's and Okarin's relationship, and it was not at all what I expected. Well, the childhood friends part was likely, the hostage part was surprising. I'm not sure what that's about. My first guess was that Okarin is holding her hostage in name only for ransom money as a form of lab funding, but there's no way he'd be able to pull that off without getting himself arrested.

Anyway, on to the big picture stuff: Pigtail girl is another time traveler. She thinks / knows that Kurisu will do something terrible in the future, which probably explains why Kurisu was killed. Anyway, based on her reaction to the helicopter and her earlier comments about being a "trained warrior", and her never having seen fireworks before, she's probably a World War 3 veteran (or perhaps a refugee?). This raises the question: Why did she go back in time in the first place?
Here's another question: What are the odds that a time traveller ends up, entirely by coincidence, working literally in the same building as a group of people that have created a time machine just a few days after she started working there? This is no coincidence. She travelled back to that time and place for a reason, and that reason has something to do with Future Gadget labs. In retrospect, this has been hinted at in the past few episodes as well: She knew about John Titor even though he's a very obscure figure in Timeline 2, she knew that the organization that Okarin was working against was CERN, allegedly through "good ears", and she knows a lot about the one particular computer necessary to decode CERN's secret documents. There's also the way she talks, with occasional references and figures of speech that aren't actually commonly used, which I'm guessing is just future slang.

Running Plotlines



The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2

The small satellite landing vs. the large satellite crash
Titor's appearance in year 2000 vs Titor's appearance in 2010
The mysterious roof person from Timeline 1.
What caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2.
How Kurisu went from timeline to timeline.

Who killed Kurisu, what was their motive, and which Kurisu was killed?

One possible motive is that Kurisu does something with consequences so terrible that there are people who would want to go back and time to kill her.

Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine?
Why did Moeka want the IBN5100? Is she working for Titor, for CERN or neither?
How does time travel work?


The last point is new, and it's important: The form of time travel we've seen this episode that was done by CERN, the same thing that happened with the banana, is fundamentally different from whatever it was that happened in episode 1. What we're seeing now appear to be stable time loops, the same type of time travel that appeared in Harry Potter: Prisoner of Azkaban. Person goes back in time, corpse is found in the past. No new timelines are created. But what happened in episode 1 was entirely different: it was a change in the timeline. The type that happened to Kurisu seems like neither of those two types, or possibly a mix of the two.

Here's what I was thinking while watching this episode: After the first thirteen experiments all failed in the same, horrifically lethal way, who in their right mind would volunteer for experiment #14? Having thought about it a bit more the situation seems much darker: They have news clippings documenting the results of the subjects arrival in the past. But they obviously wouldn't have performed the experiment and then gone looking through old newspapers to see if they were successful. No, they would have planned the experiment, then checked the records, and then gone through with it. They know the results of the experiments before they do them, and they are still performing the experiments, probably to maintain the integrity of the timeline or something. They are sending these time travellers, who are not necessarily willing subjects, or at the very least not fully informed, to their deaths.

Let's look back at those excerpts from the reports: "The control of spacetime and its destruction of history". "Creating a stable world spanning from past to future." I think this means that the ultimate goal of CERN is to control which time travel attempts create new timelines and which ones result in stable time loops.
Think about it: Suppose John Titor goes back in time to stop CERN from gaining control of the world, and they use their technology to ensure that his trip counts as a stable time loop. Since stable time loops can't actually change the future, then CERN doesn't need to worry about their evil empire being unmade. They know that Titor can't go back and "destroy history". The timeline is stable.

[Ravian]

Well I hope you're happy, this thread made me go and binge the rest of the series over the course of two days. :smallmad:

In all seriousness, I really like this Let's Watch. Not least of which because Steins Gate is chock full of so many little hints and clues that really add to the experience of a re-watch.

[Kato]

It's simple. A World Line is multiple timelines that are related, the same way a book is multiple pages that are, probably, related..

I get what you meant to say. I don't know what makes you think a world line is not simply a different word timeline is what I meant to say.


@Randomguy: Okabe is crazy. You really wonder why he'd react differently to different people using his nick name? :smallbiggrin:

[Calemyr]

I get what you meant to say. I don't know what makes you think a world line is not simply a different word timeline is what I meant to say.


@Randomguy: Okabe is crazy. You really wonder why he'd react differently to different people using his nick name? :smallbiggrin:


There are basically two world lines in the series: the Alpha World Line, where CERN manages to figure out time travel due to several small factors, WW3 happens, and Titor lands in 2010 instead of 2000, and the Beta World Line, where Kurisu gets killed, but CERN and WW3 are avoided.

There are a LOT of timelines in the Alpha World Line, such as the one where they won the lottery. Or the one where Kurisu and Okarin were trading insults via time traveling text messages. Or the one when ... and the one when ... and that one when ... and of course the several where Okarin tries to ..., which I doubt you'd forget. All those timelines, however, are still effectively the same world state. CERN get its legs. WW3. Etc, Etc. And then the Beta world has its own combination of pros and cons. Including the all important metal opa. Two World Lines, infinite timelines.

This isn't a game changer, but you may not want to know this ahead of time. (By the way, her name is Mayuri Shiina. Much like how she calls Okabe Rintaro "Oka-Rin", she calls herself "Mayu-Shi" and Hashida Itaru "Da-Ru". One of her many innocently charming quirks.)
You remember the flashback where Mayuri was near the gravestone? That was her grandmother and her death hit Mayuri hard. In order to cheer her up, Okabe adopted the Huoin Kyoma persona, claiming that he would conquer the world and that Mayuri was now his hostage until he succeeded. (And thus he would never leave her the way her grandmother did.) The act was so effective at keeping his best friend upbeat that he stuck with it. How much of it now is affectation to keep her entertained and how much is genuine psychosis... I don't think anyone can say for sure. The man is clearly unhinged.

[Kato]

There are basically two world lines in the series: the Alpha World Line, where CERN manages to figure out time travel due to several small factors, WW3 happens, and Titor lands in 2010 instead of 2000, and the Beta World Line, where Kurisu gets killed, but CERN and WW3 are avoided.

There are a LOT of timelines in the Alpha World Line, such as the one where they won the lottery. Or the one where Kurisu and Okarin were trading insults via time traveling text messages. Or the one when ... and the one when ... and that one when ... and of course the several where Okarin tries to ..., which I doubt you'd forget. All those timelines, however, are still effectively the same world state. CERN get its legs. WW3. Etc, Etc. And then the Beta world has its own combination of pros and cons. Including the all important metal opa. Two World Lines, infinite timelines.

Okay, now I know where you are coming from.
I'd still consider every timeline a world line and those two just ones with more major differences. It seems kind of arbitrary to just decide it's a world line based on whether or not WW 3 will happen. (Heck, we don't even know in which of these WW 3 would happen)


I think this show has the very best bad science. Hilarious bad science that shows a certain love for actual science. Unlike a lot of so-called SciFi.

No, no it doesn't. My two biggest pet peeves:
1) A black holes compresses data. *********************. Just effing say "the whole is bigger so more data fits through". Not "we can compress 4TB into 4 bits" or something like that. Why do you need to make it so obviously wrong?
2) Effing gender bending by pregnancy diet. Perpetuating false ideas of how science works is a terrible thing to do.

[Calemyr]

Okay, now I know where you are coming from.
I'd still consider every timeline a world line and those two just ones with more major differences. It seems kind of arbitrary to just decide it's a world line based on whether or not WW 3 will happen. (Heck, we don't even know in which of these WW 3 would happen)

I'll admit it's been a while since I watched it (on Netflix the dub is only available for the first few episodes and Okarin simply must be voiced by J Michael Tatum) but...
I believe this version of World War 3 happens when the Good Doctor is able to steal valuable time manipulation research and flee with it to Russia, instigating a time-tech arms race that quickly boils over into a world war. In the Alpha World Line he is successful. Bad Future, which snowballs as time-tech is used to fine tune events for optimal suckage. In the Beta World Line he fails to escape. "Good" Future. "Good" because even with all the crap that happens in Alpha, there is a lot of good that is lost along with it - particularly Kurisu's survival. Beta is in large part defined by Kurisu's death, after all, which is instrumental in stopping the Good Doctor. No World War 3 = No Kurisu.

And if you're curious why the first World Line is named Beta, I can think of to reasons. First, they were named by someone in Alpha and nobody calls their own existence Beta. Second, Beta sounds like Better, and that's just the kind of reasoning this series thrives on: rational, yet random and comically arbitrary.

[Eldan]

Okay, now I know where you are coming from.
I'd still consider every timeline a world line and those two just ones with more major differences. It seems kind of arbitrary to just decide it's a world line based on whether or not WW 3 will happen. (Heck, we don't even know in which of these WW 3 would happen)



No, no it doesn't. My two biggest pet peeves:
1) A black holes compresses data. *********************. Just effing say "the whole is bigger so more data fits through". Not "we can compress 4TB into 4 bits" or something like that. Why do you need to make it so obviously wrong?
2) Effing gender bending by pregnancy diet. Perpetuating false ideas of how science works is a terrible thing to do.


Okay, okay, those two are ****ing horrible. I actually forgot about the first one. They absolutely make no sense. But overall, I think the show still works for me.

[Ravian]

Technically speaking...

There are more like three worldlines.

First Worldline is the one we deal with for the majority of the show, and what I'll call the CERNline. In it, CERN finds out the future gadget squad has time travel, kills Mayuri, and steals there technology in order to create a future dominated by them. In this Worldline, Kurisu survives because the conference is canceled because of the crashing time machine (however she is regarded as a villain in the future for aiding CERN in their conquest of the future.)

Second Worldline is the WW3line. In it Kurisu is killed by her father, who then takes her Time Travel Thesis and successfully defects to Russia thanks to the Metal Oopa. The nations of the world enter into a time travel race, which turns ugly and erupts into WW3.

Third Worldline is the Good Ending. In it Kurisu's death is merely staged, and because her father doesn't have the metal Oopa, the thesis is burned when he tries to defect. Time travel, as far as we can tell, isn't invented in this timeline at all. (for the foreseeable future.)

[Kato]

Okay, okay, those two are ****ing horrible. I actually forgot about the first one. They absolutely make no sense. But overall, I think the show still works for me.

Oh, I DO love the show. It's just that I can't ignore things like that when everything else is so good.



I get what you mean but while I'd have to rewatch the show (yay, another reason) I don't think they use these terms exclusively? But I'll admit, it might be Okabe and others really use that distinction, yes.

[Randomguy]

(By the way, her name is Mayuri Shiina. Much like how she calls Okabe Rintaro "Oka-Rin", she calls herself "Mayu-Shi" and Hashida Itaru "Da-Ru". One of her many innocently charming quirks.)


I was wondering what the deal with the names was. Thanks for explaining!

[Lethologica]

"Alpha" and "Beta" are attractor fields (Alpha = CERN takeover, Beta = WW3). Worldline means timeline. The S;G worldline is a timeline within the divergence range of the Beta attractor field that nonetheless is not part of any (known) attractor field. I think Suzuha brings up that last point in episode 23. There are also attractor fields not shown in the anime, that are in either the VN or the associated drama CD.

[Randomguy]

Episode 6: Butterfly Effect’s Divergence

Event Log:

No country has yet claimed the offending satellite.
This episode takes place on 2010/08/02, starting just before noon, in case that ever becomes relevant.
I love Okabe’s conversation with his phone about his "finances". I guess being a mad scientist doesn’t pay well.
I’m not sure the idea of needing a name for something merits a "eureka".
No one have any time for Okabe’s dramatics. :smalltongue:
Okabe needs a lesson on confirmation bias. He didn’t actually prove that the time travel only works at certain times.
Kurisu scienced out the microwave and figured out how to calculate how far back a message will be sent. The important bit is that 1 second in the timer corresponds to 1 hour in reality. This doesn't actually add up: a minute in a half would be 90 hours, which is almost 4 days. 130 hours does correspond to 5 and a half ish days.
The date in this episode is 2010/08/02. So they've been sending a lot of messages to 5 days before this, which was 2010 / 07 / 28. Which is the same day that episode 1 took place. The day the timelines switched. Huh.
Dream sequence start.
Dream voice: "the universe isn’t infinite; reality has a beginning and an end. Always has, always will."
Okabe: "if that’s true, where does that leave me?"
Dream: "Look forward, move over the edge."
So I guess the dream is basically telling him to keep on with his research despite the risks? This entire segment seems out of place.
More Moeka! She prefers texting to speech.
Future gadgets labs REALLY needs to step up their secrecy game, or the next person that shows up at their door asking about the IBN5100 is going to be a CERN agent. That is, if one of them isn’t already.
what’s this about FB?


Episode Notes

No country has claimed the satellite crash yet, so it probably wasn't a country behind it. I'm guess it's either a CERN satellite or it has something to do with all the time travellers that running around.

The D-Mail experiments and the date give us some more information about time travel: They were sending texts back to episode 1, but no texts were received in episode 1 about being Okarin being an airhead. Of course, part of episode 1 took place in a different World Line, so I'm not sure if I can draw definite conclusions yet.

Suppose though they send a text back to 2010/07/29, which is definitely in the same World Line, but there were no texts from the future received in the episode that corresponds to that day. That would mean that we don't have a stable time loop. They would have created a different timeline, which is slightly different in that a random text was received. However, this would have no major changes on the present other than the fact that the text is there on their phone. I guess this is where the World Line vs. timeline difference comes into play: They have created a new timeline, but it's the same World Line, since there are no overall changes.

So if ever a text is sent back to an earlier episode and not received at that earlier episode, then that would confirm that we're dealing with timeline changes rather than time loops. But if a text was sent back that was received in an earlier episode, then that would confirm time loops. Why does that matter? Well, here's an example.

With timeline changes, if CERN attacked Future Gadget lab and killed, say, Kurisu, then Okarin would be able to send a message back in time to give a warning. This would create a new timeline where they are prepared for the attack and fend it off successfully. In this new timeline, they would at no point have to send that message back in time.
With stable time loops, they would receive a warning from the future, prepare, fend off CERN, and then have to send the same warning back in time.
These situations are functionally very similar, but with a key difference that, if there are timeline changes, then a version of Kurisu dies, while another version survives. If there are stable time loops, no one does.

Based on Titor's explanation of time travel, it seems like timeline changes are happening. This sort of matches up with what happened when Okabe sent the message back in time in episode 1, which happened at the same time as the World Line changed, although that's kind of a special case since it could count as having been sent from either timeline. However, CERN's experiments with the "Human is dead. Mismatch.", point towards stable time loops. Huh.
I'll know more if they send more texts back in time, but for now I assume it's because CERN is doing something to force their time travel attempts to create a stable loop. "Creating a stable world spanning from past to future", and all that.

