Mirai Nikki might be the best anime I've ever watched. I didn't enjoy it, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't meant to.
Mirai Nikki, also known as Future Diary, follows Yukkiteru, a middle-school loner who keeps a diary on his phone noting everything that happens around him. His only friend is a God he thinks is a product of his imagination, Deus, the God of Time and Space. One day, Yukkiteru awakens to discover that his diary has entries for the future, which he soon discovers to be accurate. Soon after, he's informed he is the First of twelve owners of similar diaries, each with the ability to predict different facets of the future: for instance, Yukkiteru's Diary predicts things happening around him, whereas later on we meet a character whose Diary predicts ways they can escape from danger. These have been awarded by Deus in order to play a survival game: the twelve must compete to kill each other, and the last one standing will take Deus's throne and powers. Moreover, an easy way of killing another owner is destroying their Diary, as their Diary not merely predicts the future, but actually holds the owner's future within it.
On the future, it seems like a fairly standard "survival game, but with a twist" premise, and I'd say that's a fair assessment. However, before one dismisses Mirai Nikki as just this, there are a few things to consider: First off, despite seeming simple, the Diary idea is genius. It allows a number of interesting twists as to certain character's knowledge of any situation, which are usually executed next to perfectly. This leads to really fascinating mind games happening whenever two Diary owners are in opposition, ensuring that conflict always has a psychological element to it. It's also a good way of characterizing the Diary owners: Most of them kept a Diary prior to the game starting, meaning that what their Diary predicts is a direct indicator of who they are as a person. To keep track of any given confrontation, you must understand what each Diary does, what each Diary owner thinks the other Diary currently says based on their incomplete knowledge of the situation and how actions by the Diary owners may change the contents of both party's diaries. Thanks to all these layers of mind games, conflict tends to be extremely intense, even when it just involves two people talking.
All this withstanding, the best part of Mirai Nikki are the characters, or, more precisely, the two main characters. Yukkiteru is pretty much an everyman, and not particularly interesting by himself. However, he is thrust into a number of extraordinary situations. This isn't particularly innovative, but the absolute, stone-cold realism with which he reacts to these situations is surprisingly fresh. Yukkiteru doesn't rise above the situation to become a hero. He doesn't pull off acts of great courage out of nowhere. Yukkiteru spends most of the running length of the show terrified and doing his best to hide from conflict. Even though it's never made explicit in the show, I fully believe that, by the end, he's gone mad with the stress of the whole thing.
Yukkiteru is more than a fitting protagonist, but the show is stolen by the secondary protagonist, Yuno. Yuno's a yandere, (the "infatuated to the point of being creepy" archetype, for those who don't know anime terms) taken pretty much over the edge. She is utterly, completely in love with Yukkiteru (whom she calls "Yukki" over and over), despite the two having only briefly conversed up to this point. She kept a "Yukkiteru Diary", which, having turned into a Future Diary, informs her of Yukkiteru's whereabouts and status every ten minutes. Furthermore, she is completely and utterly insane. I'm no psychologist, but there's definitely some sort of disorder there. It's not treated lightly, either, and despite being on Yukkiteru's side, Yuno is one of the most absolutely terrifying characters I've ever seen, killing efficiently and without remorse, but being able to effortlessly put on a caring and friendly face even when she's considering murdering the person she's conversing with. There's also a real instability to her: She often feels like she's on the edge of breaking into a murderous rage.
The recurring side cast is also really well done. Yukkiteru's parents are brilliantly characterized, his mother in particular, and his school friends manage to be endearing, but a few of the other participants in the game are real favourites of mine. I won't give anything away, but I really loved the Fourth and the Ninth.
In my mind, the series is divided into four clear sections. First is the "monster of the week" section, which is a very effective introduction to the show. It's pretty much what it sounds like, with Yukki and Yuno fighting a different one of the Twelve each episode or couple of episodes. It works really, really well: There's genuine tension, and since we've only just met Yuno her remorselessness is more shocking than later in the series. The other members of the Twelve are also really interesting characters in their own right, almost all of them being extremely fucked up individuals, setting up truly sadistic situations for the duo. Yukkiteru really does seem like the only sane one around for a long time, which is in effective contrast with the end of the series, when he starts acting less and less sane.
