DVD Corner

Steins;Gate Part 2 Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Review

The second half of “Steins;Gate” is mostly satisfactory.

Picking up where part 1 left off, episodes 13-25 (although 25 is actually an OVA) of “Steins;Gate” are decidedly more serious in tone. After SERN tries to take the time machine from Rintaro, Mayuri is killed in the process. Wanting to fix this tragedy, Rintaro travels back in time. Unfortunately, every time Rintaro tries to save Mayuri she keeps dying. Finally, he learns he needs to get to the Beta World Line Attractor Field to change Mayuri’s fate. This, however, is only part of the story. Expect to see subplots, revelations, and stories about: Suzuha (and her father), SERN’s ugly future plan, the IBN 5100, D-Mail reversals to shift the timeline, Rintaro’s assistants Itaru, Kurisu, Moeka and other characters like Ruka and Doctor Nakabachi making crucial appearances, World War III, romance between Rintaro and Kurisu, the Steins Gate timeline, and Rintaro trying to save Kurisu from dying. Additionally, you will have to pay close attention to the head spinning time travel plots and remember key elements from the first part (which play into the story here). As for the OVA, it’s about a card tournament and Rintaro and Kurisu’s romance.

After an impressive, attention grabbing first 12 episodes, “Steins;Gate” (for the most part) delivers in the end. While the writers certainly go overboard with timeline changes, death loops, and time traveling throughout this batch of episodes, the repetitive nature of the story is not without purpose. Through these story elements, we see Rintaro change and grow as a character. Gone is the more lighthearted mad scientist character from the first 12 episodes. Instead, we see a more mature and serious character whose heart shines bright here. His love and affection for his friends drives the story as he is determined to set things straight. He becomes more human which is what makes this second half work so well. Yes, the very end might be a bit sappy, but when it’s all said and done, this is still one of the better anime series out there as of late. The attention to story, character, and detail alone proves that.

Video/Audio:

The series, which is presented in widescreen 1080p, is very bright and stylized, but incredibly sharp looking nonetheless.

This set contains English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 audio tracks. As I noted in my review for part 1, the English track is very well done and the Japanese track is solid as well.

Extras:
* Trailers for “Mass Effect: Paragon Lost,” “C-Control,” “Steins;Gate,” “Level E,” “Serial Experiments Lain,” “Fafner,” “Texhnolyze,” “Soul Eater,” “Sengoku Basara,” “Aria the Scarlet Ammo,” and Funimation.com.
* Commentary on episode 19 by Patrick Seitz and Jessica Cavanagh. The enthusiastic Mr. Seitz mostly praises the series while Jessica chats about voice acting and her recording experience.
* 2 textless opening songs and 2 textless closing songs.
* Commentary on episode 25 Colleen Clinkenbeard, Nathanael Harrison, and Stephen Hoff. The trio talk about recording, their love of the series, audio mixing, etc. Better than most commentaries.

Summary: If you’re an anime fan, you owe it to yourself to see parts 1 and 2 of “Steins;Gate.”

February 6, 2013 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Steins;Gate Part 2 Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Review