[Mich666]

Originally Posted by Utsuro no Hako

Spoiler for First Episode of Steins;Gate:

But it did a better job of hooking viewers with "WTF is going on here?" moments right from the first episode. Even Chaos;Head managed that in the beginning -- the series didn't fall apart until it tried explaining everything.

But R;N didn't even try to set up a mystery, unless you count the obligatory, "Ooo, who is this mysterious stranger" scene at the end.

^ This. You sum it up for me.
Also, Steins;Gate set up the mood right from the beginning adding small pieces with each episode till ep12. Much more happened in terms of story in the first episode when you watch it again.
It feels really bad when all the suspense you get in this show is based on character from another anime.
(I get it that there is a place torn from a time and that this place has hangar within it. But for whole ep that's not enough to make it interesting)

I heard Robotics visual novel was no good, is that true? I'm wondering if intro to it was similiary slow or not.