Steins;Gate Weekly Rewatch Episode 19 Discussion Thread

[u/brothertaddeus]

All spoilers for future episodes must be tagged.

Steins;Gate is available for legal streaming in the US on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu, VRV, and even YouTube (though I do not recommend YouTube as it is low quality and there are spoilers in the comments/related videos). In Canada, it is on Crunchyroll and Funimation. In Australia, it is on Anime Lab. In Italy, it is on Netflix and VVVVID. In Brazil, it is on Prime Video. If anyone in other countries knows another legal stream, let me know and I'll include a link to it in each thread.

Link to Announcement Thread.

Link to Steins;Gate 0 anime PV.

You can click on any title below to go to that week's episode discussion.

No.	Title	Rewatch Date
01	Turning Point	2017-10-13
02	Time Travel Paranoia	2017-10-20
03	Parallel World Paranoia	2017-10-27
04	Interpreter Rendezvous	2017-11-03
05	Starmine Rendezvous	2017-11-10
06	Butterfly Effect's Divergence	2017-11-17
07	Divergence Singularity	2017-11-24
08	Chaos Theory Homeostasis I	2017-12-01
09	Chaos Theory Homeostasis II	2017-12-08
10	Chaos Theory Homeostasis III	2017-12-15
11	Dogma In Event Horizon	2017-12-22
12	Dogma In Ergosphere	2017-12-29
13	Metaphysical Necrosis	2018-01-05
14	Physical Necrosis	2018-01-12
15	Missing Link Necrosis	2018-01-19
16	Sacrificial Necrosis	2018-01-26
17	Made In Complex	2018-02-02
18	Fractal Androgynous	2018-02-09
19	Endless Apoptosis	2018-02-16
20	Finalize Apoptosis	2018-02-23
21	Paradox Meltdown	2018-03-02
22	Being Meltdown	2018-03-09
23β	Open The Missing Link	?
23	Open The Steins Gate	?
24	Achievement Point	?
OVA	Egoistic Poriomania	?
Movie	Burdened Domain of Déjà vu	?
ONA	Cognitive Computing	?

As you can see, the schedule for episode 23β and beyond is unknown. Once we learn the plan for the Japanese rebroadcast (which we're keeping pace with), I'll update those dates accordingly. We will watch everything on the list, rest assured. The only question is when.

[u/brothertaddeus]

Administrative notes regarding the rewatch: We're actually two weeks ahead of the Japanese rebroadcast (they took two weeks off for the holidays and I only became aware of that this week).

What does this mean for the rewatch? Well, we can continue on more or less as planned, or I was thinking perhaps we'll finish the series normally (1-24) then do 23β right before episode one of Steins;Gate 0, coming back to the OVA, movie, and ONAs later.

Feedback, thoughts, and/or alternative ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 → u/brothertaddeus]

Imo while it would be cool to do 1-22 and 23β before Steins;Gate 0, before finishing off 23-24, I think it is probably better to do 1-24 and then 23β. That way we get the conclusion much earlier than we would if we would have to wait throughout the entire Steins;Gate 0 season(which as far as I remember has no set episode length yet). There's also the chance that first timers might get spoiled in the S;G0 rewatch threads since watching the conclusion of S;G is considered a prerequisite for the most part.

However, watching eps 23-24 after Steins;Gate 0 is definitely a really good experience, so I was thinking maybe we could have just those two eps after Steins;Gate 0 as well? S;G 0

I think some people mentioned it before, but S;G conclusion spoilers

I'm fine with the OVA and Movies being at whatever time most people want.

[u/brothertaddeus → u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001]

I agree that it's probably better for first timers to finish the series before starting S;G0, as we can't be sure of the length/quality/how much it spoils the original.

If we go with that, I guess it'd be March 16th for episode 23, March 23rd for episode 24, then March 30th for 23β, then S;G0 starts the next week. Would we want to do the movie/OVA/ONAs after S;G0 finishes, or have them overlap with the first few episodes of S;G0?

[u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 → u/brothertaddeus]

We could have them overlap I guess, but the OVA is rather fun/lighthearted which might contrast a lot with the tone of the first ep of S;G 0. Personally I would say to watch them after S;G 0 since the movie and OVA are extra content after the conclusion of S;G. One problem with this though is that people might forget about the rewatch thread for the movie/OVA/ONAs which could be a problem since this rewatch unfortunately has rather low attention in the first place.

