Sci-fi is one of the best genres in the anime world and very few anime or manga series in the genre are able to earn fame and respect from the fans. Steins;Gate is one such anime that has elevated the sci-fi subgenre of anime to the pinnacle. It is a combination of drama, comedy, a little bit of action, and a whole lot of science fiction.
The series aired 24 episodes created by the animation studio White Fox between April and September 2011 and the critics commended the story’s character development as well as its themes of time travel, human nature, and PTSD. The series is based on 5pb. and Nitroplus’s 2009 visual novel which is also called Steins;Gate.
It is placed third on Myanimelist and is regarded as one of the greatest anime series of the 2010s. The series has produced four original net animation episodes as well as a spinoff film. However, what many people don’t know is a major aspect of the story was inspired by a real-life incident and a real individual who claimed to be from the future.
Steins;Gate is Regarded as One of the Best Sci-Fi Anime Series
The plot of Steins;Gate takes place in 2010 and centers on Rintaro Okabe and his friends’ inadvertent discovery of a time-traveling technique that allows them to send text messages to the distant past and alter the present. Without any contradictions or plot holes, this suspenseful anime does a fantastic job navigating the time-travel concept.
The majority of the series’ humorous relief comes from Okabe’s odd and dramatic behavioral traits, which also provide for an interesting treat throughout his first few time travels. However, Okabe subsequently discovers the severe consequences of interfering with time. Okabe’s desperate attempts to restore the damage created by changing past events eventually lead to high-stakes emotional content.
Because much of the first few episodes of Steins;Gate are devoted to intricate explanations about time travel, the series gets off to a bit of a slow start, but later on develops into an intriguing plot that eventually becomes one of the best sci-fi series of all time.
Steins;Gate Was Inspired by a Real-Life Time Travel Story
Many sci-fi anime fans might not know but, some aspects of Steins;Gate are inspired by a real-life story. According to Rihimihi, Steins;Gate’s concept was inspired by a real-life individual named John Titor, who rose to prominence in 2000 as an internet figure who professed that he was from the year 2036 and had traveled back in time to obtain an IBM-5100 PC from 1975, which is critical to preserving the future.
In the series, Titor is also mentioned as a distinct character. In Steins;Gate, Okabe is shown as a devoted follower of John Titor, the real-life celebrity who is regarded as a trailblazer in the field of time travel technology. The series makes reference to him as well in the very first episode by the protagonist Okabe.
Later on, Titor is also referred to as Suzuha Amane in the series, who arrives from the distant future with an assignment to retrieve an IBN-5100. But rather than traveling back to 1975, she pauses in 2010 to look for her father, Itaru Hashida, Okabe’s closest friend.
You can watch Steins;Gate on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
