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Spoilers for main series ahead

This OVA of Mirai NIkki explores the ending of the original series in further detail. A very simple 30 min OVA that probably used around 5 minutes of recycled footage from the last episode.

All in all, it's a fanservice ending to the Future Diary story and the story of Yuki and Yuno. The writing is around the same level as a fairly competent fan-fiction, and the content is fairly fan-fiction-like as well.

The art and animation is a bit of an improvement upon the original series given that it's one single OVA episode aired around a year after the ending. ... Fairly fluid and clean, with some characters' designs cleaned up a bit as well.

The story is split around half-half. Half of it is a brief look at characters' lives in the third world where the Future Diary games never occurred. Which frankly I don't really care about, given that most of these characters never made an impression on me in the first place. And half of it is the third world Yuno finding a way to second world Yuki. The manner in which this occurs is fairly non-sensical, but not completely outlandish, and certainly wraps up the ending in a slightly more satisfying manner than the original. Mostly because the original ending was completely unexplained. Unfortunately, similar to the original series, if you just think about this episode a little bit, the consequences of people's actions here, as well as their motivation, are quite illogical, and the whole thing kind of crumbles.

Despite that, it's still worth watching, You've come this far into the series, what's 1 more episode. Just don't look for anything more than a well-animated fanfic level ending expansion, and this shouldn't disappoint you.

Note1: Some soft spoilers ahead, no twists are revealed but some plot details are given without context.

Note2: If you think this is under or overrated, check my profile for a brief scoring criteria.

Note3: Scroll to the bottom for TLDR summary review

Note4: This is a preliminary review, completed with 1 viewing, I'll probably go back and watch this again at some point.

Typically for me, a 7/10 anime is one in which I enjoyed most of what I saw, didn't mind some of it, and hated very little of it. Mirai Nikki is not that. When it comes to MN there are some aspects ... I tremendously enjoyed, some I hated, and some that are so outlandish, weird, and 'edgy' I don't even know how I should feel. In the end, after wavering between 6 or 7 a 7 is given. Mirai Nikki left an impression on me and it will on you too, though it may not be an entirely positive one.

This review is written in a Pros/Cons sandwich.


Con - The Plot:

Somehow, the narrative of this show is simplistic and confusing at the same time.

Yukiteru is a loner middle schooler who writes an observation diary on his phone. One day, Deus Ex Machina, the god of time and space whom Yuki thought was merely his imaginary friend, grants Yuki the power of predicting the future via his observation diary. It's all shits and giggles for Yuki who can now evade bullies and get test answers ahead of time using this superpower; until he hears the catch that there are 11 other people who all have unique Future Diaries akin to his that can also predict the future. Thus, a survival battle royale begins.

This is an excellent premise, if someone pitched this to me in an elevator I'd say they're nothing short of brilliant. This is a premise ripe for some creative storytelling that could involve cool and unique predictive powers for each diary holder, some high-level cat and mouse game akin to Death Note and Monster, some excellent character development for Yuki the protagonist as he's forced to transform from a shy and hesitant middle schooler, and of course twists that would reveal the nature of the enigmatic being that is Deus and their world.

Does the anime, in all 26 episodes, do any of that? Kind of, but not in a good way, and definitely not executed well enough to match what the premise promises.

Throughout the show Yuki battles participants in this survival game who are all, for reasons however nonsensical or simply non-existent, gunning for his head. Despite the massive potential that 'phones which can predict the future' could have had in these battles of the mind, many of these confrontations end ridiculously fast and are often decided more by whichever side has the stronger conviction to win. Essentially, though the premise of these battles is decidedly seinen, the results are actually determined through shounen means. If the protagonist or his deranged stalker tries hard enough, they'll probably pull through. When these convictions finally become insufficient, the strategic aspects are simplistic and mostly come down to simple diversions and fakes. Nothing close to an intricately woven scheme, which is fine and is fun at certain points, but overall a disappointment. This is the 'simplistic' aspect of the plot.

The confusing part of the plot is the sudden twists, changes of allegiances and hearts, as well as the seemingly inconsistent plot/character developments. It's hard to keep track of all of these, and while some of these elements work to the show's favor by adding surprise and shock factors, some seem complicated just for the sake of being confusing. Character motivations become extremely unclear at points, not in an enigmatic and intriguing way, but more so illogical and inconsistent. At some points, the twists become so gratuitous that they're just numbing and tiring to see. Not to mention if you're paying attention much of this is riddled with plot holes and completely unexplained mechanics, some are explained later, some you just have to learn to ignore.