Running Plotlines



The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2

The small satellite landing vs. the large satellite crash
Titor's appearance in year 2000 vs Titor's appearance in 2010
The mysterious roof person from Timeline 1.
What caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2.
How Kurisu went from timeline to timeline.

Who killed Kurisu, what was their motive, and which Kurisu was killed?

One possible motive is that Kurisu does something with consequences so terrible that there are people who would want to go back and time to kill her.

Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine?
Why did Moeka want the IBN5100? Is she working for Titor, for CERN or neither?
How does time travel work?

CERN can create stable time loops, D-Mail appears to create alternate timelines rather than time loops. If more texts are sent back to a previous episode, but not received in that previous episode, then that confirms alternate timelines. If texts are sent back that were received in the previous episode, that confirms stable loops.

[Grinner]

I love this guy.

Sometimes, he starts guessing wildly and makes a completely wrong conclusion. Other times, he's so right, it's almost like he's already seen it. I really hope he hasn't, for if he's genuinely watching this for the first time, I expect he'll have the most entertaining reaction when SERN does in fact send armed agents led by Moeka to the Future Gadgets Lab.

He's really doing a great job with this Let's Watch. :smallsmile:

One thing I never thought about while watching the series, though...How does SERN/The Committee of 300 have knowledge of the Future Gadgets Lab's hijinks? After all, no one but Okabe seems to remember previous timelines.

[Seppl]

One thing I never thought about while watching the series, though...How does SERN/The Committee of 300 have knowledge of the Future Gadgets Lab's hijinks? After all, no one but Okabe seems to remember previous timelines.

It starts with the first D-Mail: SERN's surveillance network picked that one up. At some point, somebody at SERN takes a look at SMS data and sees a message with no origin. Possible hint that the message comes from the future. They can then activate their agents in the general vicinity. One of the agents being the Landlord for Future Gadget Labs and another agent actually using the time machine quickly confirm what is going on.

In episode 22 Okabe erases this data from SERN's servers before anyone notices the mysterious message, causing the shift back to the timeline where Kurisu dies and SERN never gets their hands on a working time-machine. (By the way: This last shift is inconsistent with the way time travel has worked before, as there was no actual time-travel involved.)

[Ravian]

I love this guy.

Sometimes, he starts guessing wildly and makes a completely wrong conclusion. Other times, he's so right, it's almost like he's already seen it. I really hope he hasn't, for if he's genuinely watching this for the first time, I expect he'll have the most entertaining reaction when SERN does in fact send armed agents led by Moeka to the Future Gadgets Lab.

He's really doing a great job with this Let's Watch. :smallsmile:

One thing I never thought about while watching the series, though...How does SERN/The Committee of 300 have knowledge of the Future Gadgets Lab's hijinks? After all, no one but Okabe seems to remember previous timelines.

Tell me about it, I didn't even remember that FB was mentioned this early on, he's already deduced that it's a detail worth remembering.

As I recall SERN set up a some sort of algorithm in the 70's to track for unusual signals that could point to time travel. Each and every one of the D-mails tip them off, so in order for Mayuri to survive they all needed to be deleted (or at least nullified so that they aren't obviously time travel.)

I assume the increased time Okabe gets after each D-mail is erased is due to SERN requiring more time to confirm their suspicions that its time travel and moving in to acquire it.

[Randomguy]

Episode 7: Divergence Singularity

Event Log:

2010/08/03
Message received from Mayuri at 2010/07/29: 1:43 pm: Tutturu!
I know that some people find that catchphrase annoying, but I just think it's endearing. Also, Alternate timelines creation confirmed as opposed to stable time loops, since there is no record of this text showing up in the corresponding episode.
Okarin intends to alter the past by picking a set of lottery numbers.
I think he means alter the past meaningfully as opposed to just altering the past by a single text message.
I think it’s a good idea. It’s probably the simplest way to test this form of time travel.
Not sure this’ll work. He will probably think it’s spam. Unless they put his code word in there.
Oh geez, there’s a chance this will change the past so they never discover time travel in the first place. Okay, I’m nervous. And excited.
"They’re the OTP in the fanfic I call my life." Oh, Daru.
Okay, D-mail is sent! Fission Mailed?
It appears that a new timeline has been created, in which Okarin gave Ruka the lotto numbers, but Ruka got a pair of digits flipped, resulting in no lottery winnings. In this alternate timeline, Dr. Pepper wasn’t sold out.
Sidenote: I had sort of assumed Ruka would look less feminine outside of his shrine outfit. I was wrong.
2010/08/03 at 3:11 PM.
That AD in the date is worrying me. Makes me think that BC dates will be involved somehow. Probably not.
Suzuha apparently knows how to identify mind control chip implants. I guess that’s one of the technologies that CERN develops in the future.
According to Titor, it’s unheard of that anyone actually remembers alternate World Lines, which makes Okabe the one person that could "guide the world beyond 1% divergence".
That may have been a shot of Moeka in the future during Titor’s monologue? Or it may have just been showing Moeka in the present. Or implying that she can also remember alternate World Lines.
John Titor has just attempted to recruit Okabe.


Episode Notes

Unrelated to the plot, but worth noting: This show has really good music.

I’m still a bit suspicious of Titor. There’s still a chance that he’s secretly a CERN agent. Granted, not a particularly big chance.
Hmm... Here's a thought: If Okabe is the only one known to retain memories from other World Lines, then how does Titor remember the future that he came from? Didn't he create a different World Line by going back in time? I guess the time traveller, the object, message, or person, that crosses from one World Line to another is exempt. Makes sense to me.
Although it's worth noting that only the instance of the time traveller that actually travelled through time would be exempt. Assuming John Titor is more than 16 years old, there's "present" version of John Titor in this current World Line who has never travelled through time, and who is living a more or less ordinary life.

Moeka was shown onscreen at the same time as Titor said “No one has ever been known to retain their memories across world lines and observe their changes.” This could imply that she can remember the changes just like Okabe can. There's a bit of support for this: It's possible that the prerequisite for remembering other timelines is being a few standard deviations away from Neurotypical in some way. Okabe has his Schizophrenia, and Moeka has... something, probably, based on her preference of texting, rather than speaking.
Of course, this scene could also imply something else. It could just be showing Moeka as an example of someone who can't remember alternate world lines.

Since the creation of alternate timelines appears to be the normal form of time travel in the setting, it's possible that I misread things when it came to the CERN experiments, and that they are not in fact stable time loops. Is there another explanation for the events that uses alternate timelines? I think the simplest answer is that only significant changes to the past create a new World Line, with different memories in it. Small changes, where the only difference is a text message, the location of a banana, or an old newspaper article about a gelatinous corpse, don't have the same effect. Rather than a new World Line being created, the current one is just altered slightly. These alterations are put into place at the same moment that the time travel occurred.
This works quite nicely to explain some of the other inconsistencies: For example, in previous episodes when a text was sent back in time 5 days to create a small change, the person it was sent to had no memory of receiving that text 5 days ago. Same with sending the bananas back in time: It's a small enough change that no new World Line is created.

If this is the case, then what would have happened with the CERN experiments is that the experimenters plan the experiments, they check newspapers from the time and place of their destination, they find nothing about any gel-corpses, they perform the experiment, they check the newspapers again, and they then find the article about the gel-corpse. This would mean that CERN isn't knowingly sending test subjects back to their deaths, which is what I assumed was going on back in episode 5.

Running Plotlines



The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2

The small satellite landing vs. the large satellite crash
Titor's appearance in year 2000 vs Titor's appearance in 2010
The mysterious roof person from Timeline 1.
What caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2.
How Kurisu went from timeline to timeline.

Who killed Kurisu, what was their motive, and which Kurisu was killed?

One possible motive is that Kurisu does something with consequences so terrible that there are people who would want to go back and time to kill her.

Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine?
Why did Moeka want the IBN5100? Is she working for Titor, for CERN or neither?
How does time travel work?

It appears that large changes create a new World Line, while small changes just alter the current World Line slightly.

Why is Okabe the only one that can remember other World Lines?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I...may have "Tutturu~" (the Japanese-language version) as my text ringtone.

[Randomguy]

Episode 8: Chaos Theory: Homeostasis

Event Log:

Okarin has completely and utterly rejected the heroes call.
And of course one of the first things he does is give a fancy name to his unique ability. “Reading Steiner”.
Okabe used Circular Logic! Kurisu is unimpressed.
Evidence keeps piling up that Suzuha has some connection to Titor.
Moeka’s turn trying to alter the past! A simpler test. One much less likely to mess up the present in any way than winning the lottery would.
Whelp. I was wrong.
Okabe is being stupid here. You didn’t unmake Moeka, you clod! She probably just never met him in this World Line. Their meeting was very coincidental in the first place anyway.
Oh, apparently not. Turns out her only her initial visit to the lab was negated. Huh. I wonder how that happened. (Also, they only sent the message back 4 days and they met before then)
2010/08/05 2:00pm
"I tried to tell you on the phone but you sounded so excited I couldn’t bear to dissapoint you." Yeah, that sounds about right. I certainly wouldn't want to risk Sad Mayuri.
...And Ruka wants to change the past so that he was born a girl. Okay, this is a terrible, terrible idea.
Even if they do succeed there’s a chance that changing Ruka’s mother’s diet would mean a completely different person will be born instead. And whatever small changes would be propogated forwards by a whopping 17 years!
The microwave shouldn’t even be able to send a signal that far back! 9999 hours back is just over a year. They'd have to mod it.
2010/08/06 11:54 am
Okabe: "It’s perfectly safe." :smallfurious: AND IF THINGS WEREN'T BAD ENOUGH ALREADY HE JINXED IT!
Okay, they are about to perform the world's first retroactive gender reassignment. I can’t to find out in what exciting ways this will go wrong.
That went… surprisingly well? Ruka still exists and wasn’t unmade. And is androgynous enough that the results of the experiment are uncertain. :smalltongue:
So… what changed?

Episode Notes

Okabe may have turned his back on the world at the start of this episode, but I have the feeling he'll end up working with Titor eventually. After all, he still needs to stop CERN's evil plot and prevent, or at least survive, WW3 if he wants to achieve world domination.

Jeez, this episode. The first thing they do is accidentally butterfly effect away Moeka's involvement in Future Gadget Labs by changing something apparently inconsequential 4 days ago, and the next thing they do is ignore the lesson learned from that experience and start meddling with events 17 years in the past. :smallsigh:

What did the D-mail at the end of the episode change? Possibly Ruka's gender? Maybe Ruka has a sibling now? Maybe something else? That message went pretty far back, it's possible that Titor's time of appearance and the satellite that crashed onto the radio building have changed, too, so I'll need to keep an eye out for that.

No big changes to the running plotlines this episode, but I do have another idea about Moeka: If she can indeed remember alternate World Lines like Okabe can, then that would explain the chronic texting. The downside of "Reading Steiner" is that you don't have any memories of the current World Line, but you do have physical evidence, like cell phone messages. If you have an entire conversation via text messages, and then the World Line changes, you can go back and determine whether or not that conversation happened in the current World Line.


Not a fan of the way the show treats Ruka, but that's not Ruka's fault.
Yeah... I can see where you're coming from.

[Randomguy]

Episode 9: Chaos Theory: Homeostasis Part 2

Event Log:

2010/08/06 1:07 pm.
They still fail at secrecy.
Kurisu was having some argument with someone. (her dad? That's the only family member of hers that's been mentioned so far)
Okabe showed an uncharacteristic moment of compassion, and then promptly ruined it with his usual shenanigans.
Star trek reference from Kurisu that Okabe uses to needle her a bit.
Okay: In this timeline, the shrine HAD an IBN5100 in storage, but then it disappeared.
Moeka seems distressed. "I don't understand. It's supposed to be here."
Kurisu hanging up on Okabe repeatedly was so cathartic. :smallbiggrin: The only thing funnier than him getting a taste of his own medicine was the polite tone he took to get her to not hang up immediately.
Okay, so now they’re about to mess up the timeline EVEN MORE by letting Faris send a text message back in time WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING WHAT IT SAYS. :smallsigh:
Faris’ D-mail made it so that her father was around, but it also made it so that the IBN was (apparently) never even donated to the shrine in the first place, and it also completely changed the town.


Episode Notes

One thing that's come up a few times now is that Kurisu's nerdier than she lets on. There was the start trek reference this episode, her familiarity with shipping terms, and she referenced Dr. Who back in episode 2. I guess it's something of a guilty pleasure for her, or maybe something that she hides for fear of being taken less seriously in the scientific community.

I think Moeka's actions in this episode hint at her being able to remember alternate timelines. She thought she knew where the IBN was, but it wasn't where she expected. I'm guessing that she remembered the previous timeline, but then Ruka's message changed things, including the location of the IBN, and Moeka, like Okarin, doesn't have memories from this new timeline.
Here's how I'm going to determine if this is right or not: In this newest timeline, the layout of the town changed. So if Moeka messages Okarin about getting lost or not knowing the way to the lab, then that's proof that she doesn't have memories of the new timeline.

I'm going to take a moment to list out the recent World Line changes.

After Moeka’s D-mail to tell herself to get a new phone:
Moeka was never brought to the lab.
After Ruko sent a D-mail back in time, the following changes happened:
The IBN5100 was somehow removed from the Shrine before Okabe and Kurisu got to it.
Moeka WAS brought to the lab this time.
Possibly other changes. (Titor’s arrival time, satellite crash)
After Faris sent her D-mail back:
Faris’ father is back in her life. Apparently he either never owned most of the town’s property, or Faris never exerted her influence to shape the town because her dad was around so she didn’t have the opportunity.
The IBN5100 (apparently) never made it to the shrine in the first place.

Well, hopefully this latest change was a wakeup call for Okabe, and he starts being more discerning about what messages they send to the past.

Running Plotlines


The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2

The small satellite landing vs. the large satellite crash
Titor's appearance in year 2000 vs Titor's appearance in 2010
The mysterious roof person from Timeline 1.
What caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2.
How Kurisu went from timeline to timeline.

Who killed Kurisu, what was their motive, and which Kurisu was killed?

One possible motive is that Kurisu does something with consequences so terrible that there are people who would want to go back and time to kill her.

Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine?

Faris' father, apparently. But why would he have donated a computer to a shrine?

