Anyone who loves this game but doesn't like anime?

[robthebob11]

I've been on the fence about this game for a while and seeing it on sale has only reignited my curiosity. I keep hearing over and over again how great of a story STEINS;GATE is and I adore a well told story. The problem is...I don't care for anime.

Lynch me if you will, I just can't relate to anime characters because of how visually stylized they are, recurring "visual shorthand" tropes like nosebleeds and sleep bubbles that have no basis in actual human behavior, the list goes on. I have nothing against anime as a medium, I just don't personally enjoy it. And before you ask "well have you tried THIS anime?" the answer is yes, I probably have. I've been down that road over and over and over at the insistence of friends only to enforce that nope, sorry, it just isn't for me.

Visual novels have been much the same for me, for the most part, with Danganronpa being one exception because I was able to immediately pick up that the characters were interesting people wrapped in stylized, ironic archetypes. In some subtle ways, it seemed to be making fun of the things I didn't like about anime. So since I like that, I wonder if there's hope for me yet.

My dilemma is that I would love to be told a mature, deep story and it sounds like STEINS;GATE hits those notes. I'm just not sure that I can appreciate it fully due to its medium. Are there any other STEINS;GATE fans out there who love this story, but don't normally care for anime or visual novels otherwise? Basically I just need someone in my boat to convince me that yes, it's worth taking the plunge.

[Radene]

It's not that I don't like the anime. It's just that the anime, while good in and of itself, doesn't do the game justice.

Oh wait, you mean, you don't like this specific art style?

Well, your loss. Go ahead and stay inside your comfort zone for all I care.

[Solidus]

Hm... I can't say I understand you for not liking anime, but I can say I'm not either an otaku, a weebo, or a big fan of anime. However, at the very least is safe to assume I like anime, I'm no expert, I don't drink anime during my breakfast, but I like anime, I don't hate it, and I can't say I don't care about it.

On the other hand, I'm not a reader. Is hard to me to grab a book and get past the first two pages, no matter how well written they are.

However, I like reading visual novels, feels different to just reading a book, most of them have different routes, thus is like you're reading several stories in one book, with the addition of visuals and music. I'm no expert of visual novels, but I enjoy good stories.

Why I give you this? I started reading visual novels -pure visual novels with no puzzles or minigames like Steins;Gate, and unlike Danganronpa- in 2013. At first, since I didn't know the genre, I was like "where the hell is the gameplay?", like many gamers did, and continue doing it. The first thing to know is that if you like reading books. This is not like Danganronpa, there are no minigames, it's reading and little interaction. And it's true is hard to find VNs that are not some typical anime harem bullcrap, or just plain romantic (I don't have anything against romance, but that's pretty generic in the VN genre, it has to be a strong story in order I care about it).

So... would I recommend Steins;Gate? This, or Ever 17: The Out of Infinity, any of those two I recommend to anybody who wants a well written story, and is willing to take to a side the dislike to the anime side, or the lack of gameplay. To me E17 meant the start of my like for VNs, and since I read it, I'm always looking for VNs to read. And I'm sure that S;G would have caused the same effect if I had read it first.

To you, I absolutely don't recommend the anime, just stick to the VN. Anything you don't like about anime that you inevitable will find in this VN, will be magnified in the anime version -pretty logical, I guess-. To anyone who know nothing about S;G, but likes anime, I recommend the VN first, then the anime. And to anyone who already watched the anime... yeah, maybe the VN will be a little boring.

Back to you, OP, yeah, give the VN a chance. It's a masterpiece, don't be fooled by the internet memes. Be patient to the protagonist, he is a huge inmature idiot but eventually will be forced to be a man and take responsibility. Be patient to Mayuri, she is your anime character that, assuming your post, you probably will hate the most, but you'll learn of her huge importance and who knows, maybe you'll end "tutturuing" in the end. Be patient to Feris and her fans and all the moe and more crappy anime references she carries, you'll learn how painful the world could be without all of it. Patience is the key word as you can see. The question is, can you be patient? Do you like rollercoasters? Do you like the fact that in a rollercoaster first you go slowly up, and then you go down at full speed? If your answers to those questions is yes, then this VN is for you.

Sorry for the long post and the weird English, as it is not my native language. Hope I could convince you somehow to read this, and if not, well, still thanks for reading me ^^.

PS: I have a girl as profile picture... but I'm a guy. You'll understand if you decide to read S;G ;)

[Angel...]

I like the anime, but it doesnt do justice to the game. The game handles everything better from scenes the anime left out, scenes it kept in, character development, character moments, etc. Though I do like how the canon movie that takes place referenced the Suzuha ending and other moments that werent shown in the original anime either because it used the True route (best route btw) or because they left it out for one reason or another

[mio]

Really I'd just say the game does have a moe culture in it's world, but it actually serves a purpose for the story without being engulfed by it. It also makes quite a few pervert-type jokes you commonly see in anime. If those don't completely turn you off from playing it, you'll enjoy a great story that doesn't involve the generic trashy anime tropes at all.

Even if I enjoy a lot of anime I completely understand why people hate it and the stupid unnecessary things that turn people off, I feel the same way about a lot of it. So not in the same boat as you, but I'd still recommend it to someone who doesn't like anime as long as you don't mind those odd bits. The story's well worth it otherwise.

[tatankasamoyed]

Buy the bloody game! It's not the kind of anime you seem to describe. There's no random exclamations popping up over character's head and such. A simple look at the trailer and some screens should be enough to demonstrate what kind of anime S;G is influenced by.

Anyway, you are asking a question that you could easily answer for yourself.

[Tomoebi]

It has a certain anime trope in it.
But the artstyle in the SG VN is quite unique compared to any other VN/anime.

If you like Danganronpa, i would say you will enjoy this game. Well, personally this game is better than Danganronpa in writing and music department.

I havent watch anime in a long time tbh, but as you can see my profile pic and half of my library is an anime themed game. So i might be biased.

[robthebob11]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I decided to pick the game up and give it a shot.

The truth is, I'm frustrated with myself for not liking anime. I hate being closed-minded about anything, so I hope to challenge myself to find anime that I like. Danganronpa and hopefully STEINS;GATE may help wtih that and open some doors for me.