Episode 23β is a prequel to Steins;Gate 0, which loops back to Steins;Gate.
Some fans recommend watching it and 0 after watching the first 22 episodes of the original series.
Rest of the franchise mostly takes place in the same universe.
Steins;Gate is definitely a classic of the time travel genre. For years, it was relatively straightforward — after watching the series, you watch the OVA and the movie (which are entirely optional). You could also watch Episode 23β, which is essentially a “bad end” version of the series.
However, everything changed after the Steins;Gate 0 anime was released. It’s not exactly a sequel, but you can’t watch it without watching the original series first. And also, what’s up with all the other series with ‘;’ in the title? Let’s dive into this!
How to watch Steins;Gate?
Steins;Gate 0 is not set in the same timeline as any moment of the original series. It follows Rintarou after he actually fails to save Kurisu and spirals into despair — the anime is essentially his redemption journey.
It also shows how he could actually build the time machine to save Kurisu in a different timeline — but first, he’d need to lose her.
That’s where Episode 23β comes to help. Steins;Gate 0 is a sequel to that, and to get enough context, you should watch the original series, then watch 23β — and after that, you can follow it up with 0, which ends with a scene from the original, where timelines converge.
Many fans also recommend watching the anime — or rewatching it — in its logical order. After watching the first 22 episodes of the original series, you don’t watch the last two — you watch 23β, 0, and only then finish the original.
After that, you watch the OVA, and then, the movie — while the former closes some plot lines, the latter is fully optional.
Rest of the franchise
Along with Steins;Gate, there are also ChäoS;HEAd, ChäoS;Child, Robotics;Notes, Occultic;Nine and Anonymous;Code. These are often referred together to as the Science Adventure series. Out of these, all but Anonymous;Code have adaptations — of varying quality. They’re mostly in the same universe — let us explain.
Robotics;Notes is generally considered to be a decent adaptation of its own visual novel. Fans suggest watching it after Steins;Gate, as a certain character reappears there in a very unexpected role.
ChäoS;Child is a sequel to ChäoS;HEAd — both are more or less standalone from Steins;Gate, although they refer to each other occasionally. Both of these are considered pretty bad adaptations, though, and fans suggest others to go for their visual novels instead.
Occultic;Nine is a weird one. It’s adapted from an unfinished light novel — not from a VN, and the author of the franchise indirectly confirmed the anime ending is canon. It’s a somewhat confusing, but fun ride.
Series like Steins;Gate and ChäoS;HEAd exist as visual novels and anime within the Occultic;Nine universe. The actual connection is even deeper, and is only somewhat explained in Anonymous;Code visual novel.
Feel confused? We can’t blame you.
Summary:
Episode 23β is a prequel to Steins;Gate 0, which loops back to Steins;Gate.
Some fans recommend watching it and 0 after watching the first 22 episodes of the original series.
Rest of the franchise mostly takes place in the same universe.
Steins;Gate is definitely a classic of the time travel genre. For years, it was relatively straightforward — after watching the series, you watch the OVA and the movie (which are entirely optional). You could also watch Episode 23β, which is essentially a “bad end” version of the series.
However, everything changed after the Steins;Gate 0 anime was released. It’s not exactly a sequel, but you can’t watch it without watching the original series first. And also, what’s up with all the other series with ‘;’ in the title? Let’s dive into this!
How to watch Steins;Gate?
Steins;Gate 0 is not set in the same timeline as any moment of the original series. It follows Rintarou after he actually fails to save Kurisu and spirals into despair — the anime is essentially his redemption journey.
It also shows how he could actually build the time machine to save Kurisu in a different timeline — but first, he’d need to lose her.
That’s where Episode 23β comes to help. Steins;Gate 0 is a sequel to that, and to get enough context, you should watch the original series, then watch 23β — and after that, you can follow it up with 0, which ends with a scene from the original, where timelines converge.
Many fans also recommend watching the anime — or rewatching it — in its logical order. After watching the first 22 episodes of the original series, you don’t watch the last two — you watch 23β, 0, and only then finish the original.
After that, you watch the OVA, and then, the movie — while the former closes some plot lines, the latter is fully optional.
Rest of the franchise
Along with Steins;Gate, there are also ChäoS;HEAd, ChäoS;Child, Robotics;Notes, Occultic;Nine and Anonymous;Code. These are often referred together to as the Science Adventure series. Out of these, all but Anonymous;Code have adaptations — of varying quality. They’re mostly in the same universe — let us explain.
Robotics;Notes is generally considered to be a decent adaptation of its own visual novel. Fans suggest watching it after Steins;Gate, as a certain character reappears there in a very unexpected role.
ChäoS;Child is a sequel to ChäoS;HEAd — both are more or less standalone from Steins;Gate, although they refer to each other occasionally. Both of these are considered pretty bad adaptations, though, and fans suggest others to go for their visual novels instead.
Occultic;Nine is a weird one. It’s adapted from an unfinished light novel — not from a VN, and the author of the franchise indirectly confirmed the anime ending is canon. It’s a somewhat confusing, but fun ride.
Series like Steins;Gate and ChäoS;HEAd exist as visual novels and anime within the Occultic;Nine universe. The actual connection is even deeper, and is only somewhat explained in Anonymous;Code visual novel.
