Welcome back, O faithful Basariters—ChrisGLink here. It’s been a little over a month since the last review (which you can find here), and after a trip to the post office, I finally got my hands on the next volume of the Steins;Gate 0 manga! I’ve got a lot to say about it, so without further ado, let’s leap right in… to hell itself.
Please note that although a copy of Volume 2 was provided to us by the publisher, this will not influence my opinions of the work in any way.
In regards to first impressions, I was fairly happy with what I saw when I opened the package I received. The cover is striking, and I particularly love how Okabe and Kurisu are drawn. It’s more visually interesting than the cover for Volume 1, and the cover art gives a decent sneak peek into what’s in store for the volume, while also taking care to not make it feel overloaded.
The quality of the physical releases continue to impress as well. This volume is the same size as the last one, meaning it’s still huge, but not heavy enough that it would cause strain during long reading sessions. Knowing me, that’s a huge plus… especially considering I read this volume in one sitting. My hands practically glided across the pages as I flipped through them, and the printing was incredibly vivid; this goes for both the normal panels and the two-page colored spreads. Everything absolutely pops out. I would love to show you the two-page spread that appears at the midpoint of the book, but out of concern for spoilers, I’ll have to refrain from doing so—look out for it if you pick up the volume yourself, though! Aside from that though, there were still plenty of other great panels that I’ll share below.
The art continues to be a huge step up from the original Steins;Gate manga, with manga artist Taka Himeno doing a wonderful job bringing these characters to life through her artwork. There were many times as I went through the volume where I had to pull out my phone and take a picture of what I was reading—the art was just that good. One of the best things an adaptation can offer is a unique way to view the events of the original story, and the manga definitely delivers a unique experience with its varied drawings and depictions. Admittedly, the paneling itself is nothing particularly special, but it does its job just fine. My favorite panels so far still come from the first volume, though, so while the art has remained consistently good, I wouldn’t say it’s especially improved from Volume 1.
Unfortunately, as much as I enjoyed this volume, there are a few things about it that are a little disappointing. If you checked out my review of Volume 1, you might remember me mentioning that I really appreciated the manga’s slower pacing during the earlier chapters. Well, in terms of Volume 2, I can say that there’s practically no slow pacing to be found at all. While this doesn’t ruin the story per se, I still find it to be a bit of a detriment to it. Some events go by so quickly that they don’t carry nearly as much weight as they should, and some important characters are almost completely left out of the picture, meaning that later reveals about them feel far less shocking than they should.
I believe the core of Steins;Gate 0 lies in its emotional moments, and unfortunately, the faster pacing in Volume 2 affects many of these key moments, too. Despite this, though, there are still a few scenes that are given the proper time they need—including my personal favorite—which tells me that Himeno is very capable of knowing how to pace things properly when given the chance to do so.
As for the language side, it continues to be very high quality—to the point where it even feels like the translation here received more care than the visual novel itself did. Andrew Hodgson returned once again for the translation of this volume, and the mistakes I noticed in the last volume were completely absent here. The lines written for these characters are just as important as the art, and I’m happy to say that together, they make this package really feel like a proper Steins;Gate product. I did run into a few lines that I felt were a little strange—is “edgy” really an accurate descriptor for Okabe?—but I can’t say these few issues worsened my overall experience.
The typesetting, however, continues to have many oddities, to the point where it became quite distracting at times. This is an issue that’s been present since the original Steins;Gate manga, and it’s unfortunately still a problem, even if it is less common now. In terms of the drawn sound effects, for example, the majority of the original Japanese sound effects were taken out and replaced with English equivalents, but there are still some instances where they’re left in, which leaves some pages feeling cluttered and harder to appreciate. Lastly, I did run into one section where the original Japanese text in the art was left completely untranslated, which will probably leave most readers confused as to what it might say.
With how Volume 2 handles its content in mind, I now have a better idea of what this manga series is going for. The first volume took its time covering the visual novel’s early content, and the second volume covered the Promised Rinascimento route, which means that the third and final volume is likely going to cover the Vega and Altair route, as well as the true ending. It’s safe to say that the manga is going to miss out on adapting several hours of content from the source, and I can now confidently argue that it can’t serve as a replacement for the visual novel and anime adaptation. I wouldn’t call this adaptation essential reading to understand the plot like the visual novel and anime, either, as it has yet to add anything new to the story so far. Still, the manga chooses to spend its time providing further insight into the scenes it’s adapting, allowing for a very nice way to reexperience the story of Steins;Gate 0—one that I would absolutely recommend.
In conclusion, I read this volume in one sitting; it kept my attention and didn’t let go until I finished. It’s fast-paced, emotional, and I really enjoyed my time with it. It makes me very happy to see that the Science Adventure series is still receiving high quality localizations; even with its minor share of flaws, this release is definitely of high quality. It might not have blown me away, but I’m absolutely ready to pick up the next volume and close out this fun adaptation.
7.5/10
A speed-up in pacing leaves this volume feeling less carefully constructed than the first volume, but even so, volume 2 of the Steins;Gate 0 manga is a good addition to a good supplement to Steins;Gate 0’s story.
Steins;Gate 0 Volume 2 is available to pre-order now from Amazon and Barnes & Noble for $24.99 (USD).
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