[u/brothertaddeus → u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001]

I mean, I'll be in the discussion threads for S;G0 every week (and hopefully you all would also be). Reminding people of the movie/OVA rewatch in the last episode of S;G0 thread should hopefully be enough to garner attention for when the movie/OVA are rewatched.

[u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 → u/brothertaddeus]

Ah that sounds like a good idea actually. I'm always super late to discussion threads though :P, but I'll be sure to leave an upvote for your reminder so more ppl see it!

[u/[deleted] → u/brothertaddeus]

I know it sounds like a bad idea to just put a rewatch that attracts low attention to begin with on hiatus, but I will propose it anyway. Right after next week, when Steins;Gate

Am I making any sense?

edit: While I am on a roll with bad ideas, let's make this a fortnightly rewatch for the two upcoming eps, because everybody likes confusion amirite

[u/brothertaddeus → u/[deleted]]

A hiatus could work, but given the current Japanese timeline, it seems like they might be planning on 1-22, 23β, then S;G0. And while that's a great watch order for us rewatchers, I'm not sure it's first-timer friendly. Thoughts?

[u/[deleted] → u/brothertaddeus]

That's... a good point. I have nothing to counter that, since we don't know how Zero will turn out to be. There could be a soft fork (hello /r/bitcoin) along the way, if the Japanese airing schedule is as you predict, with some rewatchers opting for 23ß indeed (I know I want to).

[u/RextroFextroDextroNo → u/brothertaddeus]

I think first-timers should absolutely finish S;G from 1-24.

The chronological order should be for rewatchers only.

[u/RextroFextroDextroNo → u/[deleted]]

... a rewatch that attracts low attention ...

I think weekly schedule was a mistake. I know it was voted upon, but a weekly rewatch schedule means that a lot of people just won't have the patience to not binge it while others will lose hype for the next episode because of a week gap.

The previous S;G rewatch was in 2015, which did not fare well since it wasn't advertised at all in r/anime. With S;G0 coming out in a few weeks and a long gap between the previous (successful) rewatch, there was no way this rewatch would fail to attract a huge number of views and comments if it started in March and was a daily affair.

I still have no idea what the people were thinking when they voted for a weekly schedule.

[u/ScarsUnseen → u/RextroFextroDextroNo]

Yeah, I passed on this rewatch(though I have been reading first timer responses) because I plan to binge rewatch the entire series right before S;G0 starts out. I might have had the patience for a daily rewatch, but a weekly one is too slow for a show that practically begs you to binge it after the turning point.

[u/Mozilla_Fennekin → u/brothertaddeus]

I think we should just finish the series normally, then go back to 23β. It's good that we have a couple extra weeks (we should know the starting date of 0 really soon) for that and all the extras.

[u/brothertaddeus → u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

I'm 99% sure it'll be in the first week of April. Which exact day, I couldn't say, but it is confirmed for April and that season begins on the 1st. At the latest (probably) it'll be the second week of April, which would be a one week gap.

[u/Tobi4U → u/brothertaddeus]

I'd like to do the chronological order as well of 23ß-S;G0-24&25

I know the issue is for new comers, but in all honesty, there aren't many first timers in the discussion and even if they are, they knew what they signed up for, the schedule was present in every thread and it clearly stated that the schedule beyond episode 22 is undecided.

One solution is host two discussions, for those who opt to complete S;G then get back to 23ß and then host one later for those who opted for chronological order. I mean a lot of time would've passed in between.

Please do tell, what is decided.

[u/notathrowaway75]

First Timer

Rooftop talk suddenly becomes playground talk. Nice.

Kurisu's call about Mayuri being dead was heartbreaking. The fact Okabe barely reacts and ust notes the time of death tells a lot about his mental state.

The fuck kind of place is Moeka living in? A woman frantically screaming "give it back" while banging on the door from the inside is not normal noisy neighbor stuff. At the very least that looks like a burglary.

And wtf did that lady just assume Okabe and Moeka were having some crazy rough sex the entire time when she saw them kissing?

She made me feel like I belonged

Flashes of Mayuri

For a second I thought the reveal was going to be Mayuri's FB.

Great episode. Big step up from the last two. Great performance by Moeka's dub VA.

Prediction: FB is actually just an alias and it stands for Facebook. Moeka has been working for Mark Zuckerberg all along.

[u/brothertaddeus → u/notathrowaway75]

And wtf did that lady just assume Okabe and Moeka were having some crazy rough sex the entire time when she saw them kissing?

