What about Steins;Gate? What does Steins;Gate mean? If if you take it to mean "Stone Gate", well, that still doesn't make any sense because the concept of a significant "stone" exists neither figurtively nor literally in Steins;Gate. A quote from the main character, Rintarou Okabe, perfectly sums up the meaning of the title "Steins;Gate":
"It doesn't really mean anything."
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| Steins;Gate is a science fiction about a self-proclaimed mad scientist. |
...Well that can't be right. For a science fiction narrative whose protagonist consistently advocates that the series of events that play out is the "choice of Steins;Gate", there must be some sort of meaning to the phrase, especially since it is the ultimate goal of the protagonist. Looking at it linguistically, Steins;Gate could be akin to some sort of "Stones;Gate". Perhaps a gate of stone? Then what are the stones? Two possible interpretations arise: the concept of World Lines as being vehicles of time and time travel is a river that carries the "stones", our characters, through to them; or the goal of reaching Steins;Gate is difficult because it is "made out of stone".
Neither of those interpretations are coherent with regards to the plot, the former unrelated to the struggles the protagonist undergoes and the latter unrelated to what the former is related to. The perhaps, since Steins;Gate was once a visual novel, the phrase "everything is the choice of Steins;Gate" refers to the fact that the plot is partially directed by the player character. While this is an interesting idea, it is also dismissed on the basis that such an interpretation is essentially a pun that adds no literary meaning to the story while also maintaining the basis that the title, in fact, doesn't really mean anything.
Just as I feel that Frankenstein is aptly named to capture its contents, so too is Steins;Gate. The whole basis of titling the novel Steins;Gate is on the basis that Steins;Gate doesn't really mean anything- if there is value in there being a meaning in the title, then the delibrate use of one that does not have a meaning can have an equal value. The point of Steins;Gate not having a particular meaning relates to Steins;Gate's ending.
"No one knows what the future holds. That's precisely why, just as this reunion demonstrates, the possibilities are infinite."
The value in the lack of meaning stems from the meanings that Steins;Gate takes otherwise. The phrase can mean several things to several characters, but its meaning is never set in "stone". Steins;Gate teaches that time can never be truly overcome, merely decieved, and the character's abilities to continue forth is the "gate" towards an unknown future.
Neither of those interpretations are coherent with regards to the plot, the former unrelated to the struggles the protagonist undergoes and the latter unrelated to what the former is related to. The perhaps, since Steins;Gate was once a visual novel, the phrase "everything is the choice of Steins;Gate" refers to the fact that the plot is partially directed by the player character. While this is an interesting idea, it is also dismissed on the basis that such an interpretation is essentially a pun that adds no literary meaning to the story while also maintaining the basis that the title, in fact, doesn't really mean anything.
Just as I feel that Frankenstein is aptly named to capture its contents, so too is Steins;Gate. The whole basis of titling the novel Steins;Gate is on the basis that Steins;Gate doesn't really mean anything- if there is value in there being a meaning in the title, then the delibrate use of one that does not have a meaning can have an equal value. The point of Steins;Gate not having a particular meaning relates to Steins;Gate's ending.
"No one knows what the future holds. That's precisely why, just as this reunion demonstrates, the possibilities are infinite."
The value in the lack of meaning stems from the meanings that Steins;Gate takes otherwise. The phrase can mean several things to several characters, but its meaning is never set in "stone". Steins;Gate teaches that time can never be truly overcome, merely decieved, and the character's abilities to continue forth is the "gate" towards an unknown future.
As a person who has watched Steins;Gate I find your explanation of the title interesting as well as amusing. For a long time after I watched it, I was trying to figure out why they decided to pick the word "Steins" and why there was a random semicolon before gate. Now it makes much more sense; I was obviously thinking into it too much. It isn't supposed to mean anything, and that's what gives it meaning. It's actually a very clever way to connect to one of the main themes of the story.
ReplyDeleteAs random as this explanation may seem, it actually makes some sense- a lot more than the explanation I was thinking, which had something to do with Japanese translations and such. Then again, animes have such random titles, and the explanations for them sometimes just go crazy. For example, is the reason Bleach is named Bleach really because the main character bleached his hair to get it orange? Seems legit -_-
ReplyDeleteHaisuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu hai hahi haahiahiahiahihi hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <<<#####rhido gh <#33333333333333.
ReplyDeleteel psy congroo
I get the el psy congroo but in the end of the anime, I didn't get the operation's name. They both seem to be from the same inside thing-did he also used to say that operation's name randomly? It was like operation skullard or something, I don't remember it anymore T.T
ReplyDeleteAnother question: what in the world is 'elfen lied' supposed to mean/represent at all???
ReplyDeleteTite Kubo specifically mentioned in an interview that the manga was originally titled "Black" because of the black clothes the shinigami wear. Later, he changed it to "White" as the hollows were white, and then to Bleach because of it's vague association with the color white.
ReplyDeleteSkuld refers to Norse goddess of fate, the one who governs the "future".
Elfen Lied translates to "Elf Song" in German. It also refers to the poem "Elfenlied" which describes the hardships of an elf who is forsaken by humans.