Steins;Gate is a hit TV anime! It's a hotly talked about series that ranks highly on various anime ranking sites, but its greatest appeal lies in its epic worldview, based on a full-scale time travel theme reminiscent of foreign sci-fi films. What makes it so interesting is that it tells a realistic story despite being set in real-life Japan, with characters traveling through various time lines (sort of parallel worlds) and time leaping to the past and future. Here, we'll be discussing Operation Skuld, the final operation carried out near the end of the series, with spoilers!
What exactly is Operation Skuld?
Even those who watched Steins;Gate (hereafter referred to as Steins;Gate) to the end seem to have difficulty understanding Operation Skuld. Although Steins;Gate's foreshadowing is quite complex, it's often just quickly explained through conversations between the characters, so unless you're paying attention to what the characters are saying, it often doesn't sink in.
Simply put, Operation Skuld is a plan to reach Steins;Gate, a third world line in which neither Shiina Mayuri nor Makise Kurisu (Chris) die. Until then, Rintaro Okabe's world line was one in which only Mayuri or Chris could be saved, but this plan seeks to fundamentally change that.
How exactly does Operation Skuld work?
You'll hear an outline of Operation Skuld from Okabe Rintaro in the future, in a timeline where Chris was unable to be saved. This future Okabe Rintaro is just cool, but honestly, it's impossible to understand what he's saying. However, present-day Okabe Rintaro understands what his future self is saying and figures out a way to save Chris.
The way to save Chris that future Okabe Rintaro suggested was to "change the outcome without changing the established past" and "trick your original self." This alone doesn't really make sense, but the gist is, "have your past self observe that Chris is dead, even though she is still alive." By doing so, Rintaro's will to save Chris will not disappear when the past is altered, and a world line will be created in which Chris can be saved safely.
Honestly, this part is complicated and hard to explain in words, but the idea Rintaro came up with as part of this plan was to make himself witness Kurisu Makise alive, lying on a bed of fake blood. In reality, if they make it look like Chris is still alive but has been stabbed and is bleeding profusely, they can trick themselves into thinking that Makise Kurisu is dead (they can deceive themselves), and change the outcome without changing the past...
Another important aspect of Operation Skuld!
However, simply saving Chris will not save the world. If Chris's paper is not erased from the world, World War III will break out over the time machine. Therefore, Rintaro draws Mayuri's Metal Woopa, the reason the paper remained in the world, and has Mayuri draw a non-metal Woopa.
This creates a future where the envelope containing the thesis (along with Mayuri's Woopa) won't set off metal detectors at airports, and the thesis is incinerated in a fire. In other words, the theory of time machines is wiped from the world, and World War III is prevented.
Operation Skuld was a success!
Though Rintaro's plan almost fails midway through, he manages to make Operation Skuld a success with a dash of quick thinking. While anime of this nature often end on a depressing note, the exhilarating and satisfying ending is the charm of Steins;Gate. Well, I'll still be baptized in the movie after this (lol).
Finally, to briefly summarize Operation Skuld, it consists of two goals: change the future with your beliefs, and change the future with a little crafting! If you read this article and then rewatch the final episode, I think you'll have a better understanding of Operation Skuld, so be sure to check it out!
