Liked Steins;Gate? Watch Island!
- Episodes: 12
- Aired: July 2018 - September 2018
Urashima, much like its name implies, is located very far away from Tokyo and Mainland Japan. One day though, a strange, naked man washes up on a beach. His name is Setsuna. He has no memories, and one by one, he comes into contact with the three daughters of the three main families of the island, Rinne, Karen, and Sara. Rinne, however, is special in that she stays secluded in her house during the day for fear that a rare disease, Soot Blight Syndrome, will kill her. Setsuna tries to understand the mysteries behind this island.
Major Similarities Between Steins;Gate and Island
1. It’s Basically Steins;Gate
If you enjoy getting your heart ripped out, albeit in a quicker, less dramatic fashion, then you will enjoy Island. It has the tragic death motif, the semi-dramatic plot but tries to stay lighthearted, and of course, the time traveling. Yes, no anime could really, truly be similar to Steins;Gate without a good ole fashioned time travel moment.
2. Characterization Takes a Front Seat to Time Traveling
If you make it to the halfway point of the series, you will be completely caught off guard due to the fact that the series violently rips the rug right out from under your feet. Just when you thought you were going to understand the story of Island, it changes via the time travel device. What happens in the meantime though, is that the series presents much better characterization–everyone isn’t sad all the time–and forces you to rely on it as timelines suddenly change over and over. If you liked Steins;Gate but wanted to cry less, then Island is a safe route to go
Liked Steins;Gate? Watch Shichisei no Subaru (Seven Senses of the Reunion)!
- Episodes: 12
- Aired: July 2018 - September 2018
Shichisei no Subaru tells the story of a very powerful party named Subaru in an MMORPG called Union. They travel, have fun, and explore dungeons all while leveling up. However, when a character dies while playing the game, all remaining friends drift apart. Years later, they all are convinced to log into a new game called Reunion. When our main character Haruto does, he explores a dungeon. In said dungeon, he finds a box and when he opens it, the old party member of Subaru who is supposed to be dead is inside, alive and well.
Major Similarities Between Steins;Gate and Shichisei no Subaru (Seven Senses of the Reunion)
1. A Female Lead is Taken Too Early & We Need to Get Her Back
Spoiler Alert: Steins;Gate is about solving a mystery of the death concerning a lab member and then preventing it from happening. Shichisei no Subaru is the same. It deals with Asahi who is assumed to be dead until her sprite and character turns up in the game, unchanged. While the friends normally do not speak to each other, Asahi’s appearance brings them all back together while they try to make sense of just what is going on. The mystery surrounding her death only thickens with each episode and we just want to know more!
2. Sci-Fi and Fantasy in Spades
So technically, Shichisei no Subaru is when someone had the brilliant idea that a SAO x AnoHana anime was necessary. While not as sad per se, it still does show those lingering wounds we see that are inflicted as Rintarou tries to get to a timeline where Mayuri is safe. While Steins;Gate has that whole timeslip and the concept of time down pat thanks to the sci-fi elements it chooses to play with, Shichisei no Subaru breathes life into the fantasy and sci-fi aspect making reality all that much more advanced and playing around with other fantasy elements when Subaru is in-game.
Final Thoughts
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