Future Diary

Future Diary(Japanese:Tương lai nhật ký,Hepburn:Mirai Nikki)is a Japanesemangaseries written and illustrated bySakae Esuno.It was serialized inKadokawa Shoten'sShōnen Acebetween January 2006 and December 2010, and has been collected into 12tankōbonvolumes. The plot depicts the Diary Game, a deadlybattle royalebetween 12 different individuals who are given "Future Diaries", special diaries that can predict the future, byDeus Ex Machina,the God of Time and Space, with the last survivor becoming heir to the universe.

Future Diary
Cover ofFuture Diaryvolume 1 featuringYukiteru AmanoandYuno Gasai
Tương lai nhật ký (Mirai Nikki)
Genre	Mystery Psychological thriller Romance
Manga
Written by	Sakae Esuno
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
English publisher	NA: Tokyopop(former) Viz Media
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Ace
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	January 26, 2006–December 25, 2010
Volumes	12
Manga
Future Diary: Mosaic/Paradox/Redial
Written by	Sakae Esuno
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Magazine	Monthly Shōnen Ace
Demographic	Shōnen
Original run	November 26, 2008–July 26, 2013
Volumes	3
Anime television series
Directed by	Naoto Hosoda
Written by	Katsuhiko Takayama
Music by	Tatsuya Kato
Studio	Asread
Licensed by	AUS:Madman Entertainment NA:Crunchyroll UK:Anime Limited
Original network	Chiba TV,TV Saitama
Original run	October 10, 2011–April 16, 2012
Episodes	26 + OVA
Television drama
Future Diary: Another:World
Directed by	Michiko Namiki, Shogo Miyaki
Produced by	Ryota Fujino
Written by	Sayaka Kuwamura, Kaeko Hayafune
Music by	Shuichiro Fukuhiro
Original network	Fuji TV
Original run	April 21, 2012–June 30, 2012
Episodes	11

The manga has been licensed byTokyopop,and ten of the English volumes were released, with a release for the last two now uncertain due to Tokyopop ceasing publishing in North America. A "pilotanime "DVD was released with the 11th manga volume in December 2010. A 26-episodeanimetelevision series (produced byAsread) aired in Japan between October 2011 and April 2012.Crunchyrollhas licensed the anime for distribution in North America. An 11-episode live-action television drama aired between April and June 2012.

Esuno has also authored three side-story manga, each one spanning five chapters: firstFuture Diary: Mosaicwhich focuses on another Diary Holder, Minene Uryu, and tells unrevealed plot points of the main story; in 2009–2010,Future Diary: Paradox(published inYoung Ace), which tells the exploits of Aru Akise and Muru Muru set in an alternate timeline, and in 2013,Future Diary: Redial,which serves as an epilogue to the series.

Plot

Yukiteru Amano (Thiên dã tuyết huy) is a 14-year-old, shy and daydreaming loner who observes life and jots down the events on hiscell phone.His only friends are Deus Ex Machina (デウス・エクス・マキナ), the God of Space and Time, and his assistant Muru Muru (ムルムル). Deus transforms Yukiteru's phone into a Future Diary, capable ofpredicting the futureup to ninety days. Yukiteru discovers he and eleven others are part of a battle royale survival game orchestrated by Deus. The aim of this game is to eliminate the other diary holders, and in doing so, succeed Deus as god and prevent theApocalypse.Yukiteru finds himself protected byYuno Gasai(Gasai Yuno), a charming but psychopathic classmate who obsessivelystalkshim after they had promised to go stargazing together a year before.

Two major players they encounter areterroristMinene Uryu, who wants to destroy all religion after her parents died in a faith-fueled war; and Keigo Kurusu, a police officer who wants to end the game. Later, Kurusu betrays Yukiteru and Yuno when he discovers his bed-ridden son is suffering from aterminal illness.He assassinates diary holder Karyuudo Tsukishima and frames Yukiteru and Yuno. Minene turns to detective Masumi Nishijima, exposing Kurusu's crime. In his shame, Kurusu eliminates himself from the game.

John Bacchus, the city's mayor and designer of the Future Diaries, tries to manipulate Yukiteru's debt-ridden father Kurou into stealing his son's diary. Kurou fails, unintentionally killing his ex-wife Rea, and is then assassinated by Bacchus' men. Yukiteru vows to win the game and resurrect his parents. He and Yuno target the remaining diary holders, Minene, Bacchus, and Kamado Ueshita who runs an orphanage. Meanwhile, Yukiteru's astute friend Aru Akise, and Nishijima investigate the discovery of three corpses in Yuno's house, two being her parents, and the third identified as being Yuno, bringing her identity into question.

Kamado's diary, which can give others substitute diaries, is connected to a supercomputer, giving everyone in the city Future Diaries as part of Bacchus' plan to help humanity evolve. Yukiteru and Yuno, Minene, Nishijima, and Yukiteru's friends storm Bacchus' headquarters. He seals himself in abank vaultowned by Yuno's parents, her fingerprints the only way to access it. Minene sacrifices herself to destroy the vault but fails, only for Aru to witness Yuno access the vault and kill Bacchus. Wanting answers, Aru confronts Deus who reveals the boy is an artificial human designed to observe the game and keep it in balance, but confirms there is a conspiracy around Yuno.