Why did Moeka want the IBN5100? Is she working for Titor, for CERN or neither?
How does time travel work?

It appears that large changes create a new World Line, while small changes just alter the current World Line slightly.

Why is Okabe the only one that can remember other World Lines?

[Randomguy]

Episode 10: Chaos Theory: Homeostasis Part 3

Event Log:

2010/08/08 11:58 am
WOW. For ****'s sake, Okabe. You know that you don't get the memories from new worldlines, you could have just taken everyone else's word for it rather than freaking groping Ruka to verify her gender.
And as punishement Kurisu knocked him out and then... tortured him by making him sit in the corner?
More backstory! Suzuha moved to Tokyo to find her dad. She only has one chance to meet him, at a particular place and time. (I smell time travel shenanagins, but I might just be a bit paranoid.)
And… Okabe immediately suggests EVEN MORE MESSAGES SENT TO THE DISTANT PAST. Because what else could possibly go wrong. :smallsigh: Still, it was sweet of him to offer.
2010/08/09 3:42 pm
I was actually excited for Okabe to spy on Suzuha’s meeting, ‘cause it would finally give us some insight into what her deal is. Sadly, Kurisu put a lid on that plan.
Okabe gets a creepy text message. “I’m watching you.” The attached picture is… red jello? I guess CERN’s finally noticed what he’s been up to.
2010/08/09 7:07 pm
Just what Okabe needed: Even more reasons to be paranoid.
DAMMIT MAYURI DON’T USE THE TIME MACHINE TO COOK YOUR EGGS.
It was nice to see a few of the other future gadgets.
Okabe and Kurisu get a moment in the dark!
Text message from Suzuha: “I’m sorry. Goodbye."
Of course, Okabe doesn't take that for an answer and goes back to change it.
Well, this is interesting. That was a shot of the radio building, minus the crashed satellite, but with the impact from the crash, in the World Line where Suzuha left.


Episode Notes

It looks like all of their time travel shenanigans have finally attracted someone's attention. That "someone" is probably CERN, since they're the only other group that has the "jello - time travel induced death" association. In this current World Line they haven't actually hacked into CERN's secure files, so they've been slightly less conspicuous than "before" (for lack of a better word). They might have had some detection equipment that they used to find out about the Kerr black holes that the phone-wave is creating, but they probably also just heard about it. Not like Future Gadget Labs has good security: If you walk by the street that the lab is on you can hear everything they're doing.

So, on the bright side, Okabe managed to keep Suzuha from leaving. On the downside, he also erased the emotional moment that happned between him and Kurisu, and he doesn't get to keep the memories of what happened in the new World Line, so neither he nor the audience get to find out what happened when he followed Suzuha. Still, of all of their time travel attempts this was their most successful. Sure, there was the ominous butterfly at the end of the episode, but I think that the changes that spill over from having Suzuha around are going to be mostly positive: She'll be handy to have around when CERN comes knocking.

Suzuha's father has the last name Titor, was supposed to show up at at the same Time Travel Forum meeting that Daru was planning on attending, and apparently a guest author was supposed to show up to that meeting. I'm going to assume that Suzuha's dad was the guest author, and that he's somehow related John Titor.

It was interesting to see that the crashed satellite was gone in the World Line where Suzuha left. I'll have to keep an eye out for it: If it's in the impact crater again in this World Line that suggests that Suzuha travelled in it. If it's still gone, then the satellite was probably just coincidentally removed by then.

[Fri]

I just want to say that everyone are reading this with bated breath. I'm pretty sure everyone else are thinking the same thing too.

[Seppl]

I just want to say that everyone are reading this with bated breath. I'm pretty sure everyone else are thinking the same thing too.Yeah, unfortunately it is hard to comment on anything in this thread without a high risk of spoiling future revelations.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I just want to say that everyone are reading this with bated breath. I'm pretty sure everyone else are thinking the same thing too.
Yeup.

I mean, "Chaos Theory: Homeostasis" is a totally nice, non-ominous episode title, right?

[Randomguy]

Yeup.

I mean, "Chaos Theory: Homeostasis" is a totally nice, non-ominous episode title, right?

Well, homeostasis is "a tendency of a system to maintain stability", so clearly everything will end up more or less the same without any changes for the worse at all.

[Grinner]

... Sure, there was the ominous butterfly at the end of the episode, but I think that the changes that spill over from having Suzuha around are going to be mostly positive: She'll be handy to have around when CERN comes knocking

Well, he's not wrong...Although the irony of this statement summarizes the series quite neatly. On top of that, the episode title that CarpeGuitarrem pointed out feeds into this as well. Very soon now, the **** is going to hit the fan.

So excited! :smallbiggrin:

[Randomguy]

Episode 11: Dogma in Event Horizon

Event Log:

2010/08/10 3pm
Apparently the downstairs tv was acting as the lifter, and that’s what limited the times that they could send d-mails. I would not have guessed that.
Kurisu’s a neuroscientist? Huh. I assumed she was a physicist, based on the time travel lecture she gave. Probably both.
And now she’s thinking of a way to send someone’s memories back in time. Jeez, and Okabe’s supposed to be the mad scientist.
Mayuri asking some good questions here. What does happen to the timeline left behind by a D-mail / person’s memories?
That was a strange hesitation from Kurisu before listing out the parts she’d need. Maybe because what they’re doing has a chance of frying someone’s brain.
Another hint that Moeka has some issues with memories. (I just thought of this but it’s possible she just has really bad memory / some kind of amnesia and isn’t a time traveller at all. That'd be a shock.)
Nice to see that Suzuha has strong opinions on appropriate combat attire.
WOW. plot bomb out of nowhere from Suzuha, who says that Kurisu works for CERN. (Wouldn’t be surprised if that was true in the future that Suzuha is from, would be if it’s true in the present)
So Okabe considers CERN and “The organization” to be distinct things now?
We find out about Kurisu’s daddy issues. She out-scienced him, he got bitter.
“I demand 2 puddings as punishment for the one you ate.” :smallbiggrin:
I think I just got whiplash from the ending of that episode.


Episode Notes

Holy freaking crap, that ending. First there’s that ominous menacing text (with appropriately ominous music), which was one thing. Then Okabe goes to open up the attached image and I'm expecting maybe jello or a gelatinized corpse but instead it's a picture of a SEVERED CHILD’S HEAD which nearly gave me a heart attack. And then the next thing Okabe does is call to see if Mayuri’s alright, (it’s very endearing that her safety was the first thing that came into his mind, even above his own), and she doesn't pick up so he starts sprinting right to the lab and because of that earlier scene with Mayuri and Kurisu I can half-expect the punchline coming while I'm trying to recover from the heart attack and then bam. Shower scene.

What is CERN even doing with those threats? Did they just grab a gory picture from the internet and attach it to the email? "Hey, Bob, I'm sending a menacing text to that guy who knows too much. Wanna help me get fake blood all over this doll's head?" I guess this is their attempt at threatening him into stopping his experiments, but it doesn't seem like a very good one, because it really doesn't give him any assurance that they won't kill him if he does stop. And if they're going to kill him anyway, then why bother with threats? No point in telling him they're coming in advance.

What is Okabe thinking by not sharing those threats? I guess he's trying to protect his friends? If anything he's accomplishing the opposite of that. Or maybe he just doesn't want them to try and stop the experiments, though I think he's a better person than that.

Now that they know that CERN is hacking into their systems, they can use that to start spreading some misinformation, and maybe make CERN think that they've stopped the experiments. Of course, the other lab members won't think to suggest that unless Okabe comes clean about the blackmail.

Kurisu's father is a bad scientist. You're not supposed to get attached to your theories! If evidence appears that disproves them, you accept it and modify them accordingly. That's what Kurisu did when she was faced with proof of time travel! Still, to be proven wrong over and over again by his own daughter... that would get to anyone. And it certainly doesn't help that she refuted him publicly, in papers, instead of looking over his work before it got published. I guess she wasn't one of his peer reviewers. (Although publishing two sets of papers, one to establish a theory and another to refute it, is a lot more profitable than publishing no papers at all.)
Kurisu did mention that her father spent a lot of effort trying to prove that time travel was possible. Maybe if she admits that he was right that'll help mend fences? No, it'd probably make things worse, since she's the one that started working with it before him.

[The Sword Dance]

Made this account just to say, I'm a big Stein's Gate fan and am loving this thread! Keep it up!

[Randomguy]

Episode 12: Dogma in Ergosphere

Event Log:

We start off with one really weird scene with Okabe and Mayuri 70 million years in the past.
2010/08/13 1:58 pm.
Hey, you know what’s a REALLY bad idea? Trying this thing on a human untested. Geez, train a rat to perform a simple task, send its brain back in time along with an instructional D-mail and see if it can perform the task in the other timeline. Of course, where’s the drama in that?
HOORAY! SANITY! They're not running the tests! I wonder how long this’ll last…
2010/08/13 5:41 pm.
Kurisu mentioned that Mayuri did seem the most relieved out of all of them about not running the time travel experiment. Ominous?
Argument between Kurisu and Suzuha diffused by the power of Sad Mayuri!
...
:smalleek:
oh god.


Episode Notes

Whelp, I’m just going to sit here in shock for a while.

:smallfrown:

As character deaths go, this was very well executed. Both this episode and the previous episode build up to it, emphasizing, among other things, how important Mayuri is to Okabe.


Mayuri might... pffffft... nope. Can't type that with a straight face. The girl may be cute and a wonderful source of breather comedy (annoying too-ta-roo sound be darned), but relevant she is not.
*looks back at first part of this episode* *narrows eyes suspiciously*

Kurisu mentioned in this episode that if CERN had caught on to them then they would have heard from them or something. Except they DID hear from CERN but only Okabe knew because he was being obstinate and didn’t share the threats he got. I have the feeling he's really going to blame himself for not doing anything about the threats before this. To be brutally honest, he'd be right. It was partially his fault. Asides from a few moments of "Oh, right, we're dealing with powerful, dangerous forces" he's been mostly ignoring the danger of meddling with CERN's affairs as well as the danger of time travel. This episode was the only time he'd stopped to consider the risks before jumping in to the next step, and that was too little, too late.

During their raid, CERN shows off one of their fancy tricks: Stopping all of the timekeeping devices in the area. :smallconfused:
I get that this is supposed to mean that they stopped time somewhere or something like that, and the reason that clocks stopped was rule of drama, but i'm still not exactly sure what they did there. My first thought was that they stopped time outside the building, so they could finish their raid moments after they started it, but that doesn't make sense because they were getting what appeared to be live news from the t.v. even after the clocks stopped. Or maybe the area that time was stopped in was large enough that it included the train station.

Moeka repeated "For FB" before killing Mayuri. She mentioned this earlier once, and I still have no idea what it means or stands for. Future something? Bleargh, to catch what she said here I needed to watch the ending of the episode multiple times. That wasn't fun.


Moeka

Probably the biggest bombshell dropped this episode was Moeka working for CERN this whole time. I did have that listed as a possibility in my list of running plotlines, but this still took me completely by surprise. I was more suspicious of Titor than I was of Moeka. They say hindsight is 20:20 though, so let's look back on what could have hinted at this.

Moeka's main motivation up until this episode was getting her hands on an IBN5100.

If anything, this was a piece of misdirection. CERN agents presumably already have access to the hidden files, they wouldn't need the IBN to decode them. She must have wanted it to keep Titor from getting his hands on it.
There wasn't really any indication that she wanted to steal or destroy it, except for one small thing: In an earlier episode, she asks to borrow the IBN, instead of just asking to use it at the lab.
It's also worth noting that Moeka was, in retrospect, extremely single minded about trying to get access to an IBN5100. She rarely mentioned anything else, except when she first met Okabe and in the previous episode when she found out about Kurisu's method of sending memories back in time.

Moeka's preference for texting in favour of speech.

This personality quirk did hint at her being a time traveler of some type, but it didn't point to her working with CERN.

Moeka and Suzuha have never actually met on screen.

This could be seen as suspicious, as though Moeka intentionally avoided Suzuha, who may have recognized her, but she only ever visited the lab once, so it could easily be a coincidence.


Even in hindsight, the only things that could have pointed to Moeka being a CERN agent are pretty subtle.

There's also the matter of what exactly Moeka was doing during the Chaos Theory: Homeostasis episodes. Here's my working hypothesis so far:
I'm assuming that Moeka can remember alternate timelines the same way that Okabe can, or else can remember them somehow using CERN's technology.
Let's call the World Line where the show began W.L 1, which would make W.L 2 the World Line that the show switched to half way through the first episode, W.L. 3 would be the World Line in which Ruka bought a lottery ticket, and W.L. 4 would be the world line created by Moeka sending a text 4 days back in time, on 2010/08/04. Moeka's text was allegedly to get a new phone, but it almost certainly had some secret message encoded in it. (or else just a genuine message, I don't think anyone ever double checked what she was sending). I'm guessing that the message was the location of the IBN5100, which let the Moeka from World Line 4 go and steal the IBN5100 from the shrine before Okabe and Kurisu go to it (which happened on 2010/08/01, meaning there was time for her to do this). Once Moeka had the IBN, she no longer had any reason to visit the lab. Okabe only noticed that the IBN was gone after Ruka's D-mail was sent back, creating World Line 5. I did check that episode for signs of the IBN in W.L. 4, but as far as I could tell there's nothing conclusive: The area it would have been in wasn't shown. I may have missed it though.
Moeka also stole the IBN in World Line 5, but stashed it somewhere different. due to her remembering World Line 4 and not World Line 5, she doesn't know where she stashed the IBN in this World Line, which explains her short breakdown here.
Also in World line 5, Faris sends her text back, creating World Line 6, in which her father is back in her life and the IBN never made it to the shrine in the first place, putting it probably out of CERN’s reach but possibly back into CERN’s hands.

A few problems with this idea is that it assumes Moeka has the same timeline remembering ability as Okabe, and that Okabe failed to notice the missing IBN during World Line 4. It also doesn't explain why Moeka was never brought to the lab in World Line 4, but was brought to the lab in World Line 5.

One last thing to note here: Moeka doesn't actually know about Okabe's "Reading Steiner" ability, which is something they can use. Also, he conveniently gave the ability a codename that doesn't relate to what it does, so they can discuss it without tipping CERN off.


The Time Travel in Episode 1 in Retrospect
So after this episode I decided to spend some time trying to figure out what exactly happened back in episode 1, now that I know more about how time travel works in this show.

