History YMMV / SteinsGate

* HeartwarmingInHindsight: Okabe undoing [[spoiler:Nae's revenge]] by using FB's phone to send D-Mail to [[spoiler:tell Moeka that the search for IBN 5100 is aborted]] is not simply a selfish way to avoid certain death. By doing that, he also allows [[spoiler:Nae]] a chance to grow into a good person contributing to the society in the future instead of an insane criminal desiring for vengeance, which [[spoiler:she]] would become in ''VisualNovel/RoboticsNotes''

** Seeing Mayuri refer to Makise as "Chris-chan" can feel odd, seeing as the nickname is widely associated with the author of ''Webcomic/{{Sonichu}}''. It gains a new level of hilarity when you realize Makise is an avid imageboard user and lives in America... so in that universe, she might well be familiar with said author.

** Kiryuu Moeka. She's too socially awkward to talk, but during the third chapter, she sends boatloads of emails that show that she's too scared of the dark to come to knock on the door of the lab and other numerous goofy emails. [[spoiler: Which makes quite the contrast when she kills Mayuri despite a previous mail indicating she found her hilarious]]. During Moeka's arc near the end, a middle ground is found between these two poles [[spoiler: in that her awkwardness, while cute, has also made her a weak, dependent, and easily manipulated doormat, explaining the contrasting attitudes.]]

** Okabe's HeroicBSOD [[spoiler: after the first attempt to save Kurisu failed]] was bleak enough, but it becomes much darker after ''VisualNovel/SteinsGateZero'' shows what happened to him as a result- he becomes a depressed EmptyShell.

** Possibly also HarsherInHindsight: Okabe's prodding of Daru's 2D harem girls becomes this in ''VisualNovel/SteinsGateZero'' when [[spoiler: Okabe volunteers to converse with a virtual construct of Kurisu]].
** Okarin (especially early on in the story) [[TheNicknamer repeatedly called]] Kurisu "ZA ZOMBIE", referring to how he first saw her dead only for her to show up alive later on (which happened because of TimeTravel). The season after ''VisualNovel/SteinsGateZero'' aired, we see Creator/MamoruMiyano's character producing [[Anime/ZombielandSaga a group of zombie idols in Saga]], with just as much [[LargeHam ham]] as Okarin to boot.
** Seeing Mayuri refer to Makise as "Chris-Chan" can feel odd, seeing as the nickname is widely associated with [[Webcomic/{{Sonichu}} a certain infamous internet personality]]. It gains a new level of hilarity when you realize Makise is an avid imageboard user and lives in America... so in that universe, she might well be familiar with that universe's Chris-Chan counterpart's reputation.

* BrokenBase: Whether or not Luka is UsefulNotes/{{transgender}}, or simply a DudeLooksLikeALady, is one of the most hotly debated aspects of ''Steins;Gate''. Some cite the fact that Luka uses a D-Mail to [[spoiler: create a timeline where they're born female, and that their ending has them stay female]] as evidence that Luka is a transgender woman. Others counter this by pointing out that [[spoiler: the reason why Luka wishes to be female is [[JumpingTheGenderBarrier so Okabe can fall in love with them]]]], but some feel that this alone wouldn't be a strong enough motivation to do something like that unless there was also some amount of gender dysphoria involved. Luka is consistently referred to as male, outside of [[spoiler: the timeline where they become female]], but some argue that this is more due to ValuesDissonance and [[DeathOfTheAuthor that the intent was for Luka to be trans, even if the subject is not handled very well]].

* ValuesDissonance: It's safe to say that [[spoiler: Okabe's entire incident in Moeka's apartment, in which he [[WouldHitAGirl beats her up]] to get her phone and use it to fix the worldline while she [[WoundedGazelleGambit cries rape]] and gets ignored by the neighbor]] wouldn't have worked in almost any other country.

* EvilIsSexy: [[spoiler:Kiryuu Moeka, after she's revealed to be a Rounder for SERN. TheReveal is even accompanied by an EvilCostumeSwitch into a sleek SpyCatsuit.]]
* FriendlyFandoms: With the ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' fanbase, due to the concept of a time-traveling protagonist also being present in that series to save his/her [[spoiler: close friend]].

