Future Diary - Mirai Nikki - Episode 16

Having muddled through much of the series thus far, Yukiteru finally tasted defeat at the hands of Seventh, with this lovey-dovey pairing outdoing both himself and Yuno to leave them both hospitalised and with their respective cell phones stolen.

Thus, we rejoin Yukkii as he undergoes his rehabilitation under the watchful eye (literally, just the one eye) of Uryuu, who has been brought in with a "secret plan" to defeat Seventh - at least, that's what Yukkii's been told so that his future diary can fool Seventh into expecting something that isn't coming.  Given his tough rehabilitation regime, Yukiteru is more than a little happy to receive a visit from his errant father, as we learn the reasons for his parent's divorce and Yukkii's desperate desire for his folks to remarry.

This is, of course, the world of Mirai Nikki we're talking about, where nobody can be trusted, and before we know it Yuno has clocked Yukiteru's father hunting for his son's diary in the promise of having his debt wiped out if he provides it to an unknown party.  While this is more than enough of a good reason for Yuno to kill him, Yukiteru ensures that his father remains in the land of the living, before a call from Seventh brings Yuno and Yukkii, together with his father, for a rendezvous.  The events that follow proves the real aim of Yukiteru's dad and allows Yuno to grab back both her own and Yukkii's mobile phones, but as Uryuu arrives in her usual explosive style there's new danger in store for our protagonist.

I really should have learned not to doubt Mirai Nikki by now, shouldn't I?  Here I was, internally bemoaning the introduction of Yukiteru's father into a plot which seemed to be going nowhere in particular, only to have it all turned on its head in typical dastardly fashion as the greed and selfishness of all come to the fore, while also granting us some more opportunities to see Yuno in her frequent lunatic bouts of action.  It might have started slowly, but this week's Mirai Nikki was fun and compelling stuff once again come its second half as it shows no sign of falling flat overall right now.