One thing that I've been thinking about, and that has been confusing me, is Titor. Suppose John Titor travels back in time from World Line 0, creating World Line 1. Then, Okabe's text message that is accidentally sent back in time 5 days creates World Line 2, which contains a version of Titor from some other World Line that only went back to 2010, instead of 2000. But since Okabe's message only went back 5 days, that should mean that all events prior to the time that the message was received are the same in World Line 1 and 2. But if that were the case, then Titor-0 (the version of Titor from World Line 0), having arrived in 2000, would be around as well as Titor-? that went back 2010. So either there's some universal law preventing more than two copies of one person from running around in one World Line or there was some instance of time travel that branched World Line 2 off of World Line 1 that went back before year 2000.

I've also been thinking about what exactly happened in Kurisu's personal timeline in episode 1 and 2. Let's take a look back at the sequence of events.


Transcript from Kurisu and Okabe's first meeting.

Kurisu: So what were you trying to tell me back then? Earlier.
Okarin: Earlier?
K: A quarter of an hour ago?
O: They let you out of a nuthouse? Hold on, Makise Kurisu? [is confused, then realizes who she is]
K: [impressed he knows who she is.]
O: [acts crazy]
K: Look, I just wanted to ask you about…
O: And you’re a fool to expect I’ll talk! [starts talking into phone about being cornered by an agent.]
K: [Figures out phone is off.]
O: [Acts crazy.] [evil laughter]
K: Great, you’re crazy. Clearly this is asking a lot, but I need you to summon up whatever focus you can spare. Think back 15 minutes. You were trying your damndest to tell me something? And going by the look on your face it was worth hearing.
O: [Acts crazy] [evil laughter] [exit stage left.]
Okarin's internal monologue: She’s clearly a lunatic.
Sure sounds like she's referring to the meeting in episode 2 to me. Oh, and you gotta love the irony in that last line. :smallbiggrin:

Okay, hang on a second. Let's label the meetings between them for easier discussion.
Meeting A is them meeting in episode 1, transcribed above.
Meeting B is with Okarin and Kurisu's corpse.
Meeting C is in the pre-credits scene of episode 2.
Meeting D is Kurisu giving her lecture in episode 2.
Meeting E is at the end of episode 2 / start of episode 3 when Kurisu shows up at their lab.

My current hypothesis is that, from Kurisu-2's perspective, the meetings go in this order: C --> A --> D --> E.

This mostly makes sense. However, there are a few problems with this
A small problem is that in meeting C, Okarin gives Kurisu his name. By which I mean he yells it at her dramatically while she's going off to give her lecture. But in meeting A, Kurisu never uses Okarin's name. This isn't that big of a deal, the meeting may have just been written that way to avoid giving too many hints to the audience, but it's worth noting.

Here's the bigger issue: At the end of meeting C, Kurisu leaves directly to meeting D. (which we know because at the end of meeting C some guy says "They're ready for you now, miss.", with "they" probably referring to the people in the lecture hall.) And in meeting D she does use Okarin's name. This sort of suggests that D was directly after C from her perspective. There's that, and there's also the fact that I brought up before: For the order to be C --> A --> D, Kurisu would have had to time travel twice, without noticing, on her way directly to meeting D. Which is starting to get unlikely.
It's still the best idea I've got, though, so I'll stick with it for now. Hopefully I'll get some answers in the next few episodes.


This episode, Kurisu finished developing a new form of time travel that involves sending back memories. This episode, CERN demonstrated the ability to stop time. This suggests that there are other types of time travel that might be developed or revealed later in the show. Suppose one of these is the ability to go to a specific World Line, like from the current World Line to World Line 1. Suppose Okabe does this, and meets with Kurisu in World Line 1 before meeting A happens from Kurisu's perspective. Let's call this Meeting F. That would mean, from Kurisu's perspective, things go something like this:

In World Line 1: F --> A --> B
In World Line 2: C --> D --> E.

This makes a lot more sense than my previous theory and requires only one intentional case of World Line hopping rather than two accidental cases of World Line hopping. All that it require is that Okabe try to frantically tell Kurisu something important in meeting F, which is basically guaranteed.

Running Plotlines


The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2

The small satellite landing vs. the large satellite crash
Titor's appearance in year 2000 vs Titor's appearance in 2010
The mysterious roof person from Timeline 1.
What caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2.
How Kurisu went from timeline to timeline.

Who killed Kurisu, what was their motive, and which Kurisu was killed?

The most likely motive is that Kurisu does something with consequences so terrible that there are people who would want to go back and time to kill her.
She probably wasn't killed by CERN or Moeka, since she ends up working for CERN in the future of World Line 1.
So she was probably killed by a version of John Titor, Suzuha, or one of Titor's other allies. Most likely Suzuha.

Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine?

Faris' father, apparently. But why would he have donated a computer to a shrine?

Why did Moeka want the IBN5100? Is she working for Titor, for CERN or neither?

Moeka has always worked for CERN.
What is "FB"?

How does time travel work?

It appears that large changes create a new World Line, while small changes just alter the current World Line slightly.

Why is Okabe the only one that can remember other World Lines?


Tune in next episode, in which Okabe had freaking better change the World Line so that Mayuri doesn't die.

[Seppl]

...
:smalleek:
oh god.

Perfect summary of my own thoughts when watching this. The sudden mood swing in this episode was really well executed.

[Calemyr]

*looks back at first part of this episode* *narrows eyes suspiciously*

Heh. Heheh. Bwahahahahaha- *hack* *cough*! Dang it, one of these days I'll get an evil laugh right.

Sorry. I just had to. Episode 12 is kind of the moment that makes this series. There are twists and revelations both before and after, but this is the game changer. What came before was a goofy clown and his buddies playing with mad science. What comes next... well, I don't think you come back from an episode like 12. Personally, I think the the second half is far stronger and a lot of its strength comes from the whiplash that is 12.

I do hope you're still enjoying the show RandomGuy, as I'm no less interested in your take on what comes next than I was on what lead up to this moment.

Heh heh heh.

[Ravian]

Tell me about it, I actually paused on this series twice for a few months before I got to this episode.

Don't get me wrong, the first half is enjoyable, but it was a little slow and as such I wasn't quite able to keep myself focused without getting distracted.

When this thread started up, I started watching again. And then I got to this episode...

I had finished the entire series by the next day.

[Lethologica]

I was probably one of the few people who enjoyed the first half of the series more.

IIRC I liked the plot about equally well throughout, and both halves had shenanigans that I disliked, but the first half played them off against the lighthearted overall tone, while in the second half I just got mood whiplash, which made the dramatic parts feel melodramatic and the romcom parts feel ridiculous. Which is a shame, because I do think there's a lot of genuinely good storytelling happening in the second half, and I just had trouble staying invested.

[Grinner]

...
:smalleek:
oh god.


I must confess something. I've been paying attention pretty much only to see your reaction to this episode. :smalltongue:


The Time Travel in Episode 1 in Retrospect
So after this episode I decided to spend some time trying to figure out what exactly happened back in episode 1, now that I know more about how time travel works in this show.

One thing that I've been thinking about, and that has been confusing me, is Titor. Suppose John Titor travels back in time from World Line 0, creating World Line 1. Then, Okabe's text message that is accidentally sent back in time 5 days creates World Line 2, which contains a version of Titor from some other World Line that only went back to 2010, instead of 2000. But since Okabe's message only went back 5 days, that should mean that all events prior to the time that the message was received are the same in World Line 1 and 2. But if that were the case, then Titor-0 (the version of Titor from World Line 0), having arrived in 2000, would be around as well as Titor-? that went back 2010. So either there's some universal law preventing more than two copies of one person from running around in one World Line or there was some instance of time travel that branched World Line 2 off of World Line 1 that went back before year 2000.

I've also been thinking about what exactly happened in Kurisu's personal timeline in episode 1 and 2. Let's take a look back at the sequence of events.

This episode, Kurisu finished developing a new form of time travel that involves sending back memories. This episode, CERN demonstrated the ability to stop time. This suggests that there are other types of time travel that might be developed or revealed later in the show. Suppose one of these is the ability to go to a specific World Line, like from the current World Line to World Line 1. Suppose Okabe does this, and meets with Kurisu in World Line 1 before meeting A happens from Kurisu's perspective. Let's call this Meeting F. That would mean, from Kurisu's perspective, things go something like this:

In World Line 1: F --> A --> B
In World Line 2: C --> D --> E.

This makes a lot more sense than my previous theory and requires only one intentional case of World Line hopping rather than two accidental cases of World Line hopping. All that it require is that Okabe try to frantically tell Kurisu something important in meeting F, which is basically guaranteed.

Alright. Let's pack it in. He's pretty much figured out the rest of the story. All he has to do now is realize that Suzuha is John Titor, witness the effects of her decision to stay in 2010, and realize that the "satellites" are in fact time machines.

Watching him being blindsided by Moeka was pretty fun, though.


I was probably one of the few people who enjoyed the first half of the series more.

IIRC I liked the plot about equally well throughout, and both halves had shenanigans that I disliked, but the first half played them off against the lighthearted overall tone, while in the second half I just got mood whiplash, which made the dramatic parts feel melodramatic and the romcom parts feel ridiculous. Which is a shame, because I do think there's a lot of genuinely good storytelling happening in the second half, and I just had trouble staying invested.

I've noticed a similar trend in anime overall. It's what I refer to as "The Garden"*. Anime series seem to often start off with some light-hearted adventures, showing the character's in their natural, innocent state. Then, some dramatic break occurs which forces them to abandon their lives and routines and engage in some perilous struggle, the outcome of which you can be confident will forever bar them from returning to their previous life.

*There's probably an actual literary criticism term for this, but I don't know it.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Aaaaaaaaaand there it is. WHAM.

This is definitely the lynchpin of events turning around. So where does the plot go next...

[Lethologica]

I've noticed a similar trend in anime overall. It's what I refer to as "The Garden"*. Anime series seem to often start off with some light-hearted adventures, showing the character's in their natural, innocent state. Then, some dramatic break occurs which forces them to abandon their lives and routines and engage in some perilous struggle, the outcome of which you can be confident will forever bar them from returning to their previous life.

*There's probably an actual literary criticism term for this, but I don't know it.
Hm. There are some adjacent phenomena floating around. For example, it's fairly common to see manga start off with short arcs (chapter-length or a few chapters) that don't break status quo much as the author fights to make weekly targets, and to only see longer arcs with deeper/more enduring consequences when the magazine's confident the series has an established readership. (I imagine the same thing often happens with western comics.) But that's not an issue for visual novels and their adaptations, like Steins;Gate. There I guess it's more about setting up the status quo, introducing members of an ensemble cast in a gameplay-friendly fashion, that sort of thing.

[JCarter426]

Welcome to Act II. :smallsmile:


One thing that I've been thinking about, and that has been confusing me, is Titor. Suppose John Titor travels back in time from World Line 0, creating World Line 1. Then, Okabe's text message that is accidentally sent back in time 5 days creates World Line 2, which contains a version of Titor from some other World Line that only went back to 2010, instead of 2000. But since Okabe's message only went back 5 days, that should mean that all events prior to the time that the message was received are the same in World Line 1 and 2. But if that were the case, then Titor-0 (the version of Titor from World Line 0), having arrived in 2000, would be around as well as Titor-? that went back 2010. So either there's some universal law preventing more than two copies of one person from running around in one World Line or there was some instance of time travel that branched World Line 2 off of World Line 1 that went back before year 2000.
The answer is a case of author fiat - it's just how time travel works in Steins;Gate because we don't have actual time travelers in reality telling us it can't work like that. You've already deduced most of the rules, but I'll put the rest in spoilers just in case, as it could influence your speculation:

If this were another series - the Flash, for instance - your first assessment would be true. But in this case, that's just not how time travel works. Time travel in Steins;Gate applies across the entire timeline simultaneously. That's why, from most people's point of view, the worldline they're is the only worldline that has ever been.

When Okabe's message created a new worldline in the first episode, the resulting changes were so great that John Titor, future time traveler, traveled back to the year 2010 instead of going to 2000 as in the initial worldline. That means there was never a Titor in 2000 in this new worldline. Yes, even though Titor's presence in 2000 was history to Okabe, and therefore part of the events that caused Okabe to send his message in the first place. That doesn't matter. Just as it doesn't matter when Okabe changes Ruka's sex or tries to win the lottery. He's destroying the old worldline in those cases too; that doesn't prevent the new one from taking form.

So it's a bit of a paradox, but that's how it is.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Also, I forget; did we get a decent explanation of what "the lifter" actually was? Because I remember reading through the VN (accidentally wiped my computer, including the save file, so I'll have to restart, but I got to about this point in the VN) and it provided some fantastically comprehensive explanations for how the microwave time machine was working, and what purpose the "lifter" served.

[Ravian]

Also, I forget; did we get a decent explanation of what "the lifter" actually was? Because I remember reading through the VN (accidentally wiped my computer, including the save file, so I'll have to restart, but I got to about this point in the VN) and it provided some fantastically comprehensive explanations for how the microwave time machine was working, and what purpose the "lifter" served.

I generally got that the lifter was just some sort of weird technological quirk that happened activate the necessary circuits for the device. Sort of like in an old car where the air conditioning only works when the wind shield wipers are on.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I generally got that the lifter was just some sort of weird technological quirk that happened activate the necessary circuits for the device. Sort of like in an old car where the air conditioning only works when the wind shield wipers are on.
Yeah, it's sorta like that.

Upfront alert: I'm probably mis-remembering some of these details, but this is how I roughly recall it going in the VN.

Basically, it has to do with the fact that the microwave time machine is creating something called "naked singularities", black holes that are capable of passing information into the past. Unfortunately, they're not terribly stable and tend to collapse quickly. SERN's method of creating these naked singularities involves infusing them with ions (IIRC), and they use something called a "lifter" to infuse enough ions into a mini-black hole to stabilize it. So that's the purpose that the lifter serves.

[Randomguy]

I'm looking forward to the second half of the show. On the other hand, I'll really miss the more lighthearted parts of the first half.

Fun fact: lifters, also known as ionocraft (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nM2u2FDWsQ), are a real thing! Apparently lift is generated by driving the ionized air downwards. In this show they mentioned that the lifter was the antenna of the downstairs TV.