* HoYay: Despite him insisting otherwise, it is very heavily hinted that Luka does have romantic feelings for Okabe, [[spoiler: even when he was male]]. Okabe also sees him as a StupidSexyFlanders.
* JerkassWoobie: [[spoiler: Nakabachi]] may have been a horrific asshole, not only for stealing his own daughter [[spoiler: Kurisu]]'s time machine theory to take credit for himself but for attempting to murder her as well. While a major HateSink in the game proper, the Drama CD ''Babel of the Grieved Maze'' made him a more sympathetic character in the Alpha Worldline who lost two of his close friends, [[spoiler: Suzuha Amane who goes under the alias, Suzu Hashida, his university mentor and Yukitaka Akiha, Faris's father.]] Their deaths were his major motivation to build the time machine in dedication to them but while his daughter's diligent study to gain his approval by saying that time travel is impossible made him more resentful and angry at her, even so, he still genuinely loved his daughter as he prepared a spoon as the birthday gift she chose personally.
* LesYay: At least that's how Daru sees Mayuri showing Kurisu around.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Some fans love Mayuri for being the nicest and most outgoing member of Future Gadget, her humorous quotes which are sufficiently hilarious, the fact that she's fated to [[spoiler: die many times in the Alpha worldline]] help progress Okabe's CharacterDevelopment and the plot and she deduces correctly that [[spoiler: Daru is Suzuha's father]] but some fans dislike her for her childish naive personality all of the time, having no [[TheDitz intellectual common sense,]] her repetitive {{Catchphrase}} and her [[spoiler: countless deaths]] made fans paint her as the DamselScrappy.

** In the original Japanese, Suzuha speaks in very [[TotallyRadical outdated slang]] due to her knowledge of the past is severely limited. The English dub replaces this with her speaking in [[TheEighties eighties movie]] quotes, such as the first time she introduces herself to Okabe:

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Luka is very feminine, so much so that Mayuri asks him to try on her cosplay costumes. He also wears a {{Miko}}'s traditional robes normally.
-->'''Okabe''': "[[LampshadeHanging But he's a guy.]]"

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: A downplayed version from the developers' attempt to humanize the character more, at the very least. [[spoiler: Dr. Nakabachi, Kurisu's father,]] is hit with this trope despite the developer's attempt to humanize him in the Drama CD ''Babel of the Grieved Maze'', in which his purpose in researching time travel meticulously was to dedicate the research to his deceased best friends, [[spoiler: Suzuha and Yukitaka]]. Despite being depicted as someone who isn't really [[NotSoDifferent too far off]] from Okabe's personality in his youth (using stage names, having bombastic personalities, wearing peculiar outfits), none of the fans are buying the developers' attempts to make him a more sympathetic figure. Not helping the case is that his {{Jerkass}} personality far outweighs his decent side (on both worldlines) and since this revelation only takes place in the Alpha worldline, fans consider that his Beta counterpart doesn't have this justification, which makes him very, very hard to sympathize with in the end.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: [[spoiler: Dr. Nakabachi, Kurisu's father,]] is hit with this trope despite the developer's attempt to humanize him

** Kiryuu Moeka. She's too socially awkward to talk, but during the third chapter she sends boatloads of mails that show that she's too scared of the dark to come knock on the door of the lab and other numerous goofy emails. [[spoiler:Which makes quite the contrast when she kills Mayuri despite a previous mail indicating she found her hilarious]]. During Moeka's arc near the end a middle ground is found between these two poles [[spoiler:in that her awkwardness, while cute, has also made her a weak, dependent and easily manipulated doormat, explaining the contrasting attitudes.]]

** ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHOOQCXTweU&hd=1 Skyclad Observer]]'', which sung by Itou Kanako, is already awesome as it is for the Xbox/PC version opening, but when it's played when Okabe [[spoiler: speaks to his future self]] in Episode 23, it adds awesomeness to this scene.
** The game's main theme, [[https://open.spotify.com/track/4nS7rwZZB8Xtr3xmMN84wb?si=NzeYk9-MQE-QKvIeF7EbGg Gate of Steiner]], perfectly describes the entire mood of the story, being full of galore and creeping dread, but with a roaring determination in a time travel journey.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Some fans love Mayuri for being the nicest and outgoing member of Future Gadget, her humorous quotes which are sufficiently hilarious, the fact that she's fated to [[spoiler: die many times in the Alpha worldline]] helps progress Okabe's CharacterDevelopment and the plot and she deduces correctly that [[spoiler: Daru is Suzuha's father]] but some fans dislike her for her childish naive personality all of the time, having no [[TheDitz intellectual common sense,]] her repetitive {{Catchphrase}} and her [[spoiler: countless deaths]] made fans paint her as the DamselScrappy.