However, after a while the series starts to meander a bit. Nothing really happens except for Yuno's past being very vaguely explored. Whilst the situations continue to be compelling and utterly fucked up, character's reactions to them stop being nearly as realistic: At one point a few characters set a mortal trap for Yukkiteru and Yuno for, let's be frank, selfish reasons. Yuno almost kills one of them in revenge. Then they go back to being friendly as though nothing happened. Whilst Yuno is an extremely effective supporting character, this part of the series almost tries to cast her as the main character, which doesn't work out well.
Fortunately, soon enough things get back to fighting other Diary owners, and this part of the series is even better than the first. The owners are characterized even better, and Yukkiteru starts going through some very significant and tough character development. Yuno continues to be a lot of the reason to watch the show, but Yukkiteru finally becomes a major contributor to this as well. This is lucky, because, through brilliant manipulation by the writers, we're brought into a similar state of mind to Yuno, where all the violence and death stops feeling so meaningful, which means she can no longer carry the show as she did at the start.
Explaining what goes on in the fourth section is spoilerific, but allow me to say the following: It contains a lot of rather cliche background for Yuno, attempting to make her sympathetic, which I very much did not appreciate. There's a lot of stuff that happens that I think goes over the top, trying to bring the stakes too high up by affecting the world around the characters when we were already plenty invested in the characters themselves. However, nearly every plot thread is satisfyingly wrapped up. There's a few issues, such as the fact that the way Yukkiteru feels about Yuno changes way too fast, as well as there being another love story that comes right the fuck out of nowhere. The ending to the series itself is one I will recognize as well-made, but unsatisfying to me personally. It's rather open, which is not something I usually mind, but something about this particular one ticks me off.
I found out that there's an OVA called Future Diary Redial which fills in some of the details of the ending. I watched it, but can't say I was a particular fan of it. Whilst we get to see what happens after the events of the series, it's not in a satisfying way. There's a few plot threads in it that don't make a lot of sense, either, but the major problem I have with it is the tone. Whilst Mirai Nikki is dark and gritty, this feels a lot more relaxed and cheerful. I've often used the following observation as praise, but for Mirai Nikki it's negative: It feels like you're just hanging out with the characters. The story is also given a happier end, which feels to me like it invalidates the bittersweet end of the main series. Redial isn't part of the main series, however, and, as such, I'm not going to take Redial into account in scoring (which Future Diary should be thankful for). However, I will say this: If you get around to watching Mirai Nikki, and love it as much as I did, as well as agree with me on the ending being inconclusive, give Redial a watch. It's not brilliant, but it's there. If you liked the ending, skip Redial unless you desperately want to see more of the characters.
Character and World Building: 10/10
It's not an interesting world: It's the real world, and it's portrayed well. The characters are absolutely phenomenal. Yuno carries the show in a big way, but Yukkiteru is interesting in his own right, and the roster of side characters is also full of fascinating, disturbing individuals. Fights aren't as much physical affairs as exploration of the interaction between two characters on a psychological level, and work fantastically as a result.
Story: 7/10
When it works, it really works. Unfortunately, the story insists on taking several unnecessary detours that really slow down the action. It also feels somewhat disjointed early on, though it's easy to overlook it considering how good the character interactions are.
Presentation: 5/5
The show looks great, very sharp and crisp. Character design is outstanding (Aside from one ridiculous-looking outfit early on that's made fun of later in the show), which feels appropriate seeing how well-developed they are. However, what really struck me is the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack, the theme to the first half of the series in particular being mind-blowingly great.
Emotional Impact: 15/15
I've decided to, for this one review, substitute enjoyment with this category because Mirai Nikki is simply not fun. It's not meant to be fun. It's a tense, unpleasant anime, where you'll spend a large portion of your time terrified that Yuno might snap, worrying about Yukkiteru's sanity or scared about some other horrible occurrence. That's what it wants to do, and that's what it does, very, very well. Better than any other anime I've watched.
Overall: (10+7+5+15)/40
37/40
9.25/10
Future Diary is great. It investigates a bunch of characters fantastically, and manages to keep it real the whole way through. Despite the fact that a lot of them are truly despicable, you'll come to care about these people, and you'll be alongside Yukkiteru, feeling his mind slowly break down as a torrent of crazy shit happens to him that no normal person could withstand. It's not fun, but it's captivating and enthralling, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mirai Nikki to anyone who isn't averse to a dark story.