[Randomguy]

Episode 13: Metaphysics: Necrosis

Event Log:

So we’re going to go through this scene again. Cheery.
Moeka is completely unaffected by Okabe’s grief, or the fact that she just murdered Mayuri.
SUZUHA TO THE RESCUE!
I am disappointed that there was a gunshot but Moeka didn’t die.
There goes Kurisu. I wonder if I should start keeping track of how often each character dies…
Ah, so there’s the episode title. I was wondering if it was going to show up. Ominous.
Well, that explains the hostage thing.
And of course, Okabe continues to be the least communicative person ever. No, don’t warn anyone or anything.
Thank you Kurisu, for connecting the dots.
Okabe just promised he's not going to do anything crazy. I bet he’s about to do something crazy.
Actually, Okabe’s been surprisingly sane so far.
god DAMMIT. I guess we’re going back again.
oh, great, and it was Moeka again. I thought it was just a random driver at first.
Alright, take three.
AHHHRGH. AGAIN WITH THE NOT TELLING ANYONE ANYTHING. :smallfurious:
At least we got a small amount of comedic relief, with Ruka's interpretation of Okabe asking Mayuri to leave town all of a sudden.
oh god oh god someone’s going to push Mayuri in front of the train.
Whelp.


Episode Notes

Jeez. This episode was just mean. The worst part was the look of horror on Okabe’s face after Mayuri died for the third time. The fact that it was an accident that time around makes things worse. Almost like it's suggesting that Mayuri's death is a universal constant.

I hope this ground hog's day loop doesn't repeat that many more times. Watching Okabe fail at communication, espionage and saving Mayuri's life is going to get depressing really fast.

Okabe not communicating anything to anyone is really getting to me. It's what got him into this situation in the first place, and instead of taking that as a lesson he's just repeating the same mistakes again. I'm starting to wonder if it's arrogance, and that he doesn't think anyone else can help. Or maybe he's just used to it being him and Mayuri that the idea of getting help from other people doesn't occur to him, even after he saw Suzuha single handedly take out a whole room of CERN agents.

Nothing to add to the list of running plotlines today. As a conciliation prize, have a whimsical death counter using Xykon skulls!

Death Counter:

Mayuri: :xykon::xykon::xykon:
Kurisu : :xykon::xykon:

[Grinner]

Fun fact: lifters, also known as ionocraft (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nM2u2FDWsQ), are a real thing! Apparently lift is generated by driving the ionized air downwards. In this show they mentioned that the lifter was the antenna of the downstairs TV.

The usage of the term lifter is probably different here. It would be really weird if an TV started generating ions, as that would probably indicate the presence of ionizing radiation.

[The Sword Dance]

The usage of the term lifter is probably different here. It would be really weird if an TV started generating ions, as that would probably indicate the presence of ionizing radiation.

They actually do mention specifically in the anime and VN that they are using the actual lifter with ions concept, even including a generic youtube knockoff video demonstrating the idea.

[Seppl]

Fun fact: lifters, also known as ionocraft (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nM2u2FDWsQ), are a real thing! Apparently lift is generated by driving the ionized air downwards. In this show they mentioned that the lifter was the antenna of the downstairs TV.Most of the things in the show are actually real. Probably most surprising for the younger crowd is John Titor, who really appeared on the internet in 2000, searching for an IBM 5100.

[JCarter426]

The usage of the term lifter is probably different here. It would be really weird if an TV started generating ions, as that would probably indicate the presence of ionizing radiation.
But it was a cathode ray tube TV, which specifically is mildly ionizing.

[Grinner]

But it was a cathode ray tube TV, which specifically is mildly ionizing.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't ionizing radiation correlated with increased cancer risk? Was Bender right? Do CRTs cause eye cancer? :smallconfused:

[Seppl]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't ionizing radiation correlated with increased cancer risk? Was Bender right? Do CRTs cause eye cancer? :smallconfused:You may joke but that was actually a real danger. Hence, CRTs were regulated by the FDA, and manufacturers used special glasses and other techniques to keep the radiation at harmless levels.

[Kato]

No offense but it's kind of amusing we're really at the point where people don't know anymore how an old monitor/TV works :smallbiggrin:
Then again, I wasn't aware there was discussion about increased cancer risk, considering people spend hours each day in front of it, whcih is, well, exactly where the radiation is directed at. But then I guess it's not hard to keep the intensity to a low enough level, you just need... a few thousand electrons per second for it to work.

[Eldan]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't ionizing radiation correlated with increased cancer risk? Was Bender right? Do CRTs cause eye cancer? :smallconfused:

Absolutely ionizing radiation is. You may also know it as beta and gamma radiation. (I doubt it produces much alpha).
There's a reason there were so many warning labels on those monitors. They also produce strong electromagnetic fields at close range, so the "sit at arm's length" warnings were very true, too. They arere also dangerously electrically charged when opened, full of toxic metals and can implode, IIRC.

[Randomguy]

Episode 14: Physical Necrosis

Event Log:

I wasn’t expecting a flash forwards through so many timeline jumps here.
Geez, how many times does he go through this without thinking to ask for help? :smallsigh:
2010/08/13 2:00pm
Hm… Okabe’s messaging Moeka. He’s getting creative.
Okabe being John Titor? There’s something I hadn’t considered.
He was actually doing pretty well with the interrogation except for the fact that he was too stupid to bring backup and she wasn’t.
It might have been easier for Kurisu to go back in time instead of Okabe. That way at least Okabe could have been cleared of the trauma. No, nevermind, his Reading Steiner would have just complicated things.
Well timed dramatic entrance from Suzuha. She’s FINALLY in on this.
YES! Shot of the crashed satellite, in its impact crater, confirms that Suzuha travelled in on it.
“Professional shimier, perhaps?” :smallbiggrin:

Well, they revealed that the crashed satellite belonged to Suzuha in this same episode, so all my careful observations just meant that I figured it out all of 2 minutes before it was actually revealed. :smallsigh:
Suzuha is John Titor???


Episode Notes

It's astounding that after so many attempts, the idea of asking others for help just never occurred to Okabe. Even in the end, he never went for help: Kurisu figured out what was going on and got him to explain, and Suzuha overheard. Hopefully this whole experience taught him that it's okay to seek help from others sometimes, but I don't feel as though he learned a lesson here.
Equally surprising is that he had a 100% success rate of escaping and making it back to the time machine. Rule of drama, I guess.

Sadly we didn't learn a lot from Okabe's interrogation of Moeka. The most useful piece of information is that Moeka and her Rounders don't know where the IBN5100 is, so they're not the ones that absconded with it during the confusion of the Chaos Theory episodes.

A useful gadget that Suzuha had was the worldlinenumberometer, which shows the deviation % of the current World Line, also seen as ominous glowy numbers that flashed on the screen briefly whenever a D-Mail that changed the World Line was sent. The fact that this was a real gadget and not just a scene-changing device makes me feel like I should have payed attention to what numbers were actually being displayed.

I never really considered the idea that a known character might be Titor until Moeka suspected Okabe. I just assumed he was a distinct character and never challenged that assumption. There were loads of hints at Suzuha being related to and associated with Titor, though.
Interestingly enough, I was wrong about Suzuha being a World War 3 veteran: she's from 2036, and she's, what, sixteen? Eighteen? Either way, she's not old enough to have lived through World War 3, which happened in 2015. This paints a bleak picture of the future that she's from, where air raids still happen even long after the war.

Earlier on, in a prior World Line, Suzuha just left after she failed to find her father. So she gave up on saving the world from CERN so easily?

The revelation of Suzuha being John Titor does give us some information on some other stuff in the list of running plotlines. For example, we now know that she can't possibly be the mysterious roof person from episode 1, even though their hair colour does match and they have similar profiles, since Titor appeared in 2000 in that timeline. We also know that, since Suzuha appears to be working alone, and that the prime suspects for Kurisu's murder in the first World Line was Titor, Suzuha, or Titor's allies, that it was almost certainly Suzuha who killed Kurisu. Except... The mysterious roof person was also a prime suspect for the murder. Which directly contradicts the previous point. Nothing can ever be easy, can it?

The last thing that this episode inadvertently reveals is the identity of Suzuha's father, who we now know to be Hashida Itaru.

Wondering how I got to this conclusion? Here's how I know:

Suzuha's from 2036, and she's between 16 and 18, so she was born around 2020.
This places Suzuha's father in the present time to be roughly the age of the main protagonists.
We also know that Suzuha's father is in the city in the present. In all likelyhood he was onscreen at some point.
Suzuha was planning on meeting her father at the time traveller's forum meetup, which her father was going to attend, but didn't. Daru was planning on attending the time traveller's forum meetup, but he was tricked into not going by Okabe & friends.
During the heartfelt talk with Okabe in episode 10, Suzuha mentioned that she didn't even remember what her father looked like, so she could have met him and not realized.
Daru has the same hair colour as Suzuha. And as we know, all characters with the same hair colour are related.

The only two missing things are Daru's username on the time travel forum, which we don't know yet, and the pin that Suzuha has, which I don't think we've seen with him (but it may have shown up and I just missed it), but he may just not have it yet.

I wonder who Suzuha's mother is. Certainly not Mayuri or Ruka. Almost certainly not Kurisu. Probably not Moeka or Faris. Maybe Mayuri's cosplay friend?

One last note to the readers: Please do not confirm or disconfirm this theory, since even though I'm 90% sure of this I would still like to find out from the show itself.

[Ravian]

Hmm...

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Granted it's not a difficult one to figure out with all the clues they give you, but this guy still managed it a little before I figured it out.

[Seppl]

Equally surprising is that he had a 100% success rate of escaping and making it back to the time machine. Rule of drama, I guess.Or it is the same thing that keeps on killing Mayuri. And which kept everything (the Lab, social interactions,...) mostly the same even through some drastic changes far in the past. Suzuha explained it this episode.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Surprise! Yeah, I wasn't nearly as observant as you, so this totally rocked my boat in a huge way.

[Calemyr]

That's right. Steins;Gate: resurrecting the Nixie Tube (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixie_tube) for a new generation.

Now we get to the fun part, where things start to add up to answers. You've got a sharp eye and a solid bit of logical muscle, RG, so it's interesting to see the conclusions you come to - even when they're wrong, they're well thought out.

[Grinner]

Hmm...

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Granted it's not a difficult one to figure out with all the clues they give you, but this guy still managed it a little before I figured it out.

See, that's what I love about this guy. He pays such close attention and makes the most insightful observations. But after figuring out certain details, he then makes conclusions like this:


The revelation of Suzuha being John Titor does give us some information on some other stuff in the list of running plotlines. For example, we now know that she can't possibly be the mysterious roof person from episode 1, even though their hair colour does match and they have similar profiles, since Titor appeared in 2000 in that timeline. We also know that, since Suzuha appears to be working alone, and that the prime suspects for Kurisu's murder in the first World Line was Titor, Suzuha, or Titor's allies, that it was almost certainly Suzuha who killed Kurisu. Except... The mysterious roof person was also a prime suspect for the murder. Which directly contradicts the previous point. Nothing can ever be easy, can it?

It seems we might have another surprise to enjoy.

[Randomguy]

Episode 15: Missing Link: Necrosis

Event Log:

Suzuha’s arrival date: 2010/07/28, 11:50 am. Same time as the small time machine appeared in World Line 1.
SO THAT’S how the first D-mail changed the timeline so drastically! it’s not because of Daru’s actions in response to it, it’s because of CERN’s, and their monitoring tech.
Suzuha still hasn’t said her dad’s online handle in front of Daru.
Divergence meter is 0.337187, I should keep track of that.
They showed the pin to a cat! :smallbiggrin:
So racist, Okabe. :smallsigh:
Okay, Daru just hit on Suzuha. Rule of drama says they must be related.


Episode Notes

No more facts that add up to Daru being Suzuha's dad, but a whole lot of stuff from the perspective of the rule of drama that point to it. For one thing, if it were true then Daru is repairing a time machine made by a future version of himself from another World Line, which would be fitting. There's also Daru's comment about Suzuha's dad: "What if he's somebody close to us?", which would be ironic if they were related. That, and him hitting on Suzuha would become HILARIOUS.

We get some information this episode that explains why Suzuha took off the day that she failed to find her dad: She wasn't going back to the future and abandoning her mission, she was going to the past to finish it.

I'm not sure where the search for the pin is going. Daru doesn't have the pin yet, so they won't find him by looking for it. Hmm, they might accidentally find the wrong person.

Running Plotlines


The differences between Timeline 1 and Timeline 2

The small satellite landing vs. the large satellite crash

The crash landing was caused by a miscalculation that caused the time machine to appear in the wrong place by a small amount. The mysterious roof person was probably a bit more careful with the number crunching than Suzuha.

Titor's appearance in year 2000 vs Titor's appearance in 2010

We still don't know why Suzuha/Titor chose to go back to 2010 in this World Line but to 2000 in another World Line. It might be that the version of her that went back to 2000 knew who her father was, or saw no reason to go looking.

The mysterious roof person from Timeline 1.

Since Suzuha is Titor, Suzuha is probably not Mysterious Roof Person. Since Suzuha and Mysterious Roof Person are both time travellers and suspects for killing Kurisu, there is a chance that Mysterious Roof Person is a version of Suzuha. (One possible solution to this problem is that the Suzuha of Timeline 1 travelled forwards to the rooftop).

What caused Timeline 1 to turn into Timeline 2.

World Line 1 was turned into World Line 2 by the actions of CERN in response to Okabe's first, accidental D-mail.

How Kurisu went from timeline to timeline.

Who killed Kurisu, and what was their motive?

The most likely motive is to stop Kurisu from championing CERN's time machine efforts. Most likely suspect is an alternate timeline version of Suzuha, or the person who travelled to the roof in World Line 1.

Who donated the IBN5100 to the shrine?

Faris' father, apparently. But why would he have donated a computer to a shrine?
He was probably convinced to donate it to the shrine by a version of Suzuha that travelled to the past, since she had the job of getting an IBN5100 to Okabe. That World Line's been overwritten by now, though.

Why did Moeka want the IBN5100? Is she working for Titor, for CERN or neither?

Moeka has always worked for CERN. Her and her group are "Rounders". Their mission is to retrieve the IBN5100, probably to stop Okabe from getting it, but possibly for other reasons as well. Moeka serves "FB", a person / group / cause that we know nothing about yet.
What is "FB"?

How does time travel work?

It appears that large changes create a new World Line, while small changes just alter the current World Line slightly.

Why is Okabe the only one that can remember other World Lines?

[JCarter426]

So racist, Okabe. :smallsigh:
This is one instance of the dub (understandably) diverging from the original script. So you might want to go watch that again in Japanese too.

[Calemyr]

This is one instance of the dub (understandably) diverging from the original script. So you might want to go watch that again in Japanese too.

