In March 2020, the Japanese publication Weekly ASCII published an interview with MAGES. creative director Chiyomaru Shikura and MAGES. scenario writer Naotaka Hayashi. Among the topics discussed were their philosophy on the then recently announced Steins;Gate Hollywood drama series, the atmosphere surrounding Steins;Gate’s launch month in 2009, and CERN—the real-life organization on which the series’ “SERN” is based, including Shikura’s thoughts on their operations.
We have summarized and translated excerpts from this interview for English-reader convenience. Note that this interview originates from March 2020; much of its information, particularly as related to the Steins;Gate Hollywood series, may now be dated. Note also that this article contains spoilers for Steins;Gate.
Shikura’s philosophy for Steins;Gate Hollywood
- ASCII’s interviewer, the then editor-in-chief Shinjiro Kaku, notes that following the Hollywood series’ announcement, there was a decent amount of buzz on social media—particularly on the fact that a specific American actor would be the perfect cast for Mister Braun. (Editor’s note: Though not explicitly named, the actor in question is likely Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson.)
- Kaku asks if Shikura can share details on how casting is going for the production, or if he can share anything else of interest.
- Shikura: “Ah, of course. So for the role of the protagonist, Rintaro Okabe, we’ve cast the famous actor Hiroshi Abe.”
Kaku: “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”
Shikura: “Yep.”
Everyone: (laughs) - Shikura explains that since the project is being produced in Hollywood, it follows that the cast will be comprised of actors from that side of the world, and that the series itself will be in English. He’s looking forward to finding out which actors will be cast to play the characters. He remarks, “It’s not like [the actor playing] Okabe has to be Japanese—and if I were to take this a step further, it’s not even a necessity that they embody ‘Rintaro Okabe’ as we know him.”
- Shikura: “Ah, of course. So for the role of the protagonist, Rintaro Okabe, we’ve cast the famous actor Hiroshi Abe.”
- Kaku: “So what you’re saying is, this won’t necessarily be a 1:1 adaptation of the work as we know it, with all the same details, the same setting, et cetera.”
- Shikura: “When you do a live action adaptation, if you try to keep everything ‘just the same’ as the original work, it generally doesn’t go very well. Our stance is, as long as you maintain the ‘core points’ of Steins;Gate in the Hollywood project, then it doesn’t matter if everything else—even the actors—doesn’t feel exactly the same as the original. And that’s what we’ve conveyed to the studio in America. But this is Skydance Television we’re talking about—and I’m a huge fan of Mission: Impossible. Maybe they could have Tom Cruise play Okabe… Ah, apologies. I’m getting carried away.”
- In terms of streaming services, Shikura and the Japanese side are not sure where the series will be available to watch, since that’s “up to Skydance Television’s side.”
- The interviewer wonders how the Hollywood series will work around the fact that Steins;Gate takes place in Akihabara, Japan. But according to Shikura, “I don’t necessarily think it even has to take place in Akihabara. Maybe the time machine will crash into the White House instead. We don’t necessarily know how all that’s going to turn out, and it’s definitely exciting—looking forward to how it’ll come together in the end, that is.”
- Shikura says they’re not yet at the point where they can say for sure how much of Steins;Gate’s key stylistic choices—or what makes the original work what it is—will be carried over, or how similar the characters in the live action series will be to their original counterparts. But, according to him, “Steins;Gate is really a drama about people. I think that’s going to fit the live action format pretty well.”
The atmosphere surrounding Steins;Gate’s initial release
- Kaku: “In November 2009, Steins;Gate’s Xbox 360 release was charted at number one in the sales rankings. What were your reactions at that time?”
- Hayashi: “Steins;Gate’s release day was actually rather peaceful. ‘Ah, so it’s finally out…’ was about the extent of it, I’d say. But then, as you know, word of mouth spread. In about ten days, it soared to the top of the charts on Amazon and other outlets. It really was a surprise to see.”
- Shikura: “I remember that when we’d shipped 50,000 copies, we held a celebration party. It’s rather rare for a visual novel to sell that well, after all.”
Shikura and CERN
- The interviewer wonders if any difficulties came up with using “SERN” in Steins;Gate, given that CERN is a real-life organization.
