The Future Diary (2011–2013)
8/10
Future Diary - Another Survival Game x Love Story
31 August 2013
Future Diary (Mirai Nikki) is an anime that was on between October 2011 and April 2012. It's a survival game among 12 people who have mobile phones receiving diaries about what will happen in several minutes within the future. Each future diary holder receives a future from a different perspective. So, the diary holders fight each other while avoiding their expected death by knowing the future.

The survival concept in a story such as Battle Royal, where everyone has to be killed until only one person remains, is not new. So you may figure it would be another survival story where only the protagonist survives in the end. But this survival game is interesting in that the diary folders use techniques in order to change their expected future. Another striking thing that stands out is that Yuno's love toward Yukiteru goes out of control to be psychotic and violent, showing her affection crazily to him. Although a typical 'Yandere' character like Yuno would be annoying, I could even develop a love for this crazy character toward the end. I think it's a new type of survival story in that the audience could be moved by a 'Yandere' girl.

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but compare the character Aru Akise from Future diary with Kaoru Nagisa from Neon Genesis Evangelion because both are played by the same voice actor, and the character's personality and the feature are very similar. Once I started comparing the two anime, I realized that there are other common points between the two. The protagonist, Yukiteru is shy, naive, cries easily, and a negative person, which is similar to Shinji in Evengelion. A similar character to Asuka found in Future Diary would be Yuno Gasai in that she is strong, sort of crazy, and strong-minded. You might find some other similarities while you watch Future Diary after Evengelion.

While I was wondering if the two anime have some common themes in the characters, I was drawn to the story of Future Diary towards the end. It is painful and upsetting to see Yuno's unruly character where she doesn't care for anybody but Yukiteru, and she cannot be in love with him. But I felt like I could accept everything from her in the end.

Overall, I like Future Diary. So I give it 8 stars.
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