Future Diary - Mirai Nikki - Episode 8

Having seen off Reisuke Houjou (and somehow managed to cover up his death as a mere disappearance after fending off some home intruders), we fast forward a couple of weeks for this latest instalment of Mirai Nikki as one of the diary holders hands his ability over to a third party while Yukkii and Yuno get set to start life at a new school.

Having been at least partly responsible for blowing their previous school (and most of its occupants) into tiny pieces, Yukiteru frets about how he'll fit in while Yuno's concern is more about them revealing their diaries to anybody.  It certainly seems that Yukkii's worries are unfounded, as within minutes of entering his class the worry of having to sit behind a boy who bullied him at his previous school and was instrumental in screwing him over in the whole Uryuu affair is offset by his meeting a couple of decidedly friendly girls in the form of Hinata and Mao.

With rumours of a serial killer (yes, another one) responsible for gruesome murders at large, Hinata does what any middle school girl would do, and suggest that this new group of friends check out the otherwise off-limits crimes scenes.  Needless to say, Yuno isn't too impressed with this new female attention Yukiteru is getting, and things only get worse once Hinata runs into a pack of rabid dogs which then proceed to chase the remaining characters alongside Aru Akise, an enigmatic but laregly errant classmate who yearns to be a top detective.  Once they find themselves cornered, it seems that only Yukiteru's future diary can save the day - but has he simply succeeded in exposing himself to even more danger by revealing its abilities around the others?

Despite throwing everything that it possibly could at its twisted, madcap happenings last week, it doesn't take long for Mirai Nikki to find more insanity to leverage in the name of entertainment - Yuno's terrifying lack of patience and decorum never ceases to amuse as she openly suggests using Yukkii's friends as a decoy so that they can be eaten by dogs while she escapes with her loved one, while we have plenty of other suspicious characters to focus upon thanks to their introduction this time around.  It's the twists, turns and "who owns a future diary?" moments which really make this week's episode fun to watch - it's as unhinged as ever, but that's certainly no bad thing.