Mirai Nikki, also known as Future Diary, follows Yukkiteru, a middle-school loner who keeps a diary on his phone noting everything that happens around him. His only friend is a God he thinks is a product of his imagination, Deus, the God of Time and Space. One day, Yukkiteru awakens to discover that his diary has entries for the future, which he soon discovers to be accurate. Soon after, he's informed he is the First of twelve owners of similar diaries, each with the ability to predict different facets of the future: for instance, Yukkiteru's Diary predicts things happening around him, whereas later on we meet a character whose Diary predicts ways they can escape from danger. These have been awarded by Deus in order to play a survival game: the twelve must compete to kill each other, and the last one standing will take Deus's throne and powers. Moreover, an easy way of killing another owner is destroying their Diary, as their Diary not merely predicts the future, but actually holds the owner's future within it.
On the future, it seems like a fairly standard "survival game, but with a twist" premise, and I'd say that's a fair assessment. However, before one dismisses Mirai Nikki as just this, there are a few things to consider: First off, despite seeming simple, the Diary idea is genius. It allows a number of interesting twists as to certain character's knowledge of any situation, which are usually executed next to perfectly. This leads to really fascinating mind games happening whenever two Diary owners are in opposition, ensuring that conflict always has a psychological element to it. It's also a good way of characterizing the Diary owners: Most of them kept a Diary prior to the game starting, meaning that what their Diary predicts is a direct indicator of who they are as a person. To keep track of any given confrontation, you must understand what each Diary does, what each Diary owner thinks the other Diary currently says based on their incomplete knowledge of the situation and how actions by the Diary owners may change the contents of both party's diaries. Thanks to all these layers of mind games, conflict tends to be extremely intense, even when it just involves two people talking.
All this withstanding, the best part of Mirai Nikki are the characters, or, more precisely, the two main characters. Yukkiteru is pretty much an everyman, and not particularly interesting by himself. However, he is thrust into a number of extraordinary situations. This isn't particularly innovative, but the absolute, stone-cold realism with which he reacts to these situations is surprisingly fresh. Yukkiteru doesn't rise above the situation to become a hero. He doesn't pull off acts of great courage out of nowhere. Yukkiteru spends most of the running length of the show terrified and doing his best to hide from conflict. Even though it's never made explicit in the show, I fully believe that, by the end, he's gone mad with the stress of the whole thing.
Yukkiteru is more than a fitting protagonist, but the show is stolen by the secondary protagonist, Yuno. Yuno's a yandere, (the "infatuated to the point of being creepy" archetype, for those who don't know anime terms) taken pretty much over the edge. She is utterly, completely in love with Yukkiteru (whom she calls "Yukki" over and over), despite the two having only briefly conversed up to this point. She kept a "Yukkiteru Diary", which, having turned into a Future Diary, informs her of Yukkiteru's whereabouts and status every ten minutes. Furthermore, she is completely and utterly insane. I'm no psychologist, but there's definitely some sort of disorder there. It's not treated lightly, either, and despite being on Yukkiteru's side, Yuno is one of the most absolutely terrifying characters I've ever seen, killing efficiently and without remorse, but being able to effortlessly put on a caring and friendly face even when she's considering murdering the person she's conversing with. There's also a real instability to her: She often feels like she's on the edge of breaking into a murderous rage.
The recurring side cast is also really well done. Yukkiteru's parents are brilliantly characterized, his mother in particular, and his school friends manage to be endearing, but a few of the other participants in the game are real favourites of mine. I won't give anything away, but I really loved the Fourth and the Ninth.
In my mind, the series is divided into four clear sections. First is the "monster of the week" section, which is a very effective introduction to the show. It's pretty much what it sounds like, with Yukki and Yuno fighting a different one of the Twelve each episode or couple of episodes. It works really, really well: There's genuine tension, and since we've only just met Yuno her remorselessness is more shocking than later in the series. The other members of the Twelve are also really interesting characters in their own right, almost all of them being extremely fucked up individuals, setting up truly sadistic situations for the duo. Yukkiteru really does seem like the only sane one around for a long time, which is in effective contrast with the end of the series, when he starts acting less and less sane.