The pacing of the story can be fairly haphazard, at times not stopping for the emotional weight to sink in and starting to feel like a synopsis rather than the full show, and at times stopping way too much that the show basically turns into filler/fluff.



Pro - The Music:

The soundtrack is fairly good, nothing outstanding by way of the score, but they're all apt for the scenes and do add to the precious few genuinely emotional times of the show. Battles, creepy/tense moments are handled particularly well, owing much to the score.

The openings and endings to the show are some of the best around. In fact, much of the show's grandiose appearance, the sense of epicness it wants to convey, and the edginess it does convey, derives from the openings and endings. When I close my eyes and think of Mirai Nikki, I find that none of the scenes are actually that memorable and it's almost always one of the openings/endings that I think of.

OP1 slaps, I'd have to say it's one of the best OPs ever produced. Great song, fits the overall tone and themes of the show to a tee, and excellent animation throughout. It's one of the only OPs that actively made me want to watch the show despite me knowing very little about the show itself.

OP2 is alright, pales in comparison to OP1. OP1's creepy yet grand tone is exactly what the show is, or is trying really hard to be. OP2 almost feels like a typical shounen opening, with some thriller aspect thrown in there.

ED1 is great, an excellent coupling with OP1. Together these two songs project a rather unique atmosphere of gritty, monumental fantasy. Unfortunately, the show itself doesn't really quite get there. A good ED is supposed to have an aura of melancholy as the episode concludes, this ED does just that. It also gives hints and foreshadows each diary holders' identity without giving away too much detail, kept me guessing and watching.

ED2 is fine, the sense of melancholy is quite good. It's not as interesting as ED1 but in some ways it's a more suitable ending as the show draws to the end.



Con - The Characters:

This is the bulk of my hatred for the show. Characters are illogical and at times just plain stupid, yet sometimes outlandishly smart as well (5yr old essentially functioning as an effective assassin). Yukiteru is the source of a vast amount of frustration for me throughout the show. As a relatively normal middle-schooler, it is perfectly reasonable for the kid to be scared and crying in a survival game when he's pitted against many who are seasoned criminals. That is not why he's frustrating. Yukiteru's character is inconsistent. His opinion of others changes at the drop of a hat. One minute he could be hating someone for betraying and the very next minute they could be his best friend, confidante, and ally. His plans, or lack thereof at times are a derivative of that and is equally frustrating to watch. He sees very little character development, which is a huge disappointment, and just when I was about to give up he almost becomes a different person towards the last quarter of the show. All this wouldn't be as much of a problem if the entire show wasn't completely centered around him and he isn't crying in almost every scene, but alas...

Most supporting characters are completely forgettable. You have your fodder villain diary holders whose pasts are tragic for tragic's sake. They are usually offed in around 2-3 episodes and are fairly shallow caricatures of a certain type of misunderstood evil. The silver lining is some of their stories are actually momentarily charming, but without a more solid development, these characters don't really stick and ultimately don't have much depth to them. The only cool/notable character here is probably Ninth, unfortunately even she could not escape being designated a tsundere, then shackled with a romantic subplot that's kind of sweet but also a complete asspull that came out of nowhere.

You got a few of Yuki's friends, a big-boobed girl named Hinata who provides some fan service, and whose background story (actually somewhat interesting) becomes completely and inconsistently overlooked after her introduction. Hinata's friend Mao, who's really just there to pad out the numbers. And Yuki's bully turned friend Kousaka, whose only narrative role I can think of is to illustrate how fickle and inconsistent Yuki can be. Akise Aru, a classmate of Yuki's is an interesting character whose intelligence stands out quite well in the show as being one of the few people capable of solid deductive reasoning. He's not given that much screen time, unfortunately, and when he does he's relegated to being a plot device and at times more of a Deux Ex Machina than Deus himself. Akise is also unfortunately almost a nothing character until his background is explained towards the end, by which point the whole is plot is already jammed with a cluster of twists.

