/r/steinsgate FAQ - READ BEFORE POSTING QUESTIONS
#When posting, please do not put spoilers in your title.
Post titles are visible to everyone, and you cannot edit them afterward.
#Please spoiler tag all of your spoilers.
Any and all spoilers should be spoiler tagged.
Spoiler tag format: (Steins;Gate) >!Okabe microwaves bananas!<
Remember to mark what title you are spoiling outside the tags. For example, (Steins;Gate).
Do not put spaces between the exclamation marks and the spoiler message, or the tag will break. >!spoiler message!<
##Discord server (Note: Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 spoilers allowed without spoiler tags within the server)
#Frequently Asked Questions
##I’m only here for Steins;Gate, and I’m not interested in the extended universe right now. What order should I watch the Steins;Gate series in?
The optimal watch order is release order:
| Anime Watch Order | Crunchyroll | Funimation |
|---|---|---|
| Steins;Gate episodes 1–25 | link | link |
| Steins;Gate episode 23 beta | ☓ | link |
| Steins;Gate 0 episodes 1–24 | link | link |
While chronological order might sound nice in theory, watching it in that order may ruin the pacing and your enjoyment of the first show, while also dampening the effect of certain scenes. This does not necessarily mean that Steins;Gate 0's anime is bad—however, the shows were not set up to be viewed in this order, and one should follow the intended release order for maximum enjoyment.
The movie and additional animated shorts come after the original series in terms of release order. However, if you want a more lighthearted ending to your watch experience, you can also save them for the very end. Keep in mind that the movie is not canon, however.
##I’m interested in the extended universe. What is it, and what order do I experience it in? Steins;Gate is part of a larger interconnected universe called Science Adventure. It is a series of multimedia titles that are connected in many different ways, much like the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For more info on the series, see this page and this page.
The series’ anime adaptations unfortunately have a ton of issues aside from Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0. Ideally, you should read the source material for them, the visual novels, in the following order:
All the titles relate to one another to varying degrees—this is especially the case for the Robotics;Notes games, which feature numerous callbacks to Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate and pretty much require knowledge of both.
The Committee of Zero improvement patches provide improved translations, graphics, and fonts for the games. This is especially important for Chaos;Child—the original release had an untranslated image that made it impossible to complete a certain part of the game without a guide or the ability to read Japanese.
##What is Steins;Gate 0? How does it relate to Steins;Gate? Steins;Gate 0 is a midquel to Steins;Gate. More specifically, (Steins;Gate spoilers) >!it follows the Okabe who accidentally killed Kurisu in episode 23β and never went back a second time to save her. It shows how the plan to send the video D-mail to the Okabe who succeeded and open Steins Gate was conceived.!<
Steins;Gate 0 is meant to be experienced after you finish Steins;Gate. To get a full understanding, you should also watch Steins;Gate episode 23β before Steins;Gate 0 (it diverges from the events of the original episode 23).
Watch order: Steins;Gate episodes 1–24 -> Steins;Gate episode 23β -> Steins;Gate 0
(Note: You can watch the movie and episode 25 of the original show anytime after you finish the first show.)
##I’m interested in the source material for Steins;Gate. Should I play the original Steins;Gate or Steins;Gate Elite? Is the anime better?
The Steins;Gate visual novel is packed with more details, scenes, and alternative routes that the anime does not have, so it is better to read the visual novel if you have a choice. That being said, there are two versions of the visual novel: Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate Elite.
We recommend playing the original Steins;Gate visual novel over Steins;Gate Elite. Elite is fully animated, but it comes at the cost of cut monologues, missing scenes, and other issues. On the other hand, Elite is bundled with a non-canon spin-off visual novel called Linear Bounded Phenogram, so you might want to look into buying Elite in the future anyway if that interests you.
##Where do I go if I have a question about Steins;Gate’s story?
If you have finished watching or playing Steins;Gate, you can read this wiki page for answers to commonly asked questions. If you have further questions, you can ask here in the subreddit through your own post, or in this subreddit’s Discord server (Note that Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 spoilers are allowed untagged throughout the server).