Yukiteru kills his friends and then Kamado. Aru battles Yuno, destroying her diary but discovers she has a spare. Realizing the truth, Aru shows a text to Yukiteru before Yuno decapitates him. As the days to the Apocalypse approach, Yukiteru and Yuno consummate their relationship. However, Yukiteru reveals Aru's suggestion that Yuno originates from another timeline and she immediately turns on him. Muru Muru, the true mastermind behind the game's course, confirms Aru's theory. Yukiteru died and Yuno won the game in another timeline but discovered not even the power of a god could bring back the dead. In her sorrow, Yuno went back in time, creating an alternatetimeline,murdering and replacing her other self.

Yuno and Muru Muru go back in time again, creating a third world, pursued by Yukiteru and Minene, kept alive by Deus as a wild card and imbued with a portion of his power. Both parties battle to protect or kill the third world's Yuno and her parents. Yuno, unable to kill Yukiteru, traps him in a dream world where she does not exist, and attacks her alternate self. Yukiteru remembers Yuno, escaping his prison aided by the second world's Muru Muru, and stops Yuno. Though Yukiteru asks Yuno to kill him so she can live, she instead eliminates herself and dies in his arms. Yukiteru becomes a god and is dragged to the second world by Muru Muru.

Ten-thousand years later, a mournful Yukiteru has done nothing with his godly powers. He managed to cut off all influences that the first and second worlds had with the third, and prevents the third world's deus from dying. Yukiteru gazes at his diary, mourning that he will never see the first world Yuno, the only one he will ever love, ever again. However, the interdimensional walls are broken down by the third world Yuno, who possesses the first world's memories courtesy of an atoning Muru Muru. Yukiteru and Yuno reunite as gods of the second and third world, and prepare to fulfill their promise to go stargazing with each other.

Characters

Main article:List of Future Diary characters

Future DiaryfollowsYukiteru "Yuki" Amano,a socially awkward boy and one of the game's competitors who only wants to survive;Yuno Gasai,another player of the game and a friend who would do anything to be with Yuki;Minene Uryū,an infamous terrorist with a grudge against God; andAru Akise,a genius teen detective and a friend of Yuki who investigates the true purpose of the game and Yuno's dark secrets.

Media

Manga

Main article:List of Future Diary chapters

The manga was serialized inKadokawa Shoten'sShōnen Acemagazine from January 26, 2006 to December 25, 2010and was compiled into 12 volumes published byKadokawa Shoten,plus two side-story manga,Future Diary: MosaicandFuture Diary: Paradox,compiled in one volume each. The manga was originally licensed in English byTokyopopfor North America, but only ten volumes were released before Tokyopop ceased publishing operations on May 31, 2011. The series is currently licensed byViz Media,who released the first nine volumes digitally.

An additional manga titledFuture Diary: Redial(Tương lai nhật ký リダイヤル,Mirai Nikki Ridaiyaru)was previewed in the May 2013 issue ofShōnen Acesold on March 26, 2013, and a single volume ofRedialwas released in July 2013.

Anime

Main article:List of Future Diary episodes

An anime television adaptation byAsreadand directed by Naoto Hosoda began airing from October 10, 2011.Character designs are done by Eiji Hirayama and Ruriko Watanabe. An eight-minute "pilot" edition DVD was bundled with limited editions of the manga's eleventh volume, released on December 9, 2010.The series uses four pieces of theme music: two opening themes and two ending themes. For the first 14 episodes, the opening theme is "Kūsō Mesology"(Không tưởng メソロギヰ,Kūsō Mesorogii,"Fantasy Mesology" )byYōsei Teikoku,and the ending theme is "Blood Teller" byFaylan.From episode 15 onwards, the opening theme is "Dead End" by Faylan, and the ending theme is "Filament" by Yōsei Teikoku. For the pilot, the main theme is "The Creator" by Yōsei Teikoku.Funimationlicensed the series for North American distribution, simulcasting the series onNiconico.They later announced they had acquired the rights for release on home video.Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll.

Anoriginal video animationepisode titledFuture Diary: Redialacts as an epilogue to the television series. It received a special broadcast onNiconicoon June 19, 2013. It was also bundled with the manga volume sequel of the same name. The opening theme for the OVA is "Kyōki Chinden"(Cuồng khí Thẩm điện,"Madness Precipitation" )by Yōsei Teikoku, and the ending theme is "Happy End" by Faylan.

Other media

Kadokawa Shotenproduced avisual novelbased on the manga titledFuture Diary: The 13th Diary Owner(Tương lai nhật ký -13 người mục の nhật ký sở hữu giả -,Mirai Nikki 13-nin-me no Nikki Shoyūsha)for thePlayStation Portable,was released on January 28, 2010 in Japan.A re-release with new graphics, artwork and featuring the voice actors from the anime was released on April 26, 2012.

An 11-episode live action drama titledFuture Diary: Another:Worldaired between April 21 and June 30, 2012 onFuji TV.The TV series has an original plot line that differs from the manga and anime. The opening theme is "Another World" byKo Shibasaki.

Reception

During mid-November 2008, the seventh volume of theFuture Diarymanga ranked as the twenty-first best selling manga in Japan.The volume remained in the top 30 during the following week, though it dropped to twenty-fifth place.As of April 2012, it has sold 4 million copies in Japan.

The Japanese name of this series is the inspiration for the naming of theMiraibotnet program.

External links

• Official website of the anime(in Japanese)
• Future Diary: Another:WorldatFuji TV
• Future Diary(manga) atAnime News Network's encyclopedia
• Future DiaryatIMDb