#interesting premise although the protagonists are breeders

[salamanderinspace]

10/10 costume design from "Samantha!" (a Brazillian sitcom on Netflix)

[themattress]

Assorted Future Diary Opinions

Because I recently watched that series in full.

The premise of this series was interesting, but I think the execution needed work, since there’s too much that doesn’t add up (mostly centered around the character of Deus Ex Machina - I like the guy, but what exactly was his deal? How/why is a god even dying?)

As I’m sure anyone can tell you, Yuno is the star of the show. She alone makes it worth the watch. While she well deserves her reputation as the Queen (or Goddess) of Yandere, she’s also one of the most nuanced examples of that trope. Her whole life revolving around her obsession with Yuki is actually a result of there being so much more to her than just said obsession with Yuki, hidden depths that make her disturbing, repulsive, sympathetic, and lovable all in turns, but on the whole it makes her human. She’s not a true monster, just a broken girl in need of help. Also, she’s a complete badass. You just gotta love her for that.

Like Shinji Ikari, Yuki gets a lot of hate for not being the decisive, assertive, more masculine male protagonist viewers expect him to be. But honestly? Just like with Shinji, I don’t get it. I like him just fine! He’s no Yuno, but she and the show would be worse off without him. He’s sympathetic and likable enough (up until he fully embraces the killing aspect of the game, although even then it’s understandable), and by the end he does become more decisive and assertive in a single conviction: save Yuno from herself (in more ways than one).  The only thing I don’t care for is his sad backstory: his parents divorced.  Really?  That’s it? Weak!

I have a big love/hate relationship with Uryuu Minene, and there are three reasons for that. The first reason is that her character is very inconsistent - it’s one thing to have chronic backstabbing disorder, and quite another to have your personality make wild shifts without explanation, particularly after her first appearance where she was shown as more or less pure evil and psychotic, then all of a sudden she’s mellowed out and admirable. Her “why do birds fly south?” explanation is NOT sufficient.  The second reason is toward the end the narrative starts pushing her as a hero, without any acknowledgement or remorse from her about her heinous crimes.  And the third reason is the nature of those heinous crimes and the motivation behind them - she’s a terrorist, born from a harsh life in the Middle East, who has religious hang-ups and kills people, even children, as a result of them. So basically, she’s Atheist ISIS. That hits way too close to home for me to ever not be somewhat disturbed by her character, no matter how much erratic character development she receives. With that said, she is cool and sexy, with great hammy voice acting in both Japanese and English.

I freaking LOVE Mur Mur. She’s adorable and hilarious, and the twist that she’s essentially the Big Bad was the best one in the story, outdoing the twists regarding Aru and Yuno’s origins in effectiveness. And her end-of-episode omakes were all highlights of the show.

The other Diary Holders I really enjoyed were 5th, 7th, 10th and 11th. 5th, the insane child prodigy, was both awesome and creepy as hell, and I loved how he and Yuno were so evenly matched in their battle. 7th, the battle couple, was just all-around likable and touching and made the perfect foil for Yuno and Yuki, even though that backstory was really unnecessary and stupid. 10th, the dog breeder, not only had an awesome English dub voice, but I also found it interesting how misanthropic he was to the point of manipulating his own estranged daughter, yet deep down was full of regret for this and cared for her enough to be honest with her and give her some words of comfort and parental advice just before he was killed. And 11th was a pretty cool villain with an interesting style in how untouchable he made himself.

I didn’t care as much for 3rd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 12th. 3rd, the serial killer, was an undeveloped plot device to get the story started. 4th, the crooked cop, had too big a character shift that came out of left field, and the whole confrontation with him was underwhelming. 8th was just uninteresting to me, and the entire scenario featuring 6th and 12th was so completely bizarre and extremely uncomfortable that it negatively affected my perceptions of the characters.

I have just five characters who I flat-out HATE: Yuki’s father, whose redemption was incredibly half-assed and not believable, Yuno’s mother, who I really don’t think should be allowed custody of her daughter no matter what psychological help she might be getting at the end, the cultist bastard from 6th’s backstory, the over-the-top evil high school bitch from 7th’s backstory, and Masumi Nishijima, a character who was just so stupid, hypocritical, useless and all-around nonsensical that I don’t quite get the point. Minene, you can do better!

I actually quite like Ouji Kousaka, Mao Nonosaka and especially Hinata Hino. I know that many fans don’t and just consider them unwanted burdens, but I think they were all endearing and added some much-needed normalcy to the story...well, relatively speaking.

I only like Aru Akise in the English dub, since Todd Haberkorn’s voice really added a likability to him. In the manga, his actions toward the end really soured me on him, as they made him look worse than both Yuno and Yuki in that moment. While this was cut out in the anime, the Japanese version cast Akira Ishida in the role, which means he’s literally just Kaworu Nagisa (as if Yuki wasn’t similar to Shinji enough!) and I thus can’t appreciate him as an individual. 

The last four episodes were the best in the series. With all the other Diary Holders and side characters out of the way, everything now centered solely around the heart of the story: Yuno and Yuki, and their twisted and dysfunctional yet also strangely touching and uplifting love for each other. And I will admit it: this scene with this music made me cry. It was beautifully done.

The anime definitely handled the ending better than the manga. In the manga, the last three-or-so pages suddenly have Yuno smash through space-time with a hammer, no explanation given, and a rushed happy ending is given to the story. It just...doesn’t feel right to me. Whereas in the anime, it ends on the appropriately melancholy note of Yuki ruling an empty void, alone and forever mourning Yuno, then having a post-credits shot of his phone suddenly changing to say that “Yuno came to see me”, a light shining overhead and Yuno’s voice saying “Yuki!” being heard. That mysterious, ambiguous shot is the perfect one to leave it on, and if you want the full ending, you watch Redial, which actually provides the full context behind the “Yuno smashes through space-time with a hammer” ending before reaching it.

And lastly: Yunoteru forever! (Credit to @yunoteru4ever for that line. XD)