* BrokenBase: Whether or not Luka is UsefulNotes/{{transgender}}, or simply a DudeLooksLikeALady, is one of the most hotly debated aspects of ''Steins;Gate''. Some cite the fact that Luka uses a D-Mail to [[spoiler:create a timeline where they're born female, and that their ending has them stay female]] as evidence that Luka is a transgender woman. Others counter this by pointing out that [[spoiler:the reason why Luka wishes to be female is [[JumpingTheGenderBarrier so Okabe can fall in love with them]]]], but some feel that this alone wouldn't be a strong enough motivation to do something like that unless there was also some amount of gender dysphoria involved. Luka is consistently referred to as male, outside of [[spoiler:the timeline where they become female]], but some argue that this is more due to ValuesDissonance and [[DeathOfTheAuthor that the intent was for Luka to be trans, even if the subject is not handled very well]].

** In the True Ending, Okabe realizes that everyone [[spoiler: has a degree of Reading Steiner, and it's treated as a {{Heartwarming}} revelation due to the implication that Kurusu will remember their relationship despite technically not knowing him in the new worldline]]. His counterpart in ''Zero'' is not as fortunate, as he quickly learns how [[spoiler:Reading Steiner can be abused for nefarious ends.]]
** If you rewatch the series and see all those people sending D-mails, it seems much harsher since you know [[spoiler:that they were indirectly responsible for Mayuri's death in the Alpha worldline and Okabe has to reverse them in order to save her]].
** Okabe's rants about the Organization and people being secret agents becomes much harsher once SERN and the Committee of 300 are introduced and [[spoiler:Moeka turns out to be a secret Rounder agent - and their landlord, Mr. Braun turns out to be her boss]].
** A final couple of episodes involving the plot point of [[spoiler:Dr. Nakabachi defecting to Russia and bringing sensitive intelligence that could ultimately start WorldWarIII]]. Cue 2013 and Edward Snowden defecting to Russia bringing sensitive intelligence about the NSA...
** Okabe's HeroicBSOD [[spoiler:after the first attempt to save Kurisu failed]] was bleak enough, but it becomes much darker after ''VisualNovel/SteinsGateZero'' shows what happened to him as a result- he becomes a depressed EmptyShell.
** In a sense, [[BabiesEverAfter Luka's ending]] became that after an optional scene in the next chapter [[spoiler:has Nae revealing what happens to Okabe in the Alpha timeline]].

** After the first timeline shift, when Okabe meets Kurisu for the first time and [[spoiler:she accuses him of being the one who killed her in the original time line. [[AccidentalMurder She was right]]]].
** A few weeks after the ending of the anime, CERN published an article about neutrinos traveling faster than light. [[http://www.livescience.com/16207-faster-light-discovery-time-travel.html One of the things they want to do is to send messages to the past]]. Don't turn your back on CERN.[[note]]Unfortunately (fortunately?), faster than light neutrinos have yet to be discovered.[[/note]]

** Okabe uses his time-traveling ability to accomplish three things: [[spoiler: save his best friend, save his LoveInterest, and prevent the world from falling into chaos]]. Many comparisons to [[spoiler:Homura Akemi]] from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' have been made.
** Possibly also HarsherInHindsight: Okabe's prodding of Daru's 2D harem girls becomes this in ''VisualNovel/SteinsGateZero'' when [[spoiler:Okabe volunteers to converse with a virtual construct of Kurisu]].

** Seeing Mayuri refer to Makise as "Chris-Chan" can feel odd, seeing as the nickname is widely associated with [[Webcomic/{{Sonichu}} a certain infamous internet personality]]. It gains a new level of hilarity when you realize Makise is an avid imageboard user and lives in America... so she might well be familiar with Chris-Chan's reputation.

