The violence is, for a lack of a better word, glorious it is inventive, exciting and merrily gruesome for those who like that sort of thing.
Everything that is great about loud, uninhibited storytelling is here for the taking. To be honest, if Future Diary knows what subtlety is, it certainly doesn't believe in it and that fact is both a positive and a negative. Musically, the heavy faux-gothic rock of the OPs suits the tone of the show very well, capturing the show's bombastic and flamboyant narrative style with heavy drum line and lyrics filled with meaningless German and Latin. In fact, the character development in this show is as well paced as its action and even a number of the minor characters get the development they deserve. The main leads, Yuno and Yuki, are standard anime archetypes (the yandere and the whiny brat protagonist, respectively) but the show does a good job of developing them into characters worth caring about (at least by the end). The main reason for this is the story is so damn entertaining! From the start, there is briskness in the narrative that washes you along at an exciting pace, the characters are stark, simple and interesting for the most part and everything seen and heard is geared towards being cool and fun. In any case, Future Diary is a show I find very easy to enjoy. I can avoid it in writing and push myself towards objectivity but I can't simply forget that I already know the story in a different format. Secondly, it is physically impossible for me not to make judgements on the show based on my prior knowledge and enjoyment of the manga. This means that any draw I might have received from a desire to know what is going to happen next was unavailable to me. Firstly, I knew the story completely before hand and while there are differences in the two versions, they are largely cosmetic changes (such as extra fanservice or a change in scene layout). Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to turn this review into an extended comparison of the story's two forms but it does colour my view of the show in certain ways that are inescapable. I will come out and say this straight off the bat, I am a HUGE fan of this show's original manga. Within this "Diary Game", the contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future with each diary having unique features that gives them both advantages and disadvantages. However, Yuki soon learns that Deus is not a figment of his imagination but real when Deus makes him a participant in a battle royale with eleven others. Yukiteru Amano (Yuki) is a loner who has never really interacted with people and prefers writing a diary on his cell phone with his only companion being an imaginary friend named Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. Notes: Based on the manga by Sakae Esuno, which was serialised in Shounen Ace and published by Kadokawa Shoten, beginning in 2006. Length: Television series, 26 episodes, 24 minutes eachĭistributor: Licensed in North America by FUNimationĬontent Rating: 18+ (bloody violence, nudity, disturbing themes and imagery)Īlso Recommended: Deadman Wonderland, Death Note, Rozen Maiden