An interesting conundrum is also presented here morally. If you're the kind of person who would attempt to follow the show's perspective and determine some morally superior person (who's doing the right thing), Mirai Nikki's a pretty painful experience. You never know who to root for, and not because characters' morals shifts constantly (which they do), and not because each character has a justified motivation (they don't) for doing morally grey or black things, but simply because the show makes no attempt to demonstrate the gravity and the consequences of the people's actions. Blow up a school, kill a few dozen kids? Who cares. Kill a bunch of bystanders? Meh. In a show that tries at times to be gritty, it can be shockingly unrealistic in these parts.



Pro - Gasai Yuno:

The yandere of all yanderes, the poster girl for deranged waifus everywhere, and frankly, the glue that holds this show together and the only reason why this show stands out at all. If you take out Gasai Yuno and her weird but bizarrely charming romance with Yuki, Mirai Nikki crumbles. One of the most successful yanderes ever, Yuno's unique appeal lies in her almost whiplashing transition between 'innocent, cute, youthful, pink girl in love' to 'monster murderess chopping off limbs and heads with 0 hesitations'. This transition is done quite well and explored in various forms throughout the show. Just when you think she couldn't yandere any further, she brings it to a whole new level. As she's a simple archetype, it's definitely easy to predict her actions, yet at times she can still surprise by the pure absurdity of her insanity. In a show filled with deranged people and criminals, Yuno's long screentime, a continually evolving backstory, and her brilliant contrast to the undecisive Yuki give her a distinct edge over them all. Yuno is probably the most well-written character in the show, which, unfortunately, is not a very high bar. Her backstory will keep you guessing, which adds some depth to her overall character purely by the appeal of the mystery. Furthermore, however nonsensical or idiotic it is towards the end, her romance with Yuki that portrays a bizarre kind of intimacy is one of the only plotlines in the show that sees gradual, steady development, and receives proper setup and payoff.

In the end, however, Yuno's greatest strength is also her greatest weakness - at the end of the day, the yanderest yandere can't be that deep. Her character has much more depth than the other bare caricatures in the show, but not enough for the charm to last 26 episodes. Even then, Yuno's character essentially carries the show, and along with the music form two elements in the show that are better than the show itself.



Pro/Con - tone, texture, and atmosphere:

Mixing gore, sexual violence, deaths, mysteries, science fiction with bright-eyed teens definitely creates a curious dissonance to the story of Mirai Nikki, which if nothing else is quite unique. And that in itself is exceptional. Otherwise however this show could be described in one word - 'edgy'. It's not really deep despite how much it's trying to be.

A notable contributor to this attempted depth is the tragic backstories, which really don't add much to the characters, a rather disappointing missed opportunity because some of these stories could have been rather compelling. Or in fact, some of them already were compelling stories, but do not cohesively form together in order to become one well-written overarching narrative.

The depicted sexual violence in particular, which is mentioned much more rarely nowadays in mainstream anime, creates a level of discomfort that stays with you and could have made a few great standalone stories if written with the required heft and thought. Unfortunately, when placed in an anime like Mirai Nikki, all these stories could do is contribute to the overall texture of a psychotic, deranged, over-the-top insane world. Reason being that these stories cannot amount to much when the characters themselves become discarded in 30 odd minutes to make room for more Yuki not evolving as the protagonist. They're a tiny piece of an almost insignificant puzzle meant to disturb the audience for the sake of disturbance, without meaning much themselves.

The thriller element of the story and some of the battles are definitely appealing enough that you'd want to see how it goes. The creeping mystery surrounding Yuno is particularly well done and is really the culmination of the show's tonal development, and once again, pretty much one of the only backstories worth seeing, which is again, a very low bar to clear.

Finally, the comedy. They come out of nowhere and are inserted into the most inappropriate moments. Thankfully there's only a handful of these.



Overall/TLDR:

Mirai Nikki had some real potential to be a great show. In its current state, there's a lot of bad including inconsistent/disposable characters, some cringy writing that doesn't amount to anything narratively, and one of the worst, non-developing protagonists I've seen. However it is still worth watching given that it's 1 season (though a fairly long one) and does have quite a few merits as well, such as one of the best openings of all time, a few compelling moments in character backstories, a rare atmosphere and tone that's uniquely dissonant, and of course, you probably should experience Gasai Yuno first hand.