* JerkassWoobie: [[spoiler:Nakabachi]] may have been a horrific asshole, not only for stealing his own daughter [[spoiler: Kurisu]]'s time machine theory to take credit for himself but for attempting to murder her as well. While a major HateSink in the game proper, the Drama CD ''Babel of the Grieved Maze'' made him a more sympathetic character in the Alpha Worldline who lost two of his close friends, [[spoiler: Suzuha Amane who goes under the alias, Suzu Hashida, his university mentor and Yukitaka Akiha, Faris's father.]] Their deaths were his major motivation to build the time machine in dedication to them but while his daughter's diligent study to gain his approval by saying that time travel is impossible made him more resentful and angry at her, even so he still genuinely loved his daughter as he prepared a spoon as the birthday gift she chose personally.
* LesYay: At least that how Daru sees Mayuri showing Kurisu around.
* MagnificentBastard: [[BigBad FB]], AKA [[spoiler:Yuugo Tennouji/Mister Braun]], is the local leader of the [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Rounders]] in Akihabara working for SERN. [[spoiler:In order to [[KnightTemplarParent protect his daughter Nae]], Yuugo is willing to do whatever SERN asks of him. Becoming Rintaro Okabe's landlord, Yuugo operates as a CRT TV salesman, while also manipulating needy people, including the depressed and suicidal Kiryu Moeka, into becoming his agents, [[AFatherToHisMen caring for them like family]]. When Okabe and his friends complete the Time Leap Machine, Yuugo orders Moeka and his other agents to steal it, kill Mayuri Shiina, and capture the others. His other schemes include: remotely setting up a scalping operation to pay off his superiors; ordering Yuki Amane kidnapped when she [[HeKnowsTooMuch learns of their plot to bomb the sewers]]; sending agents to capture Okabe and Moeka when the two betray him in the Gamma worldline; and coming up with a complex delivery route for the IBN 5100 specifically to throw off pursuers. In order to keep Moeka safe from SERN, Yuugo cuts off contact with her and when confronted he [[HeroicSacrifice kills himself to spare her and Nae]]. Also killing Moeka to spare her from SERN in the anime version, he works alongside Okabe against Stratfor and DUPRA in the sequel, cementing himself as equal parts kind and ruthless, being both Okabe's enemy as well as one of his closest allies.]]

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Nakabachi, Kurisu's father, stealing his daughter's paper and then either getting her killed or stabbing Okabe. Unlike Moeka and Braun, there isn't a single point of redemption in his favor. The drama [=CDs=] portray him in a slightly better light (though mostly by making his background more sympathetic, rather than undoing any actual course of action).]]

* NarmCharm: The True Ending route is awesome, but it does have one unintentionally funny moment with how Kurisu's static character portrait is "animated" to show her [[spoiler:finding and picking up the Upa that Mayuri dropped]].

* SequelDisplacement: It can be easy to forget that it takes place in the same universe as ''VisualNovel/ChaosHead'' and ''VisualNovel/RoboticsNotes'', especially since neither of them were localized in their original VN releases, and the narrative connections between them are rather loose, to begin with.

** Okabe finding Kurisu's dead body before he accidentally sends a D-mail.

** [[spoiler:Yuugo revealing himself to be working as a Rounder for SERN instructing Moeka under his alias: 'FB' to find the IBN 5100 and report back. This makes it his last time interacting with her before Moeka is killed (by gunshot in the anime, by Nae in the VN) and he commits suicide with his gun after Okabe discovers his secret identity.]]

* SlowPacedBeginning: A well-known observation about the anime is how much time is spent early establishing the characters, setting, and mechanics of time travel. It takes [[spoiler:twelve episodes, nearly half the total length of the series,]] for the plot to go from 0 to 100.
* UglyCute: Daru to some.

* ValuesDissonance: It's safe to say that [[spoiler:Okabe's entire incident in Moeka's apartment, in which he [[WouldHitAGirl beats her up]] to get her phone and use it to fix the worldline while she [[WoundedGazelleGambit cries rape]] and gets ignored by the neighbor]] wouldn't have worked in almost any other country.

--->'''Kurisu''': Why do you have to be such a [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Wesley]]!? *''beat''* Uhh... I mean, we're getting way off topic.

** In the original Japanese, Suzuha speaks in very [[TotallyRadical outdated slang]] due to her knowledge of the past being severely limited. The English dub replaces this with her speaking in [[TheEighties eighties movie]] quotes, such as the first time she introduces herself to Okabe: