Plot twists like these crush me
I thought it’ll end well, that when Suzuha went back in time, she’d be assisting the lab members in their fight against SERN. I was wrong. And seeing my hopes get crushed by the next minutes after she left was definitely the best piece I have seen in this anime.
With their attempt to change the past ending in failure, what happens now? The timeline where Suzuha committed suicide was overwritten by the one where she died of an illness but the important questions have been yet to be answered:
1) Did the illness-stricken Suzuha forget what her mission was?
2) Was she the one who donated the IBN at the shrine?
3) Where is the damned IBN anyways?
4) Where is, in the current timeline, Makise, Suzuha, and Moeka?
With so many questions left for answers in the near future, let’s go through the highlights of this episode.
For what reason did Okarin save Suzuha in the first place? Did he fear Mayuri’s death at that point just because the divergence meter didn’t move? I seriously doubt that. After all, their activities have been about fixing the time machine. It may be naive to assume but assuming nonetheless, won’t their actions change the presupposition of fate; the absolute death of Mayuri?
Okabe has been an emotional individual all along and I think, the reason why she saved Suzuha was the thought of losing an ally broke him. More that Ishida knowing that his daughter died a pointless death, Okabe can’t stand the fact that Amane Suzuha lost all the memories she cherished, voiding the vow she made that day.
Of course, these are all conjecture. We cannot truly say that this is what Okarin is feeling but from my perspective, his emotional impulse to lend others a hand caused this turn of events.
Can we blame Okarin for this impulsive behavior of his? Fact is, the lab members enjoyed Suzuha’s company. She was cheerful and energetic. Would you really believe that such a girl would die filled with regret? Sinking in the pools of despair? If you are a friend, can you blindly accept that?
Okabe aside, I was disappointed with Daru, not because he tried to soften up their emotional parting but with how he calmly accepted everything. I was really hoping that he’d ask Okarin, in a fit of despair knowing that her daughter committed suicide, to go back and change the past. I really hoped for this development but I guess that just isn’t going to happen.
I think what Daru did to Suzuha by joking about her mother is very much in-character. Daru has been a shy (perverted) individual and I really didn’t expect him to get laid (OK that was derogatory but I bet he didn’t expect to get laid either) but during those last moments, what can he say? What could he say?
See! Even Makise agrees with me!
Daru may be a genius but I doubt he had the chance to process such revelation so I was really hoping that he’d break down after knowing how his daughter died of suicide. They hardly spent their time each other as father and daughter. Even if it’s awkward, won’t it make sense if Suzuha came in her 50’s to spend time with her dad?
BLOG: Where stupid ideas run wild! 
Jul 24, 2011 @ 03:19:01
I think Okabe saved Suzuha from suicide for Mayuri’s safety. That’s what the episode looked like…:O
Jul 24, 2011 @ 11:07:06
But it really felt weird considering no harm has reached Mayuri ever since he decided to help repair the time machine. I think their actions diverged Mayuri’s fate at that point, causing Suzuha’s old self to die instead.
Jul 24, 2011 @ 22:51:41
Urk… I guess I’m kinda regretting now for going on an Anime watching hiatus. Marathoning 6 episodes of Steins Gate srsly mucked my brain. @_@
Anyway, I find it really difficult to keep track of things when so many factors come into play and how they influence the outcome of each world line. I’m beginning to wonder if they’ll ever explain the workings behind the divergence meter. The numbers have changed depending on the actions of Okabe and his lab members, but what does the difference between before and after actually represent? The increments mean their actions were subjectively deemed “favorable” in working towards that 1%, yes?
Speaking of the 1%… Is Mayuri’s fate one of those scenarios which is dependent on that number? If it is then it’s likely she’s not out of harm’s way yet. For all we know, her death could be only delayed this time. :s
And since Kurisu has mentioned before that every outcome could have been caused by a prior “trigger event”, then it’s likely a *certain* trigger event led to Mayuri being fated to die and they’ll have to rectify it somehow. And while we’re on the subject of trigger events, I wonder if natural things like illness and eventual death from it such as in Suzuha’s case are caused by those events? Versus the horrible accidental deaths and murders of Mayuri, I mean. ^^?
Jul 25, 2011 @ 00:53:23
This is actually one of the many factors worth considering. All we have here are speculations based on the butterfly effect, hoping that whatever Okarin did may have actually averted Mayuri’s demise even if crossing the 1% divergence never happened. However, I am lead to believe that this is actually the case. Considering how Suzuha died instead of Mayuri. I think it’s safe to assume that Okarin did change Mayuri’s fate by redirecting fate’s cruelty to Suzuha T_T
Then again, there’s still the next episode to check how valid this theory is. For all we know, perhaps what Suzuha said about crossing the 1% is right in that it would “absolutely” save Mayuri.
Well, there’s always the weekends for an anime marathon Keiri XD
But personally, i’d trade my scheduled anime marathon for a day of seiyuu stalking… too bad I still can’t understand Japanese OTL