I gave myself a simple brief: If the first four chapters of “Steins Gate: Boukan no Rebellion (Rebellion of the Missing Ring)”, including its Chapter 0, were adapted into an animated film… what would it look like?

This led led me to ponder what creative liberties I could take and what problems I may have to solve. My criteria was thus:

1) The story must make sense even to an audience not exposed to Steins;Gate.
2) Expand the previously short and to-the-point prologue chapters into its own consistent stand-alone story, while keeping major events the same.
3) Expand the details of this dystopian world itself.
4) Play with concepts and push the drama.
5) Offer complete characterization that did not exist in the original manga.
6) Explore related characters from other SciADV games, but in this context.
7) Address ideas that were merely hinted at in other Steins;Gate related material.

In the future, I might do a few simple storyboards and concept art to visualize all this. After all, I’ve already written documents-full of its setting, plotlines and character-development.

But for the time being, let us look at the main cast – the heroes of the story.