However, after a while the series starts to meander a bit. Nothing really happens except for Yuno's past being very vaguely explored. Whilst the situations continue to be compelling and utterly fucked up, character's reactions to them stop being nearly as realistic: At one point a few characters set a mortal trap for Yukkiteru and Yuno for, let's be frank, selfish reasons. Yuno almost kills one of them in revenge. Then they go back to being friendly as though nothing happened. Whilst Yuno is an extremely effective supporting character, this part of the series almost tries to cast her as the main character, which doesn't work out well.
Fortunately, soon enough things get back to fighting other Diary owners, and this part of the series is even better than the first. The owners are characterized even better, and Yukkiteru starts going through some very significant and tough character development. Yuno continues to be a lot of the reason to watch the show, but Yukkiteru finally becomes a major contributor to this as well. This is lucky, because, through brilliant manipulation by the writers, we're brought into a similar state of mind to Yuno, where all the violence and death stops feeling so meaningful, which means she can no longer carry the show as she did at the start.
Explaining what goes on in the fourth section is spoilerific, but allow me to say the following: It contains a lot of rather cliche background for Yuno, attempting to make her sympathetic, which I very much did not appreciate. There's a lot of stuff that happens that I think goes over the top, trying to bring the stakes too high up by affecting the world around the characters when we were already plenty invested in the characters themselves. However, nearly every plot thread is satisfyingly wrapped up. There's a few issues, such as the fact that the way Yukkiteru feels about Yuno changes way too fast, as well as there being another love story that comes right the fuck out of nowhere. The ending to the series itself is one I will recognize as well-made, but unsatisfying to me personally. It's rather open, which is not something I usually mind, but something about this particular one ticks me off.
I found out that there's an OVA called Future Diary Redial which fills in some of the details of the ending. I watched it, but can't say I was a particular fan of it. Whilst we get to see what happens after the events of the series, it's not in a satisfying way. There's a few plot threads in it that don't make a lot of sense, either, but the major problem I have with it is the tone. Whilst Mirai Nikki is dark and gritty, this feels a lot more relaxed and cheerful. I've often used the following observation as praise, but for Mirai Nikki it's negative: It feels like you're just hanging out with the characters. The story is also given a happier end, which feels to me like it invalidates the bittersweet end of the main series. Redial isn't part of the main series, however, and, as such, I'm not going to take Redial into account in scoring (which Future Diary should be thankful for). However, I will say this: If you get around to watching Mirai Nikki, and love it as much as I did, as well as agree with me on the ending being inconclusive, give Redial a watch. It's not brilliant, but it's there. If you liked the ending, skip Redial unless you desperately want to see more of the characters.
Character and World Building: 10/10
It's not an interesting world: It's the real world, and it's portrayed well. The characters are absolutely phenomenal. Yuno carries the show in a big way, but Yukkiteru is interesting in his own right, and the roster of side characters is also full of fascinating, disturbing individuals. Fights aren't as much physical affairs as exploration of the interaction between two characters on a psychological level, and work fantastically as a result.
Story: 7/10
When it works, it really works. Unfortunately, the story insists on taking several unnecessary detours that really slow down the action. It also feels somewhat disjointed early on, though it's easy to overlook it considering how good the character interactions are.
Presentation: 5/5
The show looks great, very sharp and crisp. Character design is outstanding (Aside from one ridiculous-looking outfit early on that's made fun of later in the show), which feels appropriate seeing how well-developed they are. However, what really struck me is the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack, the theme to the first half of the series in particular being mind-blowingly great.
Emotional Impact: 15/15
I've decided to, for this one review, substitute enjoyment with this category because Mirai Nikki is simply not fun. It's not meant to be fun. It's a tense, unpleasant anime, where you'll spend a large portion of your time terrified that Yuno might snap, worrying about Yukkiteru's sanity or scared about some other horrible occurrence. That's what it wants to do, and that's what it does, very, very well. Better than any other anime I've watched.
Overall: (10+7+5+15)/40
37/40
9.25/10
Future Diary is great. It investigates a bunch of characters fantastically, and manages to keep it real the whole way through. Despite the fact that a lot of them are truly despicable, you'll come to care about these people, and you'll be alongside Yukkiteru, feeling his mind slowly break down as a torrent of crazy shit happens to him that no normal person could withstand. It's not fun, but it's captivating and enthralling, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mirai Nikki to anyone who isn't averse to a dark story.
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