Ever since the Steins;Gate RE:BOOT was announced, fans’ reactions have been mixed. Some mourn the loss of the original’s scrappier, unique art style despite both having the same main illustrator. But while you might expect the change was due to some sort of mandate to “modernize” the cast, that doesn’t seem to be the case. According to the Famitsu issue 1960 interview, the whole Steins;Gate RE:BOOT project kicked off after character designer huke doodled something interesting — and the team basically went along from that point.
“Around 2-3 years ago, I had a chance to meet up with huke-san again after a long time, the one in charge of Steins;Gate‘s character design,” recalled series producer Tatsuya Matsubara. During the occasion, he suggested, ‘I want to renew the Steins;Gate characters, what do you think?'” After that initial spark, their conversation snowballed fast. “If that’s the case, then why not update everything — from graphics to everything — to connect future series developments and relaunch the Science Adventure series once again?, I thought,” added Matsubara.
Scenario writer Naotaka Hayashi chimed in, saying that around May 2023, huke quietly drew and posted the modern reimagining of the Future Gadget Lab members. After seeing that, Matsubara didn’t need more convincing. “Yes, yes! When I saw that, ‘This is extremely cool!’ I thought, and went to discuss it with him,” said Matsubara with a laugh.
From there, the scope expanded. In the original visual novel, huke only designed the main members of Future Gadget Lab, such as Rintaro Okabe, Itaru Hashida, and others. Side characters were handled by other artists. For Steins;Gate RE:BOOT, however, huke is fully on deck and lent his hand to draw everyone, with Matsubara pointing out that this will be the first time characters like Doctor Nakabachi are designed by the illustrator of Black☆Rock Shooter. “When making graphics in-house, we tried to emulate huke-san’s art style; although the lines look simple at first, they were drawn with exquisite balance, so we often struggled to match it,” explained Matsubara regarding the original Steins;Gate visuals.
“While the art has been updated, it retains key points that make you instantly recognize, ‘This is Okabe,’ or ‘This is Kurisu,’ and I felt it has been renewed beautifully to suit modern tastes,” remarked Matsubara when talking about the remake’s new art style. “The designs have gotten really cool, haven’t they? The original version had its own charm too, but like Okabe, he’s gotten more handsome,” Hayashi then continued. “The one I particularly like is Doctor Nakabachi. He’s got that ‘handsome older guy’ vibe to him now, I love it! (laughs).”
Asami Imai, the voice behind the heroine and fan-favorite child prodigy Kurisu Makise, also complimented Steins;Gate RE:BOOT‘s new artwork. “My first impression was, ‘[Kurisu]’s grown more voluptuous!’ (laughs). In the original version, huke-san’s art had a certain fragile, androgynous charm to it, but the new design feels closer to a realistic human being, giving the impression of more depth, a more 3D quality, and more humanity,” she explained. “Furthermore, this time huke-san’s art actually moves in the game, so it never gets old and looks exciting.”
But the artwork isn’t the only thing being revamped in Steins;Gate RE:BOOT — the whole cast also went through new recording for all voice lines and sound. “There was a proposal to record only the added parts, but I felt that rerecording everything from start to finish as a single package would create a greater sense of cohesion, and I thought that having the entire thing being rerecorded would become a big topic,” elaborated Matsubara. “And above all, I wanted to hear the entire performance delivered by everyone with the acting skills they possess now, 17 years later.”
Thankfully, the whole process went smoothly, and all the Future Gadget Lab members’ voice actors are up for the challenge, even if the task comes with its own worries. “When it came time to record new lines for the RE:BOOT, I agonized over whether to base my performance on the original game or the anime version,” Imai admitted. “Ultimately, I decided to perform based on the ‘slightly more mature Kurisu’ from the anime. I’m still worried that people will say, ‘It’s different from before,’ but I’m confident in how it turned out.” She added that the recording process for Steins;Gate RE:BOOT went much faster than the original visual novel, and she was able to act more like the ‘genius scientist’ everyone expects Kurisu to be.
Hayashi then ended the interview with a tease for Science Adventure series fans, “There has been talk of doing things beyond just Steins;Gate-related projects, and we are making various preparations, so I hope you look forward to it.”
What do you think of huke’s new designs and the voice actors’ new performance so far? Steins;Gate RE:BOOT is now out on PC via Steam, with the Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X versions to follow on October 29. For more news and interviews, keep an eye on GameObserver.
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