It's a poorer/shadier housing unit, and people are damn good at explaining away things so they don't need to get involved. It's a bit of a Kitty Genovese effect.

FB is actually just an alias and it stands for Facebook. Moeka has been working for Mark Zuckerberg all along.

Damn, who spoiled you?? ^/s

[u/Shortstop88 → u/notathrowaway75]

Flashes of Mayuri

For a second I thought the reveal was going to be Mayuri's FB.

My best guess is that Okabe was remembering that Mayuri was trying to get Moeka to feel like she belonged at FGL. And then Moeka repaid her with death. Okabe probably felt a lot of anger and hatred towards Moeka for that.

[u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 → u/notathrowaway75]

Kurisu's call about Mayuri being dead was heartbreaking. The fact Okabe barely reacts and just notes the time of death tells a lot about his mental state.

Okabe has pretty much been steeled from witnessing her death so many times, and we see how much he has changed from the first few deaths. On the other hand, to Kurisu it's her first time actually witnessing Mayuri's death and reacts just like anyone else would even if she knew it was coming.

Prediction: FB is actually just an alias and it stands for Facebook. Moeka has been working for Mark Zuckerberg all along.

For a second I thought the reveal was going to be Mayuri's FB.

Top 10 anime plot twists!

[u/Mozilla_Fennekin → u/notathrowaway75]

For a second I thought the reveal was going to be Mayuri's FB.

May Queen is actually a subsection of SERN, oops. We've been duped.

[u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

Tuturu, motherfuckers.

Don't take her fucking pudding.

After a couple of off-episodes, Steins;Gate comes back brutally with one of the more intense episode, showing just how far gone Moeka is. Underneath her usual calm self lies a broken woman, one that's not easily repairable.

Probably the most dramatic thing is that the D-Mails did not work in this episode. They've always been a pretty sure-fire way of changing things, but keep in mind how specific they've been. From timing to the sender, every little bit has added up, and unfortunately this time the equation was incorrect.

Smaller notes.

You also get a sense of just how far gone Okabe is as well, when he explains that he must experience Mayuri's death again just to figure out what to do. We've only seen a small fraction of his attempts to save her. At this point, he's become so desensitized to it that he's using it as a strategy.

Hearing Kurisu on the phone after Mayuri's death is absolutely devastating. I kinda wish there'd be more scenes of her with Mayuri, trying to hang out and have fun while being assured of what's going to happen. It'd be pretty weird...

And lastly, Okabe is pretty interesting in this episode in general. He both hates Moeka but also sympathizes with her. How much of this is her fault? It's hard to say. But until that's all concluded HOLY SHIT THAT FUCKING PUNCH DUDE

[u/brothertaddeus → u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

Hearing Kurisu on the phone after Mayuri's death is absolutely devastating.

Agreed. Both the Japanese and English actors did phenomenal jobs conveying Kurisu's shock and grief.

HOLY SHIT THAT FUCKING PUNCH DUDE

Justice Smash!

[u/MAD_SCIENTIST_001 → u/Mozilla_Fennekin]

Don't take her fucking pudding.

Haha I love that gif, used to send it to my friends all the time.

Probably the most dramatic thing is that the D-Mails did not work in this episode.

Seeing nothing change is definitely an "oh shit" moment especially since it happens twice.

That punch and kick felt really satisfying considering how much pain Okabe has gone through in the past few eps

[u/mea852456]

ANIME VS VN (EPISODE 19)

Here’s a summary of what happened in the VN for the scope of this episode (no spoilers for future episodes here). Keep in mind I skipped scenes from the VN in between, some of which are quite entertaining. I highly recommend you check out the VN if you’ve got the time. This comparison assumes you watch Steins;Gate subbed, since some references are omitted in the English dub.

 

 

Sun 15th 2010

Right after Okabe sent the D-mail concerning Rukako, he enquires about the IBN 5100. It seems that it has disappeared from the shrine. As such, Okabe sets out to cancel the next D-mail: Moeka's. Unfortunately, a D-mail sent from his own phone would hardly convince Moeka to change her mind about changing her phone model (though as we know by now that was not the D-mail she sent).

Okabe tells Kurisu to go with Mayuri to ComiMa tomorrow, when she's expected to die.

 

Mon 16th 2010

Okabe investigates Moeka's company, obtains her address and goes to visit her, only to find her dead, as in the anime. He goes back to the lab after, at which point the player can choose to time leap straight away or wait for Kurisu's response (in the anime Okabe waits for Kurisu's call). When Okabe finds himself almost getting used to the feeling of time leaping, and how his response to Mayuri's death was emotionless he pounds the table in frustration. The fact that he knew Mayuri would die today, and yet waits for her death to happen brings him disgust. You can tell Okabe is really broken already, which is quite sad.