FAQs for Steins;Gate 0, the Science Adventure series, and a non-spoiler FAQ for Steins;Gate can be found on this page.
##What do I do after watching Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0?
As mentioned above, you have the option to check out the visual novels, as they contain many details that the anime adaptations gloss over or skip due to lack of time. There are also Steins;Gate spin-off visual novels that have brand new stories, as well as the rest of the Science Adventure series.
If you are only interested in Steins;Gate:
You can play the Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 visual novels. Both VNs provide more details and have different endings and routes. The 0 VN is markedly different from the anime, as it features completely new and differing scenes and routes.
We recommend using the Committee of Zero’s improvement patches for both Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0, which will enhance your experience with the games.
Steins;Gate: Linear Bounded Phenogram is a non-canon spin-off VN featuring 11 side stories, and Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace is a dating sim spin-off featuring the Steins;Gate cast. Both VNs are optional after experiencing Steins;Gate.
If you are interested in the extended Science Adventure series, of which Steins;Gate is part, check out the second FAQ question in this post.
##What about the Chaos;Head, Robotics;Notes, and Chaos;Child anime adaptations?
We do not recommend watching them because they are poor adaptations for numerous reasons. The latter half of the Chaos;Head anime is filled with unnecessary and poorly-crafted anime-original content; Chaos;Child’s anime did not have enough episodes to adapt its long plot, resulting in major cuts; Robotics;Notes’ anime is rushed in the latter half of the story, and important series crossover content is cut.
Therefore, we generally recommend experiencing the Science Adventure series with the source material, typically the visual novels.
##What about Occultic;Nine and Anonymous;Code?
While in the same series as the rest of the titles, they are supposedly separate from the other titles by way of world-layers, a system that has not been made entirely clear yet. It is assumed that Anonymous;Code will provide more clear information on this—the game is currently expected to release in Japan in Fall of 2021.
Occultic;Nine’s source material is actually a series of light novels. Three volumes were released and officially localized, while the fourth and final volume has seen no release for several years. The anime adaptation has its own original ending due to the incomplete source material, and the visual novel is an adaptation of the anime with little new content. The Occultic;Nine visual novel’s New World patch is expected to add a revised true ending and provide more story content, but it is unknown if it will ever release—new information on it has been extremely sparse, as MAGES. is presumably focusing on other releases.
You can learn more about both titles here.
##What should I look forward to in regards to the SciADV series’ future?
There are three planned visual novel for the future, and their presumed release order will be:
- Steins;Gate 0 Elite
- Anonymous;Code
- Steins;Gate thematic sequel
Steins;Gate 0 Elite
Steins;Gate 0 Elite is a fully animated visual novel like Steins;Gate Elite. A trailer was shown for it recently, but it did not feature new gameplay or animations when compared to the anime.
Steins;Gate thematic sequel
This newly announced Science Adventure series title is a thematic sequel to Steins;Gate.
The new title’s relationship to Steins;Gate is similar to Chaos;Child’s relationship to Chaos;Head. For context, Chaos;Child is the thematic sequel to Chaos;Head—the two titles share the same setting and various plot elements.
It is currently not known for certain how many, if any, characters from Steins;Gate will return in the new title.
We know that the title starts with “Steins;”, but the portion after that part of the title is censored in the current logo, so we don’t know the full title.
###Steins;Gate Hollywood live action series
A live action Steins;Gate-related drama series is being produced by Skydance Television, known for their work on the Manhattan and Jack Ryan TV series.
Not much else is known about this series as of yet aside from the fact that it is being worked on.
There are two more SciADV series titles planned at the moment according to MAGES. representative director Chiyomaru Shikura.
If you want to stay up to date with Science Adventure series news, check out Kiri Kiri Basara, a fan website dedicated to keeping the English fanbase informed.
Posted Dec 19, 2020, 6:11 AM UTC · edited · locked