Midnight’s Impressions
Steins;Gate 0 despite introducing information this week that we could of honestly guessed ourselves. Still manages to be pretty engaging, with a couple of high tension scenes and a general grace in storytelling that I’ve come to expect from this series. The previous episode ended with Kiryu Moeka showing up at the lab, apparently as a guest of Daru’s that would help them in their search for Suzuha’s missing person. Okabe, and the entire fandom, look at her with our nerves on end.
In this worldline, she apparently works as a reporter and investigates urban legends in Akihabara. She’s taken interest in helping track down their missing person. Okabe, despite his best efforts not to look worried and frazzled. Looks like an absolute mess, and has to keep constantly reminding himself that in this timeline they have nothing to do with SERN and she has no reason to some and kill Mayuri. They agree to let her search and she moves along on her way.
Something I love about the scene of her leaving is the fact that Okabe’s landlord, Mr. Braun, who was an integral part to Moeka’s character in the Alpha timeline is driving away as well. If the fact they were in the same scene here is just a throwback by the story or if there is a darker meaning to it. Implying that they are both still rounders and he is still acting as FB in this timeline. Moeka certainly seems more mentally stable in this timeline then she was in the other timelines. I’m still worried about her and Mr. Braun.
We see her again in the episode reporting back information that she has gathered and while she has made no great leaps in finding Kagari, she does however discover that they are not the only group seeking the girl out. A group of men, one of them foreign is also seeking her out. I’m really sure that we’re supposed to start suspecting professor Leskinen with this information coupled with what we saw in the previous episode.
Speaking of people being stalked. Maho heads to Akihabara for a ‘change of pace’. Aka, to see Okabe. After hearing from Amadeus that Okabe has not been picking up his phone for her at all, Maho can’t help but remember snapping that Kurisu is dead at him. I can’t blame her much for wanting to talk to him. She arrives in Akiba and she finds herself being pursued…or at least she thinks she is. I’m not entirely sure if it was anxious paranoia or if she was actually being followed. By the time she calls Okabe and asks for help, she has found a friendly face in one of the other researchers from her university. After such a tense scene of thinking that something bad was going to happen to Maho. It was almost mood whiplash when I found myself laughing at Okabe awkwardly answering “Yes” to being Maho’s boyfriend due to his lack of understanding English.
After leaving Maho and the other researcher behind, we find ourselves back at the lab.
Rukako bringing over the guest that was coming to stay with his father. A girl who, okay, it’s Kagari Shiina. We all know it is. Still, her resemblance to Kurisu is horrifying. This was a war orphan that Mayuri adopted right? She was 10 at the time she was split with Suzuha. I want to say a sister but that doesn’t match up at all. A daughter wouldn’t work either I don’t think. Cousin? If she’s not related to Makise in some way, i’ll eat my hat.
The reason that Ruka wanted to bring Kagari to Okabe was that Kagari is suffering from amnesia. The only clue she has to who she is, is a oopa. Mayuri comes in and recognizes it as a green oopa despite the fact that it’s paint has all chipped off. Kagari seeing Mayuri stands up, looking pale, obviously hit with a rush of memories and she passes out. This is when Suzuha walks into the room and recognizes her. This is where the episode ends.
So, aside from a new found suspicion of Professor Leskinen and the curiosity on why people would be tracking Kagari down. This episode didn’t really reveal anything we couldn’t of already guessed. We already knew the person with Ruka’s family was Kagari. We already knew that Moeka couldn’t be trusted. It’s an engaging episode, but it’s a lull in the overall plot. I am curious to see how things are going to pan out when Kagari wakes up and she actually has to face Suzuha in the next episode.
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