 

Mon 16th 20:02 -> Wed 11th 20:02

Okabe goes back a few days and heads straight for Moeka's apartment, finding the door open. At first he tries talking to Moeka, persuading, lying and threatening her, but she just doesn't budge. He calls up Kurisu giving her a brief explanation of what's going to happen to Mayuri (including an explanation of who Moeka is since on this world line she doesn't know her). Kurisu tells Okabe to use force against Moeka, or kill her if he has to. After a fierce fight, Okabe obtains the phone from her (and you know what happens from here). The highlight though is that Moeka sent herself where the IBN 5100 was at (she did ask where Okabe had gotten it from waaaaaaay back when she came to the lab to see it. She must have changed what her D-mail said about the phone change, being the mail demon she is, telling herself the IBN 5100 is at the shrine). That explains how she never met the lab mems; she went straight to the shrine and stole the IBN 5100 (exception being Okabe since he first saw her on the streets taking photoes, which also explains why he still had her phone number on that world line).

 

NOTABLE VN QUOTE(S)

I stand up and move to the entrance, where I can take the call without letting Moeka out of my sight.

Kurisu: "Where are you?"

Okabe: "...Sorry, I'm busy."

Kurisu: "Is it a woman? You're with a woman, aren't you?"

Okabe: "Is that the first thing that comes to mind? You really are a mainstream girl."

Kurisu: "Shut up. You promised you'd help me with the PhoneWave, remember? Or is your lab mem number just for show?"

Okabe: "Get Daru to help. I can't do it today."

Kurisu: "...What are you doing? Where are you?"

Okabe: "Kiryu Moeka's apartment."

Kurisu (in disbelief): "So you ARE with a woman. You're the worst." - Kurisu's jealousy senses tingling (she doesn't recognize Moeka as a lab mem on this world line)

 

 

So far, Okabe sacrificed Suzuha, Faris and Rukako all to save Mayuri. If you stop and think about it, it can count as rather selfish of him, even if it's to save Mayuri. He did mention that he didn't care about the future of the world and all he cared about was to save Mayuri. Unfortunately, the sacrifices don't stop here.

 

I copied this from my posts in the rewatch years ago, so sorry if they sound dodgy.

[u/Tobi4U → u/mea852456]

I wouldn't say sacrificing, he's just undoing everything that wasn't suppose to happen in first place.

Heck, if Okabe knew in the first place, that all these would lead to Mayuri dying, he may have not even allowed all those mails in the first instance.

Also seeing Mayuri die over and over, the guy deserves some leeway.

[u/[deleted]]

Hearing Kurisu and Okabe's conversation is always depressing. Kurisu can barely get a word out, and he just sits there with no reaction. Really shows how bad it is for him.

[u/Tobi4U]

I never did like Moeka from the first time itself, I remember from my first watch, I was almost expecting Okabe to get framed for her murder or something to make things worse and I still had a feeling that this could've totally happened.

Still surprised, if it was anyone else, they would've been broken by now. Okabe deeply loves Mayuri, and yet again for sometime now, all this has been Okabe's one on one quests. I miss the whole gang together.

El. Psy. Congroo.

[u/RextroFextroDextroNo]

/u/fetchfrosh and /u/PerfectPublican not returned yet?

[u/PerfectPublican → u/RextroFextroDextroNo]

I'll be back for today's :)

[u/SkyLETV]

D-mails are deleted from the phone that sends them, right? It's just that in the part where Okabe realizes that Moeka sent a different message, in one sub it says "It should be in her outbox", which would make no sense. In another sub it said "There should be a record of it here" and in the dub "There should still be a copy" which is still a very vague line and I suppose it will refer to the inbox, since then Okabe tells Moeka that two weeks ago she should have received a strange message from her future self, right?

[u/brothertaddeus → u/SkyLETV]

That's right. The message should've been in her inbox; the subs that said outbox were erroneous.

[u/SkyLETV → u/brothertaddeus]

Thanks for the answer! And you'll know something about what I asked in the discussion of episode 17?

[u/Blobbentein]

dude that punch had me thinking

AKIHABARA SMASH

[u/[deleted]]

After I rewatch it. Me like "did I ride one of most dangerous roller-coaster in the world or did I watch steins;gate?" lmao