Indeed, the Japanese version of the scene is one of the most quotable moments in anime for my part.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

This is one instance of the dub (understandably) diverging from the original script. So you might want to go watch that again in Japanese too.
Handy-dandy link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYvhhMjW32k)

Wow, watched the English version, and yeah, that's kinda cringe-worthy.

[Randomguy]

Handy-dandy link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYvhhMjW32k)

Wow, watched the English version, and yeah, that's kinda cringe-worthy.

The subbed version is pretty cringe-worthy, too, just less so.

[Randomguy]

Episode 16: Sacrificial Necrosis

Event Log:

Someone who looked like a barrel. Associated with “taru”. Who could it possibly be?
Wasn't Daru somewhere else when the pin was comissioned though?
Jeez, I'm not liking that title. Okabe’s already time leaped so many times without it going wrong, but they did mention it could have physical effects...
Huh. So Daru was going to fake being Suzuha’s dad by getting the pin comissioned.
2010 / 08 / 13
It was really thoughtful of Okabe to bring her bike.
Detective Mayuri solves the case! Hooray, my off the wall prediction was actually right!
No timeline shift? :smallconfused:
Ouch. Straight to the heart. All that effort, and she failed...
And a year after she gets her memories back, she kills herself. :smallfrown:
Timeline meter is at 0.409431.

Mayuri gets to live now!



Episode Notes

In this episode, heartwarming moments were had by all, until it was discovered that they messed up fixing the time machine, which means that Suzuha lost some of her memories and forgot what her mission was for 30 years, at which point she remembers and is driven to suicide by the knowledge of her failure. :smallfrown: To fix this, Okabe sends a D-mail back, cancelling his instructions from another D-mail, which means that Suzuha leaves the night of the thunderstorm, and all of the heartwarming moments never happened for anyone other than Okabe.

How exactly is this current timeline different from the one in which Suzuha left during the night of the thunderstorm originally? There wasn't a World Line shift when that happened. Intuitively I feel as though this one is different, but I don't see any reason why it should be. I guess I could go back and see the numbers change during the transition in episode 10.
Alright, after Okabe sends the D-mail the numbers become 0.337187. Which makes sense, since that's the D-mail that created the World Line that persisted from episode 10 to this one. I need to go back to episode 9, where Faris created the World Line that Okabe changed in episode 10, which has a divergence number of... 0.409420. Which is almost the same as the current World Line, but very slightly different. I'd guess the slight differences come from Okabe's knowledge of the now defunct World Lines.

Right before he sent that D-mail in episode 10, Okabe said: "Dare I alter the past any further? I'm no thumb twiddling milk toast trembling in his lab coat! I look in the abyss with nary a fear!" Well, looked how that worked out for him: He ended up creating a World Line in which Mayuri was doomed to die, and then essentially causes her to die many more times by creating more World Lines in which she dies in his efforts to save her. And the cherry on top of this sadtastical sundae is Suzuha's suicide. Nice job breaking it, hero.
:frown:
I think the worst part of this episode was that the entire series of tragedies was that all Okabe wanted when he made the timeline change was to do something nice for Suzuha.
No, scratch that, the worst part of this whole episode is that they're going through all this trouble and disappointment to get their hands on an IBN5100, which they already had originally but then butterfly affected away with a few careless D-mails.
I guess that's what happens when you don't take time travel seriously enough.


Still, of all of their time travel attempts this was their most successful. Sure, there was the ominous butterfly at the end of the episode, but I think that the changes that spill over from having Suzuha around are going to be mostly positive: She'll be handy to have around when CERN comes knocking.
Never have I been more wrong.

Well, that's enough about how terrible everything is. Time to focus on what happens next: We know from the divergence numbers (which I'm really glad I checked) that this World Line is basically the same as the one Faris created, so the whereabouts of the IBN are still unknown, unless Suzuha left another note. We do know that it never made it to the shrine, though. We also know that the Moeka and her rounders haven't make their move yet, although we don't know why they don't attack the lab in this World Line when they did in 0.337187, and I don't have any guesses as to why, either. Hopefully we'll find out next episode.

[JCarter426]

How exactly is this current timeline different from the one in which Suzuha left during the night of the thunderstorm originally? There wasn't a World Line shift when that happened. Intuitively I feel as though this one is different, but I don't see any reason why it should be. I guess I could go back and see the numbers change during the transition in episode 10.
Alright, after Okabe sends the D-mail the numbers become 0.337187. Which makes sense, since that's the D-mail that created the World Line that persisted from episode 10 to this one. I need to go back to episode 9, where Faris created the World Line that Okabe changed in episode 10, which has a divergence number of... 0.409420. Which is almost the same as the current World Line, but very slightly different. I'd guess the slight differences come from Okabe's knowledge of the now defunct World Lines.

In the current worldline (0.409431), Suzuha received two D-mails from Okabe: one telling her not to go, and another telling her to go. In the original worldline (0.409420) she didn't receive any, leaving on her own due to Okabe's accidental interference in her attempt to meet Daru. (0.337187 is of course the intervening worldline in which she received only the message to stay.)

It's a minor difference, but there's a reason these decimals are so small.

[Grinner]

Never have I been more wrong.

I had an actually been cackling about this in one of the spoiler boxes earlier. She was actually very useful to have around, but having her around seems to be what caused many of their problems to begin with. Really, the series seems to follow the example of old Greek tragedies, in which one's hubris leads to one's own undoing.

Which leads me to my next point...


How exactly is this current timeline different from the one in which Suzuha left during the night of the thunderstorm originally? There wasn't a World Line shift when that happened. Intuitively I feel as though this one is different, but I don't see any reason why it should be. I guess I could go back and see the numbers change during the transition in episode 10.

I think Mayuri put it best,"If you do this, it'll be like none of it ever happened!". And yeah, that's kind of exactly what has happened. We spent something like a quarter of the series watching Suzuha getting to be good friends with Okabe and the others, and now that's all gone. It's like it never happened.

[Randomguy]

In the current worldline (0.409431), Suzuha received two D-mails from Okabe: one telling her not to go, and another telling her to go. In the original worldline (0.409420) she didn't receive any, leaving on her own due to Okabe's accidental interference in her attempt to meet Daru. (0.337187 is of course the intervening worldline in which she received only the message to stay.)

It's a minor difference, but there's a reason these decimals are so small.

Minor nitpick, but those D-mails were sent to past Okabe, not to Suzuha. But if that was the only change there wouldn't be any difference in the numbers at all, like when Kurisu sent a D-mail to Okabe that said "Okabe is an airhead". The change was too minor to affect the worldline at all. But Okabe's new knowledge, most importantly about Moeka being a CERN agent, will change the worldline.

[JCarter426]

Minor nitpick, but those D-mails were sent to past Okabe, not to Suzuha.
Ah, you're right. My bad. Been a while since I watched the whole thing.


But if that was the only change there wouldn't be any difference in the numbers at all, like when Kurisu sent a D-mail to Okabe that said "Okabe is an airhead". The change was too minor to affect the worldline at all.
It depends on the D-mail, and how far back it's sent. Technically every D-mail should change the worldline. However, the Divergence Meter only reads so many digits. There are instances that do (or should) change the worldline that it simply doesn't recognize because the change is too small to matter.

The smallest recorded shift I can recall was a 0.000009% divergence shift, when Okabe failed to win the lottery. This case was 0.000011%... I'd say it's higher because the second message was sent back longer.


But Okabe's new knowledge, most importantly about Moeka being a CERN agent, will change the worldline.
I'm not sure if you can use Okabe's knowledge as a measure for it. Reading Steiner is somewhat of a spanner in the works. If his knowledge was a factor in the divergence ratio, the numbers would be all over the place. His memory never changes, so that variable is ever increasing in divergence. Yet he manages to return to a worldline of a divergence ratio almost identical to one he's visited before.

[Randomguy]

Episode 17: Made in Complex

Event Log:

The lab raid was postponed by 20 hours in this new timeline, not erased.
New music for this part.
I’m just glad the episode title doesn’t have the word Necrosis in it anymore.
Faris is in trouble! That’s unexpected.
This group of people takes board games WAY too seriously.
Somehow Faris remembered the alternate timelines. Interesting.
Faris’ D-mail saved her dad’s life?! :smalleek: Wow, I never thought it was something like that. I just assumed he was always away on business. I am too optimistic.
So that’s what her D-mail said! She faked the ransom.
The worldline is now at 0.456914.


Episode Notes

Okabe and Kurisu have decided to undo all of the D-mails. This is actually quite a good plan: Removing the butterfly effect that messed up the timeline would almost definitely put the IBN back in their hands.

Time travel in this setting is downright sadistic. Save Faris’ dad? Mayuri becomes doomed. Delay Suzuha’s departure? Her time machine breaks in a critically important, undetectable way, leading to Suzuha failing her mission and being driven to suicide. All the more reason for them to undo the D-mails. Although I have to wonder what horrible, unforeseen effects resulted from the failed attempt at winning the lottery.
On second thought, no: It's not the nature of time travel itself, it's CERN. They noticed that Faris' dad received a D-mail, even if he didn't know it was one. They were probably also able to read the D-mail, too. This led to them finding out that he had the IBN5100, so they just bought it off him at a ridiculously high price. This explains how it got stolen from the shrine as well: Ruka sends a D-mail to her mother, CERN starts watching Ruka's family, CERN eventually sneaks in to steal the IBN5100 from the shrine.

Hang on, I'm not sure that adds up: after Ruka's D-mail, Moeka didn't know where the IBN was. So it can't have been CERN that stole it. If it was, she wouldn't have been confused. Well, this raises questions. Who other than CERN would steal an IBN5100? :smallconfused: It was almost certainly stolen because the D-mail was detected: I'm can't think of any way that Ruka's sex would lead to someone running off with it. I guess it might have been stolen because of Ruka's sex rather than D-mail detection, but that would require a HIGHLY convoluted set of circumstances. For example, if in this worldline Ruka got a technophile boyfriend who steals the IBN because he's passionate about old computers. I imagine Ruka ended up with this guy in part as an attempt to make Okabe jealous. He would have been intelligent but socially awkward, like Okabe, but without the heart of gold underneath the dickish exterior. He wears black rimmed, prescription free glasses and a scarf, and justified taking the IBN because "it's not like it was being used anyway." Ruka could do better.
I guess the next episode will be undoing Ruka’s time travel induced gender reassignment. Jeez, this is really going to suck for Ruka. Especially since they might not even succeed in getting the IBN back! If it was stolen as a result of CERN, or someone, detecting the D-mail signals then it will stay stolen even if they undo the D-mail. This is the outcome I'm expecting, since it's the worst possible outcome of trying to undo Ruka's D-mail.

I wonder if they'll somehow get all the way back to the original worldline that the show started with after undoing all of the D-mails? They wouldn't be able to do it by D-mails alone, since the big changes that resulted from Okabe's first, accidental D-mail were caused by CERN detecting the D-mail, not by the contents of the message. They're going to have to get creative. They have to get there somehow, though, for the order of meetings between Okabe and Kurisu in episode 1 to make sense. And when they do, I'll finally be able to find out who the mysterious roof person is! My current guess is that she's a descendant of the version of Suzuha who went back to year 2000 in the original worldline: If that version Suzuha had kids, they would have been born probably between 2010 and 2020, putting them between age 26 and 16 in 2036, which is a plausible age range for Roof Person, assuming she went back from the same year that Suzuha did. And Roof Person does have the same hair colour as Suzuha. So it's a possibility!

[Fri]

And Roof Person does have the same hair colour as Suzuha. So it's a possibility!

Whether this is tongue in cheek or not, I love this. It's great how we basically can put "same hair color" in the fact list to deduct who's related to who in anime :smallbiggrin:

[Randomguy]

Whether this is tongue in cheek or not, I love this. It's great how we basically can put "same hair color" in the fact list to deduct who's related to who in anime :smallbiggrin:

:smalltongue:

It's one of those clues that you need to make sure you only use when necessary. Otherwise you can end up with epileptic trees theories, like the one about Haley being related to Girard Draketooth.

[Randomguy]

Episode 18: Fractal Androgynous

Event Log:

Straight to the point, I see.
Tactful as ever, Okabe.
2010/08/13 3:00 pm
Props to Okabe for trying to take the high road and not trying to be sneaky when it comes to changing someone’s identity.
"You're as dedicated to science as you are to virginity". :smallamused:
WOW. I think that’s the creepiest we’ve ever seen Daru get. I did get a laugh out of his "see a man about a unicorn." line, though.
Tremendously awkward date is tremendously awkward.
New worldline is 0.523307


Episode Notes:

It was pretty entertaining to see some of the least qualified humans ever plan a date. My favourite part was how Kurisu got so wrapped up in it, down to giving the whole "operation" an unnecessary Norse title. I guess Okabe's rubbing off on her.

All my speculation on why the IBN went missing and it turns out that for some reason female Ruka knocked it over while male Ruka never did. :smallsigh:
It might have been kinder to send a D-mail to Ruka one year ago telling her to be more careful around the IBN. Of course, based on prior D-mail attempts it at best wouldn't have worked, and at worst would have created a different worldline where everything goes horribly wrong and they end up having to undo it anyway.

The next D-mail to undo is Moeka’s. That’s going to be tricky. It's worth noting that in the worldline that they are now in, Moeka was never introduced to the other lab members, which might complicate things even further.

[Calemyr]

Yeah, Moeka's return is... interesting. To say more would be to spoil the insanity.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

It might have been kinder to send a D-mail to Ruka one year ago telling her to be more careful around the IBN. Of course, based on prior D-mail attempts it at best wouldn't have worked, and at worst would have created a different worldline where everything goes horribly wrong and they end up having to undo it anyway.

Yeah; it sucks, but their safest method of handling things seems to be to directly undo the D-mail as exactly as possible.

[The Sword Dance]

Is this on break or still ongoing?

[Randomguy]

Jeez, it's been way too long since I posted an update. Sorry about that: my coworkers got me into magic the gathering and suddenly all my free time disappeared. :smallredface:

We now resume our irregularly scheduled programming with Episode 19.


