This review contains spoilers for Steins Gate I only very recently completed the original SteinsGate SteinsGate 0 had already begun airing by the time I finished my bingewatch of the first series. Watching the two shows backtoback I can say that SteinsGate 0 is a worthy successor kind of to the 2011 masterpiece. I was excited just by the very premise of the show. Serving as a midquel though you could argue that its both a sequel and prequel its confusing as time travel stories are the show follows an alternate outcome of episode 23 known as 23B denoting it as the beta worldline. If you recall in the original episode 23 Okabe becomes depressed after his failure to save Kurisu. He refuses to try again but finds his resolve once Mayuri slaps sense into him. He then views a video sent to him from the future. 23B sets up the alternate timeline where Mayuri doesnt convince Okabe to try again. This timeline is the one in which Okabe records the video for his past self to view. While its not vital I recommend viewing 23B before watching 0. Furthermore I do not recommend watching this show before SteinsGate. Besides Steins Gate OVA 23B then Steins Gate 0 a possible watch order is Steins Gate episode 122 23B Steins Gate 0episode 23 episode 24 then the OVA. Steins Gate opens up a new level of depth to SteinsGate saga that fans are sure to enjoy. Like the original show Steins Gate follows Okabe Rintaro. In his depressionhes retired the persona of Hououin Kyouma. Its harrowing to see the difference. In 0 we see the depression he suffered in the original series taken to its logical extreme and while it gives the show an air of dismalness its quite interesting. You can even see the difference in clothing with Kyouma of course sporting his white lab coat and Okabe donning a pitch black outfit. The characters you love all return for 0 with their personalities intact. Given that their personalities are the same its always interesting to see how they interact with a completely different Okabe. While some characters such as Faris have slightly reduced roles others such as Moeka enjoy more screen time. There are also some new characters thrown into the mix to keep the story fresh. Among these are the amnesiac Kagari and Hiyajo Maho a former colleague of Kurisus whos still reeling from her death. A character that many wont expect even makes an appearance down the line. The animation and art direction is beautiful as ever. While there are some hiccups in action scenes these dont really detract from the experience. The music is still topnotch Their placement helped make certain scenes that much more poignant. The new opening and ending themes are up there with the original. Tracks such as Gate of Steiner make a return further tying together the shows while providing emotional gut punches. Speaking of gutpunches lets talk about the story. Its great but its important to note that 0 doesnt really have the same punch that SteinsGate did. The first half is often stated to be slow then episode twelve throws viewers for a loop with the sudden slaying of Mayuri. I want to emphasis that viewers shouldnt go into 0 expecting this same type of drop. If they do theyll just have the feeling of holding their breath for a payoff that may not ever come. The big twists have already came with SteinsGate 0 dealing with their aftershocks. While this may make the show less shocking than its predecessor it ensures that the feeling of dread and anxiety is always present. Still SteinsGate 0 does have some swerves theyre just arguably not as impressive as the originals. Part of this is due to the plot but part of this is simply due to already experiencing the emotional roller coaster that is Steins Gate. As far as things I dont like...theyre arent many. In fact I cant really think of any. While the plottwists arguably werent as big as the original the show is still quite tense. Despite the somber mood the show still somehow manages to have its lighthearted moments. While this would normally detract from a story such as this the creators know how to use it well serving as a breath of fresh air but never feeling intrusive. Given that viewers are expecting a foregone conclusion its quite telling that 0 still manages to be suspenseful. While I was inclined to state 0 as being slightly inferior to the original there were parts towards that were even more awesome than the original series. Going in expecting 0 to be just like SteinsGate will undoubtedly cause some disappointment. But even if you do Im certain fans of the show will quickly learn to appreciate the differences. Some sequels falter some rise to be better than their predecessors. Its hard to be just as good as a 10/10 show but SteinsGate 0 manages to get there all the same. 10/10