I’m not really sure what to think when I think of Steins;Gate Part 1. Honestly, just the name of this FUNimation anime title makes me think of some sort of “gate” being opened. Well, I’d consider myself kind of right, if the gate was a gate into the past. Yes, time travel. What if I told you that in this series you can jump timelines via a microwave? I think this was a random mistake in the series, but it’s what you’ll be focused on from the start of Part 1 until the end. How does Part 1 of Steins;Gate do? Read on to find out.

I’m not really sure where to start with Steins;Gate. The series focuses on Rintaro Okabe and his friends. Rintaro Okabe is the leader of the Future Gadget Laboratory, with his friends Itaru (a hacker), a girl named Mayuri, and others later in the series. Rintaro Okabe and his friends happen to invent a microwave that can send a text message to the past. This will allow him to slip into an alternate world by bifurcating the timeline. You never know what problems this may cause, though, and I don’t even think Rintato knows everything about it. It seems to be freaking him and the others out quite often as they realize the new changes they make each time they mess with the past. Even though it has a slow start, you will get pulled in to this series. You’ll be wondering what will happen next, what SERN is, when they’ll build something that can send an actual person back in time, and more. The more I watched, the more I understood, but the more I got confused as well.

Everything lately seems to focus on the world ending, space, or mechs. Steins;Gate is different simply by giving its viewers a new view on things such as how small messages to the past can change the world.

When it comes to the art style of Steins;Gate I was very interested as the series progressed. To me it felt a little older than most art styles I’ve seen in recent anime titles. With anime out today it seems a lot of stuff is over the top graphic wise but in this series it’s very simple. To pretty much say that I liked the graphics doesn’t really tell you the reader much. If I could put it together from watching all of part one it’s as simple as keeping a series simple. What do I mean by that? Good question! I’ve already stated a lot of titles go over the top with graphics such as showing skin, huge battles, and pretty much other things that might just pull guys and girls in. Why not release an anime title that focuses on a group that makes a break through and shows the progress they make? To me this was a nice effort to show viewers you don’t need crazy explosions, robots or anything that sounds crazy to make an anime look great. As you progress through part one you’ll be seeing more rather than being inside a building or right down the road form Rintar0’s house. I felt as if too much time was spent focusing staying in one area so you didn’t see the graphics change often.

The acting in the series was also very interesting though I felt at times the actors tried too hard to make an impression to the viewers. Acting was on key when it came to providing the emotion and talking but I just felt as if there was more talking than details. Maybe that’s a key reason I was confused most of the time throughout the series. One moment talking about time travel and the next crazy talk that confused me. I will admit the times when the actor who played Rintaro Okabe would speak as if he was a spy I couldn’t help but wonder if Rintaro Okabe needed help. Just picture when something is going wrong or someone who shouldn’t be with them Rintaro flips his phone open and starts reporting like he’s a spy. I laughed but was oddly scared for the others in the series since I pictured him as a mad scientist that will be causing a lot of problems whether it was killing everyone or just getting crazier than before.

Music within the series I didn’t really notice as much other than the opening and closing. I was more focused on the series rather than the musical scores. As I’ve said in past reviews music can always improve a series by adding in extra emotion. With me being so focused on the series I couldn’t tell. Would you rather be making sense of everything or confused?

Overall, it’s a series that’s okay and worth checking out but at this time only Part 1 has been released. Very soon Part 2 will be coming to DVD/Blu Ray. As I said above after a few episodes you’ll begin to grasp what is happening. While the graphics feel a bit old school I didn’t mind and as for the acting it did well to provide the right mood throughout the series. It does make you wonder if one day we’ll be able to time travel here in the real world. Maybe it’ll start with a microwave just as it did in this series.

Steins;Gate was provided by FUNimation for review purposes. For more information on FUNimation Entertainment or Steins;Gate, please visit FUNimation.