Episode 19: Endless Apoptosis

Event Log:

2010/08/15 8:00 pm
It’s 2 days after the lab raid originally happened. Looks like Okabe’s just waiting for the hammer to drop.
Ominous episode title here, which is becoming the norm. Apoptosis is a form of cell death, more specifically cell suicide. So I guess this is going to be one of those episodes where Mayuri dies a thousand more times?
Moeka killed herself? Well there’s an unexpected turn of events. But then what about the lab raid?
Of course, there isn’t a lab raid. Mayuri just dies a random death, like the time with the subway.
Moeka’s SERIOUSLY brainwashed. Her “handlers” at FB stop contact and she just melts down. Wow, and this is on the 11th, she would have gone on like this for days before her suicide. :smalleek:
And Okabe just punched Moeka in the face. That was brutal, Okabe. Still, I’ve got to agree with him. She killed Mayuri, so no mercy.
No way this D-mail works though, she’s got to have lied about the message that she actually sent.
Okabe’s solved the mystery of the failed D-mail! Just in time for things to get eerily quiet.
I know this show's based on a visual novel so there's going to be lots of ship tease, but I REALLY wasn't expecting anything between Okabe and Moeka after episode 12. Quick thinking on Okabe’s part to figure out a way to avoid suspicion but he sure as hell deserved to get his tongue bitten.
Okabe's really tearing into her verbally. And I thought the punch to the face was brutal.


Episode Notes:

At the moment where Moeka appeared on screen in the middle of her breakdown I realized that this episode was going to try to make me sympathize with her, and I resolved not to let that happen. Well, resolution... sort of sustained. I don't feel sympathy towards her, just pity. FB is the person who's really responsible for Mayuri's death, Moeka was just a pawn, so I shouldn't really blame her.

CERN just keeps on getting creepier and creepier. Add “cult style love bombing” to their list of evils, right underneath “creating a dystopian future” and “hiring death squads”.


Plot wise, asides from Moeka's backstory we get confirmation that Moeka used her D-mail to steal the IBN before Okabe and Kurisu found it. We can also now make sense of Moeka's confusion in episode 9: In that worldline, she received a D-mail about the IBN's location, and arranged to have it stolen and put into a locker. However, also in that worldline, Ruka accidentally breaks the IBN, so the attempted theft fails, and it isn't in the locker for her to find, leaving her confused. This theory makes sense so long as D-mails carry over through worldlines: Moeka sends D-mail from worldline 3, creating worldline 4, in which the D-mail is received. Ruka sends the D-mail from worldline 4, creating worldline 5, in which Moeka is confused. If Moeka in worldline 5 still received the D-mail in from worldline 3, then this idea works out.

We also find out that FB is an individual as opposed to a group or ideal, and is probably female, but not a whole lot else about her yet. That'll change next episode. I have no clue how they're going to go about finding FB, though. They don't have much to go on.
My gut feeling is that FB is someone new, rather than a character we've already seen. Not sure who it could possibly be if this wasn't the case. Kurisu's father? Mayuri's cosplay friend? No, it's almost certainly someone new.

[Ravian]

It is incredible how they manage to sneak FB past the viewers so easily. Granted making us consider only female characters does a lot to throw you off the scent.

Also Braun has that 'minor character' feel so entrenched about him that you tend to forget about him almost as soon as he's no longer relevant. He's just the big grumpy landlord! Definitely not part of any huge conspiracies! Nosiree-Bob!

[Ark Evensong]

Yay! The thread is back.

Also, the good folk over at CERN would like a word with you:

...

[FAKE EDIT]
... Oh, can't post links yet, need more posts. Uh, that makes sense, I guess.
Hrmph.

Ok, google CERN AMA, then. Should be the first hit, and then it's near the top. (Maybe someone else 'll turn it into a proper link?)

[Randomguy]

Episode 20: Finalize Apoptosis

Event Log:

2010/08/12
Kurisu just suggested that they wouldn't be able to get the IBN without returning to the original timeline, as though "fate" required it of them. An unscientific conclusion, coming from her.
Where was the flashback that he remembered the tattoo from? Eh, I'll assume it's one of the rounders.
Mr. Braun???
My first thought is that this is a false lead, and he’s just getting paid to do a delivery, one of several unknowing pawns. He does deal with old technology, it’s kind of related to his business.
And off it the IBN goes to France. They should check the area code on FB’s number and see if she’s even in japan.
Okabe’s going to confront Mr. Braun. I still think he’s a false lead. If he is then he might be able to point them to whoever hired him though. On the other hand, CERN has got to know that he’s Okabe’s landlord, so it’s odd that they’d choose him for the job. Eh, he was probably hired by a proxy who didn’t have complete info.
[I took no notes between the previous note and the D-mail being sent, as I stared at the screen becoming increasingly horrified.]
Whelp. That escalated quickly.
New worldline is 0.571046
Cue Kurisu’s innocuous comment followed by Okabe’s realization.



Episode Notes:

Okabe's going to need so much therapy after he gets through all this, and yet no therapist in the world will believe him.


Needless to say all of my speculation about FB was entirely wrong. This was one of those "not even in hindsight" plot twists, unless there are some incredibly subtle hints lying around that I've missed (in which case please point them out). Still, it didn't feel at all like an ass pull (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Asspull) to me. In fact I thought that the climax of this episode was brilliantly executed. Those cut-away scenes with Mr. Braun's daughter waking up to an empty house and making two breakfasts were heart-wrenching.

It's been brought up before, but this episode really drove home the no-consequences nature of time travel: All the consequences of a murder-suicide erased in just a few seconds of screentime. This brings up all sorts of philosphical quandries. For example, is it unethical to murder someone if you turn back time and undo it right afterwords? My gut feeling is "yes" but one could definitely argue "no", depending on which ethical framework you use and on what happens in the worldline left behind.

Among the many horrifying things that happened, one of the things which struck me the most was the added detail about Mr. Braun's method of recruitment: The fact that he's intentionally recruiting desperate loners not only because they're easier to recruit, but also because they're likely to off themselves in the end. I have to wonder if that's CERN policy or if he took the initiative.

Props to Kurisu for having the presence of mind to remember to send the D-mail after everything. It sure as hell slipped my mind.


Alright, enough about what happened this episode: let’s think about what’s coming in the future, which of course means looking to the past. More specifically, all the way back to episode 1.
The most important tidbit from that episode is that some version of Okabe talks to Kurisu before Okabe-1 (the version of Okabe from episode 1) meets her. It was either an Okabe from another worldline or else the future of the Okabe that we're watching. I'm going to assume that it's the latter case. This means that an interaction with future Okabe happened offscreen in episode 1, which means that Okabe must return to that exact worldline, rather than an approximation of it achieved by sending more D-mails. All of Okabe-1's actions are accounted for prior to his first conversation with Kurisu, so there must have been another physical Okabe present, meaning that he can't have gotten there using the modification to the phone-wave that sends his mind back in time even if we ignore the 2 day limit. So we can conclude that we're going to see a new kind of time machine being created in the next few episodes, one that could be similar to Suzuha's time machine.
The big problem with this idea is that for the offscreen version of Okabe in episode 1 to be the future of this version of Okabe then there would need to be a stable time loop, and if there was a stable time loop then they wouldn't actually be able to change anything, such as Kurisu's death or the change in worldlines that happens during that episode. Hmm...

Oh, and since we're going to be going back to the original timeline I should make sure to keep an eye out for whoever the mysterious roof person is. I'll need to check everyone for those fingerless gloves.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

The hinting is veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery subtle, given that Okabe nicknamed him "Mr. Braun" after Karl Ferdinand Braun, inventor of the CRT, because he was so into CRTs. (I don't remember how explicitly they make that connection.) But yeah, if you've got that in mind still, and you're super on top of things, you might notice that "FB" matches the initials of Okabe's nickname.

[JCarter426]

Well, now you know what the "cruel contract" from the opening credits is.


Needless to say all of my speculation about FB was entirely wrong. This was one of those "not even in hindsight" plot twists, unless there are some incredibly subtle hints lying around that I've missed (in which case please point them out).
Apart from what FB stands for, I can't recall anything specific. Moeka didn't know, Suzuha didn't know either, and any odd behavior on Mister Braun's part seemed more to do with his general attitude towards Okabe rather than anything insidious. Though it explains how accurate SERN's information was. Easy to spy on someone when they live upstairs from you and shout all their plans with the windows open.

[Ravian]

Well, now you know what the "cruel contract" from the opening credits is.


Apart from what FB stands for, I can't recall anything specific. Moeka didn't know, Suzuha didn't know either, and any odd behavior on Mister Braun's part seemed more to do with his general attitude towards Okabe rather than anything insidious. Though it explains how accurate SERN's information was. Easy to spy on someone when they live upstairs from you and shout all their plans with the windows open.

Seriously, in a way SERN suddenly seems far less impressive when you realize how easy it was for them to spy on Okabe, they lose that edge of shadowy unknown conspiracy that somehow knows everything, and are more like Braun angrily sending menacing messages whenever Okabe is annoys him.

[Lethologica]

Seriously, in a way SERN suddenly seems far less impressive when you realize how easy it was for them to spy on Okabe, they lose that edge of shadowy unknown conspiracy that somehow knows everything, and are more like Braun angrily sending menacing messages whenever Okabe is annoys him.
FB: "Dude, we know what you're up to, now stop shouting about it so I can get some sleep!"
Okabe: "What was that?"
FB: "Nothing. Go CERN."

[Randomguy]

Seriously, in a way SERN suddenly seems far less impressive when you realize how easy it was for them to spy on Okabe, they lose that edge of shadowy unknown conspiracy that somehow knows everything, and are more like Braun angrily sending menacing messages whenever Okabe is annoys him.


FB: "Dude, we know what you're up to, now stop shouting about it so I can get some sleep!"
Okabe: "What was that?"
FB: "Nothing. Go CERN."

Heh. I should go back to the episodes when Okabe got the threatening texts and see if they correlate with him annoying Braun. :smalltongue:

[The Sword Dance]

I wish I could travel forward in time to when all the episodes have been reviewed here...

[Randomguy]

Episode 21: Paradox Meltdown

Event Log:

Okabe’s trying to get the good ending where neither Mayuri or Kurisu die. Yeah, that’ll work.
Although if he doesn’t jump timelines then CERN gets to rule the world, so it wouldn’t be much of a good end even if he succeeded.
That “I just wound you” line again. I guess that means this is an intentional attack, and not an accident, since CERN is stopping time.
2010/08/13 3:pm
Kurisu's response to finding out she dies in the other worldline is rather stoic.
Mayuri's had dreams of her own death? Huh.
Ominous note with Kurisu looking at the place she was murdered in the last worldline. She probably had a few memories pop up.



Episode Notes:

Not a whole lot happened this episode. Okabe angsts (not that it isn't completely justified given what he's been through), Kurisu finds Daru's porn stash, Mayuri dies again, Okabe angsts some more, Kurisu gets him to snap out of it enough to actually share some info (again), and a bonding moment between Okabe and Mayuri to cap off the episode.
Probably the most frustrating thing about this episode is that Okabe fell back into the same pattern of not telling anyone anything until Kurisu notices he's hiding something and confronts him about it. Again! After he's already established several times that Kurisu is very helpful at solving these sorts of problems. :smallfurious:


I've noticed that in both this episode and the last one there were a lot of scenes where the shot focused on a nearby insect while the characters talk. Last episode it was dragonflies, and this episode it’s cicadas. I feel like it’s supposed to be symbolic somehow but I’m not sure how. I guess it could represent the protagonists insignificance in the face of a powerful organization like CERN, and their inability to change things for the better despite having to sacrifice so much.
Was the "scene focused on nearby insect" a thing in earlier episodes as well? I must have missed it if it was.


It's interesting that Mayuri's been having dreams about her deaths in other timelines. We've had a few instances of characters other than Okabe remembering what happened in other worldlines now. This confirms what Mayuri told Okabe in a dream sequence several episodes ago: That everyone's "soul" is constant between worldlines, and experiences what happens in other worldlines, meaning people can remember things that happened in other worldlines through dreams (apparently), or when given an external nudge, like someone else pointing out all the differences between the two worldlines.
This means that Okabe's "Reading Steiner" ability is less of a unique ability and more like a stronger version of what everyone can already do.


I'm looking forward to the next episode. I expect that Kurisu will come up with some way out of their situation, probably another form of time travel that involves going back physically. After all, they have to come up with something, if only for purely practical reasons: Kurisu's the one that upgraded the phone-wave into a legitimate time machine, so if they jump to a worldline where she died then they'll be stuck without any time travel other than D-mail.
Developing a new type of time machine would be extremely challenging, of course, but the thing about time travel is that they don't exactly have a time limit. They could spend months or even years working on it and just go back to the point that they need to. Somehow I doubt this will end up happening, though. It's more likely they find where Suzuha stashed her time machine after going back, and either re-use it or reverse-engineer it.
Here's something interesting that might happen if Okabe does go back in time physically: Since he's going back such a short time, there will be two of him running around in that worldline. Which would directly contradict the "one soul across worldlines" idea. Hmm.

[The Sword Dance]

Home stretch hype!

[Fri]

Don't forget that there's actually special extra episode, though I think it's included in most showing of Steins Gate now. But consider that the tv series actually end at 24th episode

[Randomguy]

Episode 22: Being Meltdown

Event Log:

Now THAT is a kiss scene.
It took me a few seconds, but when Okabe said his first kiss “lacked that certain je ne sais quoi” I realized he was talking about him and Moeka. Yeah, no kidding. I guess "je ne sais quoi" is french for consent.
I think that Okabe angling for the second kiss was the only time he's been at all smooth, ever.
Dramatic speech is dramatic. (and quite good).
For a second I thought it wouldn’t work when things didn’t change immediately, but it was just rule of drama.
Worldline 1.130205
Maybe don’t go shouting so loud about how you defied CERN when Mr. Braun is still living right below you, Okabe.
Mayuri sees right through him.
The IBN is being driven off. There’s an odd note of finality in the air, but there is still much unresolved.
Wait, what? End credits? There’s still three more episodes! and unresolved stuff way back from episode 1!
okay typing noises and phone ringing noises something is happening I’m excited.
THERE we go.


Episode Notes:

This was a great episode. It was one of the episodes that reminds you how great the music in this show is. Also, I don't mention this often enough, but I'm a real sucker for the romance scenes. Those dorks romanticizing science, it's adorable.

I actually prefer this ship to Okabe / Ruka. At the start of the show I thought they'd be great together, but after their terribly awkward date I got the feeling that they were better off as friends. Even the un-awkward afterwards moment seemed to reinforce that. There was no romance to it.

One of the beautiful thing about this episode is that it resolves Kurisu and Okabe's romantic subplot, and then promptly undoes the resolution. This is a recurring theme in this show, like how the best parts of their relationship with Suzuha were undone to ensure her success, and how Ruka got to have her date with Okabe and finally get a resolution to her feelings for him only for that to be undone. To hammer the point home, the entire plot from halfway through episode 1 to this episode was about undoing itself. The message here is that close relationships are worth having, even if abruptly, inevitably, they end, leaving you back where you started. 'Tis better to have loved and lost, and all that jazz.

Now, here's the trick. Kurisu isn't lost yet. Not completely. Okabe's in this timeline, he's had contact with Suzuha, and Suzuha has access to a time machine. They could go back. We know they will. Okabe will try to save her. Which leaves two alternatives: He fails, and loses her all over again. Or he succeeds. And an optimist might think everything will go hunky dory and they get into a relationship again. But they might not. I could easily see Kurisu, having been saved from an assassination attempt by a frantic Okabe, being driven off. Devotion, when reciprocated, is everything she wanted, but one-sided and from someone she's never met it could be creepy. And wouldn't that be a twist of the knife for Okabe? Knowing that Kurisu is alive, and wants nothing to do with him?

Well, enough about the characters. Onwards, to PLOT!

From the phone call we know that the mysterious roof person is almost certainly Suzuha. Which is a bit strange, since Titor went back 10 years in that worldline. My guess is that she went forwards from the past to get to here rather than back from the future, as opposed to... well, frankly I'm not sure how else she would have gotten there then. Can her time machine even go forwards? Wait. No, it can't. This was mentioned in episode 16. Hmm. Of course, the time machine in this worldline is different than the one she had in the other worldline. It's smaller, and more accurate, as evidenced by the lack of a crash landing. I'm betting this version can go backwards and forwards. The alternative is that Suzuha wasn't Titor in this worldline, which I think is unlikely.

This also, at long long last, explains how the initial, unseen conversation between Okabe and Kurisu that Kurisu mentioned in episode 1 actually happened: Okabe uses Suzuha’s time machine in this worldline to go back. There, mystery solved. I really overcomplicated things by assuming a new form of time travel was required instead of the combination of two different forms: One to go back to the worldline and one to go back in time traditionally. Well, technically they're just in a similar worldline, in the original worldline it would have been Okabe from that worldline that went back in time normally. Err, sort of.
Speaking of overcomplicating things, I guess I expected too much of Kurisu. She didn't manage to science a way out of her situation, though she sure did try.

I wonder why Suzuha went back to this point in time in this worldline? Probably to kill Kurisu, but that would have been about two weeks ago. So why would she need Okabe's help now? I guess I'll find out next episode.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

There's just a few more threads to line up...and a particular detail you may have missed.

[Calemyr]

I may be wrong, but I always believed "je ne sais quoi" meant "I don't know what".

I have to say I was always rooting for Kurisu. She's charming, smart, not quite as professional as she thinks she is, and her interactions with Okabe were priceless. Mayuri may be his best friend and Ruka may have a crush on him, but Kurisu is the one who has the best chemistry.

But, yeah, two more episodes to go, and there's an awful lot of details yet to be resolved and I think you get to see Okabe at his best.

I believe the 25th is a bridge episode that recontextualizes the story for a second season - because the first season wasn't written with a second season in mind, new hooks and characters needed to be introduced for the next story to fit together.

[Fri]

I don't think the series ever consider second season. It's always one contained episode, since it's based on a finished VN after all (it's on Steam now!), and 25th epsiode is just a neat epilogue.

There's actual non-direct sequel though, Robotic;Notes, which is set in the same universe. I think Chaos;Head is an indirect prequel, set in the same universe.

[Calemyr]

I don't think the series ever consider second season. It's always one contained episode, since it's based on a finished VN after all (it's on Steam now!), and 25th epsiode is just a neat epilogue.

There's actual non-direct sequel though, Robotic;Notes, which is set in the same universe. I think Chaos;Head is an indirect prequel, set in the same universe.

Ah, my bad. The sequel is to the game the anime is based on, though there's a movie sequel to the anime Steins;Gate: The Movie − Load Region of Déjà Vu (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steins;Gate:_The_Movie_%E2%88%92_Load_Region_of_D% C3%A9j%C3%A0_Vu)

[The Sword Dance]

There's also an amazing movie that takes place a few months after episode 25 that's definitely worth watching if you enjoyed the series at all.

[Randomguy]

Episode 23: Open the Steins Gate

Event Log:

2010/08/21
Okay, wow. That was unexpected. Suzuha’s mission is to save Kurisu, not to kill her. Huh.
… which would mean that she goes to this time first, to get Okabe, and then goes back in time to the point we saw in episode 1?
…But Kurisu’s got to have been killed by a time traveler? Are they going to be running interference against another version of Suzuha?
And there’s the title drop.
Alright, backwards and forwards time travel functionality on this time machine confirmed!
And we’re going back to the day of, just shy of 12:00. Oh, and I’m calling it right now: Okabe’s going to find that damn metal Oopa.
Good luck, Okabe. But we already know it won’t work.
Alright. Not murdered by a time traveller, then.
I’m waiting for you to step in, Okabe…
WOW. I expected he’d fail to save her life, but I didn’t think he’d fail THAT badly. :smalleek:
But if the everything repeats itself the same way that it did… Won’t the D-Mail still be sent in a few minutes? Dragging both versions of Okabe into the new worldline?
Guess not. They just jump forwards.
“In shock” is an understatement. And on top of everything else. So much trauma.
It’s good to have the old Okabe back.


Time Travel Shenanigans:

The fact that this worldline had a future version of Okabe that went through all the same stuff as present Okabe threw me for a loop. If this worldline isn't the same as the first one, just another worldline that's extremely similar to it, then how is that possible? Ditto about the events of this episode matching the first episode perfectly. The trick to understanding it is to remember how exactly time travel works in this setting: Large changes create new worldlines, but small changes alter the worldline slightly, creating a stable time loop.

It's slipped my mind since for the majority of the show we've been dealing with new worldlines, not stable time loops, but the latter case covers a few important things, like, apparently, Suzuha going back in time to become John Titor, as well as the events of the entire rest of the show that led Okabe to jump to a different Worldline and go through the arduous process of changing things back. So the worldline we're currently in is the same as the worldline at the start of the show, not just a very similar worldline.

Episode Notes:

In the notes from last episode, I ran through a few possible worst case scenarios for what would happen when Okabe went back to try to save Kurisu, but the reality of the situation was much, much worse. Jeez.

I should have known that Kurisu's father would turn up at some point. He was too important to her and her character development not to. In fact, in retrospect the last episode was the perfect setup for this one: It brought him up again, and reminded the viewers how much of an impact he'd had on her.
I guess I sort of assumed that he was in America. Still, In retrospect I should have paid a bit more attention to who he might be. If I had, I might have realized that Dr. Nakabachi, the professor at the start of the show who was ridiculed for his silly time travel theories was the same person as her father, a professor who was ridiculed for his silly time travel theories. Wow, it's really not surprising when you put it that way.


That darn turncoat metal oopa, defecting to Russia. I knew that thing would be relevant, but I didn't realize it would be THIS relevant. Also, since Kurisu's dad has it now, doesn't that mean he stole it from Mayuri? That monster. (Technically he would have just seen it lying around and taken it without trying to return it even though her name was written right on the thing, but still.)


I quite enjoyed the end bit that got Okabe from "shocked and traumatized" to "ready for action". Props for Mayuri for slapping some sense into him, and props to his future self for knowing himself so well. Also, it's great that Okabe realizes how ridiculous his own shenanigans are.

I'm a bit surprised to find out that the phrase "steins gate" has no meaning, though. I always figured it had something to do with Einstein. And by "always", I mean "since the title drop in this episode".


Alright, mission time: Okabe’s got to go back, prevent Kurisu’s death, fake it, and prevent that paper from getting to Russia. That last part should be easiest: All he’s got to do is save the metal Oopa, and the papers will be burned in the airplane. And as a side bonus, Mayuri gets her Oopa back!
Convincing Kurisu to play along should be doable as well: He's got a lot of experience convincing her that he's from the future. All he has to do is play to her ego, tell her the bit about her craving her own monogramed fork (and hope it's still true in this worldline), bring up how the time machine he used was based off of her theories.
Faking her death shouldn't be too hard, either: All he needs is to get a large amount of fake blood before going back. Although it might be a bit harder to get Kurisu to indulge him for that part.
The tricky part will be preventing her death, and pulling the whole thing together. And there will be two other versions of himself in the past this time, won't there? I expect that to be the case, but it might not be. In any case, there are so many things that could go wrong, and the price of failure is getting stuck in a new, probably worse future, with D-mail as their only form of time travel. Still, it'd definitely worth the risk, since the alternative is world war 3.



Hang on... going back in time to stage Kurisu's death for Okabe's benefit. Now, why does that sound so familiar?




Okarin discovers Kurisu's (or should I call her Makise? I'm not sure.) corpse. If it is in fact her corpse? That “blood” wasn’t exactly blood coloured, and Okarin seems… unhinged enough to miss that. Maybe that whole scene was staged for his benefit to create a stable time loop? I’m just going to assume it’s real and give them artistic licence on the glow-y blood.



I am flabbergasted.

[Fri]

Yep. You've been flabbergasting us all these time.

[Randomguy]

Episode 24: Prologue of the End and Beginning

Event Log:

Fake blood acquired.
Snagging the Oopa before Mayuri got her hands on it was simpler than stealing the thing afterwords.
If Kurisu was the one who found the Oopa, then… Her dad looted her corpse? Wow he just gets nicer and nicer, doesn’t he.
HE’S GOING TO TAZE HER? :smalleek:
And the blood’s gone bad. Fantastic. I vote he stabs Nakabachi and uses his blood as substitute.
It's just like him to get himself stabbed. :smallsigh:
And even Moeka gets a happy ending!
That was a pretty clever way of getting Kurisu to remember the other worldline.



Episode Notes:

It's just like Okabe to get himself stabbed for this. Very "chronic hero syndrome"-y. I think his sacrifice would have carried more weight if it was less avoidable, though. All he needed to do was check his materials in advance and take a trip to the dollar store. Although it does of course make for a better story this way.

Those sorts of stomach wounds are actually extremely serious in real life. For a few moments I thought Okabe was going to die to save Kurisu and go to a better world line. Which, to be fair, he would have done without a second thought. It would be his way of redeeming himself for the role he played in her death the first time around.

Suzuha disappearing from this new worldline didn't make much sense. That doesn't fit in with any of how time travel's been established to work in this setting! At all! If anything she should have been stuck in 2010 along with everyone else.
In the original worldline, Suzuha was born 7 years from this point in the story, in 2017. But that would have been 2 years after the start of World War 3. You'd think that would affect her year of birth, but probably not in this show.


I was pleasantly surprised to find that they let him have the good end with Kurisu. It could have gone anywhere from him never seeing her again or her hating him because he tazed her, but for once, for once in the whole story something randomly positive happens without any drawbacks.
It's actually kind of hilarious that Okabe's go-to for getting Kurisu to remember him was the feelings off annoyance instead of love. Because really, that's the core of their relationship. :smallamused:

[Fri]

As a note, since this is based on a VN, there are actually alternate choices of ending in the VN, which basically also hinges on who Okabe (you) decide to "end up" the story with (not necessarily dating). The choice are Faris, Mayuri, Suzuha, Ruka, and Kurisu, with various level of happiness and tragedy. The anime uses the "True/Best Ending" (which is actually separate from Kurisu Ending, though you still end up with Kurisu in the True Ending, as evidenced in the anime.)

Btw, the tv series actually end here, and the next episode is bonus episode put in OVA.

Edit:

Also, something that might really amuse you. Kurisu is in 300 Heroes, a chinese MOBA game that uses all kind of (unlicensed) characters from various IP.

http://300heroes.wikia.com/wiki/Makise_Kurisu

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they let him have the good end with Kurisu. It could have gone anywhere from him never seeing her again or her hating him because he tazed her, but for once, for once in the whole story something randomly positive happens without any drawbacks.
Meta knowledge: it's the ending commonly referred to as a "true end" in visual novels. You have to get all the other endings in the VN first, and then you can unlock the "true end". Steins;Gate, because time travel, is able to actually play the trope straight and justify it within the show.

[JCarter426]

Suzuha disappearing from this new worldline didn't make much sense. That doesn't fit in with any of how time travel's been established to work in this setting! At all! If anything she should have been stuck in 2010 along with everyone else.
I'm not entirely certain, but I believe this scene is unique to the anime, and it's unclear how Okabe gets back to the present in the original visual novel.

There are only three issues I have with Steins;Gate's time travel rules. For the most part they're surprisingly self-consistent. But first there's this issue. How does Okabe time travel to a future in which time travel never exists? Why does Suzuha conveniently disappear only after she's given him a lift? I guess you could say it only takes effect when she enters the time vortex or whatever, but nothing else in the story reflects this. And what if she never used the time machine again?

The second issue is Okabe going through the events twice. The first Okabe just gets erased. This doesn't really matter because he could've used the Time Leap Machine to get the same effect, and maybe Suzuha's time machine has other time travel rules, but this is never addressed and kind of bugs me.

The last one is something you mentioned before about the difference in worldlines with time loops being kind of unclear. Technically all time travel should create a new worldline, and I believe the numbers reflect that, but apparently you can have time loops that occur across technically-different except-not-really-different worldlines. For example, the final Steins;Gate timeline relies on sending the past Okabe through a time loop, but his starting point is clearly different because Mayuri never got the metal Oopa. But this isn't any more of a paradox than a D-Mail so it still allows for a coherent series of events. It just leads to the standard observer paradox - only things that happens from Okabe's point of view count as reality.

Other than that, the time travel rules are surprisingly consistent, especially considering the series has three different methods of time travel with differing effects (D-Mail running on the butterfly effect, Time Leap Machine essentially causing a Groundhog Day scenario, and finally the Christina has a tendency to create time loops but doesn't necessarily have to).

Oh and while we're on the subject of anime original content, the epilogue and movie are also that. But still worth watching, probably.


I'm a bit surprised to find out that the phrase "steins gate" has no meaning, though.
It does have meaning! Well, I guess you've seen it now, but Steins;Gate is real: it's the final worldline, 1.048596. But yeah, the name has no real meaning... until Okabe creates it and makes it a real thing. Its meaning emerges from its lack of meaning, like all his delusions.

Also, I hinted at this before, but if you go back and watch the openings, the lyrics might start to make a lot more sense now. (There are two versions; episode 23's has different lyrics.) They're essentially a plot summary of the entire story, but I think the words are cryptic enough that it doesn't come across as spoilers until you've seen the whole thing.