- Shikura remarks that during the creation process, they had already decided on using “SERN” with no intention of inquiring with the actual organization about it.
- Hayashi explains that if they had asked for permission, CERN would almost certainly have rejected the idea of their likeness being used in the story—and that there was a chance they would even request that aspects of the plot connected to them (e.g., the LHC) also not be used. Shikura says, “We did paint them in a fairly evil light, after all.”
- Kaku: “In Steins;Gate’s visual novel, there are many keywords, and they’re defined quite rigorously. How much of those definitions are the truth, and where the fictional aspects start to seep in… you start to lose your ability to make that distinction as you read.”
- Hayashi: “Exactly. That was Shikura-san’s intent, and it’s also one of the strengths of the Science Adventure series. Take concepts that exist in our world and add them to the world of SciADV, one after the other; within moderation, interweave reality with fantasy to create a world that’s like ours, but enhanced, in a sense.”
- Shikura: “I was actually able to have a discussion with CERN not too long ago, and… let’s just say, those guys are dangerous. For one, the experiments they do? The dangers that could arise from them are even worse than what could come of nuclear testing. And they just carry those experiments out willy-nilly, despite the fact that even they have no idea what’s going to happen. They don’t even bother going through international approval procedures for them. It’s like, ‘There’s a chance this experiment might create a micro black hole. What could happen past that? Heck if we know.’ That’s the impression I get from them. And as a representative of mankind, I guess I should be kind of mad about it!”
- Hayashi: “When he met with CERN, the first words out of his mouth were, ‘Is it really all right that, just because you’re scientists, you can carry out whatever experiments you want?’ It was like he was suddenly picking a fight.”
- Shikura: “No, no, I wouldn’t put it like that! It’s more like, instead of that sparking a debate, it ended up turning into something of a fight. I asked them, ‘Who are you getting permission from to do everything you get up to over here?’ And what do you think they said in response? They said, ‘We carry out our experiments to pursue the world of the unknown. When an innocent child badly wants to play with something new, they do it; likewise, when we want to experiment with something new, we do it.’ That was the sophisticated and nuanced reply I got. It got me thinking, Maybe I had better just go smash their LHC to bits.”
Kaku: “Now you’ve got a chill running up my spine.”
- Shikura: “No, no, I wouldn’t put it like that! It’s more like, instead of that sparking a debate, it ended up turning into something of a fight. I asked them, ‘Who are you getting permission from to do everything you get up to over here?’ And what do you think they said in response? They said, ‘We carry out our experiments to pursue the world of the unknown. When an innocent child badly wants to play with something new, they do it; likewise, when we want to experiment with something new, we do it.’ That was the sophisticated and nuanced reply I got. It got me thinking, Maybe I had better just go smash their LHC to bits.”
- Shikura doesn’t outright denounce what CERN does—he concedes, after all, that the discovery of a lifetime could come from their experimentation. But he argues (a bit exaggeratedly) that these experiments could have dangerous consequences, and for that reason, CERN should cease their experiments, or the protocols limiting them should be made stricter. “We can’t just leave it to the bigwigs of CERN itself to decide whether an experiment happens or doesn’t.”
- Shikura: “There’s a place on the internet where regular people can ask CERN questions, and CERN will answer them. One of those questions happened to be, ‘Are you capable of creating a time machine?’ The scientists’ response was, ‘That’s a question for SERN with an ‘S,’ not us!’ When I saw that, my thought was, ‘Wow, these guys really are something!’” (laughs)
- (Editor’s note: Shikura is possibly referring to CERN’s Reddit “Ask Me Anything” posts, where the topic of Steins;Gate has occasionally come up.)
Final comments
- Just like with the live action series, Shikura has many ideas in mind for how Steins;Gate might grow and develop in the near future.
- He has a lot on his plate to take care of—Anonymous;Code, bringing Occultic;Nine to a proper conclusion, et cetera—and he says it’s tough for him to decide what to focus on for the time being. But he hopes readers will keep an eye on what the SciADV series—Steins;Gate included—will have in store for them in the future.
For more Steins;Gate news, view our dedicated category here.
Thanks, RCgamer77, TehVict.
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