Steins;Gate 0: Kesshou Takei no Valentine - Bittersweet Intermedio

I feel like I entered an alternate universe. Forget time travel in this special. What you'll find instead is an episode of anomalous shenanigans in the form of Valentine, sweets, and what? I should probably backtrack and bit and explain.

Before actually watching this, I'd suggest avoiding watching the trailer on MAL, Youtube, or wherever you get your Steins;Gate news. That way, you'll feel the sweet little surprise this special awaits you. With that being said, a Valentine special episode like is pretty much a gift that's ready to be consumed. The creators knew that the original series and its sequel had a moody story. ... So what's a little harm to craft something out of their comfort zone?

My first impression of the special had me wondering who would even show up. And to my delight, the majority of the main cast decides to enter this series with a vibrant mood, a contrast compared to the previous series. Hell, even Alexis regained his sense of sarcastic humor that I adored. Of course, the other main cast I'm referring to includes Okabe and his friends, lab , and goofballs. Pay attention to the comedy though as I'm sure the creators were aiming to make the audience laugh. Did it succeed?

To be honest, that's an ambigious question. I think anyone who has seen this and without even half way should realize that it's not to be taken in serious nature as the main plot. There's essentially minimum storytelling as this special episode serves as a standalone OVA. While the overall context has connections to their world, it doesnt signifcantly impact any of the main story. That still brings back to the main concern if you should watch it or not.

What I see this in this special episode is a ball of humorous gags bouncing up and down. We have characters like Ruka in a ridiculous outfit, malfunctioning microwaves, and mob of maids. In essence, the special celebrates the comedy side of the show. It serves as a way to remind us a popcorn entertainment side of the franchise. With 23+ minutes of content, it's not here to go deep into the plot. So be open minded and accept this like an obligatory chocolate.

I'll keep this review decently short and to the point since after all, this is a one off non-canon OVA.

Story: First off, don't go into this expecting any furthering the plot of Steins;Gate 0. This OVA is nothing more than a short, sweet just for fun episode.
The entire gist of it is more or less all the girls of the series making chocolates for Valentine's Day. With a sprinkle in of the friendship between Maho and Makise. It's nothing elaborate or profound in any way, so bear that in mind and don't take this too seriously.

Characters: Nothing really to say here, ... we just have a majority of the characters returning for the non-depressing shenanigans the cast we've come to enjoy (for the most part).


Sound: Still great; uses the ost from the anime/VN, which I find to be a supremely well put together.

Animation/art: Again, basically the same minus the jank looking CG we got with that helicopter from the full length series.


In conclusion, this ova just like the one from original S;G is nothing more than a short sweet addition. Also, the post scene credits is a decently big "oof".

"We just finished the depressed version of SG and everyone wishes for a 24th episode, what shall we do?"

"I know what to do! Let's give them an empty and silly Valentine's Day episode!"

Yikes..

Story: There is not much to say about the story, it is Valentine's day and every goddamn girl, who played a role throughout the series, decided to the fiesta.
It felt boring, empty and the jokes were so bad that I wanted to cry.
Hell, they even lewded our innocent cinnamon roll Mayuri.
The only good thing about the OVA are Hiyajo's and [Kurisu's] interactions, especially the last scene had at least some significance ... to it.
I had high expectations, but those were shattered beyond repair.

Art and Sound: The art looked good, was consistent and we got a "funny" shot of Faris but to be honest, this level of art was expected and is nothing special.
The sound was not special, but I guess that it fits the tone of the story.
Sadly, they used the wrong opening/ending, the first opening and the second ending, which is nothing but a minor error, but really shows me how little work went into this OVA.

Enjoyment: There really was none, except seeing my favourite characters and the post-ending scene.

The whole idea of a silly Valentine's day episode instead of a real sequel is probably the worst possible choice and is not understandable for me.
It hurts to say it, but this is as bad as Steins;Gate gets and what makes it even worse is the fact that this is probably the last bit of Steins;Gate we will ever get.