SciADV community member CINEPRESTO recently visited Spike Chunsoft’s California office for a tour, and to appear on their stream as a guest star. While there, he was given the opportunity to put on a brand new performance in the Hououin Kyouma persona, and he tried out the new Steins;Gate 8-Bit ADV. At the end of the stream, CINEPRESTO also presented the Spike Chunsoft staff with a brand new Science Adventure poster, on behalf of the general SciADV community. An archived replay of the stream can be viewed here.
CINEPRESTO was gracious enough to accept our request for an interview, which can be read below. Enjoy!
KKB: Your performance on stream was wonderful! What was it like getting ready for that?
C: It was a blast! I came in a few hours early, and I got to meet everybody at the Spike Chunsoft headquarters down in Long Beach.
KKB: What was it like working with the folks at Spike Chunsoft?
C: Mimi and Ari were the folks that I worked with and got to interact with the most. The amount of work that they put in themselves to run a livestream impressed me! They’re pretty aware of the fanbase, and are very passionate about the games they localize. Their knowledge is on point, and it was great getting to work with them both because they, like me, want to do the fans justice.
KKB: Who’s your favorite character in the series, and why?
C: The character I relate to the most in the series naturally is Okabe, in a few too many aspects and facets of my life. In the past when I was coming out of high school and starting college, that’s exactly how I was. Even to this day, I’m still the kinda guy in my friend group to go “Hey, you’re cool! Come join my wacky group of insane friends!”
There’s a universal aspect of creating this other person you become around people. I think part of maturing over time is learning to shed that and open yourself up to others. I released a video about how that’s such a beautiful statement this past Thursday on my YouTube channel, CINEPRESTO.
I don’t think I’m the only one who feels this way though. Anyone can be that guy. Seeing the amount of cosplay going around has been awesome, and to me, it’s pretty indicative of what he represents to many of the fans (and as anyone who’s done this character can attest to, for the price of one labcoat, you can cosplay as him for years!)
KKB: What aspect of Steins;Gate appeals to you the most? Is it the stories? The art? The characters?
C: Going back to my previous answer, people watch the anime and/or play the game and recognize a lot of similarities in the relationships they have in their own lives. Steins;Gate to me is all about taking a certain stereotype, or a preconception of someone, and then slowly peeling the archetypes back in order to reveal their layers and their humanity. It’s a combination between the grounded story and realistic characters that comes from that sort of setting. Throw in a little Star Trek-esque hard sci-fi, and you’ve got a recipe for success that works every time.
KKB: What about the SciADV series? Do you feel that the other titles in the series have the same kind of appeal?
C: Robotics;Notes is the only other one I have any experience with, due to the influence of the community urging me to check out the show. For the most part, it brought back memories of my experience in my middle school’s robotics club. It’s got a fantastic character in Akiho as well. I think the show itself had a lot of potential, but just didn’t have the time to expand on its material. If a localization of the visual novel ever comes out, I think I’d very much look forward to playing it, and of course to seeing how Daru ties into the story in its upcoming sequel (Robotics;Notes DaSH).
KKB: What’s your favorite moment in any of the titles? (No spoilers!)
C: Steins;Gate Episode 18 was one of the biggest gut-punch moments in the show when I first went through the series. The character that had been played up for gags up until that point dropped a huge truth bomb about identity and being honest with oneself before one can be honest to others.
Other than that, Steins;Gate 0, episode 8. Cheesy goodness. ‘Nuff said!
KKB: The SciADV series has covered a wide variety of subjects, from time travel, to robots, to delusional protagonists. Is there a topic that you would like to see the series explore next?
C: Not sure, actually. I’d rather be surprised more than anything, and it’s great that this series can do that. It’s not like Star Wars in that aspect, which is married to a single core concept. Like the Future Gadget Lab, the folks at 5pb./MAGES can experiment and create some pretty cool sci-fi stories.
I’m going to call it now and say that we’ll get an Avengers-style team-up at some point, but as far as further concepts, I just want to see them go completely off the walls with something extremely out there and risky. Something set in Nara perhaps? The old haunted Nara Dreamland being a popular spot for Haikyoists might be a fantastic starting point.
KKB: Thank you for joining us!
C: It’s always a pleasure to aid my fellow lab members in our goal of defeating the Organization.
(*pulls out cellphone*)
FUAHAHAHA! They’re playing right into my hands… El. Psy. Kongroo.
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