I put off Steins;Gate for a long time.
Not because I didn’t want to watch it — it kept showing up on every list of essential anime, every “if you only watch one sci-fi anime” thread, every conversation about shows that actually messed with how someone thinks. It had the reputation. I just kept hearing it was complicated, confusing, hard to get into, and I already had a backlog that was making me feel guilty. So I filed it away.
Then I actually started it. And the first twelve episodes or so felt… slow. Deliberately, almost stubbornly slow. And I almost bailed.
I’m glad I didn’t. What happens after episode 12 is one of the best gear shifts I’ve seen in a series. But this is the guide I wish I’d had going in — the right watch order, an honest explanation of what Steins;Gate 0 actually is, and why the watch order on this one genuinely matters.
The Watch Order (Just Give It to Me Straight)
Here it is:
- Steins;Gate (main series, 24 episodes, 2011)
- “Egoistic Poriomania” OVA (optional — watch here if you want it, after episode 24)
- Steins;Gate: Load Region of the Déjà Vu (film — optional, adds closure on Kurisu)
- Steins;Gate 0 (23 episodes, 2018 — watch this last, never first)
That’s it. The original 24-episode series first, always. Steins;Gate 0 last, always. The OVA and film are optional and go in the middle. I’ll explain all of this, but the most important thing I can tell you is: do not watch Steins;Gate 0 before the original series. That choice will hurt you and you’ll know exactly why when you get there.
What Steins;Gate Actually Is
The setup sounds like it was designed to filter out casual viewers. Rintaro Okabe — a self-described “mad scientist” who is much more anxious and broken than he lets on — accidentally discovers that a modified microwave can send text messages into the past. He and his small group of friends and lab members start experimenting with it. Then they realize the implications. Then everything goes wrong.
The show is fundamentally about time travel and what it costs. But it’s also specifically about memory, loss, and what you’d be willing to sacrifice to undo a single moment. By the end, those themes land with real weight — but they only land that way because the show takes its time building up to them.
Episodes 1 through 12 are intentionally slow. Okabe is performing his “mad scientist” character loudly over a story that hasn’t revealed what it’s really about yet. Characters are introduced without full context. The science talk is dense. The tone is strange — somewhere between comedy and something else you can’t name yet.
This is not a bug. The show needs you to get comfortable with these people, comfortable with their dynamic, comfortable with the rhythms of daily life in that cramped lab — because when the story breaks, you’ll feel it. You can’t feel the break if there’s nothing there to break.
Push through. Episode 13 is where it changes. And when it does, you’ll understand why the first half had to be exactly what it was.
The OVA: “Egoistic Poriomania”
There’s a single OVA for the original series — “Egoistic Poriomania” — that serves as a light interlude set after the main story ends. It’s a beach episode, essentially. Low stakes, character-focused, doesn’t advance anything major.
If you finish episode 24 and you want a few more minutes with these people before moving to heavier material, watch the OVA here. It’s a breather. If you just want to keep moving to the film or Steins;Gate 0, you can skip it without missing anything that matters.
The Film: Load Region of the Déjà Vu
The 2013 film — Steins;Gate: Load Region of the Déjà Vu — takes place after the main series and focuses on Kurisu more directly than the TV run does. It adds closure to one of the relationships the series leaves in an interesting but unresolved place.
It’s optional. The main series has a complete ending and you’re not missing a piece of the puzzle if you skip the film. But if you finish the series and you’re still thinking about Kurisu — and you probably will be — the film is worth your time. It’s around two hours and it’s a genuine extension of what the show did emotionally, not just extra footage.
Watch it before Steins;Gate 0. The film is a coda to the original. Zero is something else entirely.
Steins;Gate 0: Not a Sequel. Not First. Not Instead.
Here’s the thing I want to be direct about: Steins;Gate 0 is not a sequel to the original series.
It’s an alternate worldline. The premise requires you to know exactly how the original series ends — what Okabe tried, what he failed to do, what it cost him, and where that left him. Steins;Gate 0 is set in a version of reality where he gave up. Where he stopped trying. It follows what happens to him — and to the people around him — in that world.
If you watch 0 before the original series, two things happen. First, you don’t have the emotional context that makes Okabe’s state in 0 devastating. He’s broken in 0, and the weight of that only registers if you’ve watched him try and fail and lose things that mattered. Second, the original series’ ending — which is one of the most satisfying payoffs I’ve seen in a sci-fi anime — gets spoiled in ways that can’t be undone. Zero’s existence implies things about how the original resolves that you’ll pick up on before the original shows them to you.
Watch the original first. This is not a “purist preference.” It’s the difference between an emotional experience and a story you’re watching out of order.
About Steins;Gate 0 itself: I’ll be honest because I think you deserve it. It’s darker, slower, and more deliberately uncomfortable than the original. Okabe in 0 is not the Okabe from the first series. He’s coping, barely. The show takes its time getting anywhere and it doesn’t have the same gear-shift momentum that makes the original so compelling.
The community is divided on 0. Some people love it because it deepens the world and takes the characters somewhere genuinely painful. Some people find it a slog that doesn’t justify its length. Both reactions make sense to me. My read is that it’s worth watching after the original — it adds something real — but go in knowing it’s a different show with different rhythms. Don’t expect the original to continue. Expect something adjacent that complicates what you already know.
The Manga and Physical Media
If you finish both series and want the story in a different format, the Steins;Gate manga adapts the visual novel the anime is based on. The Steins;Gate manga volumes cover the core story and are worth it if you got invested enough to want more. The visual novel is the true original — more expanded than the anime — but the manga is the lower-friction entry point if you want something physical.
Steins;Gate is one that holds up to rewatching, especially the back half. If it becomes a show you keep, the Steins;Gate 0 Blu-ray and original series sets are worth owning. The show is visually grounded rather than flashy, but the emotional moments deserve a good screen.
Where to Watch
- Crunchyroll: Both the original series and Steins;Gate 0 are on Crunchyroll. This is where most people watch it.
- Funimation / Hulu: Has carried Steins;Gate in various packages — check current availability.
- Physical: If you want to own it, the original series and 0 are both available on Blu-ray and hold up as shelf pieces.
The original series is also available dubbed if you prefer that, and the dub is actually solid — Okabe’s English voice handles the performance demands of the character’s shifts better than most dubs manage. Either way works.
The Short Version
Watch the original 24-episode series. Don’t skip the slow start — episode 12 to the end is what everyone is actually recommending when they tell you to watch Steins;Gate. If you want the OVA, watch it after episode 24. The film adds good closure on Kurisu and fits between the original and Zero. Watch Steins;Gate 0 last, with honest expectations — it’s darker, slower, and a different animal from the original.
Never watch Zero first. Trust me on this one.
The show earns its reputation. The reputation was underselling it.
Where to watch: Crunchyroll carries both series. For physical media and manga: Steins;Gate manga volumes | Steins;